The purpose of B.Sc. thesis is to find out the importance of nutrition for foals in the first months of their lives, all the way until weaning, and at which point the foal is capable of living independently from its mother's milk. Based on the literature data, I have concluded that it is important also how the pregnant mare is fed. Especially in the early days and last part of pregnancy. For the foal it is crucial that it receives the colostrum right after foaling. This provides a good passive immunity, due to the high levels of immunoglobulins in the colostrum. Later, the main food source of the foal is it's mother's milk, up until three months of age. With age, the frequency and duration of the suckling both decrease. Because of this, it is recommended to start systematically feed the foal. By doing this, we speed up the development of the digestive tract and reduce the unwanted post-weaning growth depression, that occurs as a consequence of weaning.
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