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Author Topic: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought  (Read 8801 times)

Blacksheep

  • Joined May 2008
Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« on: September 17, 2013, 05:51:31 pm »
I have purchased a lovely forest bred filly foal a week ago, she was weaned before I got her at just under 4 months old, which seems to be fairly normal practice on the forest.  So she is not just over 4 months old, I don't want to overtop her and cause growth problems at the same time due to her very young age I want to make sure that she is getting what she needs to make up for not still being on her dam and taking milk.

She is currently on approx 2lbs/day stud mix with a little soaked sugar beet and a little extra supplement (benevit).  She is on adlib well made hay, but should soon be able to go out on grass. I have read that good doer native types should not even be on foal/stud mixes but on a maintenance type feed with a good foal vit/mineral supplement.    I was thinking of keeping her on the stud mix until she is 6 months old and then switch to a lower protein horse feed with additional vitamin and minerals.

Any thoughts or advice on this welcome

NLL

  • Joined Apr 2010
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2013, 08:01:06 am »
our foals are on 1 1/2 lb of baileys balancer plus hi fi lite per day.They are not weaned yet but this will not alter when they are.This gives them all the nutrients they need. They get ad lib hay. If coming out of winter they look like they need a bit more they will get upto 3lbs of Baileys stud cubes.All our horses[all  38 of them]are on 1 1/2lbs of balancer and hifi lite per day, only those in full work or broodmares at weaning ,who have given all to their foals, will get stud cubes or condition cubes.Hope this helps.We are a Dales pony stud.

roddycm

  • Joined Jul 2013
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2013, 12:18:21 pm »
I'd say that you should carry on with what you are doing, protein is so important for the development of muscles etc. Sounds like you have her on a good diet to me! I wean at 6 months and I still feed them a good protein supplement.

honeyend

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2013, 09:55:33 pm »
I have NF, they are prone to EMS as they have evolved to live on sparse grazing and like most natives do not need a lot of hard feed. I feed my Highland and Connemara youngstock a good stud balancer, with Baileys they have a formula so you can replace with stud mix if needed, or D&H Suregrow which is cheaper, but the majority of their diet is hay. Some of the balancers are formulated for TB's so check the bag, it will say native or warmblood as both need slow steady growth.
 NF are tough compact ponies, if has been bred on the forest it will not see a hedge as a barrier and will walk through a thin one. They will just about eat and edible weed or thistle, if the thistle is very tough if you knock it down they will eat it, and they eat nettles as well.

sabrina

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2013, 01:43:03 pm »
If I was you I would give one of the food companies a call for advice. 4 months is still young to be off the mare. Too much protein can be as bad as too little and cause long term damage. Getting it right is important.

Blacksheep

  • Joined May 2008
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2013, 02:13:27 pm »
Thanks for the replies all, will check out Baileys and D&H options and give them a call, will then have to see what I can get ordered locally.
Now got 3 May born NF foals to feed after going down to the sales to buy a companion for Berry!

Blacksheep

  • Joined May 2008
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2013, 06:47:15 pm »
Have spoken with D&H and they advise feeding their native foal mix at the standard rate in preference to suregrow which is designed also for thoroughbreds, although Suregrow would be ok to feed.
Still need to try and persuade the 2 new ones that they might like to eat some hard feed. They are happily tucking into their hay though.

honeyend

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2013, 12:46:15 am »
I have so many I try and get a product that can do several jobs so I don't end up with lots of half bags of feed. When I last spoke to D&H the nutritonalist said it could also be used as a balancer for older animals, the same with the Baileys. I am a feed tart so I tend to buy what's ever on offer and do not stick to a particular brand. Goodness knows what we did in the old days when you had a choice pony nuts, bran and oats, I used to buy mine from the pet shop by the pound as I could not afford a bag.
 I have a now four year old that was weaned at three and a half months, you worry and at the time he was on four small feeds a day but most of the time if they are basically healthy they will thrive, I love young stock as you always are the first to do things with them.

Blacksheep

  • Joined May 2008
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #8 on: September 22, 2013, 01:16:10 pm »
Thanks for the replies Honeyend, how many do you have?
Yes you do end up worrying when they are so young, I last bought a forest bred NF foal  7 years ago as a companion to a surprise arab foal, they both had D&H native foal mix, however the NF was wearing her toes too heavily on her front hooves which the nutritionist said could be caused by being overdone as a foal!  She was a big foal and it did not affect her too significantly but just meant that she would need to be shod on the fronts for working.
I guess if they stayed out on the forest they would manage without any extra hard feed or supplements but they would perhaps still have access to mum's milk for a bit longer.
Think I will give them a reduced ration  once they get to 6 months, but add a good vitamin/mineral supplement to make up with them and then just monitor their condition and  adjust their feed accordingly.  Looking forward to seeing them tuck into the thistles and nettles in the future, although guess the grass will get eaten first!
Yes think I am looking forward to working with them as unhandled babies. Really pleased with the new filly foal as she seemed so wary but now really enjoying scratches, she is forest bred and probably likely only just weaned, certainly does not know about hard feed and not yet interested in it. She is a very dominant character and has ensured the bigger colt foal she is with knows his place!

zarzar

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • kent
  • Z.Glenfield :)
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #9 on: September 23, 2013, 10:50:56 am »
 :wave: It is always adviseable to give them somesort of feed even if its a balancer as grass and hay alone doesnt have enough copper when they are roaming on newforset they have access to vitamins and minerals from diffrent plants ect as paddocks genrally dont have all requirements, but she will be better of having abit of stud mix untill six months as she wont be getting what she should from mum.
1 cat,2 thoroughbred horses,1 dog, handfull of bird various types and hoping to get sheep again

Blacksheep

  • Joined May 2008
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2013, 09:25:42 pm »
:wave: It is always adviseable to give them somesort of feed even if its a balancer as grass and hay alone doesnt have enough copper when they are roaming on newforset they have access to vitamins and minerals from diffrent plants ect as paddocks genrally dont have all requirements, but she will be better of having abit of stud mix untill six months as she wont be getting what she should from mum.

Thanks zarzar,  have already bought 2 bags of stud mix so will keep them on that, and then change to D&H  native foal mix and see how they go on.  Yes aware about copper deficiency here, my chestnut mare develops white spots if she isn't supplemented, this go away when she has a rockies like or vit/mineral supplement.  The foals have a red rockies lick with copper which they are licking a lot.

Will try and post a picture, can't believe the new filly, taken off forest adn weaned and sold through sales last Thursday, now happy to fall asleep with her head in my lap  :) , very sweet and not the amount of trust  I was expecting so quickly from an unhandled foal. The stud bred colt foal is still wary though, so will have to do more to gain his trust.

Mary.banasik

  • Joined Oct 2015
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2015, 08:57:18 pm »
Hi everyone ,you all sound so experienced with Shetland ponys , I have recently rescued two mares with thier 2 foals. And trying to find the feeding advice to build them up .i contacted D&H nutritionist who was a massive help she advised suregrow and a basic alphafa ,I have been adding. Top speck choplite to the suregrow ,is that ok as they are not weaned ,  I read some feed native foal mix but I don t know this. They are now looking amazing and very calm and contented ,this forum has been fantastic and really helpfull

Hellybee

  • Joined Feb 2010
    • www.blaengwawrponies.co.uk
Re: Feeding advice on feeding a 4 month old foal sought
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2015, 02:58:57 am »
No foals this year but when we do have some they ed have more or less the same, we like top spec and I d give that too, beet just to wetten.  Excellent hay/haylage. At this age I would nt be thinking of what foal would be like as an adult and could develop in the future, ie ems and that.  I think of young stock differently to old stock. Same with the sheep. 


Has she been wormed?    And congrats on your new addition x

 

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