50. Feeding Weanlings: The Art and Science of Getting Growing Horse Nutrition Right

There is no time in horse nutrition where you need both art AND science more than when you are feeding a weanling.

These funny, curious, chaotic little creatures are walking a tightrope every single day... growing fast enough to reach their genetic potential, but not so fast that they end up with bone or joint disease.

Get it wrong, and you are looking at OCD, contracted tendons, physitis, stunted growth, and a horse that never becomes what it was born to be. Get it right, and you lay the foundation for a lifetime of health and soundness.

In this episode, professional equine nutritionist Dr. Nerida draws on 25 years of experience and thousands of weanlings from Australian thoroughbred studs to Japan’s biggest breeding farms, to walk you through exactly what your weanling needs and why.

You’ll learn:

• How to manage weanling growth rate and body condition score to reduce developmental orthopaedic disease risk
• Why energy intake is one of the most important factors in weanling joint health
• How pasture quality, climate, and compensatory growth affect your weanling’s diet... and how to stay two steps ahead
• Why protein quality (not just quantity) is critical for muscle and bone development in young horses
• The fine details about calcium, phosphorus, and trace minerals and why almost every pasture Nerida has tested falls short
• Three practical feeding strategies for weanlings depending on your situation; and
• Why a balanced diet... NOT a restricted one... gives your weanling the best shot at lifetime soundness

Whether you have one very special homebred foal or paddocks full of youngsters, this episode gives you the knowledge and the confidence to feed your weanlings well.

📱 If you’d like help balancing your weanlings' diet, download the MyHappy.Horse app on the Apple App Store and start building a diet you can feel confident about. https://apps.apple.com/au/app/myhappy-horse/id6633422324

💖 And if this episode helped you, please share it with a horsey friend (especially the one currently with a pregnant mare 😅)