Feeding Weanlings
Podcast #50
In this replay episode, we are bringing back Dr Nerida’s chat with Professor Brian Nielsen on bone health in horses, because the ideas in this conversation have huge implications for soundness, durability, performance and long-term welfare.
If you have ever been told that long, slow work builds strong bone, or that the safest path is always to wait until horses are skeletally mature before exposing them to speed, this episode may really make you stop and think.
Dr Brian explains how bone actually adapts to exercise, why turnout and even very small amounts of high-speed work matter so much, how confinement can reduce bone mass, and why this is such an important issue for young horses in particular. It is a fascinating conversation that challenges some deeply held beliefs in horse management and racing, while also being incredibly practical.
This was one of the standout episodes from the early days of the podcast, and now that many more of you are listening, it feels like the right time to bring it back.
If you care about raising, training or managing horses for long-term soundness, this episode is well worth your time 🌟
🧪Find the full scientific review here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/5/789
💛 If you’re looking for more practical help with nutrition and managing your horse, have a look at MyHappy.Horse, our app designed to help horse owners make more confident feeding decisions: https://apps.apple.com/app/myhappy-horse/id6633422324There 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 😅)
