Nutrition During Life Stages – Foal, Weanling, Yearling

Foal:

• Nursing but will begin to eat feeds and mare feces within 24 hrs

• Supplemented via creep feed to cover nutritional gaps

• Can only digest milk-based proteins

• May experience loose stool due to lack of digestive enzymes

• If foal is nursing >30 minutes per session, this may indicate the mare is not producing enough milk

Weanling:

• Tremendous growth at this stage

• Begins at 3-4 months of age

Yearling:

• At high risk of developing DOD lesions

DOD (Developmental Orthopedic Disease)

• Umbrella term for all disorders that involve skeletal muscle growth occurring abnormally or sub-optimally

• Nutrition is the number one reason behind occurrence, however genetics and management are also considered

• Periods of stress often "ignite" the lesion

• Sudden changes to the diet are hallmarks of DOD; sudden introduction, free-choice access, or improper types of concentrates are often to blame

• Not always excess amounts!

 Adolescent

• 2-4 years of age

• DOD often diagnosed in this stage

• Very dependent on training level

• Because they are still growing, if entering training at this stage, amino acids, trace minerals, and vitamins will need to be supplemented to support not only their increased activity but also their continued growth

 Adult

• Dependent on activity level

• Sometimes considered 3 different stages:

  • Maintenance: Good quality forage can be enough if supplemented with water and salt

  • Performance: Energy should be supplemented, on top of well-balanced and adequate vitamins and minerals (forage balancer)

  • Reproduction: Decrease ration after weaning or when not in breeding season

 Senior

• Generally require more due to a decrease in digestive ability

• Good quality forage can be enough for a horse of healthy BCS in good weather, and when supplemented with water, salt, and forage balancer

• Consider dentition → Some senior horses can no longer chew stem forage, therefore should be supplemented with soaked hay cubes/pellets

• Pain or arthritis may slow horse down

  • Close attention to condition during colder months is a necessity

Basic Do's and Don'ts to Feeding

• Make decisions based on the individual horse

• Maximize forage before adding grain

• Feed by weight NOT volume

• Make changes to feed slowly

• Feed on a set schedule

• Pay attention to pecking order in a group setting

• Don't feed supplements unless they are needed

• Don't feed more than 4-5 lbs of grain in one feeding, this increases colic risk extremely

• Don't feed grain just to feed grain

Food Triangle

A diet combined with varying grasses and hays comes the closest to providing the nutrient mix that matches the average horse's needs.

Equine Food Pyramid (bottom to top):

• Forage: 80-90% grasses and 10-20% legumes (alfalfa and clover)

• Salt

• Water

• Concentrates

• Vit. & Minerals