Flummoxed foal feeding!

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Bexy_86

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I have a 7 month old cob colt arriving in 2 days, he has been with current owner 2 months but due to unforseen circumstances he needed a new home which is where I came in. He is being fed chaff, mix and sugar beet once a day at the minute and is 24/7 turnout with access to hay as grazing isnt great.

When he comes to me he will be with other colts. I have been advised to feed him speedi beet, alpha beet, apple chaff and mix twice a day, he will be out 24/7 until weather changes but this time with out hay as his grazing is fantastic at the yard i am taking him to.

Any advice on what you would feed?
 
I now have my pony, he is being fed Chaff, mix and Speeibeet twice a day, the same as the other 3 youngsters he is in with.

But today I was told Speedibeet is likely to make him crazy :confused:, My colt is very laid back at the minute but then he has only been on Speedibeet for 3 days, I am now worried that my little guys will turn into a crazy monster (being a paranoid new mummy here :o).

What experiences have you had with speedibeet, is it something you regularly use or do you steer clear of it?
 
If I were you I'd stop the mix for a start. Waaaay too sugary and starchy for a cob! Cobs are good doers and you don't want to give his young joints too much weight to carry. Overfeeding babies can cause all sorts of orthopaedic problems that can sometimes be fatal so for his own sake stop giving him mix. He doesnt really need the speedibeet either Tbh. If he were mine I'd give him a general purpose vit and min supplement in a handful of chaff. That alongside ad lib hay or good grass will be enough.
 
ive just started a new Thread about feeding my 2 1/2 year old he's TB x Shire (more T/B) i phoned up bailys and had great advice from them.
 
Sorry one thing I forgot to mention, he is under weight and ribby atm which is the reason for the mix, though he rarely eats from his own bowl. Thanks for all advice its appreciated due to this being 1) my first cob and 2) my first youngster.
 
I have a Shire x cob. He was not in the greatest of nick when he arrived as a 10 month old colt in June this year.

I wormed him, weighed him and then fed him Dodson and Horrell suregrow at the appropriate level for his weight. He had the Suregrow in a handful of Reddi-Grass and a splash of water.

Adlib grazing and good hay saw him really pick up and he is a big 17 month old gelding now. I am on haylage now and have had to cut him and his (RID x Cob) yearling filly companion right back, they each have a big trug of haylage once a day, have access to a paddock with some grass left and they sleep in a bedded down barn with the door left open so they can choose what they want to do. I am not feeding any bucket grub at the moment, but will go back to the Suregrow if the winter kicks in.

You will find your foal will pick up rapidly with a good worming and on good hay or haylage, try not to be tempted to stuff him full of hard feed it won't do him any favours.
 
I have a native type filly (we arent sure of exact breeding) - she's 19 months and is fed on Spillers Gro n Win Balancer. She is fed twice a day, and has 150g balancer with a double handful of chaff in each feed.
 
Mix won't help with weight. I'm sure your foal is just a pretty normal 7 month old. They can all go through scrawny looking phases whilst they are growing so rapidly and I would be very wary about over feeding - particularly as he now has better grazing.

Keep up with the low sugar chaff and speedi beet and add a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement. He really shouldn't need any more.
 
Sounds like a lot of hard feed for a cob foal to me.

I would keep up regular worming routine
As much hay/grass as he can eat, you sound like you have plenty grass which is very good.
Not so much hard feed, if any at all. Grass is just the best thing for putting on condition.
 
Bexy_86 said:
Sorry one thing I forgot to mention, he is under weight and ribby atm which is the reason for the mix, though he rarely eats from his own bowl. Thanks for all advice its appreciated due to this being 1) my first cob and 2) my first youngster.
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Being a baby he will look ribby and underweight one day, fat and dumpy the next, cute as a button, ugly duckling, elegant and then as clumsy as a labrador in roller blades....and thats just in the space of a month!!! loads and loads of good forage with a good worming programme are crucial. Ask someone you trust who is a good judge of babies to throw their eye over him every now and then as when you are looking at him every day it will be impossible to judge him. I fed my now two year old a good quality young stock mix over his first two winters. He was on excellent haylage and never got overweight. Currently as a rising three year old he is on no hard feed, just beautiful haylage and grass. He is in good condition and will get feed if necessary over the winter. He gets a vit/min supplement in a wee bit of chaff and this maintains him perfectly
 
amage said:
Ask someone you trust who is a good judge of babies to throw their eye over him every now and then as when you are looking at him every day it will be impossible to judge him.
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I do and it is her that advised me on what to feed him as she was concerned with him being ribby.

As I have said I am new to having horses this young and it has been a long time since i owned any horses, I think it is a case of re learning everything again. I must apologise, I probably sound very stupid, I am getting alot of contradicting advice from friends etc, so I am now asking lots of questions on here and using that to base my ideas on :o
 
I personally would look at something like fast fibre and give a really good vitamin and mineral supplement (I've used grand meadows grand vite to great success) in it. Not a balancer. If he needs more weight then maybe look at high fibre cubes in the fast fibre. This will give him a forage base, lots of vitamins and minerals and extra energy if he needs it. Hope this helps. C
 
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