New breed-specific growth models will help fine-tune feeding recommendations for young horses in the near future, researchers reported.

Although recommendations already exist based on basic body types, such as draft versus light horses, these new models will help distinguish the feeding patterns among sport and racehorse breeds, according to Sarah Heugebaert, engineering student at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and primary author of the study.

Breed-specific feeding recommendations will not only optimize growth for each foal but will also reduce costs to breeders and help prevent osteoarticular disorders, such as developmental orthopedic diseases, that can develop from overfeeding, Heugebaert said.

"Breeders often want to give a little extra to their young animals, with the idea that too much is better than too little," said Florence Garcia-Launay, PhD, INRA researcher and co-author of the study. "But we hope to get the message out that, on the contrary, these horses need to be fed for their specific growth curve to optimize their athletic potential at an early age while keeping them as healthy as possible