Feeding ? for broodmare

[Eventer55]

I know it’s an oxymoron, but I have a TB that’s fat! She’s due to foal next April and I’m curious about feeding a fat broodmare. She’s fat, super shiny and looks great, but she gets 2 cups of senior AM and PM with hay and a little pasture. Is this enough to meet requirements for the foal. My vet came for the last ultra sound and said she should be fine, I may need to bump up the feed later, I know I won’t have to. . .

This mare was an easy keeper even through the 2 years of eventing. Now she’s blimp:D

I wanted to add it seems I have opposite ends of the spectrum with my girls as I just posted to a thread on hard keeper and feed :))

[SCMSL]

Senior feed is one of the types of feed with the most % of fat.

If you have a fat mare, you’re only making it worst. Is the mare on the last 4 months of pregnancy? The best thing you can do is put her on a broodmare feed…

[Callaway]

No, it’s probably not enough feed to meet even just your mare’s requirements. If she is an easy keeper, try feeding her a more concentrated diet, like a ration balancer. You may only need to feed a pound or two (depending on the brand), but since it’s more concentrated than any senior feed, it will meet your mare’s nutritional requirements.

[Callaway]

No, it’s probably not enough feed to meet even just your mare’s requirements. If she is an easy keeper, try feeding her a more concentrated diet, like a ration balancer. You may only need to feed a pound or two (depending on the brand), but since it’s more concentrated than any senior feed, it will meet your mare’s nutritional requirements.

[Hilltopfarmva]

Not an oxymoron at all, all my TB mares are fat and they are on good mix of alfalfa/timothy mixed hay, pasture and an 11/6 protein pellet. Most are getting 1 2 qt scoop at each feeding, some are just on one feeding. Actually as I look around the barn, all my TB’s are fat except the new ex racers that just came in. I don’t feed senior to any of my broodmares, the only ones on that are the senior horses.

[Eventer55]

Mare is only 60 days along, I’ll look into ration balancers.

[horsechick]

Also Purina has a formula for fatties called Wellsolve Weight Control. Should be able to get more nutrients with less calories

[JB]

Definitely a ration balancer - you will feed the least amount of calories for the high nutrition.

Even the Lite feeds are more calories than RBs.

[Sunnydays]

I also support the ration balancers. Your mare will need extra vitamins and minerals throughout pregnancy - but no caloric increase till the last trimester, more or less.
Ration balancers fed at 1 to 2 pounds per day (more in last trimester and lactation), plus good forage (grass, hay, beet pulp for hard keepers over winter) will take care of most broodmares’ needs.

[SCMSL]

I still recommend broodmare specific ration.

Don’t forget that in the last couple of years there have been a lot of breakthroughs regarding mare feeding and soundness issues in their babies.

Find a good broodmare feeding that has the correct Calcium-Phosphorous ration for pregnant and lactating mares (which is VERY different from the one for regular horses), that has a good % of copper (there have been studies linking diets with high levels of copper to less levels of OCD) and lots of vitamins for both the mare and the baby.

They’re a bit more expensive than regular feeds or even balancers (and thats why most people only use them for the last 4/5 months of pregnancy and while lactating), but at least you make sure you’re doing everything for both of them.

Also, I wouldn’t be too worried. As long as she’s not obese, a couple extra kg are actually good for fertility.

[JB]

Yes, but if by “broodmare specific ration” you mean something like TC Growth, of which she’d had to eat 5lb+, you just can’t do that with a mare who’s already fat.

This isn’t about fertility at this point- she’s already pregnant.

Feeding the recommended amounts of a RB WILL be about the same as feeding the recommended amounts of a “broodmare” feed in terms of nutrition.

[SCMSL]

Yes, she’s already pregnant, but one of the early pregnancy’s abortion causes are exactly weight loss.

I’m talking of something like PAVO Podo Lac, of which of feed a maximum of 2kg per day.

[JB]

Do you have a study that shows taking a pregnant mare from fat (what is fat anyway - BCS 6? 7? 8?) down to a BCS of 5 increases the risk of abortion?

2kg is roughly 4.5lb. At minimally 1200 cal/lb, I’d guess, that’s too many calories for a mare who is already fat. At this stage of pregnancy she only needs normal nutrition, and 1lb of a ration balancer would be about 1500 calories total.

[SCMSL]

In fact, there are many studies regarding body fat in pregnant mares, and it has been determined that the ideal body condition is between 5,5 and 7,5. Less than that, you’re increasing the risk of low birth weight or even abortion, more than that and the mare will have poor lactation ratios and increased risk of colic and laminitis.

You should adapt the amount and the type of feeding to the mare.

And its like I said in my last post, you should feed a MAXIMUM of 2 kg. And this is a very balanced feed designed for pregnant and lactating mares, which means it has the correct ratios for this specific situation.

The thing with balancers is they’re supposed to BALANCE a grain feed, not to be fed with pasture only! If you don’t feed it for its purpose, you’ll be unbalancing the whole feeding program. And a simple example of that is that balancers always have a high calcium amount, that usually brings the Ca-P ratio to around 3/4 Calcium to 1 Phosphorous - and it should never be higher than 2:1.

When the diet has too much calcium, there will actually be a “calcium toxicity”, which causes kidney damage and decreased absorption of other essential minerals (copper, selenium,…)

Balancers are used to balance grain diets, not to balance pasture!

[Eventer55]

Ok, how about TC 30% supplement for broodmares? Any thoughts?

Also, to be clear I’m not looking to have her lose weight I just want to make sure she’s getting the proper nutrition from her feed.

[SCMSL]

I’m not acquainted with that feeding, but if you put the nutritional values here I can take a look. If the feed company can be trusted, as long as everything’s balanced nutritionally, it should be fine…

[ponygirl]

@Eventer55;6435110

Ok, how about TC 30% supplement for broodmares? Any thoughts?

Also, to be clear I’m not looking to have her lose weight I just want to make sure she’s getting the proper nutrition from her feed.

This is what I feed. Here is the info that shows it has absolutely been designed to be fed to balance pasture/hay:

Triple Crown 30% Supplement can be used to balance pasture and/or hay, improve nutrition in diets when feeding small amounts, or to mix with your own grains for a balanced diet. Adjust feed, pasture or hay to maintain desired body condition.
For balancing pasture and/or hay, feed 1 lb. to 1.5 lbs. per 1000 lbs. of body weight. Feed .5 lbs. to .75 lbs. for ponies. For horses in moderate to high levels of activity, and for broodmares and breeding stallions, feed 1.5 lbs. to 2 lbs. per day.For balanced diets where current feeding rates fall below the minimum for that diet, add .5 lbs. to 1 lb. per 1000 lbs. of body weight along with the diet being fed. Feed .25 lbs. to .5 lbs. for ponies. For horses in moderate to high levels of activity, and for broodmares and breeding stallions, feed 1 lb. per day.
When mixing with your own grains (oats, corn or barley), mix at a ratio of 1:4.5 of Triple Crown 30% Supplement along with your grains and add molasses, if desired, for palatability and consistency.

[JB]

[QUOTE=Eventer55;6435110]
Ok, how about TC 30% supplement for broodmares? Any thoughts?

Also, to be clear I’m not looking to have her lose weight I just want to make sure she’s getting the proper nutrition from her feed.[/QUOTE]

TC 30 is a perfectly fine and good ration balancer to feed. At this point, she’ll get 1lb. STarting at about the 5 month mark is when it’s now recommended to start increasing nutrition a bit. For most of her pregnancy past 5-7 months, you’ll feed between 2 and 3lb of the TC 30, depending on her size. By the time she foals you’re looking at about 3lb, maybe 3.5, again depending on her size.

That’s just for the nutrition. If she ends up needing more calories by that point, and by the time she starts nursing, then you’d be better off economically switching to TC Growth, or a combination of the 2. You CAN add things like alfalfa pellets and beet pulp, or replace some of the grass hay with alfalfa. There are many ways to do this to meet both nutritional and caloric needs

[JB]

[QUOTE=ponygirl;6435198]
This is what I feed. Here is the info that shows it has absolutely been designed to be fed to balance pasture/hay: [/QUOTE]

Well, they all say “to balance your forage”, but in reality, their formula is fixed, and they have zero idea the nutritional value of your hay/grass They DO help make up for what is commonly lacking in the type of forage you are feeding for (ie the grass balancer for grass/hay, the alf balancer for all/mostly alf forage), but you can be feeding grass hay that reads like alfalfa, or vice versa.

Feeding a RB is HIGHLY unlikely to cause an OD situation though, probably not even close

[neversaynever]

I had the same problem last year and talked to both a repro specialist and a vet that did equine nutrition at the vet school. My mare mare was on TC Lite and pasture/hay for the first part of her pregnancy. During the last 4 months we switched her over to the TC 30%, timothy/orchard hay (no pasture due to fescue) in a small hole hay net, and added alfalfa in the last month or so. She was a healthy weight (BCS 6.5-7), delivered a wonderful, healthy foal. After she delivered we gradually changed to TC Growth, which they are both eating (baby is now 3 months old). Mare is now a little heavier than I would like at this point but not obese; foal is growing like a weed. I would suggest talking with your vet to set up a plan for your mare.