What do you feed your yearlings??

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Do they need a 16% feed for growth? He's only 29". Is 6 cups a day too much for him? His stomach is much to big, and his neck is narrow and caved in. His backbone even sticks up a bit. He looks like crap! I do worm him and he is on daily wormer. I feed hay as my horses are on dry lot. I've been contemplating starting beet pulp. I would be using the beet pulp pellets. Do you think this is a good idea? If so, should I cut back his grain? How much beet pulp should I build him up to? Trying to figure out how to feed minis is going to drive me crazy! :arg! :arg!

 

[~Lisa~]

how much hay and what type does he get?

I pretty much feed my yearlings the same as my adult horses although there is always exceptions to that rule. I have to go by how the horse looks and how quickly it has grown, how long it was on it's dam ect.

I tend to not feed a high protien grain as they are getting over half their diet in hay and that hay runs on avg 17-19% protien

 

[maestoso]

Hi Joyce,

A caved in neck, exposed back bone, and pot belly are all indicative of malnutrician. There is something your colt needs that he's not getting . . Is the 16% you are giving a complete feed? Remember that if you are feeding a complete feed you may need to feed more than you think, because much of it is just fiber, it's not like sweet feed or other grains where they are all concentrate. Complete feeds are designed for animals with little or no access to fiber.

I don't think 6 cups a day is outrageous, and if it is a complete feed, I would find that low for a yearling, especially one in the condition you described.

If you have exhausted all other attempts, you could get the vet out, they can check for things that may affect weight(worms, ulcers, or any vitamin deficiencies)

Hope this helps . . .

 

[targetsmom]

I agree with Matt, although what he is missing may just be enough feed. I don't know if this is a good analogy or not, but I think of yearlings as "teenagers" or "growing boys" and feed accordingly. I would also suggest a vitamin supplement (I use Dr. Benson's TNS) and a good amount of 14% protein pelleted grain. I like to use something other than a sweet feed to try to keep the starch levels down. I feed most of mine Nutrena Safe Choice, but don't have any yearlings now. Our 30" mare and her 4 month old foal (soon to be weaned) are together getting 10 cups of that a day, plus lots of hay and some pasture, and they both look great. Vet was just here and he agreed!

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Thanks for your help!

Do you guys feed beet pulp? Do you think I should start him on some?

Matt, I had been feeding him Poulins "growth", but I'm the only one that buys it, so they have to order it special for me. I decided to just go to blue seal and use their "mare and foal". So that is what he is getting now.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I had this problem with my yearling under 30" colt. . .I changed him over from Strategy to a sweet feed (2 cups AM and 2 cup PM) and he looks MUCH better - plus I don't have to feed as much. Although I do not give daily wormers and he does have access to a salt/mineral block and gets plenty of hay twice daily.

 

[muffntuf]

If you feed beet pulp I would get shreds instead of pellets. IMHO pellets take out a lot of the effectiveness of beet pulp, i.e fiber.

From what you describe, I wonder if he is getting enough to eat?

 

[~Lisa~]

If you feed beet pulp I would get shreds instead of pellets. IMHO pellets take out a lot of the effectiveness of beet pulp, i.e fiber.

Hmm interesting muffntuff I am curious to hear your reasoning behind that statement?

Why or how would it being in pelleted form instead shreds take away the fiber?

 

[minisch]

I'm curious too, I can only get pellets in my area. LOVE beet pulp. Get a mineral block and good quality hay + supplement for total nutrition.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

I think I will try some beet pulp. I will buy the shredded. How much do I feed? I've never even seen the stuff.

Lisa, as far as my hay goes, I buy hay about every 3 weeks and get different hay all the time. I won't buy coarse hay and I absolutely will pay a higher price for the best hay I can get.

 

[Minimor]

I don't use beet pulp and have never had trouble putting weight on a horse that needs it--some of our yearlings, even the smaller ones, have gotten as much as 2 litres of grain 2 times of day--so that's just short of one gallon per day. Our grain consists of oats and pellets, either 14% or 16%, and I usually mix it 2 parts oats to 1 part pellets, sometimes 1/2 and 1/2 for the ones that need the most weight. The pellets I use seem to work especially well for weight gain, and I thinks that's because they contain brewers yeast.

I also like the youngsters to have alfalfa mix hay, about 50/50 grass/alfalfa, or even slightly stronger in alfalfa if the horses are on the thin side. If they are very easy keepers and not hurting for weight then they will get more grass/less alfalfa.

 

[PondlakeMinis]

you are probably over welmed by all the suggestions. I use a Junior feed for my weanlings and yearlings. Right now it is Kent but will have to switch as Tractor Supply will no longer carry Kent after the new year. I start with 2 cups of feed twice a day. I also use beet pulp shredded. usually one cup twice a day.

depending on the weight and height of the foal or yearling, I will go up or down in the amount. Some babies seem to keep weight on and others need more. I like to add more grain and beet pulp and keep the hay down as they can then get a hay belly.

good luck.

cyndia harris

 

[Leeana]

I overall like a 14% grain for all of our horses, however for weanlings and yearlings I like a 14-16% grain. Omolene 300 for weanlings .... Omolene 200 following that however i could see keeping them on the Oml 300 as a yearling for a harder keeper. I actually have a 4yr old 42" shetland gelding on Oml 300 as it seems to keep his weight on very well. I prefer Omolene 300 over the Equine Junior personally...

I like the Purina products a lot, I have fed Strategy in the past and i like it too but i didn't feel it kept weight on the babies as well as i wanted. But I feel it would be a nice grain for yearlings too. It just depends so much horse to horse...

Beet pulp will help keep weight on horses better then any suppliment you will find on the market. Beet pulp, a nice quality grain and good quality hay (i feel alfalfa/orchard grass mix hay..about 50/50 each on the alf and orch grass). Then of course a well managed worming rutine as well. I worm our babies the 1st of every month until they ar 12 months old..

 

[wildoak]

Beet pulp pellets vs shreds - there was an article just this past week in one of the online newsletters I get that mentioned this very thing. They did say that the pellets don't contain the long fiber that's present in shredded bp.

I generally feed my yearlings what the others are getting, just more of it. I'm feeding Safe Choice with alfalfa, coastal & beet pulp. Most look good but I had a couple this summer I couldn't get weight on and had to really step them up. I've got a couple of weanlings on Equine Jr and have added a cup of that to the yearlings which seems to help. They also get Platinum Performance and BOSS. It's always a bit of a puzzle, just have to tinker with it until you get the right mix but they frequently need more groceries than you would expect. I know some of the vets here locally have told people not to give grain to minis at all, that they will founder.

They would be shocked at what I feed lol, but as a rule my horses look pretty good. We do a lot of re-educating on that score.

Jan

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

I am currently researching Purina feeds. I think I'm going to switch my minis to maybe Purina Junior? I also have a mare and her 3 1/2 month old filly. I never dreamed it would be so hard to feed these little ones!

 

[chandab]

Beet pulp pellets vs shreds - there was an article just this past week in one of the online newsletters I get that mentioned this very thing. They did say that the pellets don't contain the long fiber that's present in shredded bp.

I read that article... And, then read on another board I'm on, moderated by a vet, and I'm pretty sure it was the vet that commented that it was hogwash about the pellets not being as good a fiber as the shreds.

I know with my own horses, I fed a commercial mix with shredded beet pulp in it and the horses left the bigger chunks of shreds in their buckets. However, they clean up every last bite of soaked pelleted beet pulp. [i've noticed when soaked, that there are some pretty good sized chunks of beet pulp pieces in the bucket, so its not ground up into a powder before pelleting, there is still some size to the pieces.]