There are a number of key elements including the following:

• Size and body condition – Young horses being prepped for sale should be on a smooth growth curve to avoid growth spurts and to reach optimum height at sale time.  Size for appropriate age is a plus for most disciplines.  The sale horse should normally have a body condition score at 5 or slightly higher.
• Muscle, not fat – The modern sale ring rewards horses that have well developed muscles rather than just being fat.  Thin is not good, but obese is not desired. 
• Hair coat – Slick and shiny is always good.  This will require a combination of grooming, health care and nutrition.
• Hoof quality – High quality feet with no growth or fever rings are essential.

Sale preparation is an ongoing process for young horses.  If they are weaned properly and maintained at a Body Condition Score of about 5, there will not be as much pressure for a sudden feeding change when they are being prepared for a sale. Solid sale preparation takes a minimum of 90 to 120 days of exercise, proper nutrition and grooming. 

Having a quality feed program is essential to have horses looking and feeling thier best. Here are a few keys to developing the optimum program:

• Have a good quality forage or pasture available to help develop body condition. 
• A grain product should contain added vegetable oil to provide a safe energy source as well as to help hair coat. 
• Depending on the forage, a 12 or 14% protein feed that is fortified with amino acids (lysine, methionine, threonine) to develop muscle mass should be used. 
• The feed should contain balanced macro minerals and trace minerals to support bone remodeling and develop bone strength. 
• The feed should also contain added vitamins A, D, E and Biotin for proper metabolism as well as hair coat and hoof quality. 
• Fresh clean water and free choice salt should also be available.

Feeding rate will depend on current body condition, desired body condition at the time of the sale, and the amount of exercise that the horse will be getting.  If the sale is in 90 days and the horse needs to gain 90 lbs, the horse needs to be fed for maintenance, work and weight gain.  Weight gain of 1 pound per day will require an additional 3+ pounds of feed per day in addition to maintenance and work.  No more than 0.5% BW in feed should be given at any meal and meals should be spaced at equal intervals.

• Make certain that the foal is consuming at least 1 pound of a feed per month of age of a feed designed for foals and weanlings. 
• If a foal is 4 months of age, it should be consuming at least 4 pounds of feed per day. If a foal is 6 months of age, it should be consuming at least 6 pounds of feed per day. 
• Appropriate feeds for foals and weanlings will be 14-16% protein with controlled starch and sugar along with amino acid, mineral and vitamin fortification. 
• Keep in mind that past 2 months of age, the milk produced by the dam is not sufficient to maintain adequate growth, so the foal should be creep fed if possible as not all mares allow the foal to eat with them.
• The day you wean the foal is NOT the day to change feeds!  Creep feeding the foal on the same feed it will continue to eat after weaning is a great way to keep one point in their life consistent through the weaning process.
• The foal should also have access to high quality forage, loose salt and fresh, clean water.

Keep in mind that weaning can be a high stress period for the foal, so other high stress events should probably not take place at the same time as weaning.  The following management practices should be in place before the foal is weaned:

• Make certain that the foal has been vaccinated for appropriate diseases according to your health care plan.  Vaccination is a stress on the animal, so you do not want to do this at the same time you wean the foal.
• The foal should also be de-wormed prior to weaning.
• The foal should have been handled, taught to lead and have had its feet trimmed.
• Have a plan in place for the actual weaning/separation process.

Monitor the new weanlings fairly closely and increase feed intake to maintain growth and body condition, feeding according to both weight and Body Condition Score.  Some weanlings become a bit pot-bellied and look a little rough following weaning.  This is frequently due to inadequate feed intake and too much forage.  The cecum is not fully developed in the weanling, so it cannot digest forage as efficiently as an older horse.

Proper preparation can minimize the stress of weaning for foals and help maintain uniform growth and body condition.

Soaking hay in water is a common strategy used to manage the nutrition of some diseased horses.  Current hay soaking recommendations include soaking hay for 30 minutes in warm or 60 minutes in cold water for removal of carbohydrates (Watts, 2003).  Soaking hay is commonly done to manage horse diagnosed with laminitis, Polysaccaride Storage Myopathy (PSSM), hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

• Researchers have suggested that diets contain less than 12 and 10% nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) for horses affected with laminitis (Frank, 2009) and PSSM (Borgia et al., 2009), respectively. 
• Reynolds et al. (1997) determined that a diet less than 1% K is necessary for horses diagnosed with HYPP.
• Moore-Colyer (1996) determined that soaking hay for 30 minutes reduced respiratory problems for horses diagnosed with COPD or heaves. 

However, how efficient is hay soaking, and are additional essential nutrients lost during the soaking process?  Researchers at the University of Minnesota set out to determine the impact of water temperature and soaking duration on removal of NSC, crude protein (CP), minerals, and dry matter (DM) from alfalfa and orchardgrass hays. 

Four hay types were soaked, including bud and flowering alfalfa, and vegetative and flowering orchardgrass.  Individual flakes were submerged for 15, 30 and 60 minutes in 25 liters of cold (72°F) and warm (102°F) water, and for 12 hours in cold water.  A control (non-soaked) sample was also evaluated.  Water temperatures were determined by using the cold or warm only faucets, similar to practices implemented by horse owners and managers.  Subsamples of entire flakes were submitted for nutrient analysis at a commercial laboratory.

• Prior to soaking, both alfalfa hays were below the 10 and 12% NSC threshold for horses diagnosed with PSSM and laminitis, respectively, and would not have required soaking. The orchardgrass hays were above these thresholds, however, after soaking for 15 to 30 minutes were at or below 10 to 12% NSC. 
• Although soaking hay for longer durations did further reduce NSC content, it is not recommended.  All horses, even diseased ones, require carbohydrates in their diet. 
• The severely limited NSC content in hay soaked for greater than 1 hour, combined with increased fiber amounts (fiber components are not water soluble, thus they are concentrated in soaked hay), brings into question the palatability and availability of nutrients in hay soaked for longer periods of time.

• Crude protein leaching was variable in soaked hays, something other researchers have also observed (Moore-Colyer, 1996).  More importantly, previous research looked at the nutrient availability and quality of rained-on hay fed to steers and suggested the nitrogen remaining in rained-on hay is more stable, water-insoluble (Rotz and Muck, 1994), and possibly less digestible by ruminants (Licitra et al, 1996).  Additional research is needed to evaluate this concept when feeding soaked hay to horses.        
• Calcium (Ca) is not as prone to leaching during soaking compared to other minerals, and appears to be dependent on hay maturity.  As soaking duration increased, leaching of Ca increased in alfalfa bud and vegetative orchardgrass hays (immature hays).  However, soaking had no effect on Ca leaching in the more mature hays. 
• Conversely, magnesium (Mg) Mg and phosphorus (P) levels were reduced in all hay types as a result of soaking, with longer soaking durations leading to greater reductions.  Because Ca is not as water soluble as P, high Ca:P ratios were observed in hays soaked for  longer durations, specifically after 12 hours. 
• Ideally, Ca:P ratios should range from 1:1 to 3:1 (up to 6:1) in horse diets (NRC, 2007).  The high Ca:P ratios observed after longer soaking durations were exaggerated in alfalfa hays which had higher Ca:P ratios prior to soaking. 
• After 12 hours of soaking, a deficiency in P was observed and ranged from a shortage of 1 to 8 grams for a 500 kg horse in light work (NRC, 2007), and Krook and Maylin [32] suggested that osteochondrosis may be associated with excess dietary Ca. 
• Soaking both alfalfa and orchardgrass hay for 12 hours was necessary to sufficiently reduce K concentration to recommend levels prior to feeding horses diagnosed with HYPP (Reynolds et al, 1997).  Although K levels can be reduced by soaking, neither alfalfa nor orchardgrass hay is an appropriate option for horses diagnosed with HYPP due to the naturally high levels of K. 

Owners should rely on forage analysis as the primary method of determining the appropriate hay for horses, especially when feeding horses diagnosed with laminitis, PSSM, HYPP or COPD.   Hay soaking for short durations (15 to 30 minutes in duration) is an acceptable management method, but should only be used if ideal hay is not available.  Hay should not soak hay for greater than 1 hour.  Soaking hay for long durations resulted in severely reduced NSC content, high Ca:P ratios, shortage of P in the diet and significant losses in DM.

Forage selection should be based on horse needs, as there is no one forage best suited for all classes of horses.  For example, providing a nutrient-dense forage like vegetative alfalfa hay to ‘easy keepers’ can create obesity issues; however, that same hay would be good option for a performance horse with elevated nutrient requirements.  With so many forages available, how does one choose the best option??  Differences in the nutritive quality of forages (hay or pasture) are largely based on two factors: plant maturity and species.

Maturity

Regardless of plant species, stage of maturity significantly affects forage quality. 

• Young, vegetative forages are very nutrient dense and contain fewer fibrous carbohydrates (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin). 
• As the plant matures (flowers and seed heads are indicators of maturity), the proportion of fiber in the plant increases, to provide structural support as the plant gets larger.  The increased level of lignin associated with maturation interferes with the digestion of cellulose and hemicellulose by hindgut microorganisms, thereby reducing the digestibility of the forage.  
• More mature forages also have lower energy and protein levels than their immature counterparts. 

Most horses do well on mid-maturity forages; horses with elevated nutrient requirements benefit from receiving young, less mature forages, while more mature forages are be best suited for ‘easy keepers’.

Plant species

Legumes vs. Grasses
Legumes (i.e. alfalfa and clovers) generally produce higher quality forage than grasses.  Often, legumes have higher energy, protein, and mineral (specifically calcium) content when compared to grasses at a similar stage of maturity, and are typically more digestible and more palatable. Legumes are an excellent source of nutrients for horses; however, a horse’s nutrient requirements can easily be exceeded when fed immature legumes.  Consumption of excess nutrients, particularly energy, may result in obesity or other digestive issues.  Legume-grass mixes or mid- to late-maturity legumes (which are less nutrient-dense) often provide adequate nutrients, without exceeding the horse’s requirements.    

Cool Season Grasses vs. Warm Season Grasses

Cool-season grasses (CSG; i.e. timothy, bromegrass, bluegrass, and orchardgrass) typically have a higher nutritive value compared to warm season grasses (WSG; i.e. bahiagrass, bermudagrass and bluestems).  At a similar stage of maturity, CSG have a higher protein content and lower fiber content.  The higher fiber content in WSGs is due to the fact that they mature and become lignified more rapidly than CSGs.  WSGs in late stages of maturity are typically less digestible and may be less palatable than CSGs.  Consequently, if feeding WSGs it may be advantageous to harvest the forage at an earlier stage of maturity, compared to CSGs.

CSGs store the majority of their carbohydrates as fructans, while WSGs and legumes store their carbohydrates as starch.  Rapid consumption of forages containing high levels of fructans, as with other water-soluble carbohydrates, may trigger laminitis in susceptible horses.  Fructan levels are highest in lush spring pastures and often increase during drought conditions.  Carbohydrate content of forage is an important consideration for owners of horses struggling with chronic laminitis issues, equine metabolic syndrome, and PSSM. 

Differences in average nutritive values of forages commonly fed to horses are shown in Table 1.

Conclusion

The digestive system of the horse has been designed to efficiently utilize forages, and most horses can fulfill their nutrient requirements on these types of diets.  Matching the nutrient levels in the forage to the nutrient requirements of the horse is one of the primary goals in forage selection.  A variety of factors, including plant species and maturity, should be considered when making this decision.

There are a number of different ways to actually handle weaning, depending on how many foals you have and the physical layout of your facility.  Here are some factors to keep in mind:

• There is probably less stress on the foal if it remains in the pen or paddock where it is accustomed to being instead of being moved to a new location.  Move the mare, not the foal if possible. 
• Misery loves company.  If you have more than one foal, wean at least 2 at a time and keep them together.  If you have only one foal, perhaps you have a nice old tolerant gelding who can be a babysitter?  Mares also do better with company.
• Make certain the pen and paddock are safe with good fencing and no hazards.
• Out of sight (and hearing), out of mind.  Mares and foals tend to quiet down faster if they cannot see and hear each other after weaning.  There are some differences of opinion on this element of weaning management.
• A few days prior to weaning, reduce the grain intake on the mare to prepare her to dry up from milk production. 
• Her udder is going to be somewhat swollen, so don’t plan on cinching her up right away for a trail ride. 
• Her milk production started decreasing significantly at 2-3 months of lactation. 
• Make certain that she can continue to get exercise to minimize swelling and discomfort post weaning.

Monitor the new weanlings fairly closely and adjust feed intake to maintain growth and body condition.  Foals should be consuming about 1 pound of a suitable foal feed per month of age at the time they are weaned.  (Ex: a 4 month old foal should be consuming 4 lbs of feed per day.)  Some weanlings become a bit pot-bellied and look a little rough following weaning.  This is frequently due to inadequate feed intake and too much forage.

Proper preparation can minimize the stress of weaning for foals and broodmares and make for a more pleasant experience for all!

Donkeys are something all together different. While they are related to horses and considered an equid, the way their digestive system functions is much different – donkeys have actually been compared to small ruminants in their capabilities to digest and utilize fiber. While under a visual inspection the digestive tract of a donkey and horse is the same, the way donkeys ferment and use fiber is unique. Donkeys (descendants of the wild ass)  originated as desert animals and are adapted to foraging on coarse plants and grasses. Due to their typical desert diet, their digestive system is much more efficient than that of a horse, and therefore donkeys require a different feeding strategy.

Donkeys do well on high fiber diets that are not rich in protein or carbohydrates

In many parts of the world, donkeys face the issue of malnutrition and starvation. In industrialized countries, just the opposite is true - the main problem among donkeys is obesity. In countries like the United States we present donkeys with energy rich food and usually don’t require them to work very hard for it. People tend to feed these animals just like horses – but a diet that may be perfectly fine for a maintenance horse could cause the average donkey to become grossly overweight. Here are some good tips to follow when feeding donkeys:

• DO NOT overfeed!
• Consider age, work requirement, environment and body weight of the animal
• Monitor body condition continuously using the Donkey Sanctuary Scale
• Carefully watch levels of carbohydrates and protein
• High fiber diets are preferred

Within a few hours of being born your foal will take in the mare’s first milk. This milk is known as colostrum and it provides valuable antibodies that help prevent diseases. In the first several weeks of life your foal focuses on nursing to get all of his nutrition. Your foal should consume 15-25% of his bodyweight daily in milk and will be gaining from 2-3 lbs. per day. If you notice your foal nursing longer than 30 minutes at a time, you may need to investigate and make sure that the mare is producing enough milk to the foal.

Ferris with mom Rosie - foals exhibit the most entertaining behaviors....

As early as one week of age your foal may start taking some interest in feed by nibbling at hay or grain. This initial interest may be just a way of imitating mom, but the foal soon learns to use these other sources of nutrition and his digestive tract quickly adjusts to solid food. One of the things your foal may eat might not look all that appetizing to you, but coprophagy (eating manure) is now recognized as being normal in foal behavior. It is thought to be a way that the foal’s hindgut gets prepared ferment forages later on.

Between weeks 13 – 24 your foal’s source of nutrition from his dam is starting to dwindle as the lactating mare produces less and less milk. At this point we want to make sure that the foal has a good and balanced supplemental source of nutrition; you may want to start a creep feeding program to make sure your foal has good access to this supplemental diet. 

Foal feed needs to be focused on providing balance to the diet.  Metabolic bone disease is something almost all foal owners fear. Foals who grow too rapidly, gain weight too quickly or who have an imbalance in essential parts of the diet (minerals, protein, calories, etc.) can end up with these serious health issues, which can include DOD (Developmental Orthopedic Disease), physitis, contracted tendons and others. Make sure that you are providing  a good, digestible source of protein (tip: look for guaranteed levels of amino acids), correct amounts  of vitamins and minerals (particularly important are calcium & phosphorus,  copper & zinc and selenium & vitamin E)  and the right amount of calories for sound growth.

Check out our Equine Growth Chart to chart your foal’s progress!

Strangles abscess under a horse's jaw.

There are a number of potential illnesses which can cause horses to go “off feed” for varying periods of time.  Upper respiratory issues, such as strangles and influenza, may cause the horse to lose appetite and reduce feed intake.

There is a bit of a trade off with the nutrient requirements of the horse that is off feed due to illness.  On one hand, the horse may be moving around less because it does not feel good, so it is not burning up as many calories.  On the other hand, immune response and maintaining/building new tissue requires adequate Calorie intake, along with amino acids, minerals and vitamins, and adequate water intake.  There is also a difference between a healthy horse that is experiences reduced feed intake, and a sick horse that experiences reduced feed intake.  The body of the healthy horse conserves resources, while the sick horse has to expend resources to get well.

The following steps may be useful for the horse that is experiencing reduced feed intake due to fever or upper respiratory issues:

1. Horses with a contagious condition such as strangle or influenza should be properly isolated with appropriate biosecurity measures to prevent the spread to other animals.  Biosecurity is a separate topic and is very important.
2. Water should be available free choice, preferably from buckets, so that consumption can be monitored and so that the buckets can be cleaned regularly.
3. Palatable forage should be used.  If a horse already has a respiratory issue, care should be taken to make sure the forage is dust free.   It may be dampened or soaked if needed.
4. A palatable well fortified feed should be used to help maintain intake and provide the nutrients required to support immune response and healing, particularly adequate amino acids, trace minerals and vitamins.  Anti-oxidants such as selenium and Vitamin E may be useful.
5. A feed with added fat may provide easily digestible Calories with reduced risk of metabolic disturbances.
6. The goal should be to support the horse during the illness, and minimize weight loss and muscle wasting.

Regardless of the age of the horse, a senior horse feed may be a good option.  Senior horse feeds are very safe, highly digestible, highly palatable and well fortified.  They are designed to be used as complete feeds or with limited forage intake and can be made into a mash if needed.  They work well for many recovery conditions.

If a horse is in training, care must be exercised in that even a few days of stall rest can result in some loss of bone density and soft tissue strength, so training needs to be adjusted accordingly to reduce the risk of injury.  Also, lung function may not be back to 100% for several weeks following a respiratory infection.

Horses that are ill, and particularly ones that are severely emaciated, should be under the direction of a veterinarian.

If a horse is demonstrating unusual eating behavior, the following check list might be useful in determining what factors may be driving the behavior:

1. Does the horse have adequate long stem fiber available?  If the horse does not feel full or is bored, they will find something to chew on and consume.  Fences, stalls and trees may suffer!  If the horse is getting sufficient Calories to maintain body condition, but is not consuming enough dry matter to feel full, they will try to consume more of something and will look for things to nibble on.
2. Do they have adequate salt available free choice?  Horses that do not have salt available will chew on a variety of objects seeking salt, such as tool handles or leather.  They may eat dirt where salt might be present in small quantities or where there are or have been ashes.   Wild animals seek out “salt licks” and consume bones.
3. Do they have adequate mineral intake?  While the horse may not have specific mineral wisdom, abnormal consumption may be a good time to review macro and micro mineral intake to ensure their diet is balanced and they are receiving adequate amounts of these important micronutrients.
4. Does the horse have ulcers?  There have been anecdotal reports of horses with ulcers seeking to consume fiber or dirt.
5. Young horses cutting teeth may sometimes exhibit some unusual chewing behavior.  Young horses also like to explore and will nibble on or consume mop fibers, decorations, leather etc.

Anytime a horse is consuming unusual material, a thorough review of the diet is a good idea to make certain there is sufficient fiber, adequate minerals, including salt, and adequate protein/amino acid intake.  If boredom is an issue, increased exercise or the use of stall toys may be a good idea.  And of course, if your horse consumes something odd, or excessive amounts of something, make sure to contact your vet!

Newborn Foal, Ella takes in the world next to mom, Serena

When was the last time you picked a mare out for breeding based solely on the fact that she was a good milker? If you are like most horse owners, that thought probably didn’t even cross your mind when it came to mare selection. Most of us look at things like conformation, color, attitude and athletic ability as traits to breed for before we ever consider things like milk production.

The fact is that mares need to provide milk - and a lot of it – to feed and nourish the foal at their side. But even the best milking mare will start to decline in milk production a few months after the birth of her foal. By week 13-24 her milk production will shrink from 3% of her body weight to about 2%. This is a peak time for growth in the foal and nutrient needs are increasing just as the nutrition provded by mom is decreasing. A good way to address this issue and make sure that your foal gets all the nutrition that they require is to implement a creep feeding program. Creep feeding is simply a method of feeding foals so that they have access to feed that the mare doesn’t.

A simple creep feeder can be made of a small pen that allows the foal an entry that the mare can’t fit through. Height of the opening is a great way to keep mares out of the creep feeder. Keep your opening at least a couple of inches higher than the foal’s withers – this will be low enough to keep the mares out and still let the foals in. Remember, those foals are growing so you may have to periodically adjust the height of the entry. 

If you feed the foal in a stall alongside his dam, there are small feeders on the market that have evenly spaced bars in place over the opening that prevent the mare’s larger muzzle from reaching in to snack on the creep feed.

The ration you provide as your creep feed should be designed specifically for growing foals with the primary intention of providing balance in the diet.  It needs to have a few key features:

• Good palatability to ensure intakes
• High quality protein
• Amino acids (particularly lysine) for sound growth
• Balanced levels of vitamins and minerals – having too much, too little, or the wrong ratio of certain vitamins and minerals at this stage can be detrimental. Of particular importance is calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, selenium and vitamin E.  

Creep feed can be offered free choice; the foal will nibble at it throughout the day. To make sure that your foal is getting enough of the feed, place your feeder in a place that the mare frequents or spends a large part of her time.  Keep feed fresh and feeders clean so that the foals will be encouraged to eat.

By providing a creep feeding program for your foals you will be giving them the nutrition they require and helping them in their journey to becoming strong and sound adults.