Question

I own a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare that is five months pregnant. She weighs about 1,250 lb (570 kg) and is ridden at a walk about 30 minutes each day. She’s fed about 16 lb (7 kg) of orchardgrass hay and 1 lb (0.45 kg) of a vitamin and mineral supplement pellet. When the grass is growing, she eats much less hay, if any at all. How do I feed her as she advances in her pregnancy, knowing she is bordering on obesity?

Answer

You are on the right track with her current feeding program for this particular mare.

The 1 lb of supplement pellet is sufficient for now in this stage of her pregnancy, but you will want to increase up to 2 lb (0.9 kg) per day (1 lb per feeding) in her last trimester. The last three months of pregnancy is when the mineral nutrition is really important in the mare as she prepares the foal for its future life. The increase in the amount of supplement pellet is to meet the increase in the mineral and vitamin requirements of the mare but will minimally increase the caloric intake.

Once the foal is born, you can keep the mare on the supplement pellet during lactation. The 2 lb (0.9 kg) per day will meet her nutrient needs, but if she starts to lose too much weight, you can add some additional concentrate to boost calorie consumption.