Caring for a pregnant mare

[WashingtonCowgirl]

As you know, Darla moved in sort of unexpectedly, and I was wondering what I should be feeding her to make sure she and the foal get everything they need? Right now she is on grass and half a cup of Purina Mini and Pony and a tablespoon of flax seed. When does she need shots? (she is only 52 days now) Should I worm her? Is Ivermectin ok? Anything they can't do when pregnant? Anything else I need to know? lol Right now her daily routine is:

5:45am - Grain, pasture till 5pm

5pm - brush, lunge mostly at a walk, with 2 laps trotting in both directions, then ground driving for about 20 minutes. Then brush again

7pm - grain, and the 2 share a flake of hay, but they have pasture access 25/7

What do you think of her conformation? Can anyone look up her pedigree for me? Her AMHR# is: 292079B Wyndi Pines Bonita

 

[Matt73]

Here's what I do/don't do. I don't change a thing for the first 8 months. Then I just increase hay. I feed a ration balancer and so just double that and all she-can-eat hay once the foal arrives. Very simple. All my foals have been extremely healthy and active and my mare stays in very good weight while lactating. I give pre-foaling vaccinations 4-6 weeks prior to foaling (I go by 330 days...so around day 300); a 4 way (EEE, WEE, flu, and tetanus). The foal gets his/her vaccinations after weaning 4-6 months of age (and a booster 4 weeks after, of course). Generally, she can do anything she did before she got pregnant up until the last few months where you'd want to lighten up on any exercise.

Edited to add: Forgot to add that I worm every 8 weeks, like normal (only with either Ivermectin or Fenbendazole....ones that are safe for pregnant mares). And I worm within 12 hours of foaling, with Ivermectin.

 

[weerunner]

I switch all my mares to a mare and foal feed at 8 months pregnant. Up until then their feed stays the same as before they got pregnant. I also give shots a month before foaling and worm them 10 days before foaling (which requires some guesswork, as who knows when they really are 10 days away from foaling). Other than that, I do not work my broodmares as I lost a pregnancy by driving a mare and we got in a a crash and she never conceived again. So I leave them to do the most important job of all, carrying healthy foal to full term. You just never know when a driving accident will happen.