Feeding advice for 18mth old youngsters?

Kay2

Kay2

New Member
May 27, 2008
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Bonny Scotland
Three of my lot are still out because my barn has still not gone up so I don't have enough stables for everybody! Therefore my youngsters (Cob x's) are out 24/7.

Their condition/weight is good so I have no worries about weight loss however I think they need to be getting more than just grass and adlib haylage to support any growth spurts. I had them on Suregrow pellets last winter as foals and they did well on that but I can't get Suregrow from feed merchant this year.

So I opted in desperation at the weekend for Bailey's HiFibre cubes and Speedi beet plus they also get garlic granules. The Bailey's cubes seem to cover most Vitamin groups and also have minerals such as magnesium, selenium etc....have more vits and minerals than the Dodson & Horrell HiFi Cubes for example.

It wasn't the usual person I deal with at the feed merchants the other day and the staff who were there didn't really know much about feeding youngsters so need a bit of advice please!

Do any of you youngster experts think they will be getting all the minerals and vitimans a growing horse needs from the above or is there a better feed out there.....don't want them going hyper either though so prob not Mare & Youngstock feed which I believe has oats in it!

Thanks.....
 
Hi Kay 2

My youngster is 20 months and in at night. He is out during the day, grass is getting sparce though!! I feed him twice a day on speedy beet and unmollassed chaff. He was on mare and youngstock mix - which i found was great for him and seemed to give all the norishment he needed. But now our local dealer won't get in in anymore he says its "for summer time and lactating mares!!" :confused: my answer was "yes, but some of us do have youngstock also!". So anyway i have just began him on a small amount of barley. Im not sure how its going to go but we'll see for the next couple of weeks. I'ts really scary i don't want to overfeed yet i don't want him to loose condition. So far he is doing good and looking nice and wooly!! Good luck!! :)
 
Hiya Peerielee,
It is scary. I have a poor doer TB and a fairly good doer Welsh cob x and I am just fine with feeding them, know exactly what Im doing.....but this is my first experience with baby horses and last winter I was just fine....they did great on the Suregrow and chaff plus Speedibeet....but similar to your situation my feed merchant wont stock it this year!
So....don't want to overdo their feed but would hate to be the cause of stunted growth!! :eek:

Ah well....I 'll see how they do on fibre cubes....think Barley might blow their little minds......hehehe.....I used to give that to my TB to get weight on her....so my wee cobs might end up like barrels.....lol

Thanks for help
 
tbh If they were mine at this age they would still be on a specially formulated youngstock supplement. Mine are all on baileys stud balancer, on sack lasts an 18 month warmblood type about 10 weeks.
 
Mine is on a small handful of chaff and the recommended amount of baileys stud balancer, she's looking great on it!
 
Thanks guys....will check if my feed merchant does this and if not if they can order it. Just want to make sure they are getting what they need and its a shame I couldn't get hold of Suregrow cause they did well on that last winter.
Ta for help.
 
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