Getting weight back on a skinny still feeding mare

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Beatrice5

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Hi guys,

Henna is now 10 months old and still not fully weaned. We are getting there but I only have one corral and the paddock is still very wet so not the right conditions yet.

Took Trixies rug off yesterday and wasn't pleased she has dropped a lot and is now a bit on the bony side for my liking. They have constant access to lovely haylage and she gets A black bowl scoop of Alfa A oil, a green feed scoop of stud mix, two green scoops of sugar beet, a slug of sunflower oil and a cup of baileys stud balancer, a scoop of pink powder and chpped carrots twice a day.

Foal and youngster only get a handful of Hi fi light, a scoop of beet pulp and some carrots and pink powder and of course the ad lib haylage and they look fab nice shape but definately not fat .

So what is a good fat additive for her ladyship - I don't like pumping in the feed but she has gone all hips and wither and shoulder bones again which is a bit too waife like for me and thats with her winter coat I'd hate to see her clipped.

Plus I would like to start riding in the spring but I woundn't ride her as she is now so I need to build her back up but without boosting her milk as she is slowly spending longer in her own paddock away from Henna.

Thanks guys
 
TBH, the sooner you can wean fully the better, that way foal will not be taking any goodness away from her as she will be using it to produce milk while it's suckling, not be looking after herself instead..
Take it teeth and worming are ok too.
 
Teeth have been done regulary and are due in Feb with annual booster so shouldn't be a problem.

Last wormed after first frost and was planning on worming again soon but I poo pick daily always have and no other horses grazed our paddocks before we came only sheep so my vet advised not to over worm but to do poo testing which we do. But I did wonder especially after Poppy's ( Mum's cob) colic episode a weeks or so ago wether I should do a panacur 5 day for the encysted larvae just to be safe.

I cannot fully wean as they have to come in at night into the corral all together as the field is so wet it gives their feet a break and them time to dry off.

I just thought there maybe another vital ingredient I was missing to pick her weight up a bit .
 
Agree with Maesfen. If teeth & worming are all ok, Henna at 10 months old will just be draining Mum. From what you describe, Mum is already getting plenty of grub and I would hesitate to give her any more. My broodmare was really suffering and only one month after weaning is looking fantastic again.

Is there any way you could halve your coral, with electric fence, to keep them separate at night as well as during the day? Or perhaps, as a very last resort - I personally don't like the sudden separation weaning - send Mum away for a few weeks?
 
I can't stand the thought of just taking Mum away I had planned the gradual method with the final parting being in spring when Henna is a year old and the grass will be coming through to take their minds off things. Trixie has enough mental scars without me adding to them with a painful weaning of her beloved daughter - she really has enjoyed her baby and they are very close but Mum is more dependant on daughter than visa versa which I find interesting.

I will have a think about the corral and seperating them off or maybe getting another field shelter but with a front so Mum can be shut in but still next to her - thinking caps on :D but I guess it's going to take time and money - roll on spring!
 
a slug is a slimey creature that eats lettuice :D LOL

Sorry just made me chuckle - awful sense of humour I apologise.

What I mean by a slug of oil is a kinda dash more like a table spoon amount I shall increase to a cup full - Is there a better oil than sunflower oil?

Thank you
 
I don't know what size your scoops are, but sounds like you might be giving her too much food in one go. You need to ensure that any feeds containing cereals (and therefore starch) are no bigger than about 2kg, otherwise there is a risk of undigested starch being pushed through to the hindgut.

What you could do is give her the cereal-containing feeds (stud mix and stud balancer) in one feed, with just a little Alfa A Oil added to it. Then you could feed the fibre foods (Alfa A Oil and sugar beet) in a separate feed (or preferably two feeds, so three feeds in total).

You also need to take care that you are not doubling up on supplements - Pink Powder and the stud balancer both contain probiotics and vit/mins - so choose one or the other. You also need to take into account that the stud mix also contains vit/mins, so the balancer dose needs to be adjusted to take that into account. As you are using Bailey's it might be wise to give them a ring to find out the optimum amounts of balancer and mix for your mare.
 
Interesting - I will try and weigh my feed. But yes they maybe better split into a few little feeds and the starch / fibre split too if that will help her digest them better.

I did worry about Pink powder and stud balancer but don't know the vit levels in the stud balancer compared to the pink powder and brought the stud balancer really to build her up as it contains more protein. It was baileys so I shall heave the bag out of the feed bin and find their help line number tomorrow as I do feel I am rather stumbling around in the dark feed wise but trying to avoid spending a fortune on the wrong stuff.

Thank you again for your help it is greatly appreciated. I have never had a skinny or a mare and foal before and am used to fat on fresh air natives!
 
please get the mare and foal weaned asap.the foal has been draining her since he was conceived 21 months ago. could the 2 young ones go out at night and in duiring the day and vice versa? or take the mare to another yard for a couple of months and dry her up? trouble is if you feed her more whilst foal is still on she will use this for milk production not weight gain. and when you finally get the foal off her you will have to go to a minimal hay and water diet to dry the milk up otherwise she will get mastitus. at 10 months and another young friend and bucket food he really doesnt need to be draining this mare down.
 
Henna my foal is a filly but I get your point hence I am gradually weaning. I have recharged my battery for the fence so will try seperating them for even longer and see what happens. I am at home all this week and next so can keep a constant eye on them so no-one gets frantic.

I don't want Trixie getting mastitus hence the gradual weaning but I appreciate she has been sustaining this foal for long enough and herself is only 6 so may still have growing and maturing to do.

My home paddock is only 1.7 acres and it has lots of springs in it so I have to be very careful management wise or it will be a total bog. Taking her to another yard wipes out the gradual weaning option and is a little too harsh for the moment but may be an option in a few weeks time.

My other paddock is across the road so within calling distance and I do not want anyone jumping out and loose on the road so again not an option.
 
I may have just been lucky, but with 3 of mine I did not have to take anyone away. Once they were about 6mths because they had been in a group situation (and the last one was happy for mum to go out on hacks while he stayed with his chum), they stayed out at night & mum came in. Then she was turned out in a paddock next to them, but it never caused a problem. It depends though on how dependent they are on each other. I was lucky because none of the mares concerned were over bothered & neither were their offspring. I think one of the reasons it worked was because the foals knew their paddock companions & therefore felt secure when mum was not there.
 
I am a real advocate of gradual weaning and I think that you can stick to your guns with the setting you have, but still fully wean Henna during your week off.

Just a quick word about milk production and feeding:
There is a widespread belief that you ALWAYS have to cut down the mare's feed to help dry her off and I don't believe that is true. In fact I just a couple of months ago kept my mare on very high calory intake hard feed/ad lib very good quality hay whilst gradually weaning the foal - her bag did not even got hard or hot as I have seen on other mares before.

If you do the traditional sudden separation weaning at 6 months old (way too early in my very personal opinion), and effectively remove the foal whilst the mare is in full milk production flow (having breast fed myself, I feel for the mares who have to just struggle through the drying process this way - ouch!), then it DOES help to cut the mare's feed.

If you do gradual weaning, especially if the foal is at an age when in the wild the mare would start weaning herself, in order to save ressources for the next foal to come in a couple of months' time, then it is the DEMAND on the milk which dictates how much milk is produced, NOT how much food the mare is eating. In other words, if the foal suckles less, the mare will produce less milk - it does of course take a couple of days to "adapt" to the new demand, so doing it very gradually helps.

This is what I would do in your situation:

I would now separate them day & night, either by splitting the corral, or having Mum in the corral in the day with the youngsters out and vice-versa at night, and allow Henna to suckle 3 times a day initially (first thing in the morning, lunch time and last thing at night).

After a couple of days, reduce to twice a day, morning and evening, then only once a day, then not at all. Play it by ear, depending on how quickly Dixie's udders adapt. In my case I went from 12 hours on - 12 hours off to 24 hours off in a week, whilst keeping Mum on the same amount of feed and there was no trouble. Udders responded quickly to the gradual decrease in demand and after a week, I just didn't let the foal go to her anymore.

She has picked up no end since, despite the cold and appalling weather, and is back to hay-only diet now.

Good luck x
 
I am in total agreement with Ginnie. I wean slowly and just slowly reduce my mares coarse-mix ration but still give them plenty of forage plus vits and mins.

I separate at night to begin with, then night and day with a chance to suckle in the morning, then total separation this takes several weeks. I have just put two fillies back with their dams after 3 weeks total separation and mums have made it clear that the milk bar is now CLOSED.

I too breast fed my sons and found that after I returned to full-time work I could continue to feed my baby in the morning and at night with no problems at all.
 
Ginnie I am going to follow your plan - Thank you. We have started it today :)

I really didn't want to cut her feed as I feel she needs it so will keep a close eye on her udder and as Henna seems to only have small snacks when she feeds I cannot see there being a huge problem.

Many thanks again - it's very reassuring to hear others have done the gradual weaning with no problems as so many breeders who offer me their opinions are very 6 months and off Mum goes train of thought and think I am being a wimp.
 
Hi.
I weaned Magic and Bella gradually and it went really well, there is a post further down in here with pictures of what I did. Also alot of people on my post said they had done the same thing, or various versions of it. Read it, I found peoples replies really interesting. It sounds like your doing the right thing getting the baby of mum. Good Luck x
 
Thanks Vicki I have had a read and it looks like Bella is very happy.

So far things are going really well apart from the waterlogged fields but I just hope the field can hold out for another few weeks then maybe we can move over the road and turn all 3 back together ( fingers crossed)

Vicki your set up look very smart and ideal. How I dream of a proper concrete yard and a decent stable but hey the joys of horses at home on a tight budget LOL

Trixie was very happy mooching around her paddock yesterday and Henna wasn't bothered about feeding when I did give them the opportunity. She did have a quick snack but neither very bothered. So I will do 3 days of 3 feeds, 3 days of 2 feeds and then 3 days of 1 and see if we can do it that way.

Thanks again guys - gradual weaning so far has been totally stress free for the horses and me :D
 
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