I’ve seen many different feeds on the market for youngsters including specialized feeds as well as some that supposedly are good for both grown horses as well as babies.
What are people feeding their youngsters assuming they have regular access to hay or grass depending on the time of year? Does it necessarily have to be a specialized feed for babies? I’ve heard of some people feeding premium adult horse feed (Ultium, Pro Force Fuel) to babies, but just in a lesser amount.
Since the edit function doesn’t work, I should add that in feeding a baby I’d prefer to feed something specifically for youngsters…but just curious why people take other approaches
My WB yearling stays fat on good hay/grass and a ration balancer, so that is what I using. I did use Base Mix 50 from Uckele for a year or so just to be sure to cover the bases. She looks terrific.
Buckeye Gro N Win ration balancer!
If you only have 1 foal to feed, then Grow n’Win is the best. It’s also the most expensive.
A good breeder I knew fed Martin’s feeds. All her horses looked fabulous on it. But I think its Canadian.
A ration balancer and timothy pellets when needed for extra calories.
I know some people who feed regular horse feed like Pro Force Furl or Ultium to babies and just feed less of it. Any idea why they would do that?
Tribute Growth with 24/7 access to grass hay.
Triple Crown Growth. I have had very good luck sales prepping yearlings and raising foals with that and no OCD issues.
We feed a custom milled 12% textured feed with minerals with mixed hay and pasture 24/7. Youngsters are big, pleasantly round…not fat… and happy. No growth or soundness issues.
Free choice hay/grass and TC 30 RB.
Lots of great thoughts in this thread thus far. 
Grassy hay and ration balancer. I seem to rotate Purina Enrich plus and Triple Crown 30.
Young growing horses have higher nutrient requirements than the “same” adult horse. The requirements are similar to an adult in moderate to hard work. This means that most adult feeds are not formulated well for those nutritional needs.
Low sugar Growth feeds are best if the calories are needed. Ration balancers have higher feeding rates for youngsters than for adults to take into account those increased nutrient needs, so in that category, the same feed can work for an adult and, say, a yearling, but the adult might get just 1lb and the yearling 3.
I have used both a growth feed (TC Growth, pretty much the lowest NSC growth feed at the time) and a ration balancer (Progressive Grass Advantage, Tribute Essential K, and TC 30) based on the calorie needs.
Feeding less of an adult feed may well be short-changing needed nutrition. Will it make a difference? It all depends, and the effects may take years to show up. It’s less likely to matter for a 3yo than a yearling or younger.
Poulin MVP
Free choice hay and a vit/mineral/selenium block. No grain.
TC Sr. Free choice hay and grass; alfalfa when stalled due to inclement weather; free access to a mineral block.
[QUOTE=beowulf;9012664]
Poulin MVP[/QUOTE]
Another poulin vote! I have my weanling on their E-Tec Balance (RB) and free choice hay.
I really like the Tribute products. I have fed my 18 month old filly Tribute Essential K since first introducing concentrates. When its really cold out, like under 20, I will sprinkle some Kalm-EZ on top(maybe 1/2 lb). She always has access to great grass hay as well as pasture. I’m very pleased with her weight and development. Her mom is a huge fatty, so I am really watchful that she doesn’t follow in those hoof prints!! Her coat is fabulous, as are her hooves. It’s a great product. She also gets Platinum Performance with her feed, proportioned to her weight. Another great product that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend!
pasture/grass hay/mineral block, no grain or other concentrate
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