Question

We have a three-month-old orphan Welsh Pony filly. We located a nurse mare for her, but that’s not going as well as I’d hoped. She nurses the mare, but only in our presence. I’d like to get the filly eating grain so I can wean her, but she turns her nose up at milk pellets. She will eat a couple feeds formulated for older horses. She has access to Bermuda grass and alfalfa (lucerne) hay. She is also fed a gastric ulcer preventive. How much grain should she be eating now? How often?

Answer

A three-month-old foal should consume up to 3.5% of its body weight in feed and forage a day, depending on how much milk it is consuming. I would recommend giving her as much of the hay as she will eat.

The diet should not be more than 50% grain. If she will absolutely not consume a grain formulated specifically for young, growing horses, I would continue with the senior feed. The primary drawback of the senior feed is the lack of high-quality protein, particularly lysine, the limiting amino acid in growth. If the filly continues to refuse the milk-substitute pellets, add some lysine powder, about 25 g per day. This will encourage proper growth.

In terms of when to feed her, the filly should have free-choice forage at all times, but grain can be fed in three to four meals a day.