feeding your young'un

["odd farm" <jsalas@tampabay.rr.com>]

Equine Jr. is not a "special" feed as in hard to find. It is made by Purina and is for growing babies. It is high in fiber, in a pelleted form and my young Arab Dinero loved it.

 

Dinero nursed until he was about 9 months old ( I let mom wean him, that was her job) but always had access to moms alfalfa. Then about 6 months we started him on Equine Jr.

 

My Alfalfa is tested at about 18 percent protein and I didn't feed as much Equine Jr. as recommended, ( I think it is like 20 lbs a day) I fed more hay. The Equine Jr. is higher than 10% protein, but if your not feeding the recommended amounts, you won't get that much anyway. And if your grass hay is of good quality, it should be a good balance.It will be much lower in protein, if it has any, than alfalfa or clover hay.

It is suppose to be a complete feed, meaning you don't need to give hay with it as it is already high in fiber. I don't believe a horse should ever go without hay unless it is a medical recovery situation or they don't have any teeth. Or unless you have the acreage to support plenty of quality forage.

 

Dinero is 20 months old, stands right at 14.1, with 10 hands of that being beautiful legs, and looks magnificent. He looks like a very fit race horse, has never been sick or had diarrhea ( not even as a newborn) and is as beautiful as an Arab can be! If I do say so myself. Everyone feeds their weanlings and yearlings differently. However, you need to impress upon your barn manager, this is what your vet told you to do and you need to follow his advice for the health and well being of your young horse. That's what we all pay the vets for!

 

Offer to buy the feed yourself, set up his tubs or buckets in the evening and make it easy for the barn help to feed your baby. A little expense and time now, will save you a lot of money later. If that doesn't work, ask your vet to talk to the barn owner so he can try to educate her on the importance of proper nutrition of growing horses and what the consequences could be. :)

 

I love babies! Lisa Salas, The Odd FArm