What to feed nursing mare with thick crest?

[Enchantress]

I have a maiden mare that recently foaled. She has always been on the thin side so I've been making sure she has plenty of hay (free choice) and I've been giving her approximately 4 qts of Blue Seal Mare & Foal per day. She's 37" and approximately 350-400 lbs. I noticed tonight that she has a thick, hard crest so I need to adjust her diet asap. She also appears to be losing weight from nursing. What would be the best option to keep her healthy while allowing enough nutrition to nurse her colt? He's not quite 2 weeks yet.

 

[targetsmom]

It sounds like she might be insulin resistant like our mare Princess that you have met. You might try the safergrass website for more info. I am not sure about nursing mares, but for Princess, she is on the new Nutrena Safe Choice Special Care feed which is low in starch (think Atkins low carb diet,which is what you want). The regular Safe Choice is what we feed our nursing mares, but you might want to contact a feed representative in your area to see what they say. Princess gets grass hay (measured amount) and Remission, to help prevent founder. That is the real risk with a heavy crest/insulin resistance, but I am not sure about feeding to nursing mares. BTW, we won't be breeding Princess, but that is only one of the reasons.

I do not feed Princess alfalfa, but you might consider that too. We feed our broodmares soaked alfalfa cubes 3X/day partly to increase protein levels (they get grass hay too) and partly to boost the calcium levels. Good luck! Have you posted foal photos anywhere?

Mary

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I really like Triple Crown 30% Supplement, you can feed as little as 1/4 cup per day, or 1/2-1 cup a day if they are nursing or need more calories. I like it because it's a ration balancer, but has plenty of protein, and very low in carbs (low NSC). It's great for easy keepers, insulin resistant, etc in all the different stages of life. You don't need to add anything to it, but I've also fed half TC 30% Supplment and half TC Lite if they weren't doing well on the Supplement alone.

 

[targetsmom]

Thought of something else: We had to do this last year for a foal whose dam had hypocalcemia. You could start the foal on some milk replacer and Calf Manna. Calf Manna isn't only for calves and is very high in protein and has anise in it so everyone loves it. Yes, your mare will probably eat it too but I don't think it would hurt her. The foal (Bunny) did absolutely fine on it and grew like a weed.

BTW, I had very poor luck trying to feed Princess ration balancers when she was showing and needed plenty of energy. Of couse, your situation could be different.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Whatever you decide to feed the mare, start the foal on a feed of it's own (own bowl and the mare tied up) as soon as you can. My foals are all offered grain form 10 days on, and take to it readily. Whenever we have raised orphans they are on a grain diet and hay by 30 days, so your foal is well old enough to start a sensible feed programme of it's own.