Starting off Right
Supporting the health of a mare and growing fetus does not start during late gestation. Supporting the health of a mare and growing fetus starts before the mare is even bred.
Body Condition
When you start to consider breeding your mare in the upcoming breeding season one of the first things you should evaluate is her current body condition and what, if anything, needs improvement. Being too heavy or too thin can affect whether she can even become pregnant; let alone, maintain herself and a foal through a healthy pregnancy.
Ideally, you want your mare to have a body condition score between a 5-6 on a 1-9 BCS (body condition score) range, where 1 is incredibly emaciated and 9 is excessively obese. If your mare does not fall within that ideal range, don’t worry, you have time to fix it before sending her into the breeding shed. This stage, between knowing you want to breed her but before she goes in to be bred is the best, most efficient and proactive opportunity timeframe that you have to set up a solid foundation for a healthy mare, foal and pregnancy.
Forage First
Like all horses, the foundation of any broodmare’s diet is their forage. Start with a quality hay that suits her individual needs. Have the hay tested to get a baseline on what nutrients the hay is providing for her and what is lacking.
Balanced Diet
With the hay testing results you can then determine what else you need to provide in her diet to fulfill her daily nutrition requirements. The most common solutions are:
- Add a diet balancer to cover the daily requirements of vitamins, minerals and amino acids for those mares that are easy keepers and do not need additional calories.
- For the mares that need to gain some weight and improve their condition, depending on the individual, you can go in one of a few ways:
- Provide a fortified commercial feed to her diet to add calories and a vitamin, mineral and amino acid package. Pay close attention to the feeding instructions on the bag and feed her appropriately. Feeding instructions are created to inform you of the minimum about of that particular feed that needs to be consumed in order to meet her daily requirements of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. With most commercial feeds, sugars and starches are added to improve palatability and increase energy. If your mare has in the past or is dealing with a metabolic issue, or if she is above a 6 BCS, opt for a feed that has a guaranteed low percentage of sugar and starch and a high fat and fiber.
- If your mare needs extra support to improve her condition in both rib coverage and top line, consider adding both a fortified feed AND a diet balancer to her diet.
- Top-dress supplements are another way to provide targeted nutrition above and beyond what is already being provided in the diet.
- Our equine specialists at The Mill are here to help walk you through this if you have any questions or need guidance.
Avoid Tall Fescue Grass
Fescue grass is susceptible to endophyte, which is an internal fungus that has been proven to be very dangerous for pregnant mares. As you get closer to breeding your mare you want to create a calm and stable environment for her; an environment that does not present a lot of changes that can create stress in the body. A change in her normal forage, which is the foundation of her diet, can be a stressful event for her body. Accompanied by even more stress if she needs to be moved to a different pasture or facility. Since she will need to be kept off of fescue during her pregnancy, it is best to do your due diligence to make pasture and forage changes well before her breeding date.
Happy Gut
Creating and maintaining a happy, healthy gut in a horse is essential for their overall health and wellbeing. A strong and healthy gut microbiome lends to a healthy digestive tract which can aid in the ability to rebound from stressors quicker and more efficiently. When the gut is happy and functioning properly, the horse can utilize their energy most efficiently. This is important for optimum performance whether that be in training and competition or growing and feeding a developing foal.
- Prevention against ulcers and gastric upset is the best management practice. Ways to help protect your mare maintain a happy gut:
- Nutrition - Fulfill nutrient requirements – Work closely with your veterinarian and nutrition specialist to ensure that all the mare’s nutrient requirements are being met.
- Water - Access to fresh, clean, drinkable water at all times.
- Forage - Always have forage available. If dealing with an overweight mare, consider working with your veterinarian and nutrition specialist to discuss bringing in a lower quality, mature hay to fill the time gaps between being offered her normal feed and forage. At the very least, spread her meals out so that she does not go periods longer than a few hours without eating forage. Horses are designed to be grazers; eating lots of small meals all throughout the day and night. When forage is withheld for long periods of time, halting their gut fill, their stomach acid can cause ulcers and other digestive upset.
- Frequent Small meals - Break their daily meals up into 3 or more feedings per day but be sure to be consistent as even little changes or misses can have negative effects.
- Avoid high sugar/starch diets – Focus on quality forage and balancing out deficiencies with diet balancers, high fat/high fiber feeds and/or targeted supplements.
- Turnout/Exercise/Movement - Allow turnout and/or light exercise. Horses are grazers, they are designed to roam around creating a lot of movement every day. If your mare is recovering from illness or injury, work with your veterinarian on coming up with a plan to keep her moving.
- Companionship - Horses are herd animals and naturally prefer the company of other horses to feel safe and secure. Have your mare with or near other horses that she gets along well with.
- Protection from elements - Provide adequate protection from the environment and weather. Trying to stay warm in the cold or keep cool in the heat takes a lot of energy. While eliminating all environmental factors is unrealistic, you can provide necessary protection to help shield them from temperatures, wind, rain and snow.
- Routine Consistency – Avoid major changes and confusion. Maintaining a consistent routine helps to keep your mare in a calmer state of mind.
Frequently Asked Questions About Optimizing Your Chances for a Successful Breeding and Pregnancy with Nutrition
Can I just feed my broodmare hay?
If your mare is overweight before going to the breeding shed, it might feel tempting remove all feed and supplements and limit her forage intake. However, doing so will only create problems for both the mare and potential foal. Forage first is the best policy with all horses as forage is the foundation of their diet; but hay alone rarely fulfills her daily nutritional requirements. Have your forage tested to give you a base line of what nutrients she is receiving from the forage and what nutrients the forage is lacking. With that information you can positively identify what else you need to supply in her diet. In most overweight cases, prior to being bred and during early pregnancy, adding a diet balancer will fulfill the mare’s daily vitamin, mineral and amino acid requirements without the added calories. As for the hay, horses require roughly 2% of their body weight a day in forage. If your mare is overweight, work with your veterinarian and/or nutrition specialist; as you may want to consider offering a higher quality hay during meal times, and a lower quality to be available at all times or at least to bridge the gap between meals so that she is not going periods long than a few hours without gut fill.
Are there things to avoid when planning to breed my mare?
Tall fescue! Fescue grasses are susceptible to endophyte, which is an internal fungus that has been proven to be very dangerous for pregnant mares. As you get closer to breeding your mare you want to create a calm and stable environment for her; an environment that does not present a lot of changes that can create stress in the body. A change in her normal forage, which is the foundation of her diet, can be a stressful event for her body. Accompanied by even more stress if she needs to be moved to a different pasture or facility. Since she will need to be kept off of fescue during her pregnancy, it is best to do your due diligence to make pasture and forage changes well before her breeding date.
How can I help increase the chance that my mare will take to breeding?
Before being bred is the optimal time to prepare your mare for a successful breeding and pregnancy. Take advantage of this time to make any necessary adjustments to her diet and routine. Ideally, she should have a body condition score of 5 or 6 on a BCS range of 1-9, where 1 is extremely emaciated and 9 is excessively obese. All her nutritional needs should be being met starting with hay testing to determine what nutrients are missing from her forage and need to be added to the diet to meet her daily requirements. Typically, a diet balancer, that has feeding instructions for broodmares, is a surefire way to ensure she is getting her daily requirements of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. If she needs to gain weight and condition, consider also adding a fortified commercial feed for calories. Stick to high fat, high fiber feeds that guarantee a low sugar and starch content. Finally, implement good management practices to reduce the mare’s stress and aid in maintaining a healthy gut. Talk to your veterinarian or contact one of The Mill’s equine specialists for guidance in preparing your mare for a successful breeding and pregnancy through nutrition.
How can hay testing help support a healthy pregnancy?
Forage is the foundation to all equine diets. Therefore, a balanced diet starts with knowing what your forage is and is not providing for your broodmare. Having your hay tested gives you the roadmap to what else you need to include in her daily diet to meet her nutritional needs. Hay testing is a simple first step in providing target nutrition to:
- keep your mare healthy and in good condition
- support the fetus with the nutrients they need for proper development
- maintain a healthy pregnancy
