What best to feed a very underweight mare who's just lost a foal

arlosmum

arlosmum

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She's currently on readygrass, calf pellets, chop and molasses 3x daily & ad lib haylage.
Not really bothered over it to be honest.
Any one have any good ideas?
Edited to add: unfortunately the foal had to be pts after about 2 weeks.
 
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Like any underweight horse you need to check she has no reason stopping her putting weight on or from eating, so worm count, worm as appropriate, possibly run bloods to check for underlying issues, teeth check if not done already, then time, good grass, adlib hay or haylage and several tiny feeds to appetite, giving huge bucketfuls of fillers will overface her and possibly put her off altogether.

I would give her time to grieve, be very careful about feeding her too much at a time you want the milk to dry up and would probably turn her out with a quiet companion and let her pick up in her own time, she should start to feel better from the foaling, loss of the foal and begin to eat more feed, if she is not really interested would be best kept to something easily eaten and digested, that is appetising and nutritious that can be fed in small quantities so in this case a balancer may be the ideal option so she can get good nutrients from very little, cut out the chop/ readygrass and molasses which offer very little, I am not sure about calf pellets being suitable, I would prefer an equine feed, over time you will get her taking in more but try not to force it, little and often is the best way.
 
So sorry you lost the foal.

I have successfully used Dodson & Horrell Sure Grow on a very underweight horse, it's in pelleted form and you introduce it slowly building up to the recommended ration as per the instructions on the bag.

Calf pellets are not recommended for equines, they have a high copper content, please stop using them.
 
Thanks for your replies. This isn't my horse. I'm just horsesitting.
I asked for inspiration so I could pass it on to her owner.
I've no experience of feeding severely underweight horses as mine are (very) good doers.
I'll pass on the recommendations especially the point about calf pellets. I admit I was surprised when told.
When I fed her this morning she tucked into her feed with gusto! I'm going to let her graze on my summer paddocks for a bit tomorrow.
She'll be able to see mine & hopefully do a bit of socialising as well.
 
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