Feed for baby

[huntersmoon]

I have been trying to build up my little yearling filly, as she was a little poor, Aware not to stuff her with stud mix or anything high powered, I settled on top spec feed balancer, with some chaff, for bulk. She has been increasingly itchy this last month, we feared sweet itch, though I thought she would be too young. She has rubbed the hair off in patches under her mane and on bits of her shoulder. She was deliced when we got her in feb, and has always rubbed a little, but not as bad as this. We don't have much grass yet, and she is living out so I was reluctant to stop feeding her yet. As a trial, I stopped giving her the top spec 2 days ago, just feeding chaff. Last night after her feed she just went out and grazed, usually she has a real good rub on the shelter doorway for about 5 mins. I really hope we've cracked it and it was the feed, though the weather, being cooler might be a factor, I'll see what she's like today. Perhaps she doesn't need any extra food, But it is difficult not to think she needs it when we don't have much grass. Not had much experience with native babies. Does anyone else feed their youngsters in summer?, Am I being over fussy and she'd be fine on just grass? she is small and although the grass is sparse, maybe she is getting enough out of it. Any thoughts would be welcome.

[Debbie]

Blossom was really fussy when she came last year in May and we had LOADS of grass, so I didn't bucket feed her at all....although I did offer her some really nice bermuda hay and anxiously watched her poohs to make sure she wasn't going to get too loose from the sudden diet change. She did grand for me, not a prob.

For her bucket feeds, I only gave her two bucket feeds during the summer for two days straight and that was just to get her dewormer into her. I used soaked beetpulp and a handful of sweetfeed (I'm not sure you have anything similar in the UK...its mostly cereal based with molassass in it). Even then she didn't eat much.

I noticed with Blossom she tended to rub as well...especially her mane given half the chance I used a spot on called Celebration as we tend to have a very high tick and mosquito population. Although it worked exceedlingly well, she did stay itchy, usually around her shoulders. As I wasn't really feeding her anything, I think it was from the fly and mosquito bites rather than anything she was eating. Perhaps its the same with your filly? The cooler weather may be preventing the bugs from being out in force.

Over the winter, I did mix in oatmeal with Blossom's bucket feeds to get some weight onto her (she was really skinny after we sold the older mare Lady Bear, but I think it was a combo of the older mare and Blossom having a growth spurt). As the oatmeal was all ready duly ground up, I figured it would be that much easier for her body to digest and utilize, and it worked a treat over winter for her. She came out not too skinny, not too fat, and certainly didn't seem to make her fizzy.

Some of the girls on here warned with oatmeal to use limestone flour to balance the calcium, but I found with Blossom she had horribly fast growth spurts on her hindend. She did much better without the extra limestone...and too be fair, our water source is exceedingly high in calcium, so she may be getting it from that instead.

Sorry for the novel, but I hope you can find a system that works for your girl

[rose]

Our have always just had grass and hay in the winter. We don't feed them. As the grass comes through she should be fine

[DalesLady]

We don't feed ours either, other than hay and grass, we prefer them to build themselves as naturally as possible. Our grass is quite rich anyway and hay/lage made from same grass, so we need to be careful in any case.

[huntersmoon]

Ive stopped feeding her now, since it has rained the grass is now growing at last, she's not rubbing as much, though still a bit. very slow to moult though, so maybe she's just too hot. Really hope its not sweet itch, though she doesn't seem worse when the midges are out. Just have to wait and see. She doesn't rub her tail much, just under her mane and on withers. Probably i'm worrying too much as usual.

[DalesLady]

keep giving her a gentle groom and help that hair out for her.

On a warm Spring day recently we bathed four of our girls and got loads of hair out with a massaging rubber brush thing. It made a world of difference to them.

[greydales]

I have heard before that Top Spec has caused problems in some horses - although I can't remember specifically what! Perhaps it was just coincidence though, and could have been the change of coat.

I got a 6 month old weanling and yearling at the same time and fed them through their first winter with the same as they had been getting at the breeder's (Mare & foal mix) but to be honest I'm not even sure they needed it. After that winter they've had nothing except grass and a mineral lick all year round and only get extra hay if it snows or is frosty - no hard feed at all.

Ideally I'd want mine to come out of winter having dropped off loads to the point of looking poor, however this has never happened yet LOL! My pasture is very lush so I have the constant problem of making sure they don't have too much.

You should know really by looking at your filly's condition, if she seems fine then she doesn't need anything extra. If she starts to look poor then you can always feed her extra hay or haylage, and if this doesn't seem enough then I'd try sugar beet before using any concentrates.