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Nutrition 101: Feeding the Young Foal

Published on Thursday, September 22, 2011 in General

A concerned Horsezone subscriber, new to the breeding game, has asked:

"My six week old foal is trying to eat his dam's feed - is it safe for young foals to do this and if so what is best for them?"

So, we asked Peter Pryde - from Prydes EasiFeed - for advice on feeding foals... 

"It is safe and actually beneficial for a young foal to start eating with its dam. While a foal's nutrient requirements are largely met by milk from its mother and via stores of minerals like zinc and copper that accumulated in its liver while in utero, eating with its mother is important for other reasons including:

1. To help the foal learn about what is safe and good to eat and what isn't.
 
2. To provide some feed and fibre that will support the development of the bacterial population in the hindgut.
 
3. To ensure that by the time the foal is around three months of age and starting to rely on sources of nutrients other than milk and liver stores, he is well accustomed to eating forages and hard feed.

Having dams and their foals on a feed that is suitable to wean onto will also help make the transition from suckling foal to weanling as smooth as possible. If you can keep their feed consistent during this time it is one less change and stress they have to deal with.

All of the Pryde's EasiFeed breeding feeds and balancer pellets including the BioMare Cubes, EasiBreed pellets and 150 Balancer Pellets are suitable for young foals eating with their mother."

 

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Photo: Thank you to Tania Hobbs for this beautiful photo.


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