Feeding the pregnant mare and later the foal is not the same as feeding a non-pregnant horse. She will have different energy requirements, different mineral and vitamin requirements and different exercise requirements.

In general a good quality pasture is enough to sustain a pregnant mare in the first 8 months of pregnancy, however lucerne or meadow hay should be provided in order to compensate for lack of quantity or quality of graze should that be necessary. If the mare is overweight, she should not be placed on a weight reduction programme for the first 90 days as this has been shown to increase the risk of embryonic and foetal abortions in the first 3 months of pregnancy. After the 90 days the mare can be put on a well managed and supervised weight reduction programme that does not allow her to lose more than 1% of her body weight per week (eg 5kg for a 500kg horse) in order to reduce shock to the foetus and increase the chance of a successful birth.

Deficiencies

It is important to note that deficiencies or imbalances of minerals and vitamins can cause skeletal and muscular deformities, in particular an imbalance of calcium and phosphorus can lead to Developmental Orthopaedic Disease. Australian paddocks tend to lack the trace minerals copper and zinc and some can also be calcium deficient. It is therefore recommended to have the pasture quality of your paddocks assessed in order to understand how to manage the mineral and vitamin intake requirements of your mare.

If you are ever unsure, it is always a good idea to contact an equine nutritionist or your vet in order to create a feeding plan that best suits the needs of your pregnant mare and foal.

Genetic Testing: Practical Horse Genetics

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