Pregnant mare

[Wiggy]

Have you ever had a pregnant mare... perhaps one you didn't know/expect to be bred... drop weight (without a decrease in feed)?

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Not personally because if my mares were bred I knew it but it does happen, that unexpected pregnancy. In a word, yes, the important thing to do now is talk to a nutritionist or vet or even here and get the necessary info you need to bring her up to weight gently. Some mares are taken down by being in foal thus the need for good feed. Answers to questions like...how old a mare, first baby or an old timer, what do you feed now, and is she is and out or out 24/7, up to date on worming, shots, when is she due? Listen to those who choose to post for you. A picture of the mare could also help those of us with helping you with the feed necessary to bring her up.

 

[Wiggy]

She's only 10... I've had her through 2 previous pregnancies and dont recall such a drop in weight... she's out 24/7, but of course there is no grass this time of year. She gets 3 meals a day... a quality grass/alfafla hay.... 2 cups of a "maintenance horse" pellet, 3 cups of a broodmare/foal feed, 1/2 cup of boss, mineral supplement, and a bit of flax... she is dewormed regularly... I really dont even know if she is pregnant or not though... she was leased out last year and with several different stallions over that time, right up until I got her back in October... the assumption is that she is not pregnant... but I cant think of why else she might have dropped so much weight. She has been getting grain since last summer, though I increased it about 6 weeks ago when she started to look thin.

 

[Magic]

You may want to have a vet check her to see if she is in fact pregnant, so you will know how to feed her; if she is expecting she will need more food than if she is open. Perhaps you could get a general check up on her as well, and a fecal worm count.

If I have a horse that I want to gain weight, I add soaked beet pulp to their diet (or *more* soaked beet pulp, since I usually feed it on a regular basis to all of my horses) and also increase their hay. If your mare is pregnant she may well need more of the concentrates too.

I would actually be quite concerned if I had a horse lose weight when being fed the same or more as previously. I really think that a vet visit would be in order. Good luck with her!