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Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
Foals & Growing Horses Supplements
Explore Mad Barn’s supplements for foals, weanlings, and young horses, formulated to support healthy growth, skeletal development, digestive function, and immune health during the most critical stages of development.
Supporting the Health of Growing Horses
Foals and young horses have higher nutrient demands than adult horses to support rapid growth, bone development, muscle formation, and overall soundness. When feeding a growing horse, the priority is to provide a balanced diet that meets all vitamin, mineral, and amino acid requirements without significantly oversupplying energy. This helps maintain an optimal growth rate, reduces the risk of developmental orthopedic issues, and lays the foundation for long-term health, soundness, and performance.
While forage should form the basis of the diet, hay and pasture alone will not supply all of a horse’s nutritional requirements. Important nutrients for growing horses include calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, selenium, vitamin E, biotin, and essential amino acids such as lysine, methionine, and threonine. These nutrients are essential for bone mineralization, healthy connective tissue, hoof growth, muscle protein synthesis, and immune function.
At the same time, it is important to avoid excessive amounts of high-starch, grain-based concentrates. Diets that oversupply energy can accelerate growth rates, increasing the risk of developmental orthopedic conditions. High-starch feeds may also contribute to digestive disturbances, metabolic issues, excitability, and other health concerns.
A forage-first diet that provides moderate energy from high-quality long-stem forage, complemented by balanced vitamin, mineral, and amino acid supplementation, best supports healthy growth and development.
Nutritional Supplements for Foals & Young Horses
Mad Barn offers several supplements to support healthy growth and development in young horses. Start with a complete vitamin and mineral formula to provide the essential nutrients growing horses need for strong bones, muscle development, and overall soundness.
- All-in-One Nutritional Support: Omneity® is a complete vitamin and mineral supplement suitable for balancing the diet of horses of all ages and workloads. It provides 100% organic trace minerals, complete B-vitamin fortification, biotin for hoof health, yeast for gut support, and amino acids to meet the nutritional demands of growing horses. Formulated to correct common deficiencies in forage-based diets, Omneity® gives you confidence that your horse is receiving the nutrients required for bone development, muscle growth, immune function, and overall health.
- Omega-3 Enriched Oil: w-3 Oil provides concentrated calories from fat enriched with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA and natural vitamin E. These nutrients help maintain joint health, skin and coat condition, respiratory function, and a balanced inflammatory response. DHA also supports cognitive function in young horses.
- Essential Amino Acids: Three Amigos is a muscle-building supplement for horses that provides lysine, methionine, and threonine, the three most commonly limiting amino acids in equine diets. Supplying these in the correct balance supports muscle development, topline, and connective tissues in growing horses.
- Joint & Mobility Support: MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) provides a bioavailable source of sulfur, an important building block for collagen, keratin, and other structural proteins that form cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and hooves.
Balanced nutrition from an early age is the foundation for a strong musculoskeletal system, long-term health, and sustained performance potential. Submit a free diet evaluation to have our nutritionists design a customized feeding program for your foal or growing horse.
Management for Growing Horses
Proper management is just as important as balanced nutrition in supporting healthy growth and development in foals. Daily care, turnout, exercise, and close monitoring all play a role in promoting strong bones, sound joints, and overall well-being in young horses.
- Turnout and Exercise: Allowing foals free access to pasture by five months of age encourages optimal bone development. Avoid prolonged stall confinement and limit over-exercise to reduce stress on developing joints.
- Monitor Growth Rates: Track your foal’s height and weight regularly. Adjust the diet to maintain steady, moderate growth and avoid rapid weight gain that can increase the risk of developmental orthopedic issues.
- Stress Management: Minimize stress during weaning, handling, and training to support immune function and reduce the risk of setbacks.
- Hoof Care: Schedule regular farrier visits to maintain proper hoof balance and alignment, which supports correct limb development.
- Veterinary Care: Schedule regular veterinary exams and follow your veterinarian’s recommendations on vaccination and deworming schedules. Preventive care supports immune function, reduces the risk of disease, and helps ensure proper growth and development.
Frequently Asked Questions
Growing horses require balanced levels of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and energy to support bone development, muscle formation, and overall growth. Key nutrients include calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, selenium, vitamin E, biotin, and essential amino acids such as lysine, methionine, and threonine. These nutrients are essential for bone mineralization, connective tissue integrity, hoof growth, muscle protein synthesis, and immune function.
Forage alone will not supply all of these nutrients. A complete vitamin and mineral supplement such as Omneity® helps ensure your foal or young horse receives key nutrients required for optimal growth and development.
No, foals do not need grain to grow and develop normally. A forage-based diet made up of high-quality pasture or hay provides enough energy and protein for most growing horses. Forage also provides fiber to support a healthy hindgut microbiome, meet behavioral needs, and encourage proper digestive function. Feeding excessive grain can disrupt the hindgut environment, increase the risk of digestive upset, and contribute to overly rapid growth.
While forage should be the foundation of the diet, it will not supply all of the essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids a growing horse requires. Providing a complete vitamin and mineral supplement such as Omneity® ensures your foal receives the nutrients needed for strong bones, healthy muscles, and overall sound development.
High-starch, grain-based concentrates can oversupply energy, which may accelerate growth rates and increase the risk of developmental orthopedic issues. Excessive starch can also contribute to digestive disturbances, metabolic stress, and unwanted excitability. A forage-first diet, balanced with the right vitamin, mineral, and amino acid supplementation, supports steady growth and reduces the risk of diet-related problems.
Balanced nutrition is critical for bone development in growing foals. Adequate calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc, and vitamin D are required for proper bone mineralization. Providing these nutrients in the correct ratios helps support skeletal strength and soundness. A complete vitamin and mineral supplement like Omneity® is formulated to meet these needs and correct common deficiencies in forage-based diets.
Muscle development depends on adequate protein quality and essential amino acids. Three Amigos supplies lysine, methionine, and threonine, which are often limiting in equine diets. Providing these amino acids in the correct balance supports muscle protein synthesis, topline development, and the formation of strong connective tissues in growing horses.
Consistent growth, a healthy body condition, strong hooves, a shiny coat, and good energy levels are signs that your foal’s diet is supporting their development. However, visual observation alone can miss subtle nutrient imbalances. The most reliable way to confirm that your horse’s diet is meeting their requirements is through a full diet evaluation with a forage analysis, where possible. This reveals the actual nutrient content of the diet, identifies gaps or excesses, and allows you to adjust feeding to promote optimal bone development, muscle growth, and overall health. You can submit a free diet evaluation to have our nutritionists review your foal or young horse’s program.
Developmental orthopedic diseases (DOD) have multiple contributing factors, but good nutrition and management play a major role in reducing risk. Feeding a balanced diet that provides the correct ratios of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids without oversupplying energy helps support steady growth and proper bone development. Key nutrients include calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, and essential amino acids such as lysine, methionine, and threonine.
Excessive grain or high-starch feeds can accelerate growth and may contribute to DOD, so focus on a forage-based diet with a complete vitamin and mineral supplement like Omneity®. In addition to balanced nutrition, provide regular turnout for controlled exercise, maintain appropriate body condition, and monitor growth rates to avoid rapid weight gain. Working with your veterinarian and nutritionist to evaluate your foal’s diet and management program is the best way to support healthy skeletal development.
