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[RC] nutrition q about pregnant mares - sherman

Wow! 14 quarts of grain seems like a lot to me too! I guess it depends
on the horse and their metabolism. I've had a couple pregnant mares, I
just fed them as usual, lots of good hay & pasture, kept them fit by
riding and included a vitamin supplement added to their little bit of
grain. My mares surely would have foundered and gotten obese if I'd fed
them that much grain. Do pay attention to parasite care and vaccinations
though. There is an optimum time for these things, I can't remember
when, but maybe someone else has the schedule memorized?

Kathy



Cindy wrote:
Just recently had my 12 yr old maiden mare bred and am waiting to find
if it took.? Assuming she is pregnant, i started reading a book my vet
recommended to get myself educated on what to expect, trying to soak up
what info I can.? Never gone thru this before, but I board at a breeding
barn, so a few experienced voices around to guide me through this.? But
I'd like to hear from some of the 'educated' voices out there (i.e. you
lurking vets/vet techs/and equine nutritionists out there if you feel
inclined to chime in?:)) about a couple questions i had about what I
just read, that sounded kind of hoaky.
?
1. recommendation was 8 qrts of grain daily (TB dose, adjust for smaller
breeds) and increase by 1 qt a month for each month of gestation, 14 qts
max.? That seems high to (uneducated) me.? My arab mare is an easy
keeper, is turned out 24/7 on pasture (average quality) and supplemented
with grass hay as needed.? She is?ridden about 2-3X a week.? I do feed
her a purina feed about 3X a week, more for vitamins/minerals then for
the calories.? My question then is should i be really increasing the
amount of grain to the level recommended in the book?? Of course, I'll
give her whatever she needs within my ability to get her a nutritionally
balanced diet, but didn't think that she would need those calories..??
And I would rather be feeding her beet pulp then grain if she needed the
calories...
?
2. in addition to the above (and i rechecked to make sure i didn't
misread) it recommends?8 qts of warm bran mash (50/50 grain/bran split)
every evening th elast 2 mos. of gestation.? Necessary?? Seems like a
lot? It seems like the book is geared to the breeders aiming for Jan.
foals, i'm guessing.? Although i would like to see the look my horse
would give me if i tried to tempt?her to eat a nice warm mash in June
when its 90+ here and she's 10 mos. pregnant?LOL.
?
Anyway, just trying to get informed on my horse's nutritional needs for
this new adventure of ours.? If any vets can chime in, i'd love to hear
your recommendations.? thanks.




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