encouraging a foal to eat hard feed

T

tillyd

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 March 2007
Messages
434
Visit site
Hi, I've had to suddenly wean my foal early, due to epiphyistis, and so have only got a few days to get foal used to eating hard feed. I know its not ideal. Have been offering her a handful of balancer twice a day, but she's not really interested. Does anyoine have any suggestions as to how I can encourage her?
thanks.
 
do you mean, epiphysitis?

If so foaly shouldn't be having hard feed. and certainly not a balancer. it's too rich. An add lib supply of hay should be sufficient.

What has your vet said re diet?
 
did she not pick at the mares feed when still together? try her with soft feed, or well damped feed, you might have to hold the bucket up to her if she still at the long leg short neck stage?
 
Hi all

Yes that's the one - I have a mental block over how to spell it!
I am going by the advice of the D&H feedline, who recommended a balancer, and I quizzed them several times over the fact that I didn't want togive her calories, due to the epi whatever. They were very clear on it. There is some evidence that epi wotsit can be partly attributable to a mineral imbalance apparently. Vet was a bit vague on the feeding Q to be honest.
I will try it dampened and see if that's better. thanks.
 
Id also reccomend bandaging the afftected joints to help stabilise the growth plates and the foal should be kept on box rest untill swelling subsides... usually at least 3 months.
 
thanks, haven't been advised to box rest, though they have been in at night the last few weeks in order to restrict the mares grass intake.
Has had metacam, oxytetracycline (sp) jab, and farrier out to trim to encourage heels to touch ground as getting little upright. Next steps after weaning would be fitting an extension to front of feet if no improvement. Fingers crossed being off mums milk will help stabilise things.
 
I have just read back at your previous post and just wanted to say,please please please do not feed any hard feed.

Sounds like your foal has been doing very well off your mare and doesn't need any further 'help' with her growth... I have first hand experience of dealing with this condition and it was relatively easy to manage but my filly also developed OCD, which wasn't so easy and required surgery. she was on box rest for a year.
 
I hope you have caught this early and your farrier is able to help...

trouble with turnout is that movement will not enable the growth plate to settle... have you had the joints xrayed? if you saw it you might understand what I mean... I'll dry and dig one of mine out if you like?
 
kneefront.jpg


The above shows an xray of my filly's knee. circled in red is the gap in the growth plate. the physitis.

below is her fetlock which at this stage was healed. circled is the growth plate, which previously looked as the knee did above.

felockfronthealed.jpg
 
thanks everyone for your thoughts. Its sort of immaterial at the moment as foal isn't eating the handful of balancer I offer her anyway! They have had access to a mineral lick all along. I will call my vet on Monday and quiz him again, but I am thinking that the nutritionist (who was their breeding specialist I spoke to) might actually know as much as him re the feeding question. It does seem to be a condition where there is little hard fact and lots of 'maybe's- I specifically asked the vet if it was linked to OCD and he told me no, but I have heard that before from others.
I will keep you posted. Weaning this weekend so off to get stressed about it all...!
 
I started feeding my foal out of a rescued mare at a few weeks old. He started losing his hair around his face. My vet said to stop all food for two weeks. After two weeks of just his mother's milk and picking a bit of grass and hay what does anyone reccommend to start feeding him again. He loved his food and it was a great way of my bonding with him as I sat and fed him from a container in my lap. I have read that too high a protein is not good for them, is that right? Maybe that is what gave him the hair loss as a reaction to the 14% I give his mother. Any advice is helpful.
 
I agree, minerals etc do need to be kept balanced but whilst the animal is showing signs of physitis that doesn't appear to be settling, it would be unadvisable to supply it with excess protein available in balancers.

Since my bad experience I and my horses's breeder have reverted back to supplying vits and mins by a broad spec lick (dengie stable lick) or a powder supplement (equivite) with no adverse problems as yet. my filly was the only case of such problems she'd ever had in the ONLY year, she'd fed a balancer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top