Wednesday, July 29, 2009

How old does foals or colts (baby horses) have to be to feed it treats?


Answers:
When they have their teeth and can chew a carrot or cut up apple, mine start getting treats at 4 weeks or so. But I give them in a feeder so they don't start the biting and nipping situation. Some foals won't ever bite after being hand fed treats and some will. I do notice that the colts pick up the biting when your hand is there more than the fillies. Treats are always nice and giving them to them in a feeder is just as nice.
forgive me if im wrong but im sure you can do it at any age after you wean then%26#92;m, but be aware that hand feeding young horses can eventually teach them to bite. so if you do feed them treats or anything do it in a bucket. i have a 4 year old and he is just now getting better about biting becasue he wanted treats
you can feed them treats when they are about 4 months old but sometimes you can do it earlier then that
You can begin giving your baby treats as soon as he begins eating solid foods. Just make sure the treats are healthy! Apple and carrot slices are always good - of course just make sure they are of a size easy for him to chew! Giving a foal treats will not teach him to bite - in actuality it will help develop a human - animal bond just like petting and rubbing will. This will make the foal easier to handle and much tamer as it grows. If it is a colt (male foal) it probably will have some nipping tendencies naturally until it is gelded. Creating that bond with him will alleviate much of this though! So go ahead! Treat away!
you can do it at any age really. they dont start eating hard treats until the can figure it out. they will eat treats when they are ready. there is no age limit.
Some babies can start eating treats like pieces of bread when they're about 3 months old. If you want to give them a carrot cut it int little pieces! Let me know how it went!!
atleast a year or a little under
treats can be given to any horse that is big enough to eat solid food. but be careful about teaching the colt to bite.
If I were you I'd avoid it all together. It is not good for their teeth, plus it is REALLY bad for their manners. We had one who was started on treats really young, and we had tons of trouble keeping him from being pushy. Really, I'd avoid it, it is not really worth it.

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