Feeding a weanling?

[SMP]

Hi, I recently got a gorgeous new baby (about 4 months old) and it’s been years since I’ve fed one so I’d like some advice on doing it right for her. I will of course be talking with my vet also, but I know there are a lot of experienced people on here.

She’s a (soon-to-be) registered Appy and all indications are that she’s going to top out between 16 and 17hh. She’s already a lot bigger than her half-siblings and her full brother is now 15.2hh, pushing 15.3hh, as a yearling.

My experience with feeding weanlings is with foundation-bred QHs who got plump looking at feed so I never worried about feed beyond good quality hay and pasture. My new one is already tall and now pretty ribby and I’d like a little more weight on her. I know not to let her get fat, but she’s thinner than I’d like now.

So, she’s on free-choice hay, grass with more than 50% alfalfa and as soon as she’s a little less wild, she’ll be going out on good pasture. She was basically unhandled when I got her and I don’t want to put her on acres until I know I can catch her again I give all mine a vit/min supplement and flax seed (she gets her age/size appropriate amounts). I’ve been easing her onto the feed I have, which is Nutrena SafeChoice Perform. I compared the Perform and Nutrena’s mare and foal feed and they’re pretty close so I haven’t rushed out to buy a bag of the mare and foal. I don’t love Nutrena and I know people are going to recommend TC, but nowhere within reasonable driving distance carries it so I’m pretty much limited to the Nutrena products.

Is the Perform a bad choice for a weanling or can I continue using it for her? One of my others is doing well on it so I will be buying the Perform either way. If Perform isn’t great for a weanling, what is recommended?

Thanks for any advice!

[fordtraktor]

I start with a good ration balancer and move up from that as needed. My yearling is just on Essential K and a vitamin supp call “Mare Base 50” from Uckele. It is sort of like granulated Rejuvenade. I have added a fat supp like Renew Gold or TC senior as needed.

Biggest key is making sure they get all the necessary vitamins and minerals. The rest is just preference. So check whether your feed has a feeding rate for babies and feed at least that, and if it is too much or the baby is fat (not good for them) move back to a ration balancer.

[tazycat]

The quarter/TB I have was raised on pasture in summer hay in winter. Had free choice loose mineral and loose white salt, never got any grain or RB. Got just as big as the grain fed baby’s. Gal I bought him from still raises foals this way… they mature slower but are healthy.

Also never weaned before 6 to 7 months. Most are over fed they are better off being lean…not fat…and pushed for fast growth…unlesss you want joint problems.

[sublimequine]

If you’re not feeding the suggested amounts of the Safe Choice Perform I’d add a vitamin mineral supplement. My young mare was on Dumor Equistages (like generic Purina Strategy) and Grow Colt supplement in addition to ad lib grass/alf mix hay.

[JB]

IMHO, SC Perform is totally unsuitable for a young horse. Not only is it not designed for that life stage, it’s 28% NSC, which is way, way too high for a growing horse. It’s not even something I’d use for an adult unless they were working really hard and needed the extra carbs for energy (think endurance or similar)

Assuming you can also get Purina (as those 2 brands often are sold together) then use Ultium Growth. Far better feed for her.

But, the feeding rate might be too high and make her fat, so if that’s the case, use a ration balancer - Purina Enrich Plus, or Nutrena Empower Balance (NOT the Boost, that’s a fat supplement).

If you can get Triple Crown, their Growth, or 30% balancer, would be even better.

Feed to keep her lean for a couple of years. A hint of ribs. That’s far kinder to her growing joints.

[EmilyM]

We feed our babies up to 2-3 years old, Ultium Growth which is formulated to be high protein and high fat as well as to have all the minerals and vitamins they need to lay down bone and support growth. Babies definitely, need more feed than your average mature horse to help build healthy bone and muscle. Usually the bag has recommended amounts that should reduce over time as they age. Then you have to judge by their weight and behavior if you need to reduce or increase.

We also provide free choice hay and grass as well.

[SMP]

Thanks all for the input–looks like I’ll be making a trip to see what is available.

[goodhors]

[QUOTE=tazycat;8787246]
The quarter/TB I have was raised on pasture in summer hay in winter. Had free choice loose mineral and loose white salt, never got any grain or RB. Got just as big as the grain fed baby’s. Gal I bought him from still raises foals this way… they mature slower but are healthy.

Also never weaned before 6 to 7 months. Most are over fed they are better off being lean…not fat…and pushed for fast growth…unlesss you want joint problems.[/QUOTE]

This is pretty much what we do, don’t want fat baby horses here. They are babies until 5yrs, but actually still growing until 6 or longer if a big, tall horse. Slower growth, no quantity of grain, kept
lean and lanky gives a better bone quality as a mature horse. You are not overloading soft young bones and hooves with a fat body above when baby tries to run and play hard. Horses are athletes, should not be wearing a layer of fat.

Ours get a daily dose of selenium and Vit E, we have none in our soil, hay or local grains. They also get daily vitamins, mixed in wiith a handful of whole oats and cracked corn, some soybean meal and a little wet beet pulp fed once a day. We don’t use commercial feeds. I get our feed mixed to our recipe, so it has “no surprises”. That “handful” measure really is how much they get. They are on good pasture, which is fertilized yearly, kept mowed for good grazing production. Winter hay is as much as they will clean up, a grassy mix. I want a glimpse of ribs as they turn.

All our young horses are expected to mature to at least 16.2h just by their genetics. Some go to 17h, finish as large full-bodied horses. Genetics determine finished size on a horse, not the quantity of name-brand feed you give a young horse. Ours are slower maturing with this system but they don’t have problems as mature, hard performing horses over a long lifetime of use. I expect 20 years of use at the least, most last longer working for us.

I shake my head in amazement reading about the many and various problems on young animals that never really did any work! Then they get retired before reaching double digit ages, to be a burden for another 15 to 20 years. These were the foals “brought up right” following feed manufacturers recommended plan. So often ending up as a never-was anything useful, kind of horse, with issues. Not what I want to invest my time in.