Malnourished sorta?

Question
Hello!

I will be taking care of a 2-year-old Morgan/Arab colt for the next 9 months. His growth was stunted, due to being malnourished about a year ago. He's about the size of a yearling, instead of a 2 year old.

He's eating hay and sweet feed at the present moment. I was told to switch him to a feed with more protein (14-16%), because he's not skinny--he's just shorter than he should be.

He's the correct weight for his height (I'd estimate about 12-13 h), but he should be somewhere around 15 h, I do believe, so I'm not exactly sure what I should feed him. His grass consumption is limited also, I'm afraid.

Should he still receive mare and foal?
Also, how much should I feed him and of what feed would you suggest?

I don't plan on doing any heavy work with him--just longeing a couple times a week, maybe getting him broken into a saddle (English), so it doesn't need to be a lot of feed.

Any information that you could give me would be much appreciated!

Thank you so much!

Answer
Hi Kelly,

My first suggestion is to geld this horse.  He is not a good breeding prospect and by gelding him he will most likely grow taller and fill out as all his energies will go to growth rather than sexual maturity.  I certainly wouldn't breed from him.

If he's not too thin then I wouldn't change his feed.  No amount of feed now is going to make him grow any more than he already is.

Don't forget that he's still very much a baby and his bones and tendons are still growing.  Make sure you keep his work very light for the next year or so.

Good luck!