Feeding the Pregnant Mare

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Holly7

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Hi All,

Just got my blood test results back and we are definately still in foal.
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Hol was covered 2nd June this year so were due early next May, but have a question and want to check whether Im right or wrong !!!

Holly is a welsh D but looks nothing like one (as in not a big heavy weight!) She looks more like a hunter pony type, anyhow is in foal to a 3/4 arab. Hollys had lammy in the past (5 years ago) shes 10 now.......anyhow the question : Should I be feeding her now ?? and if so what?? at the moment she is stabled over night and turnout during the day in her own paddock which still has a fair covering of grass. She had about 12-14 lbs of hay each night and is given about 6lbs in the morning when turned out.

Her old feed regime consisted of happy hoof, hi-fi lite and hi-fibre cubes (all lammy feeds) .

Am I right in keeping up with feeding her hay (& carrots when avail.) for the time being. She has a good coverage at the moment is not underweight nor is she carry excess fat. She is going to be kept au natural over the winter unless its bucketing down and then obv. will have a rug on.

Am I right that she doesnt need to much feed or protein yet until the final 3-4 months of pregnancy ?? Just when I read threads on here everyones feeding stud mix, but then is that cause you all still have foals at foot ?

Many thanks !
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My mare is prone to being fat, and we have enough grass to keep her busy but not enough in general so I've put her on a lo cal chaff, and some stud balancer. She's still out 24/7 and I'd normally be feeding her some chaff and mix now anyway.

I was told, for good do-ers, just feed as you nornally would until last 4 months. Supplement grazing with hay as it tails off so they have enough food but not too much.
 
Thats why Im confused, normally she would be clipped, in work and by now eating two feeds a day....... so because shes not Im right in not feeding (as in hard feed happyhoof/hi fibre cubes) at the moment d'ya think ? I can always up the hay intake no problem, Im just paranoid Im going to over grow the fetus and have a disasteras (cant spell!) birth !
 
My mare is a good doer - i phoned Baileys and they told me the exact amounts to feed her of their Stud Balancer. It is low calorie and provides the right nutrients all the way to birth of the foal without having to suppliment or change the diet.
 
Yes, as the others have said - it's the vitamins and minerals which are going to be important for her throughout her pregnancy - If she is a good doer, she won't need too much in the way of extra calories until she is lactating.

It is important to provide them with correct nutrition whilst they are in foal - I know some people who don't start feeding until a month of so before the foal is due, but this isn't enough IMHO.
 
She wont't need stud mix until the last 3 months pf pregnancy and then when she's lactating. My mare just had good forage last summer with a small hard feed of ordinary coarse mix once a day into which I put a dose of general vitamins and minerals (I used the Feelgood 30 one). Over the winter she got ad-lib haylage and the same small feed with supplement and then for the last 3 months she went onto stud mix with Feelgood 30 mare and foal supplement. The stud only gave them a handful of stud nuts if they were in over night, otherwise they just had grazing and hay. When she came home I went back to a studmix feed once a day but she was on really good grass too.
 
I see what you mean I suppose mine have always stayed out that bit later recently so she wouldn't be in until November starts when she'd be clipped and her feeds upped.

All she's getting at the moment is a big double handful of chaff (the lo-cal stuff) and two mugs of the stud balancer (the baileys one) as a maintainance feed, she would be on chaff and speedibeet and coarse mix now if she was in more work. Our 3 year old is still on nothing as she's fat, and I've only just put the TB on chaff and calm and condition with some jointcare as she's feeling the cold a bit.

we bred off the TB and she was on stud mix right through, but she was a bad do-er and she's allergic to a lot so we had to start her on it before she went to stud to make sure she's be OK.

But with fatty Ginge, just the handful of chaff and the vitamins, are keeping her nicely - not puttin on or losing weight - staying nice and normal. She's getting enough forage and the vits and mins in the balancer are just to keep her right.
 
It's only in the last trimester of pregnancy that you need to worry as this is when the foal does most of it's growing. So feed normally until that point.

Just watch your cal : phos ratio though if she is on lami feeds as they tend to rely on straw to bulk them and that will affect foal bone growth if these two minerals are not in the correct proportion.

I would carry on and feed hay and the grass she gets until winter hits then introduce a small amount of alalfa based forage and then look into a stud balancer fed in very small quanities. When you do need to be thinking about upping the feed the grass will be on its way back to growing so be careful not to overdo it. A balancer can help here to just making sure she has everything she needs.

The more you can leave her out 24/7 the better. But if you keep you head and resist feeding for two now she will be fine.
 
Why don't you go on the Dodson & Horrell or Baileys or similar websites and email fill in a request form for some advice from a nutritionalist. I did this a week or 2 ago and both B (nearly 5 months in-foal) and Hector (her yearling son) are now on 1kg of D&H Sure Grow + Alfalfa + hay & carrots.
 
My mare is on her "norm" at the mo, she is due early May and will move on to her stud mix after Christmas. With regards to hay etc i would say it depends on your grazing, whether your mare is in or out, and what the weather turns out like this year. I dont like seeming them have a tough time of it turned out, so when they are in foal I am always even more careful.
 
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