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You invest time and money in analyzing bloodlines and selecting stallions for brood mares. To reach genetic potential, a similar investment of thought and care is necessary after pregnancy is confirmed.
Nutrition influences fertility; ability to recover from foaling and conceive again; foal vigor at birth and the growth and soundness of the suckling and nursing foal.
The quality and quantity of milk available to the newborn nursing foal is affected by the nutritional management of the mare even before the foal is born.
So If Mom doesn’t get the correct balanced diet her body she could never recover from the stress of carrying the baby.
And if junior doesn’t get the correct balanced diet he may not make it or he could be starting life way behind the eight ball.
Nutrient requirements for the nursing mare are in two categories.
These are:
- Foaling to 90 days
- 90 days to weanling.
Lactation and nursing greatly increases the mares’ requirement for nutrients.
Energy needs are increased two fold, and the requirements for protein, calcium and phosphorus increase. A deficiency in any one of these nutrients decreases the amount of milk produced but has little or no effect on the concentration of these nutrients in the milk.
A normal healthy 900 lb. to 1200 lb. nursing mare when properly fed will produce from 25 lbs. to 30 lbs. of milk per day during the first three months of lactation. By five months of lactation the amount produced will decrease by only about 5 lbs. per day.
Each nursing mare should be fed as much as necessary to maintain proper weight and condition.
A good indication of proper weight and condition is the amount of tissue covering the ribs. With a summer hair coat or a wet winter hair coat, the ribs should not be seen but should be easily felt without feeling any extra amount of fat between the ribs and the skin.
Mineral intake during pregnancy: Nursing mares milk is very low in copper, manganese, zinc, selenium, iodine and iron, so for the first 3 months after birth the foal relies on its own reserves which it builds up during the last 90 days of pregnancy.
If the pregnant mare does not receive adequate trace minerals in the last three months of pregnancy... BIG PROBLEMS ...it is not possible to make up for this by supplements either the mare or the foal after birth.
The incidence of bone and joint lesions is the same – whether or not the mares and foals are supplemented after birth. The use of chelated mineral proteinates increases mineral availability.
Feeding high oil feeds or adding oil to the diet has benefits. Oil is used preferentially for milk production and provides an early growth advantage for foals. In addition, studies on Thoroughbred mares on oil-enriched feeds have found shorter time to foal heat (12 vs. 14 days), fewer cycles per conception (1 vs. 2) and higher pregnancy rates (100 vs. 89%).
In mares over 10 years of age, higher plasma progesterone levels have been reported between days 0-13 and 37-49 when supplementing oil is fed. This suggests that increasing the oil intake may increase progesterone concentration in pregnant mares over 10 years of age.
Essential amino acids:
The period of maximum bone growth is from 3 months before until 12 months after birth, and for muscle, from 2 to 22 months of age.
Essential amino acids such as lysine, methionine and threonine are mandatory for bone and muscle development.
The amino acids composition of the mares’ diet affects blood and milk and therefore determines foal intake. Much of the amino acids in poorly digested foods end up the caecum, where they ferment and degrade to ammonia, and are lost to the horse.
Because steam-extruded feeds are preferentially digested in the small intestine, essential amino acids are readily available for absorption, to support bone and muscle growth and the achievement of genetic potential.
Horse Moms Life Stage complete health and nutritional products has been able to take the guess work out of feeding and supplementing your horse by analyzing the different life stages of horses and provide added features with nutrients specific to each life stage and activity.
Plus providing total body support with additional ingredients to support your horses’ skeletal system, digestive system, immune system, skin and coat, muscular system, nervous system, circulatory system and respiratory system all in one.
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