Nutritional Needs for Foals Before, During and After Weaning
T he nutritional needs for your foal actually began with the Mare. Those first few months of gestation are critical for overall development and bone growth. The health and supplementation of the Mare will follow the Foal on through the rest of it’s life. Let’s start our timeline with the “Before” for the Mare. During gestation focus on a 12% grain blend, a 50-50 alfalfa/grass hay blend, a mineral blend that is formulated with a 2:1 calcium/phosphorus and a constant source of clean water. So the mineral’s calcium should be around double the amount of the phosphorus. We like to use Elite Nutrition’s 2:1 Mineral Plus as a top dress onto the grain with every feeding. The key is in the consistency of the day-to-day as the growth is happening in the same way. In addition to the feeding program, we also need a worming program in place. Whether you prefer a paste chemical wormer or a more natural option, stay on a minimum of quarterly, or even better, monthly. We prefer the Elite Nutrition ReMove EQ fed one week every month. Be sure to worm around 4-6 weeks before the foal is due. Next, let’s move on to the during weaning phase. First of all, make sure the foal has separate grain available to them for several weeks before the weaning process starts. This ensures the foal is used to eating grain by themselves, so when they are separated that is one less point of stress
for them.
yearlings will experience.
Make sure the grain is well accepted and cleaned up properly. We recommend the same grain and hay mixture that the mare has been on. This is again where the consistency of the grain and hay or grass builds upon itself day after day. It is also a big, simple key to the foal’s growth. The after-weaning step begins around 4-5 months of age–completely separate the foal from the mare. This will be a strong point of stress for the foal. We prefer to use Elite Nutrition GI Equilizer during this time. We like to give 1-2 tubes a day, depending on the stress level displayed in the foal. This helps keep their stomach settled and appetite high during this time. This is also critical for helping the gut to adjust to the lack of milk. The probiotics and prebiotics can help establish a beneficial gut environment to help prevent the weanling “pot belly” that often occurs. Most typically the stress only lasts for 3-5 days, so around a week to 10 days of GI Equilizer is about perfect. Sometime in the next month make sure the worming program begins. We like to use the Elite Nutrition ReMove EQ one week every month during the first year of life. Over the next few weeks, sometime around the 6-7 month timeline, we like to start top dressing Elite Nutrition’s new mineral called Jr Grow. This is a newer product and is formulated specifically for those growth spurts that weanlings and
Around 18 months we will transition back to the Elite Nutrition 2:1 Mineral Plus, which is the same mineral the mare was on during gestation. One thing you always want to consider for mineral demands is, “What is the long term desire for the life of the horse?” Is this horse going to be a driving horse, a performance horse, or used for farming? Another question to answer is, “When will the horse sell?” Will it sell as a weanling or yearling, or will you train it and sell it as a 3 year old? These kinds of questions help to determine how hard the foal can be pushed for growth and mineral needs. If it is a slower timeline for growth, the Elite Nutrition 2:1 Mineral Plus can be a great choice to use during the whole growing period. But, if you are selling as a yearling, then the Elite Nutrition Jr Grow is definitely something to consider. When it comes time to start sale prepping, the Elite Nutrition Super Blend is also a popular option Hopefully some of these tips will help ease some of your own stress when it comes to weaning in your barn. If you have further questions, please reach out to Elite Nutrition (www.tryelitenutrition.com) or stop by our booth next time you see us at a sale. Article gathered from https://www. tryelitenutrition.com/post/nutritional- needs-for-foals-before-during-and-after- weaning
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 18
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