Broodmare due 3/27 not eating well

[inca]

Maiden mare and she is huge. She only gets 3 pounds of Nutrena SafeChoice Mare and Foal twice a day plus about as much coastal hay that she will eat. She rarely finishes her grain and she is leaving more and more each day it seems. She will eat 1/2 or 2/3 of it and then won’t finish. She is eating her hay okay. She is certainly not her energetic, obnoxious self but also doesn’t really act sick.

She did colic about a month ago - stayed over night at vets and got 20 liters of fluid. It was a very cold morning (in the 20’s) when that happened. Vet is pretty certain she wasn’t drinking enough, even though I give all my horses warm water at least 3 times a day when it is cold.

Anyway, should I be worried? My main concern is the foal not getting enough nutrients. She is on Mare Plus vitamin supplement.

[NoDQhere]

I would get her on Alfalfa hay, ASAP.

[sid]

Some mares lose appetite in late stages of gestation. Especially maidens, in my experience, and I’ve bred many mares and observed this in some of them (not all, but a few, which worried me like it does you).

Your foal will be fine. She has many “reserves” and that foal will rob it from her.

Maybe she’d like her feed soaked or something or throw in a bit of carrot, if she is not metabolic that will appetize her…or pickles (just kidding!..:lol:)

Mares who just want to stop eating normally about a month before foaling was disoncerting for sure, compared with my other mares that were eating like locusts. Just keep putting the food in front of her, if she doesn’t eat, fine. I found that about a week before foaling they were ravaging down food.

Hang in! All the girls are different.

[drkarins]

Mine did the same thing and not a maiden. We tried giving her more frequent smaller meals, also added water and yummies. Also hung a hay net up off the ground a but so she didn’t have to stretch down quite as far to nibble on something and this way she also always had food in front of her. And did start giving her handfuls of alfalfa, too, per the vet’s recommendation. She would also eat much better when someone held the tub for her - talk about Diva!

As others have said, probably not to worry.

[JB]

I would get Nutrena’s Empower Balance, their ration balancer, and give her at least 2lb/day if she’s reducing the amount of the M&F she’s eating, to keep her nutrition up

[Blume_Farm]

I personally would call your vet again versus taking internet advice…she already had one small bout of colic. I would have an ultrasound done to make sure she does not have placentitis or other treatable issue. If all that turns out fine then make the assumption it is symptoms secondary to a “space occupying mass” (i.e.; foal)

[VirginiaBred]

^^^THIS^^^

[inca]

I can certainly chat with my vet. But tonight I gave her some Triple Crown 30 and timothy pellets (which is what everyone else eats) after she had walked away from her grain and she devoured the TC30 and timothy pellets. So I am starting to think she is not a big fan of the SafeChoice.

She eats plenty of hay but will leave her grain and eat hay instead.

[Somermist]

I agree with the vet check. Otherwise, our broodmares seem to do well on TC Growth. I do make a lot of mashes, particularly in the evening. It seems to keep even the picky ones eating.

Good luck.

[inca]

I have started mixing TC30, the Nutrena SafeChoice Mare and Foal and timothy pellets. She has been licking her bucket clean (literally.) So, I think she just did not like the Nutrena SafeChoice Mare and Foal. I am going to switch her over to the TC30.

Weird thing is that my gelding that is at my trainer’s barn was on Nutrena Safe Choice Original. He had a mild colic within a week of the broodmare’s colic and also started not finishing his grain. I got a bag of Triple Crown Low Starch pellets for him and he started finishing his grain.

Makes me wonder if something changed with Nutrena Safe Choice lately…

[JB]

Remember that the feeding amount of TC30 is going to mean fewer calories than the feeding amount of the M&F. You’re looking at about 3lb of the TC30, maybe 4 of she’s a big mare (and not just big due to being in foal).

TC Growth would be a better choice, economically, if she needs more calories. However, you can always add alfalfa pellets to the TC30 for more calories if you want.

[inca]

I add timothy pellets for my other horses and was thinking of getting either alfalfa pellets or timothy/alfalfa pellets for the broodmare. I figured that better she eat the TC30 and get nutrients rather than have her kinda, sorta eating the SafeChoice M&F. I have to special order the TC30 so I suppose I could also special order the TC Growth. Will look into that.

[inca]

Hmmm…it sounds like I can continue to mix TC 30 and the Nutrena SafeChoice M&F? The TC30 says it can be used if feeding lower than recommended amounts of another diet. So, if I can get her to eat a pound of M&F per feeding and mix in TC30 and timothy pellets, would that work?

[JB]

Personally, I would ditch the M&F. It’s not really that low in sugars. TC Growth is a lot lower.

If you think she isn’t into the M&F anymore, then…

But yes, if you had to, if you’re only feeding 1/2 the recommended amount of the M&F, then feed 1/2 a serving of a ration balancer. If you’re feeding 2/3 of the recommended amount of M&F, then feed 1/3 of a serving of the ration balancer.

If she’s a 1100lb mare (before pregnancy) then according to the calculator she should be getting minimally 5.5lb of the M&F. If she’s closer to 1300, then 6.5lb. So use those numbers to figure out what % of the minimal amount of M&F she’s getting, then make up the difference with the RB
http://www.nutrenaworld.com/products/horses/safe-choice/safechoice-mare-foal-horse-feed/index.jsp?

Once she foals, her protein requirements are going to skyrocket, and she’ll need between 11 and 13lb of the M&F from a nutritional perspective.

[inca]

Good point that I may as well find something she will eat NOW since she will need it after she has the foal.

I think for the IMMEDIATE future, I will do the M&F and TC30 until I can find something I can reliably get locally that she will eat and will meet her nutritional needs.

Yeah, I was feeding her 3 pounds of grain 2x per day. Was on Original SafeChoice until I switched her over to M&F. I will say that we don’t have great options as far as what brands are available. But, since the one feed store is ordering the TC30 for me, I think they can order any of the TC line.

Thanks!

[Stacie]

Alfalfa pellets make a great mash.

[sid]

Yet I had one broodie who could just not tolerate alfalfa…gas colics galore! All different.

[rodawn]

I’m wondering why you are feeding her hay pellets, as opposed to long-stemmed hay which provides valuable roughage?

If she likes timothy pellets, then she would do well on timothy hay or timothy/alfalfa hay. Timothy hay is fairly balanced with phosphorous:calcium and has about 10-12% protein as long as it was cut young (when the flower heads are about 1 to 1-1/2 inches long). Adding about 10% of her hay volume as soft, leafy alfalfa adds valuable lysine, more protein and additional calcium.

Then, I would just feed her a broodie balancer that she finds yummy. You could add this balancer to 1 pound soaked beet pulp with 1 cup rice bran. This maintains the balance. The wet fiber of the beet pulp and the fat content of the rice bran will do her good.

At this point in time, I would stay away from Moorglo balanced rice bran because of the all the difficulties with ADM Alliance mills at the moment with the deadly ionophore contamination. ADM Alliance packages Moorglo rice bran.

Because you want to balance the beet pulp, get a stabilized rice bran, but NOT a balanced one. Stabilized keeps it from going rancid. Balanced means it has added calcium, but you don’t need the added calcium if you’re already feeding beet pulp and/or alfalfa.

I keep it really simple for my broodmares. They don’t have a huge appetite this late in pregnancy. That will change within a few days of delivery. So, I keep their vitamin/minerals up, but provide it within foods they find irresistably yummy. Then, after they foal, I just keep increasing volumes of hay first, then lactating broodie kibble second until they are maintaining good condition even with the demands of baby.

A horse that has had colic needs roughage, but it needs to be introduced slowly and gradually increased over a period of weeks.

You want a term pregnant broodmare to be a bit tubby. The nursing quickly takes care of this as lactating will burn tremendous calories.

[sid]

[QUOTE=rodawn;8009099]
I’m wondering why you are feeding her hay pellets, as opposed to long-stemmed hay which provides valuable roughage?

If she likes timothy pellets, then she would do well on timothy hay or timothy/alfalfa hay. Timothy hay is fairly balanced with phosphorous:calcium and has about 10-12% protein as long as it was cut young (when the flower heads are about 1 to 1-1/2 inches long). Adding about 10% of her hay volume as soft, leafy alfalfa adds valuable lysine, more protein and additional calcium.

Then, I would just feed her a broodie balancer that she finds yummy. You could add this balancer to 1 pound soaked beet pulp with 1 cup rice bran. This maintains the balance. The wet fiber of the beet pulp and the fat content of the rice bran will do her good.

At this point in time, I would stay away from Moorglo balanced rice bran because of the all the difficulties with ADM Alliance mills at the moment with the deadly ionophore contamination. ADM Alliance packages Moorglo rice bran.

Because you want to balance the beet pulp, get a stabilized rice bran, but NOT a balanced one. Stabilized keeps it from going rancid. Balanced means it has added calcium, but you don’t need the added calcium if you’re already feeding beet pulp and/or alfalfa.

I keep it really simple for my broodmares. They don’t have a huge appetite this late in pregnancy. That will change within a few days of delivery. So, I keep their vitamin/minerals up, but provide it within foods they find irresistably yummy. Then, after they foal, I just keep increasing volumes of hay first, then lactating broodie kibble second until they are maintaining good condition even with the demands of baby.

A horse that has had colic needs roughage, but it needs to be introduced slowly and gradually increased over a period of weeks.

You want a term pregnant broodmare to be a bit tubby. The nursing quickly takes care of this as lactating will burn tremendous calories.[/QUOTE]

Yes. This.

[jenm]

[QUOTE=inca;8004137]

Anyway, should I be worried? My main concern is the foal not getting enough nutrients. She is on Mare Plus vitamin supplement.[/QUOTE]

I didn’t know my rescue mare was pregnant until very late in her pregnancy. She was in pasture with grass and also fed alfalfa and SafeChoice.

Her foal was healthy, strong and had no issues despite the “lack of pregnant mare care.”