What should I be feeding my yearling?

Aug 27, 2019

What are the benefits of feeding a Fibregenix Feed balancer to him/her – will I see a big difference?

Youngsters are quite hard to always ‘notice a difference’ in. They can go through their daft growth spurts, and change from looking quite nice to looking like a bum-high lanky giraffe!!  Prime Original balancer is perfect for your youngster!  For a start, it’ll help to promote more even growth rates. You will need to make sure that you increase the amount you’re feeding as your youngster grows, so weigh taping fortnightly is a good idea. Simply feed alongside a quality protein, high fibre diet such as lucerne, chaff plus ad lib hay or plenty of grazing time.  You can also add unmolassed beet pulp for additional condition/weight if needed.

Try and avoid grain-based mixes/growers pellets, but if you prefer to feed them, just check the amounts you’re feeding and watch out for unwanted excessive weight gain which can impact on joint health.  Ideally, a fibre diet is best for yearlings and don’t forget the value of Fibregenix Liquid Joint & bone RLF to promote strong, dense bone and healthy joints.

 

My broodmare is overweight

Aug 27, 2019

I really ought to feed her Lami Low-Cal but I thought she is supposed to be on Prime Original.  Will she still get enough of a top up of nutrition for herself and the foal whilst she is on Lami Low-Cal?

It’s always instinctive to presume a broodmare must need ‘more’, and this is why a lot of them are overweight to start with.  Particularly in the early months of pregnancy.  We would always recommend Lami Low-Cal for any overweight horse – regardless of their individual circumstances.  An overweight broodmare is certainly not ideal.  As we don’t want to promote further weight gain, Lami Low-Cal is definitely the way forward to help keep those essential nutrients up during pregnancy without providing extra calories.

Depending on how her weight goes over the first 6 months would then determine whether or not to swap her to Prime Original for the last 3 months. If she is still quite a bit overweight it’s a good indication that she’ll have plenty to give to the foal once it arrives.  So I would suggest continuing with Lami Low-Cal throughout the pregnancy.  If she has lost some weight then she could be swapped to Prime Original as she is likely to lose further weight once she is feeding her foal.

Just as you would if feeding Prime Original, the amount of Lami Low-Cal can always be increased by 100g per day on top of the usual recommended feeding rate for the last 3 months of gestation, but  if the mare is overweight this often isn’t necessary.