British Breeder Magazine November 2019

Feature - ARTICLE
Weaning Q & A
I’m new to breeding and am
preparing to wean my mare’s first
foal later this year. I have made
plans to keep the foal with a
companion when the time comes
but want to know how to prepare
him for the changeover from
mother’s milk to hard feed.
The key to successful weaning lies in
good preparation and correct nutrition
is one aspect of that preparation which
can start whilst the foal is still suckling.
At 3 to 4 months of age the foal begins
to be able to digest fibre, cereal grains
and legumes more efficiently as levels
of appropriate enzymes increase. This
is the time to introduce concentrate
feeds, encouraging the gradual change
of the system and helping reduce the
risk of digestive upsets, and associated
drop of condition, when the milk supply
is removed.
Maintaining a steady rate of growth is
essential to try to avoid the dangers
of growth problems, which could
ultimately have an effect on a foal’s
soundness and ability to perform as
an adult. So for foals who hold their
condition well both before and during
the weaning process, a specially
formulated stud balancer is ideal, as
this will provide essential protein,
vitamins and minerals to support
growth but with a minimal calorie
content.
For those who require some help in
maintaining condition, a stud mix or
cube, yearling, prep or youngstock
feed, will provide additional calories
but must be fed at recommended rates
to supply the necessary supporting
nutrients required. Whichever feed
you feel is most appropriate, introduce
it a handful at a time, and build up
the manufacturer’s recommended
levels for the foal’s age and estimated
mature bodyweight. At the time of
weaning, the foal should then be
receiving sufficient nutrients from a
stud ration to maintain weight and
consistent growth when the milk supply
is removed.
My 8 month old Warmblood filly
has just been weaned and is
turned out during the day and
comes in at night. I want to show
her in-hand in the spring and I’m
not really sure what to feed her
to help keep her in good condition
without having growth problems.
There is often a reluctance to feed
youngsters, particularly those who
are naturally good-doers, for fear of
causing growth problems, with protein
wrongly labelled as the culprit. It is
now recognised that it is a high energy
(calorie) intake with insufficient
minerals which can lead to these
problems, as this creates an increased
rate of growth without the nutrients
required to build the tissues to support
the growth.
Monitoring your filly’s growth, by
regular weightaping and plotting the
rate of growth on a chart, can act as
an early warning system to highlight
potential growth-related problems.
Youngsters that are growing very
rapidly will produce an upright curve
which is an indication that the energy
content of the diet may need to be
reduced. Conversely, a very flat curve
suggests that the filly is not growing
and would benefit from additional
calories, which can be supplied by a
traditional stud feed.
The basis of your filly’s diet should be
ad lib forage (grass and hay or haylage)
then, depending on her condition,
choose a stud ration to supply the
additional nutrients to support growth.
If you find she is a good-doer and gets
sufficient calories to maintain condition
from her forage, she should thrive on
a specially formulated stud balancer
which will provide essential nutrients
but no additional calories.
Alternatively, if as the winter
progresses, you find she needs more
calories to keep the weight on, a stud/
youngstock mix or cube will supply both
these and the necessary balance of
vitamins, minerals and quality protein.
52 | BRITISH BREEDER