So FRUSTRATED!

So it seems that we are starving Roscoe.

Driving training

People are concerned with his weight. Which is great, but they don't talk to me about it. Instead they go to his breeder. Yes she bred him, but we take care of him. I am perfectly willing to tell them that yes he lost weight when his hormones kicked in. We are aware of that fact. We also are addressing the issue. In fact he has put weight on in the last few weeks. I can also tell them that he needs to build muscle, not just put weight on. That requires work and when he works he lifts his back and belly making him look thinner.
It is so frustrating! So many Cobs are heavy almost to the point of being overweight which makes Roscoe an oddity. The 3yr old Warmblood that stayed at our barn was leggy and lanky too, but no one questioned his health. Unfortunately he is constantly compared to other Cob youngsters and they have always carried more weight. And I mean that literally from birth. So I guess we starved Rosemary when she was pregnant to cause Roscoe to be born skinny.

See the similar tummy tuck and angles

Heck at this point I may have to geld him just so he will stop watching the girls and put weight on. Whatever, I just need to tune them out and focus on just taking care of him. We upped his rice bran, hay cubes and beet pulp in addition to giving him two days on grass. I want gradual weight gain, not a quick gain. He grows hoof like crazy and is shedding normally. HE IS HEALTHY! He chooses to snooze over munching hay in his stall. He is not lacking.
 One of the biggest points we took away from the Insulin resistance seminar Joyce Harman gave was that how their weight is handled at a young age effects them when they are older. If you keep fat babies, they are at a higher risk for insulin resistance. This is a proven connection in horses and humans. Roscoe's long turn health is more important than whether mare owners want to breed to him while he is a gangly 3yr old. He is behaving so he does have time.
I told Peggy to get Larry to fatten him up while we are gone on vacation. He does a good job with his own :) Okay I vented and feel somewhat better. My horses live better than I do, so it is hard when our care is questioned.
The good news is that Roscoe has started his driving training. He wore the harness and did some ground work. The blinkers were the hardest part because so much of his work requires him to look at us, but he figured it out. Peggy had fun grooming on him and working him. This pony is a super star and if people want to pass him over, so be it.
Now time for the next thing to raise my blood pressure, Traffic.