Feeding your breeding & stud stock

FEEDING THE LATE PREGNANT MARE

The only thing more exciting than a positive pregnancy test, is the coming of spring and an impending foaling!

The nutrition of the late pregnant mare affects: the foal’s immunity against diseases, the risk of diarrhoea in the young foal, foal growth rate, and bone growth and the risk of bone and joint diseases (developmental orthopaedic disease - DOD) in the weanling and yearling — as well as size and weight at birth, we must be concerned about soundness.

THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOSTRUM

Birth - the incomparable, matchless magic! Such an amazing event. But it doesn’t always go as nature intended. One of the most common problems is when, for whatever reason, a foal doesn’t get enough colostrum. I well remember two such experiences – one with my own mare and the other, one of my patients.

FEEDING WEANLINGS

Lots of important points around this topic - and lots of different ideas about what to do and what works! And, there are many different diets and ways of feeding that work well, if the fundamentals are covered.

For weanlings, the diet fundamentals are protein and minerals – the raw materials needed to build muscle, bone, blood cells – in fact, all the tissues in the body.Not to overuse the term, but the ‘fundamental’ consideration that needs to be foremost in our minds is soundness, so proper bone growth must be of paramount (and fundamental!!) importance.