full foal???

[skewbald-mad]

i was planning on giving kaiser half what he's supposed to get of his suregrow and half of naf youngstock supplement over the summer, however he isnt hungry!! he takes a few mouthfuls and leaves the rest, its not that he doesent like this food as he loves it! he has moved onto a better field with good grazing so is it just that he is full?? im paranoid about him getting enough vits/minerals, so should i just give him a handful of chaf with the supp? he didnt keep weight on well over winter but i suppose with the good grass he will keep it on better?


i know some people think foals just need good grass and nothing else but with kaisers legs/feet id like him to make sure he is getting what he needs for correct growth.

[shandy84]

chaff and a vit supplement sounds like a good plan, mine do the same when they are bloated on good grass

[Jenny2502]

my horses always eat less hard feed when lots of grazing, so i just cut the feed and add suppliments.

[poniesrule]

I think that kaiser and calli have been having discussions!!!!!!:D

Calli decided about 2 weeks ago that her bucket feed was no longer welcome thankyou!!!! Little monkey digs out the carrots and leaves the chaff and surelimb!.

Im worried too that although she dosent need the protein and calories as she is getting these from the huuuuuge field she's in, im concerned that she is missing out on vital nutrients needed for growth.

Have now taken out the carrots, and this has helped a bit, but like Kaiser, she takes a couple of unenthusiastic mouthfuls then looses interest.

Have thought of tastier chaffs like applechaff, mollichaff (only a handfull in feed so no worry about the sugar) but dont want to waste more money buying food she may never want to eat.

Starting to remind me of my cat, turns his nose up at everything but tesco own brand cat food :rolleyes:


You can get field licks for youngstock, but you cant guarentee that they are getting their full supply of vits from it especially as it will be used by the other horses!!:confused

My thoughts on this at the moment are that i dont want to force her to eat and faff around too much in case she gets a bit too cheeky:p:p, so im having to just let her eat what she wants, and throw the rest away. Such a waste though.

What are you going to do?

[skewbald-mad]

thanks for the replies, poniesrule - must have been sending messages across the country to each other!!!!! since he hasnt eaten much food anyway for the last week im just gonna put a tiny bit of chaff and his supplement in tonight, with a dolop of molasses and see if he eats it, and if so then ill just continue to do that, will let you know how it goes!

[chickyd444]

i was told by me old grandad that the spring grass has lots of vits and minerals in it any way - but my grand pappy is a bit mental :D so please dont take my word for it. I reccon your little chaps bloated. i know its not the same but i like jasper to have his joint sup even in the summer, so he has a tiny pinch of chaff and his suplement x x :)

[shikras mum]

have you tried the feed without the youngstock suppliment

My filly will only take a couple of nibbles if i put that in her feed and i know my friends foal wont touch it either

Now i just put the general purpose suppliment in and she's quite happily eating that

[skewbald-mad]

have you tried the feed without the youngstock suppliment

My filly will only take a couple of nibbles if i put that in her feed and i know my friends foal wont touch it either

Now i just put the general purpose suppliment in and she's quite happily eating that

yep, tried that! the general purpose supp doesent have the same amount of nutrients in it however, as its meant for fully grown horses not growing babies, so will stick to the youngstock stuff, will just cut out feed.

[skewbald-mad]

ok so he didnt eat anything last night!!! he is however still eating his lick thing in the field so will just keep giving him them