Horses
Feeding mares and foals - Lizzie Drury explains the importance of good nutrition in successful breeding
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| A mare and foal |
GOOD nutrition is the key to successful breeding. By understanding the mare's nutrient needs during the three stages of the reproductive cycle, an appropriate and cost-effective feeding programme can be designed.
Whatever you are breeding, the aim is to produce a healthy foal that will grow well and is able to carry out the work required of it in adult life. The development of the foal begins at conception and so the diet needs to right from this point onwards.
Pregnant mares: Early pregnancy. To feed the mare correctly during pregnancy it is important to understand that the foetus does not grow at a constant rate throughout the entire eleven months of pregnancy. It is very small during the first five months, even at seven months gestation the foetus only weighs approximately 20 per cent of its birth weight and equals less than 2 per cent of the mare's weight. Therefore, its nutritional requirements are only miniscule compared with the mares own maintenance requirements and so the mare can be fed as if she were not pregnant. An ideal diet would be good quality pasture balanced for vitamins and minerals with a feedbalancer such as Bio-Life 2000. Obviously if pasture is poor or scarce, supplementary forage should be fed.
Late pregnancy. After seven months gestation the foetus begins to develop rapidly and its nutrient requirements become significantly greater than the mares maintenance requirements. Energy requirements only increase approximately 15 per cent during pregnancy, but protein and mineral requirements increase to a greater extent because the foetal tissues being formed during this time are high in protein, calcium and phosphorous (i.e. muscles and bones).
Diets that are specifically formulated for brood mares, e.g. Saracen Mare Care, will contain appropriate levels of vitamins and minerals and protein, providing that they are fed at the recommended feeding rates. Rates of feeding will depend upon the size and age of the mare but typical intakes for a 500kg mare would be between 3-4kg per day. This should be split in to small meals and ideally she should be fed at least three times per day. Mares that require higher energy intake to maintain optimum body condition may require additional fat supplementation, such as 1kg of Equi Jewel. This will significantly increase the energy value of the diet without increasing the meal size.
Lactation: Lactation places higher nutrient demands on the mare than any other stage of her life. During the next three months milk is produced at a rate equal to 1-4 per cent of body weight per day. Milk is rich in protein, energy, calcium, phosphorous and vitamins. Some mares produce so much milk that the foal grows quickly, but the mare begins to lose condition, using her own muscle reserves to supply the protein needed for the milk.
Mares in early lactation may require up to 8kg of concentrate feed per day, depending on the type and the quality of the forage. The aim is to use the highest quality forage available and keep the concentrate proportion of the diet as low as possible to avoid digestive upsets. Concentrate levels should be gradually increased in the later stages of pregnancy so that the mare is consuming nearly the amount required for milk production by the time that she foals.
The suckling and growing youngstock: Foals grow extremely rapidly from birth to weaning. They double their birth weight by one month of age and treble it by approximately three months of age. By the time they are weaned they may be almost 50 per cent of their mature body weight. Unless they are predisposed to bone development problems, foals should be gaining 0.75-1kg in weight a day.
From birth to about three months the foal is unable to efficiently digest forage and grain efficiently and is dependent on a milk-based diet. The foal will consume about 3 per cent of its mum's bodyweight as milk! That's about 15kg of milk for a 500kg mare.
Further on into lactation at about five weeks the mare's milk production will drop and while it will still facilitate growth the lower mineral content will not encourage optimum development of strong tissues and bones. Those foals out on good pastures will obtain quite a lot of their extra nutrients from the grass but for those that are not they will require additional concentrates in the form of a creep feed, such as Saracen Level Grow Mix. The aim of the creep feed is not only to supplement the mare's milk by providing minerals etc but also to help develop the anatomical and physiological development of the gut, so that the foal becomes accustomed to concentrates and consequently weaning is a less stressful experience. At two months of age the creep feed can be mixed with a high quality chaff. A foal should be eating one pound of feed per day for each month of age e.g. At 2 months old the foal should be having 2 1bs of feed. Foals that are growing rapidly or are overweight will not require a creep feed as this may provide too much energy, which will further exaggerate the problem. However these animals still have a requirement for quality protein and essential trace elements but in a low calorie feed. Feeds such as Stamm 30 are more suitable in these situations.
Weaning itself is usually carried out at about 6 months of age, by which time the mare is producing very little milk and the grass has started to decline. The foal should have been introduced to the ration, which you wish to feed it at least four weeks before you actually take the mare away. This should be a weanling or rearing diet and fed with hay until the following spring. The introduction of the hard feed should be gradual to prevent the problems associated with introducing large quantities of hard feed once the foal is no longer able to suckle. Foals that are expected to make 500kg at maturity are likely to weigh between 200-250kg. They should be eating at least 3 per cent of their bodyweight as total food and approximately 3kg of this should be concentrates. Remember weanlings still need enough energy to continue gaining 0.5-0.75kg a day in weight.
For further information on Saracen Horse Feeds and Saracen's feed helpline, tel. 01622 718487, or log on to www.saracenhorsefeeds.co.uk.
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