Feeding the pregnant mare

[back_in_the_saddle]

[QUOTE=JB;5198567]
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? ;)[/QUOTE]

She’s getting 2 lbs 4 times a day so the protein is less per feeding than the gnw would be at 1lb 2xper day. I could do 4 small gnw feedings but that doesn’t help with calorie intake. The oats they recommend to feed with gnw to add calories aren’t very digestable. So it’s a combination of things, calories, digestability. I could add hay, but that’s something else we’re being careful about. In addition to salmonella, colitis, founder, she also had a real bad cecal impaction and nearly died from that at the university. She’s on a slow feeder hay net to slow her hay intake down to maintain a nice low volume flow through her system. That seems to be working really well. Her colon still isn’t right and I think she could still be shedding salmonella. Tests aren’t back yet on that.

If I add a lb of gnw, would that screw up the vit/mineral when used in combination with purina senior? She obviously needs a better feed in terms of vitamins/minerals but how do I get it in an easily digestible correect vit/min content with high calories? Hay can’t increase that much at this point. Not until the salmonella has totally cleared her system. It completely made her gi tract stop causing the impaction. She was a on a nice quality orchard/alfalfa mix when that happened.

[JB]

@back in the saddle;5199002

She’s getting 2 lbs 4 times a day so the protein is less per feeding than the gnw would be at 1lb 2xper day.

Gotcha - but it’s still not by a lot - 254 vs 290. AND, the 2lb of the ration balancer could also be split into 2 feedings, for 145 per feeding

I could do 4 small gnw feedings but that doesn’t help with calorie intake.

You would only need 2 feedings of gnw. More calories can come from alfalfa pellets (a pound or two per feeding if you’re really concerned about protein per feeding), or beet pulp (quite low in protein).

The oats they recommend to feed with gnw to add calories aren’t very digestable.

According to… Because of her past issues? I could buy that. Beet pulp though is highly digestible

If I add a lb of gnw, would that screw up the vit/mineral when used in combination with purina senior?

I certainly wouldn’t add a full serving of gnw to a full serving of Sr, but you could easily do half servings of each. By “serving” I mean the daily amount, so, in this case, 4lb total of the Sr, 1lb total of the gnw.

She obviously needs a better feed in terms of vitamins/minerals but how do I get it in an easily digestible correect vit/min content with high calories? Hay can’t increase that much at this point.

Beet pulp, as per above, is highly digestible, is considered a long-stem fiber, but does not have the (literal) scratch factor that hay does.

And you can feed quite a lot of it - 8-10lb on average. And, if she will eat it soaked, that will add some not-insignificant water to her IF she ends up eating that much.

And no, it doesn’t take hours and hours to soak Shredded bp, even in cold water, will soak up nicely in 10-15 minutes. Give it some hot water and you’re down to 5. Even cold water for me, in the Summer, gets it thoroughly soaked in just a few minutes, literally.

[JenRose]

[QUOTE=amastrike;5198766]
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![/QUOTE]

First time breeder here too. My girls have done this before thank goodness!

So, if they are getting the recommended full ration of concentrate are they covered on the vit/min. Should I put them on Mare Plus or would that be over supplementing?

[Equilibrate]

Strong Start

JB is giving all you great information. Completely correct about the gradually increasing mineral needs as pregnancy goes on. Nutrition in utero really is important for helping to insure the future health of the foal. For example there have been studies showing that the copper status of the mare during pregnancy having an impact on joint health and incidence of OCD in foals.

I have written an article on feeding brood mares which you can find here Feeding the 2nd and 3rd Trimester Mare

There are tables showing how energy and protein increase each month during pregnancy and some other general considerations. It provides you some of the latest scientific info on this area of nutrition. Including some things people don’t commonly think about like the importance of vitamins A and E.

As nutrition is so important to the growing foal and so many people are confused about how to feed their mare and then weanling, I have a program called Strong Start especially for breeders that takes all the worry out of it. I develop detailed nutrition plans for each month of pregnancy and lactation and then for the weanling up until its first birthday. I take into account the specifics of your mare and the feeds you have available. You receive a complete written report for each diet. I also include 2x30 minute phone consults in the program so if something changes or something is worrying you, you can contact me right away. Separately I also offer growth tracking so that we can make sure that your foal is growing steadily from birth to reduce the risks of OCD.

Clair

Independent Equine Nutritionist
www.summit-equine.com

[JB]

Oooo, Clair has a face! I’ve noted that link to study later, thanks for that!

[Equilibrate]

[QUOTE=JB;5200963]
Oooo, Clair has a face! I’ve noted that link to study later, thanks for that![/QUOTE]

I knew someone would mention that :lol: I have a better face I need to send them of me with a horse.

[amastrike]

Well, I started the mare on Enrich 32 today, just a couple handfuls mixed in with her sweet feed and supps. She wolfed it right down! Unlike her boyfriend, who expressed his dissatisfaction with having something get in the way of his sweet feed by flinging it out of the feeder and into the mud :rolleyes:. The mare looked absolutely ENORMOUS. To the point that I briefly panicked, thinking there was something wrong with her or the baby. But she was eating well, and I looked at her from the other side and it wasn’t as extreme, so she must’ve just been standing funny.

[peskee]

I use Progressive Nutrition Feed on all my broodmares and young horses. It never fails that when I go to a show I have several people including judges comment on their coat and body condition. The mares each get 2 lbs. of Grass Formula and 2 lbs of PN Premium Performance sweet feed a day. The grass formula is a concentrate so 2 lbs. is 5 cups. Oh and all my mares get their milk tested every 30 days so we know what the foals are eating.

Dee
Manager, Paard Hill Farms, Manheim