I recently came across a post on Feeding Young Horses from The Horse.  I was gratified to learn that here was a modern day publication pushing the mantra by which I have fed my own young horses since beginning my own breeding program about seven years ago:

more young horse feed products are becoming available in which more of the calories come from sources such as fat and fiber, rather than from starch. Such formulations are designed to minimize glucose and insulin level fluctuations, which might play a role in the development of metabolic or orthopedic disorders.

Those who know me personally will probably chuckle at this, but I recall about four or five years ago arguing with the Purina rep in my local feed store that most "growth formula" horse feeds (such as Omolene 300 but it's not limited to that one) are way too high in protein, and thus promote epiphysitis and OCD in faster growing lines (such as Invitation Onlys and Zippos).  He declared over and over that "protein does not cause epiphysitis!"  While technically he may be right, my point was that increasing fat and fiber in comparison to protein was making sound, orthapedic disorder free babies for me.  He never did budge though, and we left that day with him pushing his premium Omolene 300 for foals and me buying their Horseman's Edge 10-10 and adding a vitamin supplement.

The other interesting thing about this article was the figures on the growth rate of foals.  If you are a fan of Kasino, you know how I have been keeping up with his measurements and dropping down his halter hole by hole.  It's no secret that foals grow quickly.  Year after year, we all exclaim "how fast they are growing up!"  The article presents the following figures:

The average daily gain for a foal slows as he ages, but it will be approximately 0.84 kg/day for a 4-month-old (for an expected mature weight of 500 kg, or 1,100 pounds), 0.72 kg/day for a 6-month-old, and 0.45 kg/day for a yearling.

which converts to about 1.85 lb/day for a 4 month old, 1.58 lb/day for a 6 month old, and 0.99 lb/day for a yearling for those of us on the American Measurement System.  Even for a person who has spent her entire life around foals of the stock type (who are expected to mature around 1100 lb), I was shocked to see these numbers.  It seems like a huge amount to grow (Kasino is currently 7 months old, which means he's putting on an average of about 10 or so pounds a week!)

Obviously this article is full of information.  These are two of the points I thought were most interesting.  I invite you to click the link above and read it for yourself!  But I am also wondering, what feeding regimen do you put your foals on?  How has that worked out in the past?  Are you contemplating any changes for the future?  Let me know in the comments below.

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