Does overfeeding (and oversupplementing) mares lead to limb abnormalities

[Dr_Doolittle]

[QUOTE=ahf;6289893]
To expand on the OP’s post above…because the OP’s mare was going somewhere to foal out - it made the most sense to start with what the foaling facility feeds (which is Legends Mare & Foal) and work from that. Otherwise there is too much switching around of rations, and asking for trouble.

The goal was to get the diet as forage-based as possible, and not have to feed the recommended 8 - 12 lbs of concentrates per day. THat would put this easy keeper upside down on the concentrates/forage balance.

Buy adding one ounce of the BM55 (instead of normal four ounces - which would be oversupplementation), the diet overcame the issue of feeding below recommended levels of concentrates.[/QUOTE]

Perfect

And thanks again, ahf–you have been a huge help–and a true pleasure to talk with over the phone. Your advice and support are SO very much appreciated, talk about going “above and beyond” for a stranger! (The connections we make with fellow COTHers!) I will attempt to pay it forward, somehow…

AND will keep you posted, of course (I now have your phone number AND your e-mail address ;))

[rodawn]

Yep, sounds like you got a good plan there. You’ll do fine!

When you settle into her feeding schedule, keep watching her body rib fat and tweak as necessary. If she loses too fast (not a good idea), add more hay first, then kibble (for purposes of defining my lingo - - the word “Kibble” = concentrate/RB - whatever you’ve decided she is getting). Definitely, allow no more fat gain from this point onwards.

A note: Most mares have more difficulty consuming enough hay in the final 6 weeks of pregnancy. The foal takes up enough room that they are pressing on the stomach. Thus, if she suddenly starts to rapidly decrease fat mass, you may actually have to consider tweaking “kibble” in order to maintain caloric/dietary balances in order to keep her at that magical 1 cm of fat on her ribs. Concentrates have higher density of calories in a smaller package.

Once she foals out, you can then begin to slowly revert her diet back to more hay, less kibble. I very much agree with AHF that it is ALWAYS better to increase hay first. It can be surprising to suddenly realize your air fern is losing too much too fast whilst nursing, thus requiring more tweaking. A nursing mare is usually a ravenously hungry mare - if she’s keeping good weight, you may have to change her hay to allow her more volume, i.e. grass hay and dole out the alfalfa to give her protein - you can usually feed twice the volume of grass than you can the more richer mixes and volume will satisfy her rather startling hunger (the last thing you need is her eating every wood fence on the place which too much hunger will drive her to do). If, however, she’s losing fat mass whilst maxed out on pounds of hay, then tweak her kibble accordingly.

After about 2 months, the milk volume starts to decrease and then once again you can tweak her caloric needs downwards, slowly over weeks, sacrificing first the kibble. And as weaning day approaches, withdraw all kibble, maintain hay. Once she’s dry, tweak her hay accordingly.

Aren’t air ferns fun?? By golly, I really prefer my moderate keepers over my air fern. They’re easier - stuff their face in a round bale to eat 24/7, add alfalfa, and X pounds of pregnant mare kibble. Easy peasy. The air fern, however, makes my brain hurt sometimes! It’s constantly up this, down that, tweak here, modify that. :rolleyes:

[Dr_Doolittle]

[QUOTE=rodawn;6290995]
Yep, sounds like you got a good plan there. You’ll do fine!

When you settle into her feeding schedule, keep watching her body rib fat and tweak as necessary. If she loses too fast (not a good idea), add more hay first, then kibble (for purposes of defining my lingo - - the word “Kibble” = concentrate/RB - whatever you’ve decided she is getting). Definitely, allow no more fat gain from this point onwards.

A note: Most mares have more difficulty consuming enough hay in the final 6 weeks of pregnancy. The foal takes up enough room that they are pressing on the stomach. Thus, if she suddenly starts to rapidly decrease fat mass, you may actually have to consider tweaking “kibble” in order to maintain caloric/dietary balances in order to keep her at that magical 1 cm of fat on her ribs. Concentrates have higher density of calories in a smaller package.

Once she foals out, you can then begin to slowly revert her diet back to more hay, less kibble. I very much agree with AHF that it is ALWAYS better to increase hay first. It can be surprising to suddenly realize your air fern is losing too much too fast whilst nursing, thus requiring more tweaking. A nursing mare is usually a ravenously hungry mare - if she’s keeping good weight, you may have to change her hay to allow her more volume, i.e. grass hay and dole out the alfalfa to give her protein - you can usually feed twice the volume of grass than you can the more richer mixes and volume will satisfy her rather startling hunger (the last thing you need is her eating every wood fence on the place which too much hunger will drive her to do). If, however, she’s losing fat mass whilst maxed out on pounds of hay, then tweak her kibble accordingly.

After about 2 months, the milk volume starts to decrease and then once again you can tweak her caloric needs downwards, slowly over weeks, sacrificing first the kibble. And as weaning day approaches, withdraw all kibble, maintain hay. Once she’s dry, tweak her hay accordingly.

Aren’t air ferns fun?? By golly, I really prefer my moderate keepers over my air fern. They’re easier - stuff their face in a round bale to eat 24/7, add alfalfa, and X pounds of pregnant mare kibble. Easy peasy. The air fern, however, makes my brain hurt sometimes! It’s constantly up this, down that, tweak here, modify that. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Thanks, rodawn–that is thoughtful and comprehensive advice! (I feel like I should print out this whole thread for reference purposes.) With luck, I will be able to keep my mare on an even keel, both nutritionally and weight-wise. And with luck, the foal will be healthy Waaayyy too many things to worry about, so will try to prioritize, and worry about the stuff that I do have some control over…

Sheesh, breeding!

[Kyzteke]

I haven’t read the whole thread, but yes, there IS a confirmed link between overfeeding & limb issues, however that is in young foals, as opposed to the dam.

I personally LIKE my broodies fat in the last 1-2 mos of gestation, because they are going to lose alot of weight in lactation (at least the WBs do – the Arab does not).

You know your mare best.

As for ribs, I read the thread far enough to see the idea of no ribs seen corrected. Google for the Body Fat Scale. I worked for decades with polo ponies, racehorses & Akhal Tekes (:winkgrin:)…you can see ALL the ribs on those guys…