underweight foal

[Babydluv81]

I bought a beautiful foal that I have high hopes for. I only have the one starter pasture. Because she's foal, I can't feed her anything. She's stuck with only grass and milk. She's been losing weight and now red. I don't want to lose her and am worried she might be at risk of something. I don't know if horses here can die but I'd assume it's possible.

My Belgians and forest horse were over weight so I mowed the yard down to about 60+\-%. Their weights are getting much better but I'm worried about this foal since I'm now wondering if the mowing might have added to the underweight problem. Any tips or advice etc?

[Babydluv81]

well I was worried about this as she was ''POOR'' for a few sleeps but thankfully she's off mothers milk and I have her on weight gain formula. So I guess now I don't have to worry about this issue. Thanks anyway

[BlanketMonster]

Too put any future worries to rest, horses cannot pass (at least for now) from having poor body condition, they can only pass from old age, ~19yrs +.

[Xant’hippe]

I bought a beautiful foal that I have high hopes for. I only have the one starter pasture. Because she's foal, I can't feed her anything. She's stuck with only grass and milk. ...

The conditions a horse can be in:

Poor (Body Condition Score 1)
Very Thin (BCS 2)
Thin (BCS 3)
Moderately Thin (BCS 4)
Moderate (BCS 5)
Moderately Fleshy (BCS 6)
Fleshy (BCS 7)
Fat (BCS 8)
Very Fat (BCS 9)

ALL foals start out in "Poor" condition. They are also, regardless of breed/size, vegetarian land sharks--they eat a LOT. At this point in the game, they *miraculously* receive Mare's Milk for the first 6 months without the owner having to do anything about it (even if the dam dies on the day the foal is born). Foals do a lot better, faster, if you keep them in a 100% quality pasture for the first 6 months -- they do not thrive in a barn. Given plenty of excellent grazing, they'll go up to Moderate in 4 to 6 months. At that point the milk supply, which has been tapering off for the past month or so, stops altogether.

When you buy a pasture (Market --> Farm Building --> Pastures), you get it at 15% quality. That's very little; only adequate for Miniatures and other inches-high adults. With most horses, you'd need to feed a supplement; Performance Mix seems to give good all-round nutrition. Growing horses (those less than about 5 years old) need protein. They all need fiber. If they're underweight, sugar helps to restore weight; it also helps trainees regain energy "overnight".)

Pastures grow at 3.9% per game day if the horses are not over grazing them (so feed them if you want good grass ).

There's a lot to learn in this game. Best wishes to you and the young one!

[Babydluv81]

Thank you so very much!! That's even answered a question I had earlier and some information that is sure to come in handy soon. The foal is doing much better too. He's growing rather quickly