Which is better for a 5-8 month growing foal?

Question

Senior Horse Food or 10% Horse Pellets?

The Senior has more nutrition for a growimg foal.

The 10% has protene in it.

Which ones better?

Answer 1

Hi,

Neither is suitable for a young horse.  

A lot depends on how big he is going to be and what breed he is.  A small pony foal of native breed type will do very well on just good old grass and ad-lib hay in the winter. If your grass is not great, then the addition of a multivitamin supplement designed for young horses would be a benefit too.

If your foal is going to be a big horse and/or has TB or warmblood breeding in him, then he is going to need a little more to help him reach his full potential. It is quite correct that you must not over feed a young horse, or suddenly start to feed it large amounts of grain/cubes, as this will cause its bones to have a sudden growth spurt which leads to all sorts of developmental problems.  Best to feed little and often, and when introducing a new feed stuff to your horse, do it gradually over a period of weeks until you are feeding the amount you wish to continue at for a while.

If you are in US I am not familiar with the products available to you over there, but here in England Stud Balancers are becoming a very popular way to produce young horses.  I have started using them on my own youngsters (TBxWB yearlings).  They are tiny pelleted feed, which you feed in very small quantities per day.  They are highly concentrated in protein, vits, minerals and pre & pro biotics, so you feed only a little per day to give your growing horse all it needs to thrive, but without over loading his system with too much hard feed.  

Mine look fabulous, and I do not have to worry about mixing different feeds together.  All my young horses from new foals right up to 2.5 year olds eat the same Stud Balancer. I'd recommend it.

PS: I use Bailey's Stud Balancer.

Answer 2

Why can't you just buy foal cubes or stud mix?

The are designed to be fed to foals.

Answer 3

I heard you aren't supposed to give grain to your horses untill they have matured a little bit more! But I don't know!

Sorry, but good luck anyways!!

Answer 4

As I don't know what brands are available in your area my recommendation would be any pre made stud or breed mix. They are designed specifically for breeding mares and stallions and growing foals. There are sio many different sorts available so you should be able to find something. Or just ask the salespeople at your local feed store what is most popular or what they reccommend

Answer 5

Neither.  They aren't meant for growing foals.

I love Triple Crown Growth for our foals.

14% protein, 10% fat and alfalfa based.

Edit:  Triple Crown isn't a rare brand...

http://triplecrownfeeds.com/distributors...

Answer 6

I really wouldn't give any food marked "senior" to a baby

Try anything for foals.  Have a talk to your feed supplier, they're supposed to do courses on the specific brands they sell so they know how to advise you best

Answer 7

In college I was always told by the vet teaching the nutrition classes to never give a growing foal a feed with more then 14 percent protein in it.  This can cause joint problems and can make it harder for the foal to grow properly because it has to process more protein than it's used to.  I know people who give their babies 18-22 percent protein feeds, but these usually ended up with severe joint problems like physitis and  one even had to have check ligament surgery because his ligaments were not loosening up the way they should have due to over feeding.