re: foal colors and feeding
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (jean gayle) Isnt it true that if you push a foal too hard nutritionally, as many warmblood owners have done to get the ultimate height that you may cause joint damage by overloading them. I was told that providing vitamins was essential. Jean This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) Pamela, Jean Gayle --- A Subscriber at Techline
re: foal colors and feeding
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) (by way of Mike May [EMAIL PROTECTED]) This is a resend of Brian's post on the feeding topic. This was from 9/14/98 This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) Pamela, Mike is out of town until tonight or tomorrow I believe. I had some information on Capstone's Prinz, and I didn't see any greys for several generations back. I don't have info on Nikki. It is possible, though, to get a grey foal from two brown dun parents. Even if none of the recent ancestors have been grey, it is a recessive factor, and can travel unexpressed in the bloodlines for quite a while. I don't think anyone can give you exact odds except to say they would be small. I know one grey breeder who can usually tell at a very young age if a horse is a grey by the presence of dark mascara markings above the eyes. Does Skylark have markings like that? Regarding your feeding question, how to feed a Fjord foal, if everyone sends you their own feeding program I'm sure you will get 100 different responses. I think the basics you probably used in feeding your foals of other breeds will stand you in good stead though. Realize that a foal does not HAVE to have grain. Man has not (and will not) developed any feed better than momma's milk until they are 5-6 months old. There is nothing really wrong with some grain for foals, but with some grass or good hay, grain is not necessary. If you want to feed grain, however, plain oats or sweet oats are good and should not get a foal into any trouble by growing too fast. Or, a 14% protein sweet feed or pellet is good to use. Even though feed companies like you to buy their higher-priced foal starters, a lactating mare feed (14%) works every bit as well, enabling you to feed mom and baby the same thing. One nice thing about Fjords compared to some other breeds (in general) is that the mares share better with the foals. I really like this as it enables me to pour the grain in one pan and the mare and foal both get a proper amount - the mare gets the larger share of it by virtue of being able to eat more and faster, yet the foal still gets enough. You will see some feed companies lately pushing 16% protein feed for foals - personally I feel that 14% is better and won't get you into as much trouble with growth problems or a foal bouncing off the walls due to excess energy. A rough guideline of how much grain to give is 1 pound per 100 pounds of horse - weigh it on the bathroom scale. If it's hard to tell how much your foal weighs, ask your veterinarian for a weight tape. You measure around the girth with it and it gives a pretty accurate reading of weight. If you have beautiful pasture, your foal may get too heavy with grain and beautiful grass both - you may want to forego the grain. If the pasture is average then free choice grazing plus grain is fine. If the pasture is poor, then free choice grass hay plus grain would be good. By weaning time at 5-6 months, the foal, if not getting any grain, should be getting free choice grazing, or 2% of its bodyweight in good quality grass hay, or somewhere between the two. For example, a 400 lb Fjord foal would need 8 lbs hay daily if there wasn't much grass to eat. If there was some just decent but not beautiful grass, then perhaps 4 lbs hay daily in addition to grass. If getting grain as described above, the hay need drops to around 1.2-1.5% of body weight. I'm postulating for everyone on the list as well as Pamela. May I caution everyone not to overfeed Fjord foals? Pamela's question was very astute - i.e. she knew there was a difference in feeding Fjord foals vs. the other breeds she has had. There is definitely a difference. Many Quarter Horses today, for example, have done 95-99% of their growth in height by the time they are just two years old! For Fjords, in general, they do not reach 95-99% of their mature height until they are three years old. This means the Quarter Horse must be fed differently to sustain that kind of a growth rate. Remember that Fjords originated in Norway where the growing season was short and food was often sparse. I'm not sure if I can believe it, but legend has it that some Fjords survived harsh winters on fish cleanings (fish heads, etc) when there was nothing else to eat. Since many Fjords are easy keepers as adults, if we allow them to be overweight as youngsters, we will cause their metabolism to slow down and predispose them to serious weight problems as adults. One question that inevitably comes up: But will they reach their full potential if I don't feed them really well? The answer is, YES. A horse has to be practically starved to stunt its growth. A foal's growth can be sped up by providing optimal nutrition, and it can be slowed down by providing only marginal nutrition. But unless there is serious deprivation, they still reach the mature height they were genetically programmed to reach. It may take
Re: foal colors and feeding
This message is from: Anton Voorhoeve [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hello Brian, this is Anton Voorhoeve. Thanks for all the excellent information you give, I enjoy it and print it to give to my horse staff. One more question about feeding; is it correct that for the first two years of life a foal can stay on grass all the time compared to older ones who have to be removed to avoid problems? Thanks, Anton V.
re: foal colors and feeding
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) Pamela, Mike is out of town until tonight or tomorrow I believe. I had some information on Capstone's Prinz, and I didn't see any greys for several generations back. I don't have info on Nikki. It is possible, though, to get a grey foal from two brown dun parents. Even if none of the recent ancestors have been grey, it is a recessive factor, and can travel unexpressed in the bloodlines for quite a while. I don't think anyone can give you exact odds except to say they would be small. I know one grey breeder who can usually tell at a very young age if a horse is a grey by the presence of dark mascara markings above the eyes. Does Skylark have markings like that? Regarding your feeding question, how to feed a Fjord foal, if everyone sends you their own feeding program I'm sure you will get 100 different responses. I think the basics you probably used in feeding your foals of other breeds will stand you in good stead though. Realize that a foal does not HAVE to have grain. Man has not (and will not) developed any feed better than momma's milk until they are 5-6 months old. There is nothing really wrong with some grain for foals, but with some grass or good hay, grain is not necessary. If you want to feed grain, however, plain oats or sweet oats are good and should not get a foal into any trouble by growing too fast. Or, a 14% protein sweet feed or pellet is good to use. Even though feed companies like you to buy their higher-priced foal starters, a lactating mare feed (14%) works every bit as well, enabling you to feed mom and baby the same thing. One nice thing about Fjords compared to some other breeds (in general) is that the mares share better with the foals. I really like this as it enables me to pour the grain in one pan and the mare and foal both get a proper amount - the mare gets the larger share of it by virtue of being able to eat more and faster, yet the foal still gets enough. You will see some feed companies lately pushing 16% protein feed for foals - personally I feel that 14% is better and won't get you into as much trouble with growth problems or a foal bouncing off the walls due to excess energy. A rough guideline of how much grain to give is 1 pound per 100 pounds of horse - weigh it on the bathroom scale. If it's hard to tell how much your foal weighs, ask your veterinarian for a weight tape. You measure around the girth with it and it gives a pretty accurate reading of weight. If you have beautiful pasture, your foal may get too heavy with grain and beautiful grass both - you may want to forego the grain. If the pasture is average then free choice grazing plus grain is fine. If the pasture is poor, then free choice grass hay plus grain would be good. By weaning time at 5-6 months, the foal, if not getting any grain, should be getting free choice grazing, or 2% of its bodyweight in good quality grass hay, or somewhere between the two. For example, a 400 lb Fjord foal would need 8 lbs hay daily if there wasn't much grass to eat. If there was some just decent but not beautiful grass, then perhaps 4 lbs hay daily in addition to grass. If getting grain as described above, the hay need drops to around 1.2-1.5% of body weight. I'm postulating for everyone on the list as well as Pamela. May I caution everyone not to overfeed Fjord foals? Pamela's question was very astute - i.e. she knew there was a difference in feeding Fjord foals vs. the other breeds she has had. There is definitely a difference. Many Quarter Horses today, for example, have done 95-99% of their growth in height by the time they are just two years old! For Fjords, in general, they do not reach 95-99% of their mature height until they are three years old. This means the Quarter Horse must be fed differently to sustain that kind of a growth rate. Remember that Fjords originated in Norway where the growing season was short and food was often sparse. I'm not sure if I can believe it, but legend has it that some Fjords survived harsh winters on fish cleanings (fish heads, etc) when there was nothing else to eat. Since many Fjords are easy keepers as adults, if we allow them to be overweight as youngsters, we will cause their metabolism to slow down and predispose them to serious weight problems as adults. One question that inevitably comes up: But will they reach their full potential if I don't feed them really well? The answer is, YES. A horse has to be practically starved to stunt its growth. A foal's growth can be sped up by providing optimal nutrition, and it can be slowed down by providing only marginal nutrition. But unless there is serious deprivation, they still reach the mature height they were genetically programmed to reach. It may take longer, but they still reach it. So, my take home message is, if you want to feed your foal(s) grain, great, just be reasonable about it. If you remember nothing else, remember
