Feeding the Growing Horse for Health and Performance

better equipped for weaning than foals consuming forage alone.
Quality hay good pasture and foalstarter pellets or balancer pellets fed accord to the bodyweight of the weaned foal can be continued until one year of age. Pay close attention to growth rates and bodyweight gain. Commercial foal starters may provide more energy than that required by large warmblood weanlings who can potentially consume larger quantities of quality forage. In this or similar circumstances it may be necessary to reduce the foalstarter intake of your warmblood and initiate the feeding of a balancer pellet fed according to the manufacturers directions.
As noted above attention must be paid to the amount of lysine the balancer pellet is providing. National Research Council Equine Nutrition Guidelines suggest that growing horses between the ages of four to ten months require approximately 180 milligrams of dietary lysine per kilogram of body weight of the foal per day. If you choose to feed a commercial balancer pellet check the tag to ensure this requirement is being met. If the lysine content is not noted on the Guaranteed Analysis on the tag call the manufacturer to ask what the content is and whether the balancer pellet is formulated for growing horses. 
The Yearling
Yearlings have a slower growth rate than weanlings and their feed intake is higher due to larger body capacity so the nutrient density in the diet of the horse between one and two years of age needs to be lower. Key to the successful diet for a yearling is providing quality forage as well as free choice salt water and a good vitamin and mineral supplement given according manufacturers directions.
Yearlings fed balanced rations with sufficient nutrients can look framey and still be on track for good growth and development. Remember your goal is to allow your young horse to establish a skeleton of strong healthy bone that will withstand the rigours of a productive life. Yearlings can be slightly angular and gawkylooking without being thin. Practice body condition score BCS assessing skills with your yearling and get used to evaluating what sufficient but not excessive body condition looks like. 
Two Years and Older 
Growing horses at two years and older need the same attention to limiting nutrients as younger horses but because they are larger with slower growth rates quality forage becomes the feed of choice for them. They still need scrupulous attention to the risks associated with