However, if mom and the foal are only eating grass/grass hay, some alf in the diet can be a Very Good Thing because of the calcium 
Itās an all-alf diet that can cause problems.
Good rest of the post regarding enzymes
Piatt Farms, just be careful about oil and foals - itās calories without terribly valuable nutrition. Great for additional calories if she just wonāt/canāt eat enough to maintain decent weight, but if those calories come at the expense of nutrition, it can backfire
Ok, I found some science articles on it. It doesnāt say they canāt digest it, just that they digest it poorly (at the age my guy is).
What would you suggest then (other than grain) to a large growing colt that has access to grass and hay at all times (and mom) and was getting ribby, and not just a little ribbyā¦
ration balancer
Little to no grains in those
But even some of the āmare and foalā feeds have little to no grains in them. Triple Crown Growth has oats, but itās way down the list - itās largely alfalfa and beet pulp-based.
hmm a low grain āgrainā might be good. But a ration balancer is only going to be useful if he is getting enough calories elsewhere. My concern with him is right now getting enough calories (with nutrition) in him whilst he grows.
JB- Good to note! I will try her bucket without the oil and only a sprinkle of the Total Control to see if she will still eat.
Momās getting the oil to add some calories so I just made the same for baby.
Thanks for the advice!
Aven, Iād give your colt milk pellets until he is at least 4 months old, if the dam does not seem to be producing enough for him. Normally, foals do not need supplementing. I like to start them on a ration balancer when they are about 4 months old to make the transition of weaning smoother. But, normally, hard keeping mares get ribby, while their foals do not. So, if your foal is really ribby, my guess is mom is not producing enough milk. Hope that helps.
Ration balancer is for the nutrition. Itās a perfect base for adding no-grain/low starch calories in the form of alfalfa pellets and/or beet pulp (thoroughly soaked for a foal)
I have ponies. They live out 24/7 and we live in Florida. We have 70 acres. My nursing moms get grain 2xās a day. No hay once the pasture comes in. Baby has a little bucket hung next to moms. Mom gets a 12 % sweetfeed. Foals get Purina Ultium Growth. Some pick at it and some gobble it up. They are on great pasture grass and hog fat. One of the reasons that we start hanging buckets for the foals early on ( real early on) is because these little ponies are just into their mothers grain as early as 2 or 3 days old. We keep the buckets VERY HIGH, and I swear, the foals leap up to see what is in the bucket!! LOL
I like them eating grain before we wean. Even with good pasture they need more IMHO. I do not wean until 5 or 6 months.
The enzyme issue that ise mentions is specific to the digestion of proteins.
The digestive enzymes of the foal gradually evolve between 3 and 4 months of age to digest plant protein instead of just milk protein.
Thanks all for you thoughts on the subject.
One reason I ask about the grain as it is hit or miss with my baby. Tonight she was not really for the grain, but I did manage to get her to eat most of it before she went to the hay for the night. Baby does get Momās milk, but does not nurse often. Mom actually has to call her to nurse! Baby just really likes the grass! When she is on grass she completely forgets about Mom and it has been this way since she was 4 days old. She is very independant little one!
The Nutrena Life Design Mare and Foal is what is available at TSC near me. If I go to another feed place they have to order the Mare and Foal feed as they do not carry it in stock and I only go through about a bag a week so not worth it.
Baby is definaely growing like I feed her Miracle Grow, so I guess she is just doing her thing. Just so different than all the other babies I have raised over the years.
Well weāve had horses that donāt eat all of their grain right when they are fed and so it can be with foals. If the foal is getting very ribby - I would pull a fecal on it to make sure you donāt have a parasite situation. And we always follow the old saying āribs - no hipsā -i.e. itās o.k. to see some ribs but if the hips are sticking out they need more weight.
Not being from NA, I find the term āgrainā really confusing ā¦ to me, grain is āācornāā, or āāmealiesāā and āāmaizeāā as we call it. I am guessing āgrainā in NA refers to any type of equine concentrate feed?
We only feed Balancer pellets to suckling foals, and only from 2+ months of age, for a variety of the above-mentioned reasons, some being that it is really the only safe way one can get the required amount of proper NUTRITION into the foal in the smallest possible quantity. The amount is adjusted according to the foalās age. At about 4 months of age, we start adding the correct amount of a super-fibre based concentrate to the feed. Itās a negligible amount at first and increases according to the foalās size / age. No maize, no molasses.
A variety of quality grass (hay) i.e. before the lignin stage is reached, should also be fed ad lib to foals. Iāve never had a foal OD on grass or hay, but there are many foals who have been overfed concentrates of one type or another and had to live with the consequences the rest of their lives. Also, foals (horses) which are overfed grain tend to eat less grass and hay, which obviously isnāt a good thing either. There really is a fine line between enough concentrates, and too little or too much. Each breed is different and each horse within that breed is different. During the growth stages of a foal itās imperative that the right balance is found.
I agree with the absolutely no sweet feed for foals. Itās like feeding a child a sugar-based diet.
I AM from NA and this is frustrating to me too :lol: Yes, very often āgrainā means any sort of concentrate, which is why I try to make it a point to spell out the difference between the cereal grains and concentrates in general.
Great post
One reason I ask about the grain as it is hit or miss with my baby. Tonight she was not really for the grain, but I did manage to get her to eat most of it before she went to the hay for the night.
The baby should NOT be eating grain. She should be eating Foal Starter or milk based pellets, not grain. When the foal is 3-4 months old, you can start adding ration balancer to the milk based pellets and gradually, over a period of time, change over the ratio to eventually be feeding ration balancer as you wean them off pellets.
Grain as stated by many people here is not digested by foals less than 3-4 months of age. It spills out of the stomach into the hindgut where it is fermented and creates āacid gut syndromeā. This is thought to be one of the major causes of cribbing. I wouldnāt even feed a baby Mare and Foal. It is designed more for mares than foals.
Also, as to feeding mares and why they become ribby with a foal on them - basically, youāre just not feeding them enough. A mareās protein requirements DOUBLE when nursing a foal. She needs . more . food! if she is getting ribby. Basically more calories. Add soy bean meal (if the horse doesnāt have problems with soy) and ground flax meal to the ration, as well as doubling the ration balancer. There is absolutely no need for mares to lose weight with a foal at side. Itās just a matter of learning how to feed them. If they get ribby, they just need more calories - fat and or oats. Soy bean meal and ground flax have both and work very well to add to the diet.
