Advice on feeding an 18 month old please?

[~Perdita.M~]

I have somehow acquired a baby. :o He is currently I believe, on *pony nuts* and hi fi. Any ideas on a good balanced diet for him? He's a scrawny arab x welsh:)

[teabiscuit]

lots of good quality forage, the first choice would be grass would be the best for him, then haylage then hay.
then i'd feed a coarse (sp :o ) mix three times a day the amount would depend on the condition of the horse. too much fat on a youngster can give joint problems later on.
a breeder i know feeds according to growth spurts-the horse is in good condition and a growth spurt comes along and he goes bum high and starts looking scrawny so then she ups the feed. the horse stops growing and gets in good condition again so she drops the feed down then he doesn't get too fat for his young bones.
hope this helps and good luck

[Jessey]

I would say that the feed should be based on forage, so grass, hay etc then if the little one can't hold weight or just needs that bit extra, something like SureGrow is really good, it gives all the vitamins and minerals and trace elements needed and also provides a stable slow release energy ration so as not to make them too fat or grow too quickly, it is not as cheap as some of the other stud mix type feeds but goes a long way and really seems to work.

If he is OK on forage alone I would definatly supplement his diet with a broard spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement as those are real building blocks at young ages and can make the world of difference to them in the long run.

J x

[~Perdita.M~]

Ok......any ideas on what the best broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement would be for him?:)

[burness_21]

i have my 2yr old with youngstock suppliment by naf and linseed oil, it really seems to do him the world of good