Helping Young Horse through major growth spurts

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AppyLover1996

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Hi Guys,

So my youngster is going to be 2 at the end of April and of course is going through pretty random growth spurts, where he'll stay level for about a week or so and then shoot up and be quite bum high, before levelling out again and repeating the cycle.

He is fed on ad lib haylage, speedibeet, micronised linseed, youngstock balancer, boswellia, turmeric and msm with a sprinkling of crushed polo mints and the odd carrot chopped up and thrown in for a treat, but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to help him with the growth spurts?

He has regular trims and the vet is happy with his condition etc and says it's just a young horse thing - but me being a worrier, I just want to be sure that I'm doing everything to make him as comfy as possible whilst going through the growth spurts. His character hasn't changed, nor has his toileting habits etc so I can't see any obvious signs of discomfort and he loves a good bum scratch and grooming session.

His turnout is quite large and varied terrain - not too hilly but not too flat either and he can get up to speed and whizz around with his pals quite happily.

I know it was quite painful when I had growing pains and perhaps I'm anthromorphisizing things - so please feel free to tell me if I'm being daft! :p
 
You are overthinking, horses grow eating just grass and yours is having a much more varied diet so I’m sure he s doing fine..in fact I’d err on the more cautious side of not feeding much other than natural forage so that bone, tendon and muscle grow at a “natural” rate and not “forced” as I have been advised it is possible for bone to be laid down faster than tendon and muscle can “cope” with..(terrible sentence structure, hope you get the gist) 🙂
 
What on earth is your thinking for feeding all of that to a 2 year old? :) Assuming there is no apparent lameness, of course.

Less is sometimes more, but that often comes only with experience. Get the help of a youngstock experienced mentor local to you who can see said ned in the flesh.
 
I would keep the ad lib haylage, Speedibeet, micronized linseed, and young stock balancer/supplement. But I would add rolled oats to balance out the Speedibeet in terms of phosphorous to calcium. I don't like turmeric for any animal, as it can cause ulcers. I doubt if a youngster needs boswellia or MSM at all tbh, but either way, you're doubling up on products there, as they're aimed at doing the same thing. Polo mints and carrots are fine, although personally I prefer* to feed carrots and apples, and I add them to every bucket!

*The roan would like to point out that he gets polo mints, but that nobody else is allowed them.
 
Mine did all sorts of wonky growing and was/is just fine. He lived out on a lot of land with grass and hay 24/7. He did just fine. Even now, as he's about to turn 4, he only gets a balancer since he's in work and on hay only (grass is sparse).
 
gunnergundog said:
What on earth is your thinking for feeding all of that to a 2 year old? :) Assuming there is no apparent lameness, of course.

Less is sometimes more, but that often comes only with experience. Get the help of a youngstock experienced mentor local to you who can see said ned in the flesh.
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AppyLover1996 said:
Hi Guys,

So my youngster is going to be 2 at the end of April

He is fed on ad lib haylage, speedibeet, micronised linseed, youngstock balancer, boswellia, turmeric and msm
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You will want to monitor his weight as his growth begins to slow and the spring grass comes through. Youngsters really don’t need more than forage and a balancer, and should be lean to prevent joint problems. I have two the same age as yours - they get chaff, vit/mineral mix and lysine. Plus forage. That is all they need.

Boswellia and turmeric are anti inflammatories - commonly used for arthritic horses to reduce pain and swelling. It would not cross my mind to give those routinely to healthy youngstock, much the same way as I don’t give my kids Calpol unless they are actually ill.
 
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AdorableAlice said:
All you need is D&H Suregrow fed at correct gram to KG bodyweight and good forage. What breed is the youngster ?
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Slight derailment here but do you really feed it at the rates on the bag? I calculated that at their recommended amounts, I'd be feeding my native yearling two to three level Stubbs scoops of it per day. That seems like a heck of a lot!

(I am not feeding him anything like that much and he's in great shape, so I'm not worried, just curious as to whether anyone really feeds the recommended amounts!)
 
Widgeon said:
Slight derailment here but do you really feed it at the rates on the bag? I calculated that at their recommended amounts, I'd be feeding my native yearling two to three level Stubbs scoops of it per day. That seems like a heck of a lot!

(I am not feeding him anything like that much and he's in great shape, so I'm not worried, just curious as to whether anyone really feeds the recommended amounts!)
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I think your calculations are very wrong!!!!IMG_2862.png
 
ihatework said:
I think your calculations are very wrong!!!!
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😆 😆 You're so right, I have NO idea what I was on when I read the side of the bag! I feel absolutely rotten today (have had a stinking cold for three weeks now and had to cancel today's lovely ride I'd been looking forward to for weeks) but this did give me a laugh, albeit at my own expense.....having had another look it appears that thankfully my technique of throwing about half a scoop at him was pretty well correct.
 
maya2008 said:
You will want to monitor his weight as his growth begins to slow and the spring grass comes through. Youngsters really don’t need more than forage and a balancer, and should be lean to prevent joint problems. I have two the same age as yours - they get chaff, vit/mineral mix and lysine. Plus forage. That is all they need.

Boswellia and turmeric are anti inflammatories - commonly used for arthritic horses to reduce pain and swelling. It would not cross my mind to give those routinely to healthy youngstock, much the same way as I don’t give my kids Calpol unless they are actually ill.
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Hiya - he has the boswellia to help his tummy as he is a sensitive lad and gets the squits very easily. I've tried all manor of gut supplements and the boswellia is the only one he'll eat in his feed x He gets turmeric as he likes the taste of it (he managed to grab a mouthful of my other horse's feed once and he seemed to quite enjoy it) and I'm all for prevention is better than cure, so I added it into his feed x
 
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