Conditioning weanlings/yearlings over the winter

[Alisha514]

I have a 2009 filly that I kept this yr and would like to show her next yr. What is the best way to condition her over the winter. I figure the thing that would help the most is proper feeding but what all should I be giving her? Right now she has the weanling pot belly look with no butt or shoulders. I would like to feed her properly to get her filled out nicely. Also when do you start working them? Come spring should I just let her run herself? What do you guys do to get your weanlings show ready for their yearling year?

Thanks,

Alisha

 

[Leeana]

I have two weanling colts that are here right now that I am "prepping" for 2010 to take out as yearling ... both are just eating and growing, eating and growing (in no particular order

). I bring them in at night, however, they are outside with room to run and play and mature. They are on Purina Strategy, Beet Pulp and a loose mineral suppliment. They look fine, one has a bit of a pasture belly but is filled in nicely over the topline and a good front and back end on him so I feel it is more of a hay belly. I worm monthly as well on the babies well into their yearling year.

I think the best thing you could do is just let them out to run and mature, there really isn't much you can do with the babies over winter I don't think except encourage growth and nutrition. I halter trained them back over the summer, I have not handled them much apart from that except for farrier and worming.

 

[Mominis]

I'm new to minis, but in our larger horses that we would show in the futurities, we would let them be babies from after the first show until about January. This was to have them in top shape for the yearling futurity showing in June, so about 6 months of conditioning was needed to have them "World Show" fit and ready to show. During the winter (our last show was usually late October/early November) we would just keep their weight up and I really liked starting them in conditioning in January just a touch fat. They had as much outside turnout time as possible for those few months break or in the indoor arena when the weather was awful. The only work that was done with them was general grooming, making them mind their manners in hand, and just being good citizens in general.

On another thread, I mentioned that I dislike Equine Jr., so our babies got Omelene 200 and plenty of hay. I'd supplement that with oil in the winter. Usually by spring, I'd switch over to freshly ground flax because of the flies being attracted to the oil (also a good excuse to hubby for buying a new coffee grinder every spring **heehee**). When January would roll around, we would start working on cardio conditioning and not really get into any serious muscle development work for a good 60 days. Cardio work with yearlings is dicey business as you want to keep joint torque down to a minimum, so we would alternate round pen days with free longing.

In the round pen they needed to learn how to walk, halt, walk transition as well as walk, trot, walk transition. Getting that through to them takes up a good bit of time but is also a sneaky way of making them step up under themselves and begin to engage the muscles of the topline. They are working their bodies and their brain at the same time. We would never canter the babies in the round pen until they had these transitions down pat. It has been my experience that cantering in the round pen too soon will cause the horse to become unbalanced and lead to swapping out the hind lead and/or dropping the inside shoulder.

Free longing babies is a great way to get them to really play and show their personalities. They are getting a really good workout without realizing it because they are having so much fun playing with you. It is easy to overdo it in free longing because you can get so into the game. It is great bonding, good training for liberty, and just big fun! Hope this helps you.

 

[kaykay]

We just feed them and feed them and let them play. Our weanlings have free choice equine jr and hay until they are yearlings.

We dont "condition" horses this young. If they get enough time out to play they keep themselves pretty fit.

We halter train them during fall and then leave them alone

I think a big mistake is over practicing. They are so young and dont have a lot of attention span so when we do practice come Feb, march we limit it to about 10 mins and stop

 

[krissy3]

I dont condition a yearling or weanling. They eat and play...at 2 years old I start with a little training in hand lots of manners exposure to new things take them to shows but maybe let them in just 1 class if they can handle it etc... by 3 they are ready for lunging, hill work , conditioning, ground driving and showing...

 

[Minimor]

our weanlings just get to be horses, playing and eating and growing. They get free choice hay (alfalfa mix) and grain (either oats or a mix of oats and Frontrunner 14% pellets--those are great for getting rid of the bellies and rounding the topline)--the two weanling colts this year started picking through their grain, eating the oats and leaving the pellets in the pails, so now they're getting only oats.

We do not round pen our yearlings. People say that longe line work is bad for legs but round penning is okay. I disagree. Roundpenning still means circling, and circle work stresses young legs. Our yearlings free longe in a 60' x 120' corral--IMO that's far easier on their legs because so much of their "work" is on the straight line.

Our first show in 2010 is in mid June. We'll start conditioning our horses in late April, weather permitting, or the first of May--if they get 6 weeks of conditioning they will be looking good by show time. Sometimes if we are just showing one yearling I will not free longe him at all, just take him out jogging--I'm not normally a runner (so NOT into jogging!) but when it comes to conditioning a young horse I'll go out & jog around the countryside with him.

Our weanlings know how to lead, and tie, and I will have started teaching them a little bit about setting up & showing but not enough that they will be good at it. I'll start on that training in the spring, again in the early part of May or late April if it's a nice spring--by the end of a month they'll be setting up & showing well.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Pretty much what the others have said except my foals stay out all winter, they have a run in shed which they do not use(!!) and they still have loads of grass.

If I were going to show a couple I might bring them in a couple of weeks before as I would need to clip, ditto the yearling colt, who will be two next year.

Still no exercising, though, as a couple of hours turn out of a hormone ridden two year old is about all the exercise that he needs!

 

[Alisha514]

I guess ill just keep doing what im doing then. She get out during the day and is stalled at night. I have also heard that lunging or round pen work is bad on their legs. right now she only gets a half a cup of 12% sweet feed in the morning and night and a half flake of hay morning and night. Should I up her grain a little and maybe give her oats ontop of the sweet feed? Should I give her some beet pulp also?

Alisha

 

[Shaladar]

If she is all belly and no shoulders or butt, I would up her feed and protein. EVERYONE feeds different. We live in different areas, we have different beliefs, doesn't mean one is right or one is wrong....whatever keeps the horses in good shape.

An example of what my weanling are eating right now:

We live in northern California, and grow our own grass hay.

29" 8 mos. old filly, medium build. Should mature around 32

30" 10 mos. colt,(soon to be gelded) med. build. mature around 33"?

Both are in excellent weight, no bellies, chubby all around. Just like I like them going into winter.

AM: 2 cups Equine Jr

3 cups Omolene 200

then out to Irrigated green pasture.

PM: 3 cups Equine Jr.

3 cups Omolene 200

2 cups Alfalfa pellets

grass hay that is mostly Orchard grass.

On the days they don't go out because of weather, I will substitute soaked alfalfa cubes for the pellets just to make sure they get enough water into them.

I am not a fan of Equine Jr, but am trying it this year. The filly doesn't really care for it, so I will be giving her more Alfalfa pellets and dropping the Jr. They were getting omolene 300, but I just switched to 200. They get the alfalfa pellets because MYO , I think they need alfalfa. For ME, I think it goes back to the days of big horses, when our horses got Alfalfa and Oats...that was it...oh and that yellow vitamin..........clovite, thats it. And they looked awesome!!!!!

Oh, and I don't work my weaners other than to halter them, teach them to tie, clip, etc. The usual stuff.

They eat well. so they feel well and run and play a lot.

Hope this helps.

Sue

 

[Mominis]

I'm not a huge fan of beet pulp. To fill out a baby (or anyone for that matter) you might try CocoSoya Oil. That stuff is a miracle for putting weight on a horse. We also gave ours Strongid, but I'm totally unsure of it's use in minis. When you say a 14% feed, you need to think of the quality of feed that you are working with. I like Purina's Omelene products because they are milled exclusively in horse feed mills. Cross contamination with other livestock feeds in mills less exclusive can alter the feed quality and even cause some other health issues. With Omelene, some oil (if she needs weight or her coat quality is poor), and plenty of hay, you should be all set.

Edited to add: Shaladar, I haven't thought of Clovite in years! lol That brings back memories.

 

[Minimor]

Alisha--you don't say how tall your filly is, but regardless, a 1/2 cup of grain once a day isn't very much. Most of my foals are taller B's but last year I had a couple of smaller colts and they got the same amount as the bigger colts did. Mine get grain twice a day--if I'm giving oats and pellets combined then they get a 500 ml cottage cheese container of pellets and that same 500 ml container heaped with oats, and they get that amount 2x a day. Right now since my colts don't care for the pellets they're getting 2 scoops (500 ml container) of oats twice a day--that's for each.

My Frontrunner Phase 2 pellets contain brewers yeast, which I credit for helping the youngsters lose that potbellied look that babies sometimes get when they're weaned & put only hay & grain only.

I've never been a big fan of beet pulp--some people swear by it, but it's not something we've ever used (did try it one year long ago & weren't thrilled with it so have never used it again).

You don't say what kind of hay you're feeding or how much a flake of hay weighs. With my own hay--which is very good quality alfalfa/grass mix--well, I would have to say that a half flake 2x a day is much less than what I feed. I give each weanling 2 flakes morning and night--they always have hay in front of them this way and can eat as much as the like. My hay flakes are not light--these colts are getting a good amount of hay but they are in super shape on this ration. Your hay may be heavier than mine, but if your filly is all belly and needs more rounding over her hips and shoulders then I would say that she should have more feed (hay & grain) than what she is currently getting.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

As said everyone feeds differently and, if the animal looks as you want it to, there is no need to change.

My weanlings get 1 cup barley, 1 cup Beet pulp, 1 cup Alfalfa pellets, Flax seed, BOSS (both ground) mixed and soaked with hot water, then fed mixed with good dried grass chaff.

They get this once a day, but have free access to hay, and there is still good grass (albeit without much goodness in it at this time of year).

They are out all the time with a run in shed, but they would not use it, not even yesterday when we had a force 9 gale and horizontal rain!!!

Even Rabbit went and stood in his stall in that!!

Not the weanlings though, they just stood with their backs against a bush and told everyone they were starving and freezing to death.

I expect the call from the RSPCA any minute now!!