Weanlings for Dummies?!

[Personal_Champ]

So…

I acquired a weanling this weekend. And I know nothing about babies.

She seems to be in good shape - coat nice, a bit ribby but I would imagine that’s good. I personally think she’s crazy tall for her age - she will be 6 months next week and already is about 13.2 at the wither (guess) and 14 h in the rear. Is this normal? Abnormal?

What do I feed her? Right now just feeding her ration balancer as she was a bit unexpected and that’s what my mare eats, and free choice Timothy and grass.

Tips? Tricks? Idiot’s guide?

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

My weanling got ration balancer.

Bringing Up Baby was a good book for me. I wasn’t 100% faithful to the training method, but it was a nice overview of what a weanling/yearling should/could know.

Where is she at on worming? Are her feet balanced? I think these two are extra important for babies/weanlings.

[Personal_Champ]

Feet look good and were done July and August.

I do have a worming and vaccination schedule (both already done and what she is due for in the future).

[Kerole]

My weanlings are on ration balancer and hay too. They do well on this. A bit of rib showing is not unusual but maybe you could have a tweak of the diet and see if you can reduce the ribby look before winter. Babies need a bit of covering in the colder months.

Best of luck - you’re in for an immensly fun time!

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Mine had free-choice hay too…just to clarify.

[JB]

That height is not “crazy tall” for any horse who’s going to be 16.2+ or so

I fed my weaner a ration balancer from the time he graduated from foal feed, all Progressive. He’s coming up on 18 months now and he’s remained on their Grass Balancer, at rates appropriate for his age. It’s worked very well for him as he hasn’t needed significant calories beyond hay/grass.

If you find this one can’t maintain good weight on just forage and the ration balancer, then I’d look at Triple Crown Growth as a great low sugar alternative, as you can feed a good deal more of it for calories.

[Personal_Champ]

Thanks, guys.

I had just envisioned that she would be… smaller. Don’t get me wrong - thrilled that she’s big as I am 5’9". I am just completely out of my element!

I don’t want her as fat as an adult horse, though, do I?? I thought I remembered reading somewhere that some rib is ok?

Here’s a photo of her, it’s set to public so you should be able to view it: https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=3625944363074&set=a.1514999070761.2068071.1107968039&type=1&theater

Thoughts? Any observations welcome! She was fresh off the trailer there from a 3 hour ride… such a good baby!

[Real_Rush]

Now is a good time to start introducing her to “grown up” things, like leading properly, tieing, loading on a trailer, using clippers, picking up feet, etc. (not to mention it’s a heck of a lot easier to teach these things when they’re smaller and easier to manipulate.) You want them to look slightly ribby for awhile. Feed enough to promote growth, but not grow too fast; sounds like she’s right about where she should be, as was stated by someone else. Aside from the basic ground manners, good nutrition and health care, the best thing for a baby is simply to be out to play and move around and learn good herd dynamics from a tolerant, mature horse or pony (or even donkey). Good luck!

[JB]

She’s a wee bit ribby even for my taste, BUT, as long as her nutrition is up to par, it’s really ok, and she may look like this simply from the trip and not drinking. And she may be here because she just grew some and will “fatten” up shortly.

No horse should be fat, not even adults A slight hint of ribs is ok even for adults. But, adults can carry a bit more fat without detriment because they aren’t weighing down growing bones and joints.

I would take a look at her hind pasterns - they look big, but it may be the angle/lighting.

[sportnhorse]

She’s a very nice filly, but def needs some more meat on her bones You should be able to feel the ribs if you press gently on the sides, but certainly not see them. There’s a definite correlation between nutrition as a youngster and metabolism as an adult. You want her to reach her full potential, withholding correct nutrition wouldn’t be doing that.
You can also see her neck is quite thin. I think she’d look quite different with a few more kg’s on her.
Goodl Luck!

[Personal_Champ]

JB - I like my horses leaner than the average hunter person, but even I thought she was a bit on the thin side.

I have her on a half pound of RB twice a day - my particular balancer (Blue Seal) recommends a half pound to a pound for weanlings.

I also thought her back right and front left ankles looked puffy, but they seem to have gotten better since she has been turned out. I am not really sure what a normal baby leg looks like, so I am cruising the internet and learning as much as I can so I am not behind the 8 ball, so to speak. IF they are bigger than they should be, what could that indicate?

[JB]

Is the Blue Seal the Sunshine Plus product?

I’m quite confused as to why it only recommends .5-1lb for a weanling. I don’t know any other RB that recommends that little. Progressive is about 3-3.5lb, Enrich 32 is 2.5-3lb, Seminole Equalizer is 2lb, etc

“big ankles” would be epiphysitis, inflammation of the growth plates/physitis. If things are reducing since you got her, then it may be from how she was fed/turned out before you got her, and your program is fixing all that It would be a good idea to have your vet look, assuming s/he knows anything about that

[Personal_Champ]

Yep - the Sunshine Plus. That’s what my mare eats, but she gets 2 pounds a day, which falls into their recommended as well. Maybe I should look into another brand? I can get Purina or TC, but my mare signifigantly prefers the Sunshine, which is why I was hoping it would work for the little one…

I plan on having the vet out soon as she is due for some shots soon and will definitely have her take a look - just don’t want to miss something important in the meantime because I don’t know what I am looking at!

Should I be looking into Rejuvinade or anything of the sort?