Foal / weanling / young growing horse — diet & nutrition (Europe PMC)

Foal / weanling / young growing horse — diet & nutrition (Europe PMC)

Source: Europe PMC (Europe PubMed Central) REST search, query "(foal OR weanling OR young horse OR growing horse) AND (diet OR nutrition OR growth OR feeding)", 137213 hits (2026-07-22). Each entry is a first-hand peer-reviewed study; the abstract opening is quoted verbatim from the publisher abstract. 6 representative studies below (filtered for species + nutrition relevance).

1. PMID 42278060 — The Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Horses' Nutrition-A Review. (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2026). Abstract (opening): This narrative review presents examples of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in horse nutrition. Fats are essential in equine nutrition, serving not only as an energy source but *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
2. PMID 42151949 — *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* A 2026 BMC Veterinary Research study tested concentrates with different energy levels on growth, blood indicators, and fecal microbiota of Mongolian horses in late gestation; the excerpt is cut off after background on the history of horse breeding and management.
3. PMID 42098815 — *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* A 2026 BMC Veterinary Research study analyzed how citrulline supplementation affects mare's milk composition and fecal metabolism (via LC-MS and 16S amplicon sequencing), noting the lactation period critically influences foal health and later reproductive outcomes and that precise nutrition for lactating mares is needed; the excerpt is cut off before results.
4. PMID 41304282 — Dietary Proline Supplementation Promotes Growth and Development in Weaned Foals by Modulating Gut Microbial Amino Acid Metabolism. (Microorganisms, 2025). Abstract (opening): This study investigated the effects of varying proline supplementation doses in weaned foals. Twenty-eight weaned foals (approximately 5 months of age; body weight: 54.45 ± 11.33 k *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
5. PMID 42193859 — Effects of Dietary Zinc Cysteamine Supplementation on Growth Performance, Physiological Responses, and Fecal Microbiota in Weaned Foals. (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2026). Abstract (opening): Zn-CS chelate has shown beneficial effects on gut health and growth in piglets, but its impact on weaned foals remains largely unknown. This study evaluated the effects of dietary *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
6. PMID 42028318 — Opportunities for agency in domestic horses: Applying the behavioural domain to increase equine welfare. (Animal welfare (South Mimms, England), 2026). Abstract (opening): Giving animals the opportunity to exercise agency can improve their welfare, but horse owners and researchers may not be aware of the growing body of agency research in other anima *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*

Note: study selection and synthesis are left to the API consumer; this topic only surfaces primary sources with verbatim abstract openings.

Source text: pdf-raw/evidence/europepmc_evidence_equine_foal_growth_diet_2026-07-22.txt (Europe PMC REST + PubMed efetch, 2026-07-22).

License & attribution

Mixed licensing per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3: Open Access (CC BY / CC BY-NC / CC BY-NC-ND) studies are reproduced verbatim with attribution under their specific CC license; non-Open-Access studies are paraphrased as derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten). Original records:

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41304282/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42028318/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42098815/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42151949/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42193859/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42278060/