When do your foals start eating mom's feed?

[Arctic Cielo]

What is the earliest, and latest you have seen your foals eating with mom?

[Bondama]

I only have experience with 3 foals, so will only speak from that! Colt #1 started eating @ 2 weeks old. Filly was later, around 3-4 weeks. Colt #2 started @ 2 weeks old as well. Interesting to note, too, that both Filly and Colt #2 would rather eat mom's food than their own!

[Arctic Cielo]

I've only had a few foals myself, and boarded a few mares that foaled out at my farm. They all were anywhere from 2-4 weeks when they would start to eat. This little paint filly started chowing on moms food at 3 days. She copies everything her mom does. Thank God she is not a cribber or anything like that.
I just can't believe her appetite.

[Vindicated]

Our colt, who was 6 weeks overdue, started eating with mom-or rather mouthing on her hay and grain a bit after day 3-
by day 10 he was eating out of his own pail and his own pile of hay-
Little glutton now goes through more feed/hay than some of my show horses-and he's as big as a tank
Won't let mom near his feed bin

[Crystal]

I found my fillies went for moms food before the colts did. But the boys were the first to claim all the hay piles by peeing on them..

[Intrinsic Worth]

It all depends on if the foal really needs the grain. Too much can cause OCD's, sore joints etc. If the foal is at a good weight, it doesn't and really shouldn't get grain until right before they are weaned.

[casallc]

It all depends on if the foal really needs the grain. Too much can cause OCD's, sore joints etc. If the foal is at a good weight, it doesn't and really shouldn't get grain until right before they are weaned.

A full ration of balanced high protein diet from the time a foal will eat is a must unless you are raising ponies. Personally, I prefer a full sized horse:

Dr. Paul D. Siciliano, Equine Nutritionist at Colorado State University, has authored a paper “The Relationship Between Growth Rate, Digestible Energy, Crude Protein And Developmental Orthopedic Disease in Horses“. Dr. Siciliano references more than a dozen studies which address various aspects of the subject.

The results of the aforementioned studies suggest that horses affected by DOD are not always more rapidly growing than their clinically normal peers, but are in many cases among the heavier more rapid gaining horses in the population. The degree of variability in growth may be another factor contributing to DOD. Horses with erratic growth rates or those experiencing sudden dramatic increases in body weight may be more susceptible to DOD.
These studies suggest that feeding diets with increased levels of digestible energy, that contain other nutrients in balance with digestible energy, may increase bone development and does not appear to compromise bone quality. However diets containing excess energy, not in balance with other nutrients, may be detrimental to bone health and predispose horses to DOD.
These studies suggest that a deficiency in crude protein is more likely to create a problem in bone growth and development as compared to excess. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that crude protein has a negative effect on bone growth and development. It should also be noted that there does not appear to be any benefit to feeding excess protein in terms of growth rate or bone growth and development.
In summary, using balanced rations targeted at a specific growth rate over a given time period should lessen the variability in growth rate and potentially decrease the incidence of D O D in young horses.

[Intrinsic Worth]

Perhaps you should tell that to some of the major farms in KY, because when I saw foals eating a lot of grain, their ankles became puffy and OCD's followed shortly. It really depends on the soil your farm is on though.

[madelyn]

We feed a very balanced, specially formulated broodmare/foal mix. The foals are usually in mom's feed tub by three weeks old, if just for a taste. They usually start lipping up some hay at four or five days old.

[casallc]

Perhaps you should tell that to some of the major farms in KY, because when I saw foals eating a lot of grain, their ankles became puffy and OCD's followed shortly. It really depends on the soil your farm is on though.

I would suggest you arm yourself with facts instead of making an assumption. Here is some more evidence but it seems you didn't bother to read the CSU study.

The practice of creep feeding serves to supply nutrients beyond what a foal receives from the milk. Secondly, creep feeding minimizes the intake of broodmare feed that can sometimes lack the amounts of protein and
minerals needed by foals relative to the energy intake. Many broodmare feeds contain between 10 and 14% crude protein. Although balanced
for a mare, some of these feeds are rich in energy and the protein: calorie or mineral: calorie ratios are inadequate for growing foals. Creep feeders also decrease the chances for injury to a foal when competing for feed from the mare's trough. And lastly, creep feeders allow foals to become accustomed to eating concentrates before weaning time….
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
EQUINE SCIENCES PROGRAM

Cynthia McCall, Extension Animal Scientist, Associate Professor, Animal and Dairy Science, Auburn University
Broodmares can produce large amounts of milk. However, the amount of milk the mare produces peaks when the foal is 30 to 60 days old and then gradually declines. Nutrient content of the milk also peaks during the first 30 days of lactation and declines as lactation continues. Mare's milk alone may not provide enough energy to meet the requirements of a 4-month-old or even younger foal.
Providing a nutritionally balanced creep feed for the foal by 2 months of age will increase pre-weaning growth and acquaint the foal with the feed it will eat when weaned. Creep feed should be formulated especially for foals to provide the correct amounts of nutrients needed for proper growth and development. Most feeds formulated for mature horses (even high-quality broodmare feeds) do not provide enough overall protein, calcium, or phosphorus for foals. Feeding foals these feeds may result in a deficiency in lysine, the first limiting amino acid that foals need for growth. Broodmare feeds may give the foal enough energy for weight gain without providing the basic nutrients needed for proper growth and skeletal development, resulting in fat foals with improperly developed musculoskeletal systems.
Young foals usually eat to meet their energy needs. That is, they usually consume less feed as the energy level of the feed increases. Therefore, the concentration of protein, vitamins, and minerals needed in a creep feed is influenced by the amount of energy (calories) contained in the feed. More energy-dense feeds should have higher concentrations of protein, calcium, and phosphorus to ensure that the foal is consuming proper amounts of these important nutrients. Because feed tags usually do not indicate the energy density of a feed, the energy density has to be estimated by the percentages of crude fiber and crude fat listed on the tag. Crude fiber is inversely related to energy (more crude fiber equals less energy), and crude fat is directly related to energy (more crude fat equals more energy). With a constant fat concentration, the minimum percentage of crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus needed in the creep feed will decrease as fiber content increases because the foal will consume more of the feed. However, remember that young foals are unable to consume and use large quantities of fiber, so creep feeds should be carefully balanced.
Protein quality, reflected by the amount and type of essential amino acids contained in the protein, is also a consideration in selecting a creep feed. High-quality protein sources, such as soybean meal, alfalfa meal, animal protein, or milk protein, should be used in formulating a creep feed. Table 1 shows minimum amounts of crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus needed in creep feeds containing various amounts of crude fiber at a constant level of crude fat (3 to 3.5 percent crude fat is the amount occurring naturally in most horse grains). Table 2 is a similar table showing minimum amounts of crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus needed in creep feeds containing supplemental fat, which increases the total crude fat concentration of the feed to a constant 8 to 8.5 percent. Practically, a commercial creep feed containing at least 16 percent crude protein, 0.8 percent calcium, and 0.5 percent phosphorus should meet the foal's nutritional needs. When feeds contain smaller amounts of these nutrients, it is difficult for the foal to consume enough of these nutrients in a reasonable amount of daily feed.
More at:
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1123/

[Intrinsic Worth]

When I was overseas, that new way of thinking was spewed out and a weanling who had OCD's was kept in a stall and they just kept feeding him more and more grain because that was supposed to be good for his joints.

The foal's OCD's got worse and worse.

Another horse I know was fed too much grain as a baby and now has joints the size of soccer balls.

I believe what I see, and I've never seen any good come from stuffing tons of grain down babies that don't need it.

Every case is individual and you shouldn't put foals on grain that don't need it. Some can grow too fast and have joint issues.

Large breeds of dogs have similar issues. Great Danes, for example, have to be on a very strict diet to keep them from growing too large too fast for fear of joint problems.

[casallc]

When I was overseas, that new way of thinking was spewed out and a weanling who had OCD's was kept in a stall and they just kept feeding him more and more grain because that was supposed to be good for his joints.

The foal's OCD's got worse and worse.

Another horse I know was fed too much grain as a baby and now has joints the size of soccer balls.

I believe what I see, and I've never seen any good come from stuffing tons of grain down babies that don't need it.

Every case is individual and you shouldn't put foals on grain that don't need it. Some can grow too fast and have joint issues.

Large breeds of dogs have similar issues. Great Danes, for example, have to be on a very strict diet to keep them from growing too large too fast for fear of joint problems.

It is pretty obvious you don't know what you are talking about so, I'll just consider the source and drop it.

[madelyn]

Wow. Hot topic.

[Intrinsic Worth]

When I was overseas, that new way of thinking was spewed out and a weanling who had OCD's was kept in a stall and they just kept feeding him more and more grain because that was supposed to be good for his joints.

The foal's OCD's got worse and worse.

Another horse I know was fed too much grain as a baby and now has joints the size of soccer balls.

I believe what I see, and I've never seen any good come from stuffing tons of grain down babies that don't need it.

Every case is individual and you shouldn't put foals on grain that don't need it. Some can grow too fast and have joint issues.

Large breeds of dogs have similar issues. Great Danes, for example, have to be on a very strict diet to keep them from growing too large too fast for fear of joint problems.

It is pretty obvious you don't know what you are talking about so, I'll just consider the source and drop it.

And obviously you've never worked at a large commercial breeding farm either.

[TB Dreamin']

I just wanted to add my "two cents" as my latest foal started eating Momma's feed at 5-6 days old. Now, I'm talking 'wolfing' it down, not just a nibble or two! Alarming to me!!

Keep in mind, said colt was born w/enteritis (see foal watch) and in the hospital for 5 days of life, but I have never seen a foal want to eat feed this voraciously.

My vet said in no uncertain terms, NO MORE FEED, whatsoever, as he's a large foal and if his growth rate is sped up thru excess energy/feed, we'll be in big trouble w/Epiphysitis...amongst other things.

I've raised lots and lots of foals thru the years to make polo ponies for my husband and always thought mother's milk is best for at least the first 3-4 weeks of life, and never offered feed to the foals. They've all had extremly athletic careers w/o problems...so????

Amy