Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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All the best,
Dr. Getty
Hello Kelly,
Congratulations! What a beautiful breed! What plans do you have for him?
Large breeds such as the Oldenburger have special nutritional needs to help them grow the amount of bone and muscle they’ll develop. However, it’s important that they do not put on weight too quickly, in order to keep their legs healthy.
Weanlings can consume up to 3.5% of their bodyweight each day. To feed effectively, you will want to make sure you weight your colt’s feed. Many horsepeople simple estimate the amount they feed (using a scoop or coffee-can) but this can be terribly inaccurate. Hay bales can vary in weight – some can weigh as much as 100 pounds. And, they also vary in the number of flakes they contain. So, to be accurate when feeding hay, take a bathroom scale out to the barn and weigh yourself, holding the hay, and then subtract your own weight to get the weight of the hay alone.
Young, growing horses require extra protein, calcium, and phosphorus. Here are a few numbers to assist you in planning:
A 6 month old weanling requires:
-- 14.5% crude protein. This protein must be of high quality. Therefore, it is important to mix grass hays with legume hays. Legumes (such as alfalfa, soybeans, and clover) have enough of the amino acid, Lysine, in order to enhance the quality of the grass. Grains are also low in lysine.
-- 3.5 Mcal per kg of body weight. So, if you colt weighs 500 lbs (227 kg), he will require 794 Mcal of feed each day.
-- The diet should be at least 50% forage.
-- Calcium should be approximately .5% calcium and .3% phosphorus, where the calcium to phosphorus ratio is between 1:1 and 2:1.
OK, so here is a sample diet. Notice, I also recommend a supplement designed for weanlings, such as Grow Colt. You can also choose a complete commercial feed designed for growth, if you’d rather not feed the oats and soybean meal mixture.
Hay:
Alfalfa – 3 pounds
Grass – 5 pounds
Ration:
Oats – 4 pounds
Soybean Meal – 1 pound
Supplements:
2 ounces Grow Colt (Farnam)
Free access to salt block
Free access to clean water
I hope this is helpful. Please keep me posted on his progress.
All the best,
Dr. Getty
Hi Kelly,
DOD, or “developmental orthopedic disease” encompasses several conditions that affect foals, including OCD (osteochrondritis dessicans), wobbler syndrome and flexor limb deformities. Attention to protein, vitamins, and mineral intakes is critical to making certain that bones mineralize correctly.
The best way for me to assist you with providing a feeding plan for Flick would be to have you complete the “You and Your Horse” quesionnaire. This is a comprehensive list of questions about your foal that will help me develop a specific plan for Flick's needs. You can find the questionnaire on this website under the "You and Your Horse" link.
All the best,
Dr. Getty