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Laying good Foundations
Correct nutrition from conception onwards helps ensure the production of a strong healthy foal, indeed, not feeding the mare correctly, throughout pregnancy and lactation, can impact on how well your foal grows and develops
Ensure the mare is receiving a suitable stud feed for her bodytype.
Consider the type and quality of the forage your mare has access to.
During the last trimester, the foal is growing rapidly and mares may require a higher calorie diet at this stage to help maintain condition. Move from low calorie balancer to Stud Cubes/Mix at this stage.
Lactation
Milk production requires more energy than hard work so the mare’s feed needs to be gradually increased accordingly, in the early stages of lactation. The volume of milk she produces will peak around 5 weeks in to lactation and, if insufficient nutrients and/or calories are provided by her diet, she will “milk off her back”, losing weight and top line.
Feeding the Foal
It is often not necessary to feed a very young foal (3 months and under) as it ultimately relies on mum’s milk.
When do I need to supplement the foal’s diet?
What do I supplement with?
Under 3 months
Over 3 months
The foal is old enough to digest compound feeds so it’s important feed its own stud ration to counteract shortfalls in the mare’s milk and to encourage the digestive system to adapt for weaning.
What do I need to consider when prepping for the Futurity?
Give yourself plenty of time – ideally a minimum of 8 weeks to make any changes
Foals under 3 months of age will predominantly be receiving mother’s milk and forage and it may be necessary to prevent them from eating the mare’s feed to avoid them getting “top heavy”
Foals aged 4 months or older, should already be on their own stud ration, if not then introduce one
Ensure the feed is not only designed to meet calorie/energy demands to support bodyweight and growth but to provide essential nutrients for correct development
Feed as many small feeds as you can over the day so you are not overloading your foal’s digestive system.
Consider the quality of your foal’s forage.
You may wish to top dress the diet with additional oil, or Outshine high oil supplement, to help fill out any weaker foals or simply to help provide a shiny coat.
Supplementing with a digestive enhancer, like Digest Plus prebiotic, when changing feed, routine or when travelling, may be beneficial to help prevent digestive upset, like loose droppings or loss of condition.
Monitoring growth regularly is ideal, either with a weighbridge (if you are lucky to have access to one) or weightape.
Plotting weight on a Growth Monitoring Chart also helps you to log weight and growth rate and, when used with careful inspections of your foal, can act as an early warning system before problems arise.
Remember, correct feeding helps significantly in achieving a correct and well-developed foal and, alongside a well-managed exercise regime and careful preparation, will help make your foal’s first forays into the ring as successful as possible.