How to Feed a Foal
Feeding your foal properly can make the difference between a fully developed and healthy youngster, or a crippling injury for life. This article will help you in this critical time period.
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Instructions
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Feeding a foal - tips for success
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Feeding a foal is important and--as with all things horsey--tricky. You must know how much, what kind, and how often. Foals will often start to imitate their moms just a few days after birth by "eating" what she is eating. Although foals do not actively begin real food consumption for a couple of weeks, they will begin to nibble grain and can be taught to eat it from a very early age.
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Taking the time to feed a foal properly can optimize his growth and speed up his development. This can be a double-edged sword, however, as feeding too much nutrition too soon can cause more problems than it prevents. Ideally, you should put a special "foal feeder" out on the fence where the foal can get to it anytime of the day or night. This feeder has special bars on it that prevents a grown horse from getting to the grain. The foal can get his nose in, a mature horse cannot.
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Make sure that you just put in a small amount of grain at a time, and do it when you feed the foal's mother. Very soon, the foal will learn where he can have his own meal without mom pushing him out of the way. Once your foal is eating all that is given to him in one sitting, you can increase the amount in small increments. Be sure and follow the directions on the feed bag.
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Take care to feed the foal appropriately for his age. There are many age-appropriate feeds on the market now for baby and young horses, and these are designed to be palatable, easy to chew and digest, and are well worth the extra money for their benefits. Buying these feeds takes all the guesswork out of feeding your foal.
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Finally, take great care not to overfeed your foal. His diet, especially from one to three months, should consist mainly of his mother's milk, which is as nature intended. Remember, anytime you muck around with nature and how things work--you are asking for trouble. Too much feed and too many supplements can cause crippling effects on your young foal. Don't risk it!
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure and follow the label instructions on the feed bag.
Never overfeed a foal on too many concentrates, you may end up crippling it for life.
