Best Grain to feed my 2 year old

Question
QUESTION: I am wondering if you could give me some insight on which grain to feed my growing 2 year old. I feel like he is always hungry and he is growing like a weed, but he does have a little bit of a sensative stomach so i dont want to give him anything that is going to be hard on him. He is currently getting Alfalfa in the morning, and then he gets 3 way with orchard at night, i have also been giving him 1/2 of integrity low starch with molasses, but i am not sure its enough for his growing body.

ANSWER: Hi Cecilia,

Thank you for your question.  At 2 years old, your horse is a lot like a teenager and can be hard to keep full.  I would first start by suggesting that he has access to forage 24/7.  If he is on decent pasture (with enough growth) that should do.  If you are feeding hay all the time, ensure that he always has some.  If you have enough alfalfa I would suggest you feed all that you can.  Legumes like alfalfa are more nutrient dense than most grasses so each mouthful that he takes will count for more nutrients in his diet and mean that you need to feed less grain.  

As for the right grain, I am a true believer in feeding complete feeds designed for the age group that you are feeding.  The integrity is a nice feed but designed as a maintenance/light work ration.  A growing 2 year old needs more energy, protein and minerals than is provided in a maintenance feed and you only have one chance to do it right.  Mineral is especially important as there is a tremendous amount of bone growth going on at this point and you want to prevent any DODs (Developmental Orthopedic Disorders) that will result in lameness later down the road.  A feed designed for growing horses will have a higher level of added mineral (more specifically calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc and copper) and mineral ratios designed for growth rates.

You may have an additional challenge if your horse's digestive system is challenged (or unsettled) because most growing horse rations will contain starch which is generally at the root of your horse's particular problem.  Growing horses need starch for muscle development (glucose serves as the fuel for muscle growth whereas the protein you feed becomes the actual muscle volume) but if your horse is colicky it could be thanks to starch.  If you like the Purina then the Nature's Essentials "Born to Win' will provide the nutrients required for growth with only limited starch. The recommended feeding rates indicated on the bag are a very good starting point for how much to feed.  If you prefer to use another company, let me know who they are and I can make a more specific recommendation.

Remember that potential growth lost in this phase of development can't be reclaimed...but don't take that as a suggestion to overfeed grain.  You are looking for optimal growth and not necessarily maximum growth...the difference means a long healthy/sound life for your horse.  Most importantly, feed as much quality forage as your young horse will eat.

I hope that helps get you started.  I would happy to be more specific if you provide specific details on your horse's breed, weight, BCS, work load and forage program.  

Thanks, Corlena





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for all the information, the grains i have been thinking about is either purina junior or integrity growth but im very open to suggestions.

In terms of my horse he is a QH, almost 15h and probably about 850 pounds right now, his workload is 4 days a week right now for about 1 h at the time, he is in training for western pleasure.

He is in a in and out box stall and he gets 1 flake of alfalfa in the am, sometimes lunch if he is empty and then 2 flakes of 3 way at night with an extra flake of orchard. He also gets grow colt supplement.

He is not colicy but he had diareah when he first got here from oregon, which i think we have finally got a handle on after several vet visits come to find out he had been in pasture, and needed a powerpac to settle all the germs in his belly.

Thanks again for all your advice

Answer
Hi Cecilia,

Thank you for following up with the information.  I calculated out a quick ration for your horse.  It is a bit of an estimation as I do not have a hay analysis but I used one that closely mimics the combination of forages that you are using.

With your horse's age, size and workload he will require close to 24.8 Mcal of DE (digestible energy), 888g of crude protein, 36.7g of calcium and 20.4g of phosphorous daily...in a diet of about 21 pounds of dry matter daily.  Of course he will require a wider variety of nutrients than what I've listed but since I've calculated this by hand and not using a program, I stuck to the basics.  Since you are using a complete feed it is safe to assume that all other nutrients requirements will be met in this diet.

With the mix of forages that you have suggested, your horse will not be able to meet his energy requirements with forage only even if he is eating as much as he possibly can.  I would prefer that you fed the Purina Junior and have calculated that he should receive 7 pounds a day (6.5 lbs dry matter.  With this amount it is best that you split total amount fed into 3 meals per day.  With this he should have forage FREE CHOICE which will work out to about 19 pounds daily (14.8 lbs dry matter).  To some this may seem like a lot of grain but in reality the grain amount counts for only 30% of the total diet and this is safely within the 50% maximum...especially given that a significant portion of the grain is actually forage.

Not only will this ration meet energy requirements safely but also completes the protein, calcium and phosphorous components that I calculated without needing to feed any other feeds.  I would advise you to buy some yeast and add that to the feed as it will help with the health of the digestive system, especially useful given his recent bout of diarrhea.

I hope this gives you enough to go on for now.  Let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

Thanks, Corlena