-And what is your answer? The answer is very broad, and I am going to divide the problem into sections according to what has been expressed. a)“ We have adequate genetics”. This is where one of the issues appears that makes a difference as compared to the past. The sales market at the early break-in stage of successful pedigrees has driven precocious adequate genetics. This means that they are individuals that have the capacity to develop until they reach 85 % of their adult weight at 18 months( as is the case of any Thoroughbred Racehorse in the world). The speed of this growth demands quality and quantity in their feed, with feed-management protocols and development control. b)“ We are providing them with food”. This is another question. There is no dairy farmer managing a dairy or livestock farmer whose aim is to fatten his / her steers that will consider“ providing food” without a strict knowledge of what their animals need, how to pay for it and how to distribute it. I think that in the past, in the playing-pony’ s market, all we saw was the horses that made it to the pony lines( not those that dropped out along the way) and we all know that we all forgive conformation defects in ponies that perform well.
Nowadays, if we are trying to reach the development demanded of us for a good presentation at auction or to reach the physical structure for breakin at the age of 3, what is taken into consideration is that whole generation, and that assessment takes place at 18 months. The market demands foals with good development; correct as regards conformation, and even batches despite births with a difference of over 6 months. It is important to always bear in mind that we are going to have to supplement, and the moment we set about this we must seek advice so as to know precisely what it is we are giving, how much and how.
-What are the things that are normally not taken into consideration in these establishments and which you believe get in the way of achieving the aims you mentioned?-Normally they relate to checking protein, energy, mineral and vitamin values. They ask questions as to how to get samples of forage, of soil, or of feed, and in general neglect what is the most important item for the horse: the amount of fiber available.
-Is fiber more important than proteins and minerals?-Absolutely not. It is not possible to simplify in this
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