Question
I own a six-year-old draft-cross mare that is nursing a foal. She developed laminitis about a month ago from accidental consumption of livestock feed. Unlike most horses with laminitis, she needs to gain weight (currently a body condition of 3.5-4) to support herself and her nursing foal. She has access to free-choice grass hay and a mineral lick. I feed her 1 lb (0.45 kg) of a high-calorie performance feed once a day. I have some perennial peanut hay that I would like to feed, but I am hesitant to introduce this forage. Can you help?
Answer
As you alluded to in your question, you are facing several challenges with a large lactating mare that has significant dietary restrictions because of laminitis. Current realistic goals should include safely supplying all necessary nutrients in a way that does not aggravate her laminitis or cause further weight loss until she is finished lactating. Once the foal is weaned, I would suggest reassessing her diet and body condition.
First, it is extremely important that any diet change, including introduction of new feedstuffs, is done gradually by adding one at a time, starting with a very small amount of each. This applies to both forages and concentrates. Some horses with a history of laminitis are sensitive to dietary changes, so caution is warranted.
By way of example, you mentioned adding peanut hay to the diet to provide more nutrients and calories to the mare. This addition is acceptable in small quantities. She can consume up to 10 lb (4.5 kg) of peanut hay daily, but it is important that this amount is spread out over several meals. It is also crucial to gradually work up to 10 lb (4.5 kg) a day starting with less than 3 lb (1.4 kg). The remainder of her forage intake should remain good-quality grass hay fed in a free-choice manner.
Second, it will be necessary to offer at least two concentrate meals a day while increasing the digestible energy in the diet. Three or four meals a day would be even better because the smaller meal size helps reduce spikes in blood glucose and insulin. Mixing these concentrate meals with additional fat and fiber will not only boost the caloric intake, but it will also lower the glycemic response to the meal. This is desirable because the concentrate is slightly higher in nonstructural carbohydrates than recommended for a horse with laminitis.
Third, when feeding less than the minimum recommended amount of concentrate per day, it is necessary to supply a separate source of protein and micronutrients, such as a ration balancer, to ensure adequate nutrition. If you cannot find a ration balancer, then hay pellets with full-fat soy could be mixed in with her concentrate meals to supply protein and fiber. A high-quality vitamin and mineral supplement would then be added to this mixture. Canola oil could be introduced to increase the fat content of meals. A reasonable intake to work toward would be a mix of at least 1 lb (0.45 kg) of the soy/hay pellet mix with 1 lb (0.45 kg) of the performance feed.
Finally, targeted support for the inflammatory aspects of laminitis is recommended with a source of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids, most notably DHA and EPA. The benefits of DHA and EPA supplementation are also passed along to the nursing foal to support the immune system and bone metabolism. EO-3 is a palatable, flavored marine-derived oil appropriate for your mare.
As mentioned above, this mare’s diet can be reevaluated following weaning with full consideration given to her predisposition for laminitis. On the upside, she is a young and otherwise healthy mare that should be able to recover fully with time.
