Creep feeding provides needed nutrients to nursing foals

Horse managers need to make sure foals start off on the right hoof by ensuring they have access to needed nutrition in an environment that allows them to imitate fellow horses.

A nursing foal's nutritional requirements will exceed the mare's ability to supply nutrients to the foal a few months after birth, said Dave Freeman, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service equine specialist.

One useful way to meet a foal's increasing nutritional needs is through creep feeding.

“Many foals allowed access to grain will start to show interest in eating within a month of birth,” Freeman said. “Foals learn to eat grain by imitating their dam or other foals.”

Nutritionally, it is beneficial to have foals consuming creep feed by three months of age, especially those foals that will be fed to grow rapidly after weaning. Foals consuming creep feed will gain more weight and height than non-supplemented foals.

“Foals that will be fed to gain moderate to high rates of body weight after weaning need creep feeds to assist in decreasing future incidence of bone stress problems,” Freeman said.

Research has shown leg stress problems occur in growing horses during high rates of gain that follow a period of slow growth.

In addition, foals that consume creep feed before weaning will experience less stress during weaning than foals learning to consume feed while going through the weaning process.

Creep feeds are formulated to be nutrient-dense, highly palatable feeds that are easily digested by foals. Creeps can be fed as pellets or as coarsely processed grains.

“Most creep feeds are about 16 percent protein, and are formulated to contain about 0.6 percent to 0.8 percent calcium and 0.4 percent to 0.6 percent phosphorus,” Freeman said.

Protein sources should include milk, yeast, soybean or other high-quality, protein-containing feedstuffs. Daily intake will vary greatly among foals.

“Some of the faster growing foals may consume up to four percent of their body weight per day in creep feed, while others may consume a fourth that amount,” Freeman said.

Typically, foals will self-regulate their needs by consuming small amounts of creep feed frequently throughout the day. As such, creep feeder design and location should allow access to liberal amounts of fresh feed.

“Since they learn to eat by imitation, placing a creep feeder around areas where mares congregate will encourage use by foals,” Freeman said.

The main concern in creep feed construction is to design it to be easily accessible to a foal while deterring the advances of the broodmare’s attempts to get at the feed.

Openings into the creeps will need to be narrower than the width of a mare’s chest while being wider than the foal’s chest and hips. The height of openings likewise need to be lower than the wither height of a mare, but several inches taller than that of the foal.

“Placement of a smooth top board that can be easily raised as the foal grows is one option,” Freeman said.

Construction of a feeder that protects feed from rain and other environmental concerns will help maintain a fresh and safe supply of creep feed.

Anyone interested in obtaining additional information about management of foals should contact their local OSU Cooperative Extension county office and ask for Extension Facts No. 3977, “Managing Young Horses for Sound Growth” and No. 3985, “Nursing Foal Management.”