What do you feed your yearlings?

[Tamara_in_TN]

[QUOTE=back in the saddle;4162229]
My filly is on the thin side and that needs to change. She gets 2lbs of Gro’nWin 2x’s/day and 1/2 can dry of beet pulp (soaked), 24.7 pasture, AND all the freechoice bermuda hay she can eat. And she’s still thin. Growing fine but thin, tall, and lankey.

by feeding bermuda hay you are intentionally limiting her intake of the hay…she cannot possibly have “all she can eat” as she will physically only be able to pack in so much into her gut…and being the low RFV it is it will slow her digestion to a crawl and prevent caloric intake

[FLIPPED_HER_HALO]

My guy seems to be an air fern. He gets 1lb a day of Enrich 32 and is on irrigated pasture (no hay except when I’m irrigating and they are on dry pasture and get orchard and rye grass). Ribs are easily felt, but he looks pretty stout like his mom.

[luvmydutch]

My girl was on Blue Seal Demand and she was skin and bones while on it. I have since switched her to ~3lbs daily of TC Growth with 1 cup of the TC 30% protein ration balancer twice a day and 2 ounces of rice bran oil. She is gaining weight slowly but surely…but I can still see her ribs…I can see a difference in her coat and energy levels already since switching to Triple Crown. She also gets as much hay as she can stomach daily…7-8 flakes of moderate quality first cut hay. (darn hay shortage in my area has left the pickins slim for hay)

[RunningwaterWBs]

@Home Again Farm;4162816

For many, many years I have fed ration balancers like Gro N Win. When they need a few extra calories, I add whole oats. I have also fed a fat supplement for extra cals. Right now my yearlings are getting Progressive Grass Plus balancer in the recommended level, 1/2 # oats per feeding and a couple of handguls of Envision (Progressive fat supplement) for extra shine, free choice loose minerals, good grass pasture and good grass hay. They looks super.

MaryLou, I’ve switched my yearling to your program as best I can (we don’t have Gro N Win in this area, but I’m using the Triple Crown equivalent). Raleska looks great! Thanks for sharing.

[Summit_Springs_Farm]

My yearling is on 3 lbs TC growth, half scoop oiled wet beet pulp, 2 cups whole oats and 1 cup calf manna, she looks great.

[FriesianX]

I think it depends on the yearling - I PREFER my yearlings to be a little “thin” - not bony looking, but on the lean side. I don’t think a plump baby is the path to a healthy horse.

Mine are on dry pasture - so they have roughage all day long to chew on. I don’t consider that to really be nutrition, so much as keeps their guts working and gives them something to do besides pummel each other.

They also get three flakes nice sized of timothy, about 20 lbs total, and 1/2 flake of alfalfa hay, and four pounds of a complete pelleted feed daily. I do vary the feed depending on how they look (Spring when pasture is green, MUCH less hay, Winter when it is cold, more hay), and they all look pretty nice. I also worm them every six weeks - I don’t like feed through wormers, so we go with paste, and rotate between ivermectin and strongid.

[Ridge_Runner]

My yearlings get mixed pasture, free choice timothy/orchard hay for forage. I feed alfalfa pellets, rice bran, flax and oats for their “grain” ration. I mix my own minerals to balance off my forage.

[xsalute]

Progressive growth and proadvantage grass (ration balancer).

[Foxtrot_s]

My vet likes the youngsters to be a little bit ribby. When people show their youngsters they like them chubbier. Yearlings are still growing very fast so their nutrition has to keep up with that, rather than putting weight on.

Our nutritionist suggested adding flax and oil for omega 3 and 6, plus some alfalfa which is good for gut health. Plus the complete pellets which actually have no grain or molasses in it, but a lot of bio-moss and probiotics. (The no-grain is replaced by soy hulls - I think ?) He gets lots of very good hay and is not fat.

In New Zealand the youngsters are very scrawny, but live a very active life on hills and eventually do make their genetic potential with long-term soundness as well.

[ayrabz]

I’m bumping this back up as this topic is very helpful (!) to me, and I’m sure others may have different suggestions since 2009----- I need to learn all I can before filly arrives!

[JB]

It isn’t rocket science

Always feed as much good quality hay as they will eat, unless you need to restrict it due to overweight issues. That’s Rule #1 no matter the age or size. If you have to restrict it, try for 2% of their desired body weight, and reduce from there if necessary.

Beyond that, keep it low sugar. There are quite a few options depending on how many calories he needs. Ration balancers can be all they get. They can be the basis of what they get, and you add something like beet pulp or alfalfa pellets for calories, adjusting up or down on a regular basis depending on weight at the time (which can fluctuate a lot during growth spurts), without compromising nutrition.

Or you can use a good quality Growth feed if they really need significant calories all the time

Growing youngsters need significantly more nutrition than adults, even harder working adults. So don’t short-change them by feeding just hay, if that keeps them in good weight, unless you know the analysis of the hay and it’s just awesome.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Here’s what I do–sounds like it is similar to what a lot of people on here do. Unlimited hay, water and free choice mineral/salt.

I feed ration balancer of choice (Enrich 32, Topline 32, TC 30%–those are what I can get) and unlimited grass hay. If you need more calories than you can get from the ration balancer following the guidelines, then add oats.

If you still need more calories than you want to feed from the above, than drop the oats and ration balancer and feed Triple Crown Growth or another feed formulated specifically for yearlings.

[stoicfish]

It’s isn’t rocket science but it can get a bit technical. I am feeding alfalfa hay which is very high in calcium so I have to watch the calcium phosphorus ratio which should be 1:1 or 2:1 other wise it could have a detrimental effect on bone development. Also feed a pelleted ration, mineral and a pre/probiotic mix that the local racetrack/chuck wagon guys rave about and flax.
There should be enough protein, which is easy to figure out, but it is the mineral ratio’s that can throw you off. This area/land is high in iron and they are starting to think surplus iron can throw off the copper and zinc, which are very important for development. Problem is most mineral also have a lot of iron.
Also overfeeding grain/pellets at one time is thought to be responsible for issue in the large intestine so the rations must be feed in small portions to young horses. If they need 8pds a day, it should be in 4 smaller meals. http://www.thehorse.com/articles/29677/starch-digestion-in-horse-diets

Ration balancer is a good way to get the nutrients in without all the bulk.

[EventerAJ]

Mine eats 1qt beet pulp (before water added) and 1.5lbs ration balancer twice a day. He gets about 8-10lbs straight alfalfa, and free choice orchardgrass.

For ration balancer, I mix Buckeye Grow N Win and Grow N Win Alfa to reflect the mixed forage he gets. Prior to mixing the feeds, he had a bit of physitis in his front ankles…he surely wasn’t being overfed, rather it was caused by mineral imbalance.

I prefer feeding as little concentrates as possible and keeping good quality forage as a foundation for my horses’ diet. My older horses get the same basic feed-- ration balancer and beet pulp-- and if they need more calories I add oats and oil. With that and good alfalfa, I’ve put weight on skinny OTTBs who couldn’t gain on maximum amounts of high-cal sweet feeds.

[winter]

Stoicfish, which supplement are you talking about that the racetrack guys are raving about? I’m curious!
Interesting about the iron, I am going to look into that.
Thanks!

[stoicfish]

[QUOTE=winter;7460922]
Stoicfish, which supplement are you talking about that the racetrack guys are raving about? I’m curious!
Interesting about the iron, I am going to look into that.
Thanks![/QUOTE]

http://www.feedstoretoyourdoor.com/equine-choice-digestive-aid/
The chuck guys like it too. I had a young one with ulcers and tried it as a preventative measure. I’ve used it for about two years.

http://www.equiman.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=503774 some more reviews

[RanchoAdobe]

For all those who don’t have access to grass pastures (yes mine still live out 24/7 in 3-5 acres in a herd):

60% premium Tim/Orchard mix
30% alfalfa
TDI Ration Balancer
A handful of A&M to sweeten
1/4 cup TDI omega 3/ omega 6 balanced fat supp
500iu Natural Vitamin E

[VirginiaBred]

It’s really more about good quality hay than grain. Check your hay and upgrade if you need to.

As a long time breeder, I’d be remiss not to throw another vote in for Calf-Manna - https://www.mannapro.com/products/calf-manna/

Another excellent choice would be Cool Calories - http://www.stfproducts.com/products/cool-calories-100.html

[rosebudranch]

My 11 Mos colt and coming 2 yr old filly are both in lanky stages… plus the extreme cold we’ve had the last week or so hasnt helped. They are out 24/7 but with all the moisture their pasture is pretty much mud and I’m giving their summer pasture a break so it’ll be nice for spring. They both get per day not per feeding: about 4-5 lbs Tribute Growth, 2 lbs Tribute K Finnish (fat supplement), 2 lbs BOSS, 2 oz Wheat germ oil (when it isnt frozen), and 1/2 lb Calf Manna.

Then theres my coming 3 yr old paint pony who looks at grass and stays plump… he gets 2 lbs oats, 1 lb BOSS, 1/2 lb calf manna.