This can be a stressful time, both emotionally and nutritionally, but keeping these tips for weaning horses in mind can ensure a smooth transition and continued healthy growth.
When to Wean a Foal If the weanling horse is one you have raised since birth , you have a lot of control over how well-prepared your baby is for weaning time. To support smooth, steady growth, suckling foals should be offered one pound of a properly-formulated foal feed per month of age per day. For example, a 3-month-old would ideally be eating about three pounds of feed per day, in addition to milk and free choice hay or pasture.
A weanling horse already accustomed to eating an adequate amount of dry feed will transition to life without mom much easier and will be ready to maintain nutrient intake at a level that can sustain optimum growth. Knowing how to eat and having a safe friend or buddy to keep them company following weaning helps foals adjust to their new independence. Best Feed for Weanling Horses When weaning horses, it is important to offer weanlings a high-quality feed specifically formulated for foals.
Young, growing horses have different requirements for protein, vitamins and minerals than adult horses. A proper balance of high-quality proteins, calories, calcium and phosphorus is needed for correct muscle, bone and tendon development. If the equestrian center where the mother is boarded provides carrots, the foal can eat some for free.
However, if you observe unusual suckling behaviour, or your foal seems lethargic or unwell, consult your veterinarian. If the newborn foal does not stand and nurse by two hours after birth, you should consider it abnormal, and you should consult your veterinarian as soon as possible. It is important to remember that a high-risk newborn foal may look relatively normal for several hours after birth.
Yes, horses can eat carrots and they typically look forward to getting them as treats. Always feed any treats with caution, however, and understand that they are only meant to be fed in moderation. Healthy newborn foals should: Have red or at least pink mucous membranes, indicating adequate oxygen is reaching the tissues.
Display a strong suckle reflex within two to 20 minutes of birth. Appear alert and display an affinity for the dam. Be able to stand within two hours and nurse within three hours.
Estimates range from one to two times per hour, with each session lasting about three minutes. As foals age, the frequency and duration of suckling decreases and they begin to eat other feedstuffs. You might have heard them referred to as wanderers, barkers, or sleepers.
However you know this condition, all these syndromes fall under the broad category of neonatal maladjustment syndrome. From getting the foal to the ground to start with the feeding process, every single moment is much important for the development and musculo-skeletal health of the newborn.
The primary source of nutrition for a newborn horse is mare milk. If you are fretting over the new addition to your stable and worried about foal feeding, then worry no more. If you think that helping the mare to deliver the foal was the only thing you needed to look after and that mother nature will take care of all the rest, then you could not be wrong enough.
Not your fault, though! This is a common misconception among a lot of horse owners. However, the reality is far from it. For the optimum health conditions of the baby horse, you need to vigilantly care and feed the foal for at least the first 6 months — that is until it starts weaning. Not only that but managing the nutritional needs of the mare during the last three months of the pregnancy is also essential in maintaining good health for the newborn. Want to know more about the breeding nature of horses?
Now, coming to the foal diet — a newborn horse actually goes through three main nutritional phases:. All of these phases are extremely important, considering most of the body systems and athletic capabilities depend on nutrition and diet provided to the foal during its first year. In this time, tissues and organs of the foal start adjusting to the diet provided in correspondence to its nutritional requirements also.
Additionally, tissue turnover and reproduction rate are also enhanced and it is only at this time that we can get the maximum positive output of an appropriate foal diet.
Foals are much different from human babies in that most of their development takes place before birth. Within the first hour only, they will be able to stand and in the next one, feeding like their life depends on it and yes, it does! Buy a milk replacer as soon as you can because your foal would be unable to develop normally without mare milk.
We suggest trying Foal-Lac as it comes recommended by a lot of vets. Usually, the foal nurses on mare milk for at least times each hour. However, within the first month, the feeding frequency will be reduced to only once an hour.
You will find a foal of lbs consuming 15 liters of milk in a day.
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