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Feeding the Pregnant Mare November 11, 2006
Your mare's ability to produce a quality, healthy foal primarily depends on proper care and feeding of her and the foal. If her foal is to succeed and remain sound in today's fiercely competitive world, it must be furnished a proper balance of protein, energy, minerals, and vitamins from the moment it is conceived. The most common mistakes horse owners make in feeding their broodmares during pregnancy are underfeeding minerals and vitamins and overfeeding protein and energy. After a mare has foaled and is lactating, owners tend to underfeed protein and energy. Keeping this in mind, how might the broodmare owner steer clear of making these--and other--nutritional blunders? When strategizing and managing a feeding program for your broodmare, you must be able to distinguish between quality feeds and inferior products, as well as understand what is contained in her feed. This involves not only the commercial grains that you choose, but also supplements, hay, and even the pasture grass she grazes. Age, size, daily physical activity, and stage in pregnancy must be taken into consideration when developing a diet that will address the nutritional requirements of the mare and her fetus. Broodmares fall into two key groups: those with foals at their sides, and those without. During early gestation, nutrient requirements for pregnant mares with foals at their sides are much higher than pregnant mares that aren't nursing a foal. Lactation requires a higher intake of calories and nutrients. But what about that unborn foal? What are its requirements? Continue Reading [*PDF file, 3.54 MB download] *Adobe Reader is required to view PDF files. |
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