Feed for weanling??

[Helicopter]

I've just bought another mini pony, 7 months old, just weaned.........won't someone stop me

PLEASE

Anyway my question is what should a weanling be fed to promote health and wellbeing?

Obviously I can't get the feed brands you get over there so please be general.

There is plenty of grass. Too much grass.

Thanks.

 

[wingnut]

When my 2 youngest were weanlings, I fed them Purina's Omolene 300: LINK. I was very pleased with how well they did on it. Here's the stats so you can see if you have something comparable in your area.

CRUDE PROTEINMIN16.00%LYSINEMIN0.90%CRUDE FATMAX6.00%CRUDE FIBERMIN6.50%CALCIUM (CA)MIN0.90%CALCIUM (CA)MAX1.20%PHOSPHORUS MIN0.55%COPPER (CU) MIN60PPMSELENIUM (SE)MIN0.60PPMZINC (ZN)MIN220PPMVITAMIN AMIN3000IU/LBVITAMIN EMIN125IU/LB

 

[Riverrose28]

I don't know if you can get it there, but I feed legions growth and performance, 14% protien, and all the vitamins and minerals needed, no big bellies here.

 

[cretahillsgal]

My favorite, if I could ever buy it here with any regularity, is Purina Jr.

 

[ohmt]

Omelene 300 and free choice grass/alfalfa mix has given me the best results

 

[Jill]

I also really like Purina Equine Junior, or a high quality complete senior feed, for weanlings along with soft orchard grass hay.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

when my mares were wealings(boy does the time fly...) i fed them 10% Strider pellet feed twice a day(morning and night) with a flake of grass hay per horse once a day. they both seemed to do very well on it

 

[Matt73]

Young horses need higher protein and much more hay than you were feeding. A weanling should be getting pretty much unlimited grass hay with a grain/ration balancer with 14% protein or higher (mine are on Gro 'n Win which is 32% protein).

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Young horses need higher protein and much more hay than you were feeding. A weanling should be getting pretty much unlimited grass hay with a grain/ration balancer with 14% protein or higher (mine are on Gro 'n Win which is 32% protein).

i was just saying what worked for me. i never had skinny horses here and it was MUCH better than what their breeder was feeding them(only oats and a few flakes of hay which the adult mares never let the babies get near) and it fattened them up fairly well..

look, i dont want to fight over this, okay? my 'weanlings' and now 2yrs and 3yrs old so theres no point in argueing over it.

 

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

Purina Jr for my weanlings, I also feed them coastal hay and some alfalfa. They don't ever have pot bellies and have nice toplines. Weanlings need more protein than adult horses.

 

[Jill]

Just as some others have said, I also feel that weanlings / young horses need more protein than adult horses and that 10% is insufficient (for the benefit of anyone looking for good advice). This is based on having horses for 17 years, raising 20 or so weanlings, research, and conversations with vets and other owners.

 

[Marty]

Purina Equine Jr. here!

 

[chandab]

As most of our feeds by name probably aren't available in Australia, I'll try to give a fairly generic answer.

Weanlings usually do best on a growth formula (foal formula, mare&foal formula, depending on what they are called there); they are usually 16% protein, but some are 14%. Whether you choose a fortified grain to be fed with hay or pasture (like Omolene 300); or a complete feed (hay/grain all in the bag - like Equine Jr) is up to you and what works best for your situation.

I like to feed my babies, at least through their first year a growth formula; then they move over to a ration balancer so I can more closely watch their weight gain.

 

[AnnaC]

As you say that you have "plenty of grass/too much grass" then you are obviously not going to need hay to provide fibre, and preferably not too much 'extra' food. Down there, you are heading into your 'winter' months, so I presume your grass will be losing it's quality. I would therefore look for a 'balancer' to suppliment any vitamins or minerals that might be lacking in your grass - you will only need a small amount to provide him with all the 'extras' he needs.

Here I use Gro and Win (Spillers) for my youngsters as we also have plenty of grass available for the 24/7 most of the year, but I do suppliment with ad lib hay during the hard winter months.

Anna

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Nutrition is not my area of greatest expertise, so I hesitate on giving specifics.

But, yet again this week, I was on a farm where reasonably bright, well intentioned folks got reasonable, well intentioned advise that was soon going to kill the horse they were feeding.

There is a standing joke in nutrition circles that goes like this, 'there are 3 rations fed to an animal, 1)Is what the Nutritionist recommended, 2)Is what the feeder thought he was feeding, 3)Is what the animal actually got.' Like all jokes the reason this is funny is because it is true.

This thread lacks important information including the body condition of the foal today, what it is currently being fed, what it's health/parasite status are, how it is being housed, and on.

We all envision this foal looking like and having a health and life style our foals do and this can be a recipe for at least problems and maybe even disaster. In the end animals are fed the best when they are fed as individuals based on their own needs and these conditions change over time. If you are unsure of how to feed then I would encourage quarterly visits by a Vet or Nutritionist to give individual advise until you are more comfortable with your horse.

Dr Taylor

 

[Miniv]

I also really like Purina Equine Junior, or a high quality complete senior feed, for weanlings along with soft orchard grass hay.

Recommend exactly what Jill posted.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Can you give us an idea of what you can get?

I do not feed any "brand name" feeds, any more, so mine get barley, beet pulp, full fat soya, peas, beans, and flax (linseed) + peanuts, + BOSS (black sunflower seeds, the last three are ground down fine and added as an additive.

You can balance the amount of protein by juggling the amount of soya and linseed, and my foals always look good on this.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Dr. Taylor, as usual I enjoy your sense of humor, but could you perhaps expand to give us more of an understanding of what you're saying.

First, I believe that you are expressing that horses should be fed individually, to be sure they are getting their correct portions -- not what some bossy friends allow them to sneak out while others are feeding. Also, I am assuming you are meaning that horses require regular wormings to keep them parasite free. So, based on those two assumptions, how about listing "the basics" in feeding for the little ones.

I have also been one who believes that little ones need more protein than adult horses being kept "fit" and not "fat", and feed Equine Jr. or Omolene 300 to my babies and moms alike, and offer additional feed to both moms AND new babies, and do creep-feeding, so the little ones can eat when they want. I feed alfalfa hay to all horses as here in Florida, my horses stand on dry lot. So nutrition comes from their feed not the sand.

I have also started (this year) adding a Purina feed that offers 10% protein with 10% fat, which I mix with the foal ration to increase the fat content to the little ones during their growth spurts. Thought I'd try to increase their fat a bit. Everyone has been fine on this program (without the new product) for several years, so I'm not unhappy with what I feed, but if I can do better -- then tell me, as I'm always in learning mode.

So, everyone SEEMS to be doing well, but if I'm doing something wrong -- or missing the point -- please elaborate. Thanks as always.

Diane at Castle Rock

Certainly feeding animals individually rather than group settings is usually better for that animal, but that doesn't mean animals can't be fed successfully, or even more successfully, in groups. I just meant this and all animals need to be fed based on their individual needs rather than a cookie cutter method.

Higher protein diets do tend produce more rapid growth, but if the animal isn't going to be shown but rather bred, then maybe rapid growth isn't what we are looking for. When livestock are fed, replacement females are removed from the group being fed out to butcher. Replacement females fed like good healthy growing animals tend to reproduce poorly. Females fed like show steers tend to reproduce poorly. My point is pretty doesn't equal healthy.

Now, I am resistant to give a recommendation as this animal may have a low body condition score and if I say 'don't feed protein' then I was no closer to right.

Yes, regular parasite control is important, but what that means in different areas and in different situations is up for debate. I can't say 'you must worm every 'x' often' as I do not know the particulars.

I appreciate most folks want a recipe to follow, but without intimate knowledge of the situation then no one knows. And what works in one situation may not work in another.

Dr Taylor

 

[Leeana]

I feed Purina Strategy to everything, and it works wonders for my weanlings. Buckeye had a creep feed that I used and just loved, but its been two years since I have used it as my mares were left open for last year. On the Strategy they are always healthy and full of energy, along with regular worming. I have used the Equine Jr and just was not thrilled with it, I know a lot of people like it, but it never worked right for my horses. With the Strategy, I can leave them on that and don't have to change it as they age.

Big "Strategy" fan here....