I am a new breeder and my mare is expected to foal next month. She’s a large warmblood and so expecting the foal to be large. Everything I’m reading says OCD can be, partly, caused by feeding high concentrates as a diet. Mare and foal will be on 10 acres with one other horse so plenty of forage.
What, if anything, aside from good hay does this foal require? Obviously I will discuss this in depth with my vet.
What is the mare currently eating? Low copper in a mare’s later term diet is linked to DOD issues (including OCD)
Feed her WELL from a nutritional standpoint, so her milk is good quality
OCD is more than just “high concentrates”. It’s high sugar and starch, and/or low and/or unbalanced minerals. Low NSC feeds can be fed in large amounts for hard keepers and not have problems (though never say never).
The foal will require more than just “good hay”. There is no forage that provides enough of all nutrients, and/or in the best ratios, for any horse. Calories, sure. Nutrition is separate from calories.
If you want to really dial in, get your hay tested…If you can’t do that (and most can’t) then it’s a best guesstimate game
I always recommend foals start with a milk-based pellet if they need calories while still nursing. Progressive Nutrition Foal’s First Starter & Creep is a good one. Not a milk replacer, that’s different.
If he doesn’t need calories, still make sure the mare is eating well.
Assuming you wean at 6+ months, have him weaned onto a ration balancer by that time. Depending on his expected mature weight, he might easily ramp up to 3lb of that a day
His nutritional needs are similar to his adult self in moderate work - some a lot more, some a little less. And that’s with a forage intake of substantially less than his adult self. A month old foal who is to be a 600kg (1320lb) adult needs 800gm protein, and if he’s eating 12lb of 10% hay, that’s only 544gm. by 12 months he needs 1000gm, and is eating maybe 15/18lb, so at 10% that’s 681-817gm. 20-30% alfalfa can help that a lot, but not always an option. That just gives you an idea of why you feed so much more of a balancer than you do to most adults.
And if he’s to be closer to 1500lb? Obviously the numbers go up, and you said the dam is a large girl, so…
As his forage intake increases, his total nutritional needs start decreasing once he’s past a year, so generally ever 6-9 months you can decrease the balancer by 1/2lb or so
Beyond that? It really depends on the forage. If there’s not enough grass, some extra Vit E is a good idea. Your forage analysis may show you what additional nutrients you need, most likely copper and zinc.
Sadly most vets don’t seem to have a handle on adult nutrition, much less foal nutrition, so keep that in mind when you talk to your vet.
Thanks, mare is on LMF development right now as per vets recommendation. Thanks for all the info, its definitely somewhere to start my research!
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