Feeding the pregnant mare

[amastrike]

My mare is just over 5 months pregnant. She’s been on pasture, hay, and oats for the past 5.5 months or so. She also gets Mare Plus with some sweet feed (no more than a quart). She’s pleasantly plump now and certainly doesn’t need to gain any weight. But it seems like she’ll need to go on a more complete feed soon, especially since the grass will be gone soon.

My feed store carries Purina and Blue Seal, and I think carries Legends/Southern States feeds. (There might be more, but I’m not sure.) Anyone have preferences of feeds by these makers? I’m not too worried about getting her on a different grain immediately, since she’s looking good with what she gets now. But she is out 24/7, not blanketing this year, and we’re in Buffalo. So much to consider!

I’ve looked around a bit to get information on feeding pregnant mares, but haven’t had much luck.

[JB]

Take this for what it’s worth from someone who is breeding for the first time, but also from someone who, if I say so humbly, has a pretty good handle on nutrition and studies a lot of research on feeding, as well as pouring over the NRC guidelines

IMHO a vit/min supplement is not enough starting about now. It used to be that the recommendation was to increase nutrition in the last trimester. But as more studies emerged, that recommendation changed to increasing it at 5 months - right where you are.

Lysine needs in particular increase monthly. Calcium and phosphorous go up. Copper needs increase around month 8 IIRC.

I would replace the MP and the quart of sweet feed, with 1lb, for now, of a ration balancer. That would be Enrich 32 in your case (Purina).

It is not about her nutritional needs right now, so much as it is making sure the foal has enough for critical early developments. Well, it IS about her - nutrition will go to the foal, it’s Nature’s way, but it will take from her, so she will end up depleted, and ultimately not able to provide enough for the foal, if she is not supplemented well enough.

2lb of the ration balancer would be appropriate in a few months.

If she needs more calories in the meantime, alfalfa pellets, or replacing some of her grass hay with alfalfa hay, is a great way to do that.

Other options are something like Triple Crown Growth at appropriate amounts, but given her current weight, that is probably going to be far too many calories.

[dianehalpin]

My mare is also at about 5 months and has successfully foaled for me three previous years on what I am giving her now which is: 10 pounds per day divided into two feeds of 60% Omolene 300 (Growth) and 40% Equine Sr. (for good nutrition and easy digestibility) as well as pasture and good orchard hay on demand (as much as she wants to eat all day/night). She is also on Mare Plus. I increase the concentrates a bit in the last trimester and post-foaling, and she has always maintained good weight and great health. Her babies have been very healthy and have developed well so I won’t change anything unless events indicate otherwise.

[JB]

Unfortunately, there is no way a “pleasantly plump” mare can take 10lb of feed.

[Callaway]

My pregnant mares are eating 5# of TC Growth and 1# TC 30% Supplement split in 2 feedings. They are still on pasture and I have yet to put any hay out, but I suspect that they will need that pretty soon. I feed alfalfa/timothy mixed hay free choice all winter and early spring before they are on grass again. I will increase the 30% Supplement when they are in their last trimester, and slowly add more Growth right before they foal to support the demands of lactation.

[sporthorsefilly]

Callaway why would you feed a balanced feed like TC Growth and then add the 30% supplement? The 30% supplement is supposed to be fed with a grain ration such as Oats/barley, according to the Manufacturer.

I feed a balanced mare/foal growth formula to my broodmares and weanlings.

I’ve used Triple Crown (don’t like the looks of it!) I like Legend’s Mare and Foal and also Omolene 300. Presently I am using a mare and foal formula from my local feed mill. It looks and smells so much like granola, I am tempted to eat it myself!

[amastrike]

Callaway, is the TC Growth for calories or nutrition?

Thanks for the input! I’m having 50-60 bales of second cutting alfalfa (a little coarse, but it wasn’t a great hay year) delivered this weekend, so she’ll get that when she’s stalled (overnight a few times a week).

The Enrich 32 sounds good. She had previously been on Buckeye Gro N Win. And only having to feed a pound or so is great, since she’s fed outside with her boyfriend and he’s a jerk and steals her food, so she should be able to finish before he’s done with his food :lol:. Would this replace the Mare Plus entirely? (The sweet feed is just to give the MP and her joint supplement something to stick to.) Would it hurt to keep her on MP even if it isn’t necessary?

I don’t mind her being a bit chunky, since she is going to have to work a bit to stay warm this winter. I’ll have to weight tape her, last time I think she was about 1200–and she’s a 15.2hh TB :eek:.

[JB]

If you can get the Buckeye, that’s a better product than the Enrich, but Enrich really isn’t bad.

Yes, it would replace, at least for now, the MP. If you find that you cannot feed the recommended 2lb of the Enrich, then I’d add the MP back in, and if you’re not feeding enough alfalfa, you may need to look at adding something like Tri-Amino for more amino acids (which will be negligible in the MP or any vit/min supplement).

[amastrike]

My feed store doesn’t carry Buckeye anymore :(. Apparently, I was pretty much the only person buying it, so they couldn’t justify stocking it anymore.

Would I need 2 pounds of Enrich right now? What if I did 1-1.5 pounds and did a half serving of MP? And how much alfalfa is enough? She’d probably get… oh, 10-15 pounds each day that she’s put in her stall, so between 3-5 times a week. Tri-Amino is cheap, I’ll just add that into her SmartPak.

[Callaway]

[QUOTE=amastrike;5196014]
Callaway, is the TC Growth for calories or nutrition?QUOTE]

Both The TC 30% or Enrich or Gro 'n Win replaces the need for MP. The RB is the supplement.

[Callaway]

[QUOTE=sporthorsefilly;5196009]
Callaway why would you feed a balanced feed like TC Growth and then add the 30% supplement? The 30% supplement is supposed to be fed with a grain ration such as Oats/barley, according to the Manufacturer.

I feed a balanced mare/foal growth formula to my broodmares and weanlings.

I’ve used Triple Crown (don’t like the looks of it!) I like Legend’s Mare and Foal and also Omolene 300. Presently I am using a mare and foal formula from my local feed mill. It looks and smells so much like granola, I am tempted to eat it myself![/QUOTE]

Because that’s what the company recommended to me. Basically, 5# isn’t enough Growth for the mares to get the nutrition they need, hence the addition of the RB. The RB alone isn’t enough calories; the recommended amount of Growth is too much. So I feed less than the recommended amounts of each, and that’s how it is balanced.

[Callaway]

[QUOTE=amastrike;5196014]
Callaway, is the TC Growth for calories or nutrition? [/QUOTE]

Both The RB alone isn’t enough calories for my mares. They would lose weight. The RB replaces the need for any other supplement, such as MP.

[JB]

@amastrike;5196060

My feed store doesn’t carry Buckeye anymore :(. Apparently, I was pretty much the only person buying it, so they couldn’t justify stocking it anymore.

That’s ok, as much as I dislike Purina products in general, I don’t mind their ration balancers at all

Would I need 2 pounds of Enrich right now?

Not really. Not for a few more months, unless your hay is just low quality.

What if I did 1-1.5 pounds and did a half serving of MP?

If you want to use up the MP, I see no reason you can’t do 1lb E32 and 1oz MP.

And how much alfalfa is enough? She’d probably get… oh, 10-15 pounds each day that she’s put in her stall, so between 3-5 times a week. Tri-Amino is cheap, I’ll just add that into her SmartPak.

10-15lb alfalfa would be enough, before lactation, to meet her lysine needs, as alfalfa is roughly, iirc, 4gm lysine per pound. So, with that, you wouldn’t need the Tri-Amino

FYI about the Tri-Amino - if you buy 6 tubs, getting the Uckele discount, then even with their higher shipping, it comes out cheaper than 6 tubs through SmartPak. But, it does become a bit inconvenient when boarding and if you’re already using SP.

[rodawn]

I lost my first post, so here’s a repeat.

I have a preg mare who’s appetite takes off like an out-of-control locomotive once she hits about 2-3 months pregnant and then she vacuums everything in sight. For her, “chubby” could easily become “obese” in 2 seconds flat, so for the first 5 months, I feed her literally a handful of wet low-sugar, low-carb 15% protein kibble in which I can stir in the no-calorie vitamin/mineral mix. After 5 months, I start to increase volume of low-carb kibble and begin to introduce a broodie kibble but keep top dressing the minerals. She never gets a full broodie kibble ration because for her it’s too much fat so she ends up with a half-n-half - the low-carb with broodie kibble. I supplement her with the no-calorie mineral/mix and add some Ultra Kelp, plus Omega-3 and a few carrots a day.

It’s not ideal, but horses can usually cope very well with what’s not ideal and still do just fine.

Our cold winter conditions are helpful in maintaining a good body condition score. You want a broodie pleasantly plump, but not obese. Lactation pulls off some condition so she needs some stores available. Also, as she gets closer to month 10-11, she will be unable to eat as much volume calories (hay) because baby is a space hog, so volume caloric intake needs to be replaced somewhat with condensed caloric intake (kibble). Still offer the hay, but you may find it takes her twice as long to actually finish it. Once foal is out, hay and grass intake are increased dramatically.

On top of what JB stated, your in-utero foal needs Vitamin A which it stores in the liver. Mare milk does not contain enough Vitamin A, so these stores are utilized until foal begins to nibble on grass/hay. Your broodie kibble should also have adequate Vitamin A in it. If you read the labels, it shows you a guaranteed analysis of what’s in the feed. Broodie kibble also contains plenty of lysine which is also essential.

You can consult with Kentucky Equine Research. Their equine nutritionist is wonderfully helpful in these tricky cases. It’s harder to get the right nutrition loads into these mares who get obese on standard broodie kibble.

[amastrike]

Here’s my pleasantly plump mare: http://i54.tinypic.com/2iizpqs.jpg

Weight tape puts her at 1250-ish :eek:. The calculators that use girth and length put her 1300+. Did I mention she’s 15.2hh? 18.3 hands around.

Our hay is pretty decent quality… not super fancy, but good.

I think I’ll cut her MP back to half a serving, work her up to a pound of E32, and add Tri-Amino. That should do until she’s in the last few months.

[back_in_the_saddle]

What would you do in this case?
My mare got salmonella, colitis, foundered, but has maintained the pregnancy so far. She was bred June 18.

While at UGA, they put her on 8lbs of Purina equine senior for easy digestion and calories and 6 flakes of Timothy hay. She’s still on this program.

I have been told high protein is irritating to the colon and the vet did not recommend gro’n win for this reason. (in her case)

Just thought of this: *I could give her tiny bits if g’nwin with an automatic feeder through out the day and night (6 feedings) that would equal a pound or so instead of a pound each in two feedings. *I would think smaller amounts would be less irritating.??? Thoughts??

She’s getting 6 flakes of Timothy as well. They didnt want her to gain too much weight due to the founder.

Sent from my iPhone

[JenRose]

More questions…

Sorry to hijack Amastrike. I am in a similar boat…mares are 5-6 months preggo and I can’t find info about feeding.

My girls get 5lbs of Omolene 200 am & pm. So 10lbs concentrate per day. No supplements. Out 24/7 on bermuda overseeded with ryegrass for winter. Now through foaling they will have 24/7 access to good grass hay.

Is this enough? Both are in great condition. One mare is 5 months along (more of an easy keeper type but doing great on this ration) and the other is 6 months. I forsee having to up the older, more preggo mare’s ration as the cold weather and pregnancy progresses. I am in Louisiana though so no real issue with needing extra calories for extreme cold.

[JB]

@back in the saddle;5197772

I have been told high protein is irritating to the colon and the vet did not recommend gro’n win for this reason. (in her case)

This shows you how little vets understand about feeding

8lb of Sr, at 14% protein, is 508gm protein.
2lb Gro’N’Win, at 32% protein, is 290gm protein.

You see the problem here?

[Meggs]

Jenrose ~ I’m similar to you, so I’d like to see the responses you get.

2 mares due the end of March 2011. Both currently getting about 8lbs/day of a 14/6 feed, timothy round bales ayce, whatever grass they find, trace mineral block, and plain salt block.

In previous years I have pretty much doubled the concentrates in the last 3-4 months, as well as add in a alf/grass hay. After foaling, and while nursing the mares weight dictates how much more…

[amastrike]

JenRose, if they’re keeping a good weight, you’ve got the calories right. It’s all the darn vitamins and minerals that getcha! I started feeding Mare Plus a month or two before breeding the mare, and everything has been pretty simple so far… but now that we’re getting into the serious part of pregnancy, it’s so hard to know what to do, especially as a first-time breeder. The last thing you want to do is hurt your mare or baby!