Equine Junior - how much do you feed your yearlings?

[seattle]

I'm having a little trouble figuring out how much Equine Junior to feed my two yearlings. I was checking on the bag and they had instructions for feeding when you don't feed any roughage, which I do. They suggested 11 pounds, which seems like way too much if I'm feeding hay as well! How much do you guys feed?

Also, they just started on it (first time on grain) and I'm giving them each a handful morning and night right now just to get them used to it, but I'm not sure how much I should be feeding them on the second day, and then how much I should increase them up to eventually (in either pounds or cups, it doesn't matter). Any advice or guidelines would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[ohmt]

I believe purina has feeding recommendations for minis on their website which will help you. You need to figure out what your horses weigh and go from there. Don't go by cups, feed by weight only. I just use a cheap fish weigher that I bought from wal mart and that works great. Equine junior is a complete feed so you have to make sure you feed the recommended amount every day or there is no point in feeding it. When I fed it I was giving quite a few cups to each foal/yearling morning and night depending on the horse. As for upping feed, I think once you figure out how much feed you need to be giving, go from there and space out the adjustment over two weeks so that at the end they are getting what they're supposed to be getting.

Good luck! Make sure you take pictures each week of the horses after starting to feed-it's neat seeing the differences

 

[seattle]

You still feed hay when you're putting them on Equine Jr., right? And I can still put them on pasture? The "complete feed" is throwing me off.

Also, so you're saying I should gradually up their feed, starting with a small amount until they're at the recommended amount?

I believe purina has feeding recommendations for minis on their website which will help you. You need to figure out what your horses weigh and go from there. Don't go by cups, feed by weight only. I just use a cheap fish weigher that I bought from wal mart and that works great. Equine junior is a complete feed so you have to make sure you feed the recommended amount every day or there is no point in feeding it. When I fed it I was giving quite a few cups to each foal/yearling morning and night depending on the horse. As for upping feed, I think once you figure out how much feed you need to be giving, go from there and space out the adjustment over two weeks so that at the end they are getting what they're supposed to be getting.

Good luck! Make sure you take pictures each week of the horses after starting to feed-it's neat seeing the differences

 

[ohmt]

A complete feed means you don't have to feed anything else, but I do give mine hay and pasture as well since they are grazing animals and I think it keeps them healthier to have access at all times. Yes, gradually increase, but I would figure out where each is supposed to be and do a little math and figure out how much to increase each day to get to the right amount after about 2 weeks.

 

[seattle]

One more question...how do I figure out how much they weigh? Haha

A complete feed means you don't have to feed anything else, but I do give mine hay and pasture as well since they are grazing animals and I think it keeps them healthier to have access at all times. Yes, gradually increase, but I would figure out where each is supposed to be and do a little math and figure out how much to increase each day to get to the right amount after about 2 weeks.

 

[seattle]

The bag only has instructions for feeding when you don't feed roughage in addition to the grain...how much do you feed if you also feed hay?

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

I remember your other post stating your yearlings had never had grain before but I can't find it now so I'll post here. I was curious in that maybe your mares foaled late, these were late fall or maybe winter babies and just weaned but you're referring to them as yearlings because they've passed over January and into the next years horse age? Would you mind sharing their actual age?

I was rather surprised that yearlings (usually will be 12 months or even older by this June timeframe) had never had grain before now. I didn't see a location in your profile but thought maybe you were in a very warm climate where the grass is abundant year round? Here our winters are harsh and grass pretty much gone so we're feeding hay and grain pretty heavily throughout winter until new grass is plentiful in late Spring.

We used to feed Equine Junior and really liked the results but then our TSC store couldn't keep it in stock so we switched to Strategy. We also feed crimped oats. We still always do pasture grazing and hay even though its said to be a complete feed. Like other posts, our foals begin testing grain from their moms pans at a few days old then we give them their own dish to nibble on as soon as they show enough interest.

Good luck with your yearlings -

 

[lil hoofbeats]

my yearlings have strategy in front of them at all times, they are mature looking, and dont have large bellies, this has worked very well for me, and i also feed alfalfa hay to them, mine are slick and shiney, and have great toplines.

 

[ohmt]

Feed the same amount with forage as without. They are young and growing, they need all they can get. Give the amount of the complete feed it says to and that will give them all the nutrition they need. Give the hay as a filler and to keep them healthy minded.

 

[seattle]

So really feed them 11 pounds twice per day? That just seems like so much. I remember reading somewhere about how someone said that they feed 4 cups twice per day...does that sound reasonable?

Feed the same amount with forage as without. They are young and growing, they need all they can get. Give the amount of the complete feed it says to and that will give them all the nutrition they need. Give the hay as a filler and to keep them healthy minded.

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

I believe that the 11 pounds you reference is from the bag directions for BIG HORSES. It is not a miniature horse feed so the dosage or measurements listed on the bag is intended for standard/big horses (i.e., roughly 1,250 pound animals).

You'd have to cut that back for the amounds which your minis weigh (individually per horse).

For minis, even weighing it first - if you transfer that weighed feed to a measuring cup you'd come up with "cups" in measurement rather than pounds. Its hard to explain really but your minis will not eat 11 pounds each two times per day. That large amount would be more realistic for a large/standard horse.

Earlier you asked about how to weigh them. They make tapes (like measuring tapes) that go around the girth of the horse (specifically designed for determining a horses weight and can be bought at TSC or most tack shops). That works for big horses, would assume minis as well.

A bag of horse feed should last you quite awhile for just two yearling minis. If you fed 11 pounds each twice per day that would be 44 pounds of food a day - basically a bag of feed (cuase I'm thinking they are 40 pound bags not 50 but might be wrong). A mini couldn't possisbly consume 11 pounds of grain in one feeding and if they did - they would be pretty darn sick and perhaps colic.

Personally I would start at half a cup as an introduction along with hay and pasture then gradually increase based on how they are looking, do they seem still hungry, how fast are they consuming that half cup etc etc and parhaps you'll be at a cup or cup and a half (per feeding) with all the other staples. Keep in mind too that your two minis might be somewhat different and might not require the exact amount as the other for the same results.

If you have a local feed store nearby - they often get visits from their distributors (Purina, DuMor etc) and they could offer you some help in determining the ratios of their feed for minis and perhaps help you put a feeding program together.

 

[ohmt]

They will definitely not be able to eat 22 lbs per day as that is the amount for a large horse like Whitetails said. I can not say how much to feed them because I don't know how big they are and it should be based on the individual. Purina does have a chart with recommended amounts of feed on their website-i can not go find it fjor you because i'm stuck using my phone for a while and it's too hard to do so, otherwise I would. I don't feed equine jr anymore, but do feed equine sr to a few and I have a 27" 4 year old stallion getting it and he gets 4 large sized frosting cups (not the little ones, the really tall ones) morning and night. I can't remember what that is in lbs as I measured it a while ago, but it is a lot and he eats it all. He also gets fed free choice grass hay and eats a good amount of that too. His weight is perfect-he is not fat, not skinny, all filled out, shiny, muscular, and has a ton of energy. A half cup is definitey not going to do anything as it is a complete feed and I give more grain than that to my yearlings. I know for sure you will be feeding CUPS but you'll need to find out weights of your horses, weight of the feed, etc. And go from there. Also, my stallion that gets the complete feed takes a couple hours to finish morning and night and that is normal so if they don't finish it all right away, don't automatically think it's because it's too much. They just need a little time

 

[chandab]

Ok, I have a copy of the Purina mini horse feed chart. For Equine Junior for yearlings, here are the recommended feed amounts. 140# yearling feed 2.8#; 160# yearling feed 3.3#, 180# yearling feed 3.5#. Based on those amounts looks like for yearlings the quantity to feed is roughly 2% of bodyweight when fed as a complete feed.

And, this is also on the chart: "*After observing the horse for a period of time, the amount fed may be increased or decreased by 10%to obtain the desired body condition and weight."

 

[seattle]

They were born in the spring of last year.

I remember your other post stating your yearlings had never had grain before but I can't find it now so I'll post here. I was curious in that maybe your mares foaled late, these were late fall or maybe winter babies and just weaned but you're referring to them as yearlings because they've passed over January and into the next years horse age? Would you mind sharing their actual age?

I was rather surprised that yearlings (usually will be 12 months or even older by this June timeframe) had never had grain before now. I didn't see a location in your profile but thought maybe you were in a very warm climate where the grass is abundant year round? Here our winters are harsh and grass pretty much gone so we're feeding hay and grain pretty heavily throughout winter until new grass is plentiful in late Spring.

We used to feed Equine Junior and really liked the results but then our TSC store couldn't keep it in stock so we switched to Strategy. We also feed crimped oats. We still always do pasture grazing and hay even though its said to be a complete feed. Like other posts, our foals begin testing grain from their moms pans at a few days old then we give them their own dish to nibble on as soon as they show enough interest.

Good luck with your yearlings -

 

[kaykay]

Never feed in cups always feed in pounds.

Equine Jr can be fed free choice once they are used to it, but I found that wasted too much as many horses wont eat feed once it has sat awhile.

Like the bag says you may have to increase or decrease depending on each horse.

Start with a pound 2x day and build up from there. Gradually increase the amount over the next couple weeks. Keep feeding hay and pasture as normal.

Most yearlings that have never had feed/grain have big bloated bellies. Once the belly goes away you know you are at the right level.

 

[HGFarm]

The website says for a 300 lb horse, which your yearlings are not that big, to feed 10 pounds per day... that would be five in the a.m. and 5 at night. (for moderate growth) This is without hay or pasture. Scale that down to fit what your Minis actually weigh.

 

[K.C. Lunde]

I'd feed 1 to 1 1/2 cup of this feed, plus half a flake of good alfalfa hay, two times a day. I feel like hay needs to be in the diet for their tummies and boredom reasons!!!

It keeps them healthy, happy, and working. I've found its the happy medium.