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Re: [RC] Equine Junior - heidiI fed my Paint filly the Equine Junior Development from Purina until she was about 2, but only as an "extra" and not as a main source of food. I'm no expert in nutrition so hopefully others will have something to add... You probably don't want to follow the guidelines on the bag as they are calculating it as if it is the only source of food, making it up to 3-5 kg of the stuff if I remember right (6-10 pounds!!) I found it was a good feed, and it is balanced for young growing horses, I would just not feed according to the recommendations on the bag. My filly was outside 24 hours a day in the summer and 12 hours a day in the winter and was primarily eating grass hay. She was getting about 3 lbs of Junior Development per day as a yearling during the winter months. And I wasn't trying to grow a halter baby - she is my future competitive trail/endurance horse, so I was very concerned about not overdoing anything in terms of nutrition. She was not fat, her ribs could be easily felt and she did not have any growth issues. Don't forget that your Paint is also a faster-growing breed, and hence feeding is not apt to be the same as for the Arabs. You can get by with (and may need) some of the extra provided by products like Equine Junior for youngsters destined to mature rapidly, although you are absolutely right not to feed it as per the recommendations on the bag. Our Arabs grow much more slowly, and IMO are more easily overfed with such products than are the faster-growing youngsters. We avoid them entirely, beyond using them as a small treat or a reward for being caught, etc. (I DO like my younguns to know that something other than hay can be considered food--but that can be accomplished with a few handsful from time to time, rather than by using it as a regular part of the diet.) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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