Healthy mares (hopefully) also mean healthy foals, which is why your broodmare’s nutrition before, during and after pregnancy is so important. But what exactly should you pay attention to?

Before pregnancy, it is first and foremost important that your mare is neither too fat nor too thin. This seems obvious, but it is not always easy to keep your broodmare at her weight. Initially, it is especially important that your roughage is of good quality. If your horse is still regularly worked and thus makes a physical effort, you can possibly supplement this with an appropriate amount of concentrates and feed supplements. Keep a close eye on the dosage here
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Supplementing an excess of supplement may cause your mare to develop selenium poisoning. Too little selenium, in turn, can lead to infertility. Vitamin E is also an important factor in whether or not a mare can become pregnant. For the action of selenium and vitamin E, there are different sources available, some sources are more efficient than others. This was demonstrated, among others, by French researchers (Leleu et al., 2017) who compared two different selenium sources, from this L-selenomethionine was found to be a more efficient selenium source for broodmares. VitaMinalia EQUINE OPTIGROW contains the latest generation of selenium (L-selenomethionine) and natural vitamin E to achieve an optimal effect on fertility.

In addition, it is important for the mare to get enough minerals and trace elements such as copper, zinc and manganese. This is extremely important for the bone formation of the unborn foal. For example, it has been shown by several researchers that foals with copper deficiency have an increased risk of conditions such as OCD. (Bridges et al. 1984, Coskun et al. 2016). VitaMinalia EQUINE OPTIGROW was fortified with minerals and highly absorbable organic trace minerals to provide the mare and foal with additional building blocks for healthy bones.

During pregnancy, it is important to maintain the mare’s weight. Special nutrition is actually only necessary during the last months of pregnancy. What you should pay particular attention to is that your mare gets enough protein (made up of amino acids) as this affects the development of the foal. Important sources of protein for broodmares are mare pellets, alfalfa and young grass. There are major differences in the quality of different protein sources depending on digestibility and amino acid pattern. Protein sources with high digestibility and rich in essential amino acids (such as lysine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan) can help improve foal development.

VitaMinalia EQUINE OPTIGROW is rich in high-quality vegetable protein sources and has also been enriched with essential amino acids. The mare will need more energy towards the end of her gestation period, so it is best to increase the concentrate feed systematically.

A rapid increase in concentrate feed should be avoided as this increases the risk of stomach ulcers and disruption of the microflora in the gut. Therefore, it is also very important that she always has roughage available, this will significantly reduce the risk of stomach ulcers.

Once the foal is born, the mare’s energy requirements (for milk production) will increase exponentially. However, this does not mean that you should double the mare’s ration overnight. It is important that you build this up gradually so as not to confuse the digestive system. In this process, roughage remains the foundation. If your hay is of good quality, it will provide most of your mare’s energy needs, so it is also important now that she has this available at all times. It also remains very important that your mare gets enough protein, a lack of which can lead to reduced milk production.

Sources
Bridges CH, Womack, JE, Harris ED. Considerations of copper metabolism in osteochondrosis of suckling foals. J Am. vet, nied. Ass. V.185, p.173-178 , 1984

Coskun A, Ozdemir O, Erol M, Kirbiyik H. The Relationship of Copper Concentrations in Feed and Plasma to Developmental Orthopedic Disease in Foals. Vet Archiv, v.86, p. 287-294, 2016

Leleu C, Du Laing G, Pincemail J, Pitel P, David C, Paboeuf F, Rovers-Paap P. Source of selenium fed to mares affects milk and Se status of their foals. In 8th European Equine Health & Nutrition Congress, p.108, 2017

Chavette-Palmer P, Robles M. Development programming: Can nutrition of the mare influence the
foal’s health? Congresso Brasilairo de Reproduçao Animal 2019