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How to Make the Horse Foals Grow Up

One of the most important elements of a foal's proper growth and development is the young horse's diet and nutrition. Most foals rely on their mother's milk for the first six months of life, but many horses show interest in other food sources at as early as 10 days, often sampling the mother horse's dinner. Supplementing a foal's diet of milk can help it grow into a healthy adult.

Things You'll Need

Foal feeder
Equine creep feed

Instructions

- 1
  Place a foal feeder where the baby horse can easily access it, such as along a fence in which the mother and foal pasture frequently. There is no danger of adult horses stealing this feed as most foal feeders come with bars that only allow the head of a small horse through. Most foals will watch their mother and learn good eating habits from her.
- 2
  Purchase equine creep feed and pour it into the foal feeder. After a few weeks of lactation, the milk of the mother horse will not contain the sufficient amount of nutrients to help the foal grow up. As a result, it is necessary to make the creep feed available to the foal early on in its development.
- 3
  Feed the foal at the same times that you feed the mother horse. Place only small amounts of creep feed in the feeder at a time, carefully following the instructions on the bag of the feed supplement.

Animals & Science