feeding a nursing mare

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Joann

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i have a 2 month old foal. my mare gets 2 cups of grain 3 times a day and lots of hay . i want to start weaning at 3 months. how do I feed the mare. last year took a mare off grain for 2 weeks and lost so much weight looked terrible. Oh i also give Mare and foal supplement.
 
Joann, I would still pull the grain for at least 2 weeks, but continue plenty of hay. You will want to change her supplement too. My guess is that last year your mare was partially pulled down by nursing, and it may not have been obvious at first.....until you were weaning.

If you do continue graining your mare, this will only prolong her drying up her milk and make it uncomfortable for her.
 
Joann, I would still pull the grain for at least 2 weeks, but continue plenty of hay. You will want to change her supplement too. My guess is that last year your mare was partially pulled down by nursing, and it may not have been obvious at first.....until you were weaning.

If you do continue graining your mare, this will only prolong her drying up her milk and make it uncomfortable for her.

thanks for your help.
 
We don't cut out the mare's feed, just drastically reduce it. We just reduce the mare to what she normally gets when she isn't nursing a foal, which is usually about half. Of course, I don't really feed grain either, we use a Diet Balancer and either alfalfa pellets or Envision (a calorie booster, very high fat).
 
Just as an add on -- you can help the mare be more comfortable by applying orajel to her udder a few times a day for the first few days
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