BEST FEED FOR A FUSSY LACTATING NATIVE MARE FOR WEIGHT GAIN

[bubbles7]

I am at my wits end trying to feed my mare. Her foal is now three weeks and she has lost weight. I have changed her feed to Alpha A Oil, Solution Mash, Baileys No3 Stud Cubes and sunflower oil, this has halted the weight loss but she needs to regain the condition she has lost. I am feeding her three times a day, she won't eat any more than I am giving her. She tends to eat a small amount, wander off then come back to her feed. Our paddock doesn't have much grass. I have started to strip arm fulls of grass from along a track in the hope that'll make a difference. The foal is doing very well.

[bubbles7]

Forgot to mention she has had Havens Slobber mash for the past week added to her feed.

[CarolineNelson]

To be honest, I'm really busy, but your post so fascinated me that I just had to respond!

SarahP will be your educated person on HG regarding feeding - but, maybe I can help too.

As a child who grew up learning to feed breeding stock of all ages and denominations, from Welsh Section A's through Riding Ponies to TB's, hunters and Arabs (and, initially in the days when only 'straights' were available) feeding the newly foaled lactating brood mare seems the most important consideration here.

You clearly like prepared 'mashes'! I've googled them both, being someone who prefers a regular, accepted feedstuff I had, I must confess, not heard of either!

You haven't stated what Breed she is, nor the breed of the sire of her foal, nor whether this is her first foal or one of a number - which makes 'advice' rather difficult.

Perhaps ask yourself - is it her 'weight loss' which immediately concerns you? Because a good brood mare will lose a bit if she's feeding her foal well. Especially if grass and nutrition is in short supply.

Do I sense that you want her in a show ring, soonish?

As, first and foremost, she is a mummy feeding her foal which in my view, must be the first consideration. She will lose weight if she isn't receiving sufficient balanced nutrition to feed both her rapidly growing foal and herself. You are lucky to have such a good brood mare, many are not and will put the grub onto their own backs first.

You didn't state what you had 'switched her feed' from. What was she eating in the important run up to foaling? Did she have sufficient nutrition in the last 'third' of pregnancy to feed the growing foetus and, latterly, to produce sufficient milk for it? What made you decide to 'switch' feeds - and - might there be something which she was eating and she now misses in her feed manger?

As said above, it sounds as though she is being a brilliant mummy and is feeding her foal at expense to herself.

So, my basic advice would be:-

Firstly, don't fuss her too much. Your idea of pulling grass for her is excellent. But then, go away leave her with it and let her eat it; let her and her foal be a 'family'. Don't worry if she mooches to and from the feed. Hopefully she eats it all up eventually.

She will pick up on your stress if you are not very careful - and I mean that if the nicest possible way as you are obviously very caring.

I feel she needs more good basic NUTRITION here at this time - I'm not going to state what - as we have no idea what Breed /size she is or what quantities she is actually being offered - and how often.. But good basic fibre & roughage, (ad-lib [24/7] in the form of decent Meadow hay) with some protein & carbs is what a mum needs to grow her foal and retain weight on her own frame.

I do hope that helps a bit - and, to add, I appreciate that it must be a mine-field out there for owners of today, faced with such a selection of products available and with them all stating to be 'the best . . . .

[bubbles7]

Good morning Caroline,

She and the sire are section B's.

Her coat looked well in the third trimester though she rarely looked in foal.

She is quite a stressy little mare as a rule though she seems slightly calmer now that she has a foal at foot. The foal is growing and looking well, but I'm concerned that the mare's weight doesn't drop any more.

I don't usually use mashes but had heard they encourage "picky" eaters. She enjoys the feed I buy but then tends to become bored with it after a short period hence the reason I have to change.

I usually rug her throughout the winter right up until early summer but was worried about the foal and the belly straps, I wonder if it's the cool weather at the moment that is not helping matters.

Thank you very much for your advice, I will definitely try not to stress.

[gillwales]

If she picks at her feed , leaves it and goes back, try her on a plain stud mix, do not dampen. This will stay fresh for longer and I always found that picky eaters would eventually clear it up. It will also be good for the foal and mean that foalie will drink less from the mare which should help with weight loss.

The other thing is to feed little and often. If you get a huge plate of food put infront of you it can be off-putting. One other trick is if you have other ponies is to feed her last, she will see the others tucking in to their grub and this will encourage her to eat.

One last trick is to sprinkle cocoa powder on her food, this helps with milk production.... please do not ask my how , but it was something I was told by my Vet and I found it worked well.

[CarolineNelson]

Again, without saying what sort of quantities (weight) of Stud cubes she is getting, it is difficult to advise. The Bailey's Stud cube sounds fine. But - 0.5 of a kg/day? 3.00kg/day?

The slobber mash (I've googled it) seems especially designed for veterans, those with chewing difficulties and the other mash, those prone to Laminitis. They are Oat-free. Historically, oats are especially useful at time of lactation. Rolled or bruised, they are also very palatable - and helpful to encourage an inquisitive foal.

But the main problem seems to be that you (say that you) keep changing her feed. Any changes should be made slowly over time so as not to upset the digestion & metabolism. It'll take around three weeks for the gut to become used to the new feed regime.

I'd advise you to speak to Nicola Tyler at Top-Spec - not only are they specialist feed producers, as a family they are extremely familiar with feeding the native Broodmare; they have a stud of Dartmoors.

As for the rug -yes, this may be part of your problem. Not that you left it off this winter, but that you used one in previous winters, thus not allowing her to naturalise with the seasons and 'be a pony'.

[sarahp]

Thank you for your kind words Caroline, but I want it to be plain I'm not a qualified equine nutritionist. I'd second your suggestion of talking to TS helpline, and maybe one or two of the other top brands as well, although if feeding compound feeds it's best to stick to a single brand as then different feeds within the brand are designed to work together.

I have never had to deal with this problem myself as I don't show mares with foals at foot, mine are all out 24/7 on grass. However, in addition to all the wise words above I have a couple of thoughts. First is that mares do vary hugely in how they milk, some are the horse equivalent of Jersey cows, turning feed into all milk and putting nothing on their own backs and others are like beef cattle, doing their offspring OK but fattening them selves up too, or even in preference. I had a lovely D who produced tiny boney rabbits of foals, then milked like a Jersey so that by weaning I had a boney mare and a big, well grown foal. Do you know which your mare is bubbles7? Have you had a foal from her before?

Second is that there has been some research done which shows that they will eat more forage overall if different forms are presented ad lib - grass, hay haylage of course, but also different chaffs - and you'd want those with the highest calorific value, no point feeding her a straw based one but say alfalfa/oil - soaked sugarbeet (changed regularly, it goes off in time), high fibre hay replacer cubes. Free choice buckets/piles of each in different places so that she can take her choice, maybe this approach will suit her way of eating.

As for compound feeds - I personally try to avoid sugar and starch as much as possible for any native ponies in order to prevent insulin resistance and thence EMS and laminitis, so I'd be careful about any stud mix which may contain molasses. Check the white label sewn into the seam of the bag for ingredients, or talk to the maker. I don't feed any cereals if I can, but oats are the most horse friendly.