Fescue Alternatives for Broodmare

[Sparky_Boy]

Thanks guys. Great information here! Appreciate the sharing

I’ve got a message into my other vet to discuss feeding options. I do know the last 3 months you’re suppose to increase protein, didn’t know about the other minerals that Rodawn suggested so I’ll look into those.

I like the idea of the ration balancer and think I have another mare that would benefit. The small hole hay nets are a good idea as well - thanks JB.

[JB]

A “diet” does not mean you decrease nutrition. It doesn’t mean put the horse at a 4 going into imminent foaling.

But a mare whose ribs you can’t even find is too fat, even for a late stage gestation, and certainly for only 7 months.

[ThirdCharm]

Have fed orchard, alfalfa, Timothy, brome, rye, oat, and lespedeza to broodmares. Do watch the Calcium-phosphorous ratio of the total ration. Lespedeza has about 2/3 the calcium of alfalfa, but about twice what Timothy and brome have… Orchard is a bit lower, and rye and oat lower still… I prefer grass hays to legume because of the calcium. I really liked the brome hay I had last spring…

Another non fescue hay is millet but it can cause problems with calcium absorption so I would avoid that particularly for a broodmare unless supplementing calcium. Which might make it good if alfalfa is the ONLY other thing you can get, I suppose!

Jennifer

[KIloBright]

[QUOTE=Didi;7904141]
My vet recommends Orchard or Timothy. In lieu of that (we are having trouble finding it, too), she says we can use alfalfa but have to supplement by giving her Calcium Phosphorus (I believe that is the the right thing - alfalfa does not have enough calcium for optimum bone growth in the fetus).
Actually, alfalfa is a hay high in Ca, and why it is fed to horses with ulcers

I always fed my broodmares and young growing horses a good alfalfa mixed hay

[Sparky_Boy]

While I’m waiting for the vet to call me back, I’m looking at two “feeds” from Progressive. One is the Ration Balancer called “ProAdvantage Grass Formula Diet Balancer” and the other is “Premium Growth Formulat Sweet Feed.”

Any thoughts on theses two for the big girl? Should I just follow what the bag says or I was thinking of calling my local Progressive Rep to discuss.

[JB]

No on the sweet feed. It’s just too much sugar and it’s absolutely not appropriate, from both a high sugar perspective and how much you need to be feeding, for an already overweight mare

The Grass Advantage is a ration balancer, one of the many ones out there. It’s a very nice one. So yes, I’d start with that one and see what happens. If you end up feeding the 3lb or so you eventually should be, for the nutrition ,and she just gets fatter, then you’ll have to drop it to 1-2lb and start adding something else without calories - possibly Tri-Amino for the lysine, copper and zinc for the increased requirements, etc. But it’s so much nicer if you can get it all in a single product.

[Didi]

Thank you all, as well, for the info. I am going to double check that I didn’t misunderstand my vet. The BO had already purchased alfalfa for the mare (who she owns and has successfully bred in the past), so I trust her judgment - especially after all the info I read here! Thanks, again!

[Sparky_Boy]

Makes sense about the sweet feed.

Let me make sure I understand… I can just feed the ration balancer, good hay (I just found a source for brome so hopefully that’s taken care of!) and possibly nothing else - just watch to ensure she’s not gaining too much.
I could add in a little Utlium growth if necessary?

I’ve also been feeding her Mare Plus supplment from the beginning. Shouldn’t that be helping with this missing nutrients?

[JB]

Yes to the hay + ration balancer.

If the reason for thinking about adding Ultium is calories, then I would instead go with alfalfa pellets. Feeding the full amount of a RB generally means you don’t want to add another fortified feed, or even a v/m supplement which is what MP is. In some areas you aren’t adding much of anything significant with a v/m supplement - copper for example, is 14mg in a 2oz serving, which really is nothing if you’re in need of adding copper. It’s also 227mg of iron, which is not something you’d want to add on top of the iron provided by the RB - just too much. It likely has negligible lysine as well, whatever little bit is coming from the small amount of alfalfa in the mix.

[Sparky_Boy]

Thanks. Sounds like I could stop the mare plus after switching to a balancer.

[Sparky_Boy]

Interesting. Vet thinks what she’s getting now is fine. I could switch to the Ultium growth instead of the performance if I wanted. Suggested feeding calf manna for extra protein the last 30 days of her term.

[JB]

I don’t understand.

The mare is FAT. Ultium Growth is not low in calories, and feeding as many pounds as you’d need to feed a pregnant mare for the nutrition means a LOT of calories.

You feed SO many fewer calories with a ration balancer, any of them.

Adding Calf Manna (an old "ration balancer) to Ultium? More calories on top of a lot of calories -

[sid]

I haven’t read all of the replies.

You should be able to feed a PG mare anything but fescue, but I would avoid rye as well.

That means no mixed grass hay unless you are sure there is no fescue in it and in some parts of the country the can be hard to guarantee, unless YOU PERSONALLY know what it looks like in a bale.

Since she is overweight I agree…no concentrates. Just a good ration balancer for her hay ration.

As she gets close to foaling and doesn’t bag up, you can always put her on domperidone, if she may have had some errant fescue in her hay within 30 days pre foaling.

[gumtree]

I don’t get into, argue, dispute, debate, advise and rarely comment on feeding. IMO it is way too subjective. IMO a lot of comments, not necessarily in this thread but in general, and or advice seems to be more based more on “what is written” and or limited experience, hobby breeders then what is practiced at “commercial” TB farms. We are a “soup to nuts” TB farm. Before the financial collapse a few years ago we were breeding and foaling 30+ mares a year. Not large by Kentucky (a place I lived and worked for 20 years) standards but larger than most. The average stud fee of in foal mares here is around $20,000. Modest in the grand scheme of the TB game. Our biggest “claim to fame” was the dam of this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner was a resident. We have had 3 of our own “home breds” nominated to the Kentucky Derby, one of which almost made it to the gate. Considering that only around 500 out of 24,000 foals are nominated in any given year not bad for a small operation with very limited “mare power”. So I would like to think we are doing things reasonably well. That being said this how we do things.
We feed 8-12 lbs. at this time of year depending on the mares of what everyone likes to call “garbage”, around here, sweet feed. Though it is not a commercial brand, mixed by a small family owed feed mill. It is a 12-14, oats, cracked corn, protein/fat pellets and just enough molasses to bind/hold things together. In the last “tri” we add 1 lb. of calf mania, if a mare is a little ribby and or the weather has been harsh 1 lb± of Buckeye Ultimate finish, a veggie based fat sublimate. We used to throw Alfalfa as a matter of course because that is what everyone does. But when the financial collapse hit, it hit the horse business even worse. Feed and hay is a very LARGE part of any horse business’s balance sheet. We live in a large “horse area” but also dairy and cattle. Alfalfa became prohibitly expensive so we went with Orchard and or Timothy and not IMO the best to be had. I have no experience with any other type of hay. IMO Orchard and Timothy is easily recognizable, especially first cuttings. Everything turned out just fine. The mares bagged up just as they always had. Their colostrum numbers were no different. The foals thrived and sold as well as could be expected. And most performed beyond expectations on the racetrack.
We throw around 20 lbs. second cutting, of hay (Orchard and or Timothy) once a day to our mares, afternoon feeding only. More in cold harsh weather. There is enough “winter” grass, junk for them to gaze on in between. IMO horses are like people, some are naturally on the chunky/thick side of things and other on the lean side. One just needs to learn what their mare’s “type” is. IMO opinion heavier is better than light. IMO and experience feed programs have become much more complicated then they need to be. I just don’t think it is rocket science. As always each their own.

FWIY this is what we do for a living and what clients pay us to do for them. Clicking on my screen name gives a link to our home page and background. Along with contact information for those who would like to take exception to my comments, Email and or voice. I am not giving “advise” just stating what works for us and the results of provide a pretty good living. It is also based on a number of other “care taking” factors and is also based on our horses in our neck of the woods.

[Sparky_Boy]

What do we think about Wheat hay? I found some nearby, cut in June before heads, also has about 10% alfalfa in it. They feed it to baby calves. Pricey @ $6.00 per bale but if it works, I’ll go get it.