Nutrition of foals and growing horses

Namen diplomske naloge je predstaviti značilnosti in posebnosti prehrane žrebet in rastočih konj, jih povezati z potekom rasti in poudariti pomembne prelomnice v obdobju od rojstva do odraslosti. V kolostralnem obdobju je pomembno čimprejšnje zaužitje kolostruma in prenos imunosti, v sesnem obdobju je poudarjen prehod z zauživanja izključno mleka na postopno, vedno večje zauživanje krme, kar je povezano z razvojem prebavil ter odstavljanjem. Predstavljene so tudi prakse dokrmljevanja. Žrebeta običajno odstavljamo okrog 6. meseca starosti, kar je stresna situacija, ki vpliva na potek rasti, zato je zmanjšanje stresa ključno. S tem namenom so v nalogi predstavljene metode odstavitve in načini zmanjševanja odstavitvenega stresa. Po odstavitvi se priporoča, da je konj v družbi sovrstnikov, na paši in da se dovolj giba. Posebnost prehrane rastočih konj je, da mora poleg vzdrževalnih potreb pokriti tudi potrebe za rast in razvoj, zato so predstavljene značilnosti in potek rasti. Maksimalen prirast pri konjih ni zaželen, saj lahko vodi do nepravilnosti v razvoju skeleta. Zaželena je stalna, zmerna rast, a so manjša nihanja neizogibna in tudi normalna. Opisane so tudi potrebe po energiji in hranilih v tem obdobju, kjer je poleg količine, pomembno tudi razmerje med hranili in njihova kakovost.This thesis aims to present the characteristics and peculiarities of the nutrition of foals and growing horses, to relate them to growth curves, and to show important events from birth to maturity. During the colostrum period, the new born foal must consume colostrum as soon as possible, because it provides immune protection. The crucial part of the suckling period is the transition from consuming only milk to a gradual increase in feed intake that is associated with gastrointestinal development and weaning. Creep feeding practices are also presented in the thesis. Foals are usually weaned around six months of age, which is associated with stress and affects the growth curve, so it is important to reduce weaning stress. Weaning practices and ways to reduce weaning stress are also presented in this thesis. After weaning, it is recommended for foals to be on pasture, in the company of peers, and with adequate exercise. Specific of nutrition of growing horses is that, in addition to maintenance requirements, it must also cover the requirements for growth. A maximum growth rate is not desirable because it can lead to abnormalities in skeletal development. A moderate growth rate is the goal, although short-term fluctuations are inevitable and even to be expected. Energy and nutrient requirements during this period are also described. In addition to quality, the proportion between nutrients and their quality is also essential