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Topic: Wow! Feeding baby and size (Read 2165 times)
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Deb
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My filly started eating grain about two weeks ago (she's now 12 1/2 weeks old). My vet said to feed 1 pound twice per day unless she seems to be growing too fast. Well, this is my first baby and I think she was growing too fast before she started eating grain.  Mom is a very ample provider and the baby is no drain at all on her. Anyway, I worked baby up to about 1/2 pound twice per day and then went on vacation. I just returned after 5 days and, to me anyway, the filly seems to be getting a tummy. I'm afraid she may be thinking about another growth spurt and I sure don't want the grain to encourage it too much. At 12 1/2 weeks, she is already appox. 13 hands. Do ya'll think I should continue to increase her feed to the recommended 1 pound per day? Decrease it a little instead? Mare and baby are on pasture 24/7. Thanks!! My other Anglo-Trak mare could stay fat on air.
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Eileen
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Deb,
I went through the same thing with my colt last year (the one who is now 15.3 at 14 months). The vet told me I wasn't feeding him enough and that I should wean him early. Talking with my stallion owner and other breeders, this was not what they recommended. When they're growing so fast, you do not want to put weight on those new bones. You don't want him to be malnourised either. I was told to not be in a hurry to wean, and hold back on the grain as long as possible. You may also have to cut back the quality or amount of grain fed to the mare. At about four months, I moved our mare (also an easy keeper and heavy milker) back to the normal grain she was receiving before pregnancy and early pregnancy instead of the grain for nursing mares. She continued to maintain her weight and the colt certainly continued to grow. We really watched for any signs of uprightness in his pasturns as well as any other signs of OCD. We trimmed his feet, primarily his heels every few days to keep the ligaments stretched out since that is what shortens or has a hard time keeping up woth the growth (this is from the Strasser trim and the natural horse trimming -- email me privately if you want more info on this). We did not have to have the ligament check luckily and he has very straight legs now. We do continue to have the heels kept lower -- not a long toe either. Due to some family illnesses, I was gone when it was time to wean at six months so he didn't get weaned until he was eight months old -- no ill effects that we could see. We still keep grain to small amounts considering his size and growth rate. He has all the hay he will eat. He is a little ribby as are most yearlings. He has a wonderfully shiny coat, is not hyper(can be caused by too much grain or wrong protein level), and is a very happy, healthy easy to handle colt. I don't feel there is a certain amount of grain that is right for all horses. I believe in watching and judging what is right for each one. If you feel she is getting a belly ( and you're certain it is not parasites or some other health problem), then I would cut the grain. Do not stress those young bones with too much weight-- they aren't very solid yet. Also I would make certain she gets lots of exercise. If she has buddies to play with, great, if not, (as in my case), then ride the mare in a safe area and let the filly run along side. My mare seemed to really enjoy this as well as the colt. And I know I did. My colt got so he would race and race when we did this, even though the mare was primarily trotting. That will also help make certain those ligaments don't contract if you are concerned she is growing too fast.
Hope this helps, but nothing is foolproof and you are the best judge as you see her everyday and know what she's doing.
Take care,
Eileen
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Deb
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Eileen: Thanks for the great information!! I'm not sure that I'm comfortable doing her trims as I'm afraid I would do more harm than good. What I have done is cut back a little bit on her food and mix the baby food with the lower protein pellets I feed the mares. I've cut back on the dams feed just a little (may cut back more). She's bred back but doesn't seem to be suffering in the least. I had started riding her mother but she developed a cough and minor snots so we medicated and I stopped riding for a few weeks. I went back to it yesterday. I put the babies "auntie" in the next field when I ride (so I don't have two running all over while I'm riding). The result is that my filly runs between her mother and her auntie and gets lots of excercise. Weather permitting, I will continue to do this several times a week. In the meantime, all three of my horses are out 24/7 and sometimes take themselves for runs. While riding yesterday, I sure didn't see any signs of problems. Filly was having a gay old time. I wonder if there are any light stretching excercises that are appropriate for a baby? Given that neither mom nor baby seem to be suffering for any lack of food, I may cut back grain again just a little bit. We've had tons of rain here and they are getting excellent grass this year.
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Eileen
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Deb,
There is an article in July's The Horse magazine on flexoral deformities, both congenital and acquired. There is also more info on the internet at their website: www.TheHorse.com under conformation Angular Limb Deformities and Flexoral Deformities, under Lameness -- Club Feet and West, C. Shoeing in the Frontal and Horizontal Planes, Article #4252.
Don't know if I agree with all of it, but would definitely consider it. If she does start to show signs of OCD, the Strasser method has some suggestions. I haven't had to use them myself, but I know some who have and feel they are miracle workers.
Keep me posted,
Eileen
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Leena
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I have made enough reading on this and working with a vet specialised in repro., handling a breeding farm of 90 horses.
Discussion around feeding are always the same: we want to feed properly without having to deal with weight excess, colics and some tendons and ligaments problems.
Since a foal request 16% protein, why don't you test your pasture and ajust supplement and grain after. If your pasture is at 13% protein, you won't need grain but just supplement. If your pasture is testing only at 9%, then you adjust.
One of my friend is only giving hay/alfafa to his foals; they are on 24/7 turn out as well and growing very well.
Good Luck !!!!
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Joy
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I don't feed babies a lot of grain, and keep them on their mothers as long as possible. The hind gut matures much more slowly than front, so a pot belly is an indicator of digestion problems. A good, highly digestible pelleted feed is, IMO, a much better choice than grain. I personally use Dynamite products because they're much more digestible and seem to need far less than other feeds. I agree with the other posters that a baby on the lean side is far better than one too fat. I'd also be leery of feeding alfalfa, since that can cause phos/calc imbalances. Free choice minerals to balance the minerals are a good idea.
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Jennifer
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I don't think there is any reason to keep a foal on a mare much beyond 4 months. Mare's milk drops significantly in all nutrients when the foal is about 4 months old. If the foal is not getting enough minerals and protein there will be problems with bone growth. Foals that experience DOD (developmental orthopedic disease) after they are about 2 months old are likely defecient in minerals and require intervention with mineral supplements. You can get mare's milk tested for nutrients.
Mares with a history of producing foals with DOD are likely to continue to have problem foals because they don't produce adequate nutrients in their milk. The DOD deformities usually begin to appear after about 8 weeks because the foal's store of nutrients acquired during gestation are depleted around this time. So, the deformities then begin to appear.
Also, keeping the foal on the mare is detrimental to the mare, especially if you reduce her feed to try to get less nutrients into her milk. The mare will begin to mine her body of nutrients to supply them to her milk.
I just took a seminar with a noted nutrition expert, Don Kapper. It was very enlightening. There has been a thread on one of the Chronicle of the Horse forums discussing this and other feeding issues that were addressin the seminar and which summarizes what was said better than I can. (I'll provide a link to it in a post after this one because I have to go look it up!). I have a notebook-full of notes from the seminar, but I suggest you read the discussion on the COTH forum. Everyone who attended this seminar thought it was fabulous!
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Jennifer
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Here's another thread on the COTH forum that I came across today and read. Also, good info!
http://chronicleforums.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=6656094911&f=5206053911&m=898609651&r=746605851#746605851
Joy, I was commenting about nutritional needs of the foal which will not be met by milk after 4 months. I need to get my notes for some additional information related to the maturity of a foal's digestive system and it decreased ability to digest milk compared to its increased ability to digest forage, etc.
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« Last Edit: March 04, 2004, 12:43:07 PM by Jennifer »
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Joy
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I agree that nutritional needs will not be met by only milk, but by 4 months, the foal should be eating hay or grass pretty well. At that point it's pretty important to have minerals available for the foal as well as the mare. A good probiotic will also help foals digest the roughage that their taking in more and more.
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