What do you feed your lactating mares?

[pinkcatkin]

Just wondering as I am not quite sure whether my mare is getting all she needs.

Prior to foaling she was on a small amount of stud balancer, sugar beet, safe and sound. She was not having that much grass then but is now out on big field with foalie with lots of grass, out all day and in at night with some hay.

As she is an Irish Draught which are notoriously good doers and extremely greedy, I was considering cutting the stud balancer and her feed right down but just getting a broad spectrum vit and min supplement like Equivite and giving her this with a tiny amount of safe and sound. She and the foal are suddenly licking earth so obviously lacking something.

Any suggestions?

 

[vennessa]

I have always fed Baileys stud mix. Good doer or not. The foal can quickly take a lot out of the mare. When women breast feed they need good nutricious food to produce good milk. Same goes for horses

 

[Sambertino]

Not sure about ID's but I am feeding 4.5lbs stud balancer to my lactating Hann mare along with Readigrass which will be reduced after the first 3 months of lactation.

Maybe it would be worth contacting one of the feed company nutritionists - most of them have a free helpline.

 

[Daisy11]

stud mix ,sugarbeet , chaff, vitamins , oil
and lots of grass

 

[scotsmare]

Would def give her stud mix and / or a balancer so that she gets all the vits / mins she needs. As per sambertino it would be worth giving a feed company a ring.

 

[CrazyMare]

Alfa A and TopSpec Balancer. Foal is growing well, always has plenty of milk, and mare is managing to put on weight somehow!

 

[zoeshiloh]

I find D&H Stud Diet mixed with flaked barley brilliant for lactating mares.

I have an IDxTB mare who is a good doer, but has an 8wk foal at foot, and she is getting fed;

1 x Scoop barley rings
2 x Scoop competition mix
1 x Scoop Stud Nuts
1 x Scoop H&P Nuts
2 x Measure Blue Chip
100g Raw Lindseed (cooked)
1 x Scoop Flaked Barley
300ml Soya Oil

She is however also being shown, so we are feeding her more than normal to keep her looking good (I stress she is not fat) We normally feed her D&H stud diet, but have had a job trying to get hold of it this year!

 

[zoeshiloh]

Also meant to add, feeding limestone powder is a good idea too - boosts the calcium in the mares milk, which helps the foal grow strong bones.

 

[Henni]

The best thing I've found is D&H stud mixes - the mare & youngstock mix combined with sure grow is brilliant for good does, or the stud diet is great for those mare struggling a bit. I've used these for over 8 years and my mares look good as do their foals

 

[springfallstud]

Our Oldenburg mare is on excellent grass and ad lib hay at night, she is a big mare with a big foal who we dont want growing fast so she is on Baileys stud balancer only with a bit of oil added twice a day and she looks great. If you have good grass and mare is in good condition i wouldnt be wanting to add too much more to the diet except making sure she has the right amount of balancer, you say she was on a small amount, maybe you need to get her on the correct amount?

 

[S_N]

B is on Suregrow and hay and grass. M is a monster and I don't want growth problems. B is holding her own atm.

 

[pinkcatkin]

Thanks guys, think I will get some more Stud Balancer tonight and shove her back on that.

Trouble is that Irish Draughts are a law unto themselves and when it comes to feed and all the ID breeders err on the side of caution when feeding, i.e. less is better.