How Do My Broodmare’s Dietary Needs Change Before and After Foaling?
Posted by
Masa Williams, PhD
Learn how to adjust your mare’s diet to support a healthy pregnancy, ensure adequate milk production, and maintain her body condition during this critical time.
Broodmares should carry a bit extra body condition during late gestation so her body has fat stores to meet the energy demands of lactation. | iStock
Q: My mare is due in April. Right now my veterinarian says she’s at a healthy weight, but I’m worried she might lose weight as she gets closer to foaling and once she starts nursing. How will her nutritional needs change immediately before and after she has her foal, and how can I be sure her diet meets her energy needs?
A: Great question, and you’re right to wonder about the nutritional needs of your broodmare because they change as she progresses in her pregnancy and through lactation.
While your vet indicated your mare is currently at a good weight, it is also important to know your mare’s body condition score (BCS). Ideally during late gestation, you want her to have a BCS between 5 and 6 using the Henneke body condition scale of 1-9 (with 1 being extremely thin and 9 being extremely fat). It can be beneficial for a broodmare to carry a little extra body condition during this time, so she has a buffer of body fat stores during the high energy demands of lactation. Being able to recognize and assess your mare’s BCS will help you ensure her diet is adequate in calories. However, just because a mare is in good body condition does not guarantee proper fetal development. Other nutrients such as protein, minerals, and vitamins are also needed to ensure a healthy future for your foal.
Mare Nutrient Requirements in the Second and Third Trimester
Some of your mare’s nutrient requirements begin to slightly increase during her second trimester, beginning around the fifth month of pregnancy. But it’s really in her last trimester, starting around month 8, that her unborn foal begins to develop more rapidly, gaining both weight and body size. In fact, the fetus will gain approximately 1 pound per day in the last three months of gestation and will be approximately 60% of its mature height at birth.
Your mare’s diet should meet her daily nutritional needs because if it does not, her body will deplete itself to meet the demands of the growing fetus. Her increased requirements for energy, protein, and trace minerals—most notably calcium, phosphorous, and copper—are vital for proper fetal development and ensure adequate milk production after the foal is born. Additionally, late gestation mares do not increase voluntary intake to match their higher nutrient demands, so simply feeding more is not necessarily a viable option to give her additional nutrition.
Feeding the Late Gestation Broodmare
Forage should always be the main component of the diet, but even high-quality forages lack the protein, vitamin, and mineral fortification the mare needs during late gestation. For example, high-protein forages such as alfalfa are not well digested in the small intestine and could result in inadequate intake of amino acids. Supplementing with a high-quality concentrate feed designed with broodmares in mind and fed at the appropriate amount will ensure you are meeting her nutrient needs. If your mare is an easy keeper, a ration balancer would be appropriate if she is getting enough calories from her forage to maintain body condition.
Feeding Lactating Mares
Once your mare begins lactating, her nutritional needs for energy, protein, minerals, and some vitamins will increase significantly. For example, her energy needs are double that of her maintenance requirements.
While mares in late gestation might not increase their feed intake, lactating mares tend to have much greater appetites and your feeding program should reflect this. Lactating mares can consume up to 3% of their body weight in dry matter intake and at least half of this should be in forage. Once again, good-quality hay or pasture is recommended due to high nutrient demands. Feeding rates will vary depending on the quality of your hay or pasture and whether your mare is a heavy milker or a hard- or easy keeper.
Most lactating mares cannot meet their high energy and nutrient demands consuming forage only. I recommend feeding a concentrate designed for broodmares to support milk production, provide essential nutrients for the foal, and help maintain your mare’s body condition. Feed according to manufacturer’s instructions for her weight and stage of lactation. Always increase feed gradually to the full feeding amount over a seven-to-10-day period to prevent digestive disturbance.
Take-Home Message
The best start for a foal begins with proper nutritional management of the mare. Broodmare owners benefit from learning body condition scoring and recognizing their mares’ specific nutritional needs before and after foaling.
Do you have an equine nutrition question?
Do you have an equine nutrition question? The Horse’s editors want to hear from you! Submit your question via the form below.
Masa Williams, MS, PhD, says her lifelong love of horses and her insatiable need to ask “why” led her down the path to becoming an equine nutritionist. Prior to joining Land O’ Lakes, Williams spent 10 years as an equine specialist with Ohio State University Extension and teaching equine classes at The Ohio State University. In her current role Masa enjoys working with team members in research, formulation, manufacturing, and sales to bring the highest quality product available to customers and their horses. Masa says she can think of no better place to be where she can combine her passion for horses, teaching, and applied nutrition.
Masa earned her BS in animal science from the University of Arkansas, her MS in animal nutrition from the University of Kentucky, and her PhD in animal nutrition from The Ohio State University. Masa’s doctorate research focused on the effects of energy source and amount on nutrient digestibility and prediction of digestible energy in horses.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
How Do My Broodmare’s Dietary Needs Change Before and After Foaling?
Q: My mare is due in April. Right now my veterinarian says she’s at a healthy weight, but I’m worried she might lose weight as she gets closer to foaling and once she starts nursing. How will her nutritional needs change immediately before and after she has her foal, and how can I be sure her diet meets her energy needs?
A: Great question, and you’re right to wonder about the nutritional needs of your broodmare because they change as she progresses in her pregnancy and through lactation.
While your vet indicated your mare is currently at a good weight, it is also important to know your mare’s body condition score (BCS). Ideally during late gestation, you want her to have a BCS between 5 and 6 using the Henneke body condition scale of 1-9 (with 1 being extremely thin and 9 being extremely fat). It can be beneficial for a broodmare to carry a little extra body condition during this time, so she has a buffer of body fat stores during the high energy demands of lactation. Being able to recognize and assess your mare’s BCS will help you ensure her diet is adequate in calories. However, just because a mare is in good body condition does not guarantee proper fetal development. Other nutrients such as protein, minerals, and vitamins are also needed to ensure a healthy future for your foal.
Mare Nutrient Requirements in the Second and Third Trimester
Some of your mare’s nutrient requirements begin to slightly increase during her second trimester, beginning around the fifth month of pregnancy. But it’s really in her last trimester, starting around month 8, that her unborn foal begins to develop more rapidly, gaining both weight and body size. In fact, the fetus will gain approximately 1 pound per day in the last three months of gestation and will be approximately 60% of its mature height at birth.
Your mare’s diet should meet her daily nutritional needs because if it does not, her body will deplete itself to meet the demands of the growing fetus. Her increased requirements for energy, protein, and trace minerals—most notably calcium, phosphorous, and copper—are vital for proper fetal development and ensure adequate milk production after the foal is born. Additionally, late gestation mares do not increase voluntary intake to match their higher nutrient demands, so simply feeding more is not necessarily a viable option to give her additional nutrition.
Feeding the Late Gestation Broodmare
Forage should always be the main component of the diet, but even high-quality forages lack the protein, vitamin, and mineral fortification the mare needs during late gestation. For example, high-protein forages such as alfalfa are not well digested in the small intestine and could result in inadequate intake of amino acids. Supplementing with a high-quality concentrate feed designed with broodmares in mind and fed at the appropriate amount will ensure you are meeting her nutrient needs. If your mare is an easy keeper, a ration balancer would be appropriate if she is getting enough calories from her forage to maintain body condition.
Feeding Lactating Mares
Once your mare begins lactating, her nutritional needs for energy, protein, minerals, and some vitamins will increase significantly. For example, her energy needs are double that of her maintenance requirements.
While mares in late gestation might not increase their feed intake, lactating mares tend to have much greater appetites and your feeding program should reflect this. Lactating mares can consume up to 3% of their body weight in dry matter intake and at least half of this should be in forage. Once again, good-quality hay or pasture is recommended due to high nutrient demands. Feeding rates will vary depending on the quality of your hay or pasture and whether your mare is a heavy milker or a hard- or easy keeper.
Most lactating mares cannot meet their high energy and nutrient demands consuming forage only. I recommend feeding a concentrate designed for broodmares to support milk production, provide essential nutrients for the foal, and help maintain your mare’s body condition. Feed according to manufacturer’s instructions for her weight and stage of lactation. Always increase feed gradually to the full feeding amount over a seven-to-10-day period to prevent digestive disturbance.
Take-Home Message
The best start for a foal begins with proper nutritional management of the mare. Broodmare owners benefit from learning body condition scoring and recognizing their mares’ specific nutritional needs before and after foaling.
Do you have an equine nutrition question?
Do you have an equine nutrition question? The Horse’s editors want to hear from you! Submit your question via the form below.
Written by:
Masa Williams, PhD
Related Articles
Supporting Your Horse’s Immune System
Feeding Horses With EOTRH
Dopamine and Equine Insulin Regulation
Tips for Getting Your Horse With PPID To Take His Medication
Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with
FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com
Sponsored Content
A Challenging Laminitis Case in a PPID Pony
Wound Care Strategies for Healing Wounds in Horses
The Horse’s Microbiome: A Key Player in Nutrition, Health, and Behavior
Weekly Poll
Readers’ Most Popular
Top Categories