Feed and Supplement Correctly
Reproduction and Growth
Ensuring that the nutritional needs of breeding mares, stallions and foals are covered according to the most appropriate feeding strategies is crucial.
Feed and Supplement Correctly
Reproduction and Growth
Stallion - How should I feed?
In general, the feeding of the breeding horse is still relatively disregarded in daily practice. However, we know, nowadays, that the feeding of stallions influences their performance and fertility.
In addition to this knowledge, the fact that the breeder presents, in general, a sporting activity to be performed, which requires increased care with his diet.
Reproductive Season
Stallions must present, at the beginning of the breeding season, an adequate body condition and this must be monitored, in order to better adapt the feeding management during that period.
Thin stallions have few body reserves, which could compromise their performance and fertility. Obesity in stallions, on the other hand, is equally undesirable, as it is associated with a decrease in libido and fertility, and often contributes to an increase in joint overload, which can, in turn, contribute to a physical limitation on the part of the stallion. of the stallion.
Food Management
Breeders with access to good quality pasture will be able to see their needs met only with the use of pasture. However, depending on the quality of the pasture, there is often a need to supplement it with a mineral and multivitamin complex.
BALANCE
In stabled stallions, an adequate forage feed, in quantity and quality, and a balanced supplementary feed must be provided. We know that energy requirements during the reproductive season increase, particularly when associated with sporting activity. In order to respond to this increase in needs, it is recommended to use a specific food during the breeding season.
EPOLDRIN
In breeders with a tendency towards obesity, access to pasture must be conditioned, and these horses must consume a complementary feed of low caloric density, which provides the vitamins and minerals they need, complementing the dry forage feed.
BALANCE
In stallions with difficulty maintaining body condition, we must allow the consumption of forage as described, complement it with an adequate compound feed and, if necessary, add a source of fat. The caloric density of an oil is significant, being a safe way to increase the caloric intake in these horses. In breeding animals, we should favor oils with a high Omega 3 content, such as flax oil or fish oil, since they are associated with an improvement in spermatogenesis.
Stallions also have increased needs for vitamin E during the reproductive phase. (pass from 500 IU to 800 IU (NRC,2007)), so supplementation should be considered, particularly if they do not have access to pasture, given the loss of vitamin E that occurs with haymaking. The correct supply of vitamin E to the stallions prevents oxidative damage to the sperm cells, thus favoring the stallion's fertility.
VIT E+
Stallions of advanced age, more nervous temperament or extremely active may have a greater tendency to lose weight during the breeding season. These cases may additionally benefit from a food with greater incorporation of fat.
NATURE MASH
In short, knowing the needs of the sires and ensuring that these needs are met, has reproductive advantages for stallions.
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Feed and Supplement Correctly
Reproduction and Growth
Foals - Feeding after weaning
In general, weaning translates into a decrease in the growth rate of the foal. To prevent this breakdown, it must be ensured that the foal ingests a sufficient amount of dry matter to meet its nutritional needs. The monitoring of the food plan and growth, at this stage, should be rigorous, and overfeeding is also not desirable.
after weaning
After weaning, the foal's food management must remain strict. Between 12 and 15 months of age the foal will reach around 90% in height at withers, 95% in bone growth and around 70% in adult weight. The remaining growth will occur gradually later, with significant differences in the remaining growth time depending on the breed.
An adequate diet that avoids periods of stress continues to be essential, with regularity of growth being preferred to growth spurts. Nutritional deficiencies, excesses or imbalances have been associated with developmental orthopedic diseases (DODs), and as such are undesirable.
choice of food
When choosing the feed, priority should be given to a good quality forage component (hay and/or pasture) and a specific compound feed for foals, with good digestibility and which favors an adequate supply of lysine, vitamins, macrominerals (such as calcium and phosphorus) and microminerals (such as zinc, copper) necessary for proper bone and joint development.
YOUNG
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Feed and Supplement Correctly
Reproduction and Growth
Foals - Feeding from birth to weaning
The feeding of the foal is a fundamental factor for its development and for the prevention of diseases. Only with a balanced diet can you ensure that the foal's growth and development correspond to its genetic potential.
Feeding the foal begins in the womb (feeding the foetus), and it is important for the mare to have a balanced diet throughout the entire pregnancy, and that the increased nutritional needs, especially in the last trimester, are respected.
after birth
After birth, the newborn foal performs activities that consume energy. Since its endogenous energy reserves are limited, it is through colostrum that it will obtain the necessary nutrients to carry out these activities.
Colostrum is thus the foal's first food and its early intake is essential from a nutritional, immunological and intestinal point of view (laxative effect).
Up to about three months of age, the nutritional needs of the lactating foal are met by maternal milk, whose composition varies throughout lactation, a period from which the foal must supplement the intake of milk with pasture and/or specific compound feed.
creep-feeding
Supplementation of the lactating foal with specific compound feed selectively fed to the foal (through selective feeders or areas dedicated to foal feeding), is called creep-feeding. This practice promotes habituation to solid food, promoting the foal's food autonomy and reducing the effects of stress from weaning.
It should only be noted that the introduction of the practice of creep feeding should be done gradually from eight weeks and that the amount of specific compound feed given should vary according to age, breed and composition of the feed (for example: for a foal aged less than four months, the amount of compound feed provided should vary between 0.5-1.0 kg for every 100 kg of the foal's BW).
compound feed
When choosing a compound feed, it should be specifically formulated for foals (or for mares and foals), favoring a high quality protein (rich in lysine, the limiting amino acid) and having an adequate mineral content with regard to calcium, phosphorus , copper and zinc.
YOUNG
EPOLDRIN
With regard to orphans, the importance of colostrum ingestion in the first hours of life remains, and they can later transition to artificial feeding through a bottle or bucket, or try breastfeeding by an adoptive mother (if a mare is available that has lost your foal at birth).
In orphaned foals that have not been adopted, solid food can be provided from two weeks onwards (using a specific compound feed and good quality hay), in addition to the replacement milk. Weaning, in these cases, should occur between 14 and 16 weeks.
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Feed and Supplement Correctly
Reproduction and Growth
Breeding mares - How should I feed?
Currently, it is known that the feeding of the breeding mare is a preponderant factor for her fertility, as well as for the health and growth of the foal. The needs of the breeders differ from the other horses, therefore constituting a particular group, which requires specific care with their food.
body condition
The evaluation of the body condition of the mares allows us to estimate the amount of body reserves they have, as well as to monitor the established food plan, which is why it should be evaluated regularly.
Studies prove that medium to high body condition scores (minimum score of 5 on the Henneke – Scale from 1 to 9) and increasing body condition translate into higher fertility rates. Since these mares resume cyclicity earlier, have a lower number of ovulatory cycles per conception, higher conception rates and shorter intervals between deliveries.
Body condition also conditions productive factors. Breeders with scores below 5 do not have enough fat reserves to optimize milk production. While, in turn, medium to high farrowing scores tend to produce more milk, which is beneficial for the foal's growth.
Breeding mares needs
Breeders can be maintained with adequate maintenance food and a quality forage base when they are not pregnant, or when pregnant, up to the fifth month of pregnancy. From then on, a specific food should be provided in order to increase the supply of nutrients, particularly protein.
Gestation
From the seventh month of pregnancy, fetal development (muscle and bone tissue) is accentuated, which means that needs increase significantly, particularly in terms of energy, protein and minerals (calcium and phosphorus). During this period, it is essential to provide food that, in addition to calcium and phosphorus, provides iron, zinc, copper and manganese. Vitamin A requirements being higher, must also be met by the feed, particularly if the mares do not have access to pasture.
EPOLDRIN
Free radicals can affect multiple reproductive processes such as oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryonic development. Thus, supplementation with antioxidant substances (such as vitamin E and selenium) also has advantages from a reproductive point of view.
Supplementation with Vitamin E in the final stages of pregnancy and early lactation also benefits the foal's immunity by favoring the transfer of passive immunity through colostrum.
VIT E+
The incorporation of fat in the diet can be an important ally, if it is necessary to increase the digestible energy of the diet without increasing the concentrated feed. In these cases, the incorporation of a source of fat rich in omega 3 is recommended, and studies point to the benefits of its use for follicular growth in the mare, embryonic development and colostrum quality.
Lactation
Needs remain increased during lactation, so providing a specific food is crucial. If these increased needs are not respected, milk production may be compromised and, it is to be expected, a decrease in the mare's body condition, which may in a way harm the subsequent reproductive season.
EPOLDRIN
In short, knowing the needs of breeding mares and having a well-established feeding plan have reproductive and productive advantages for the mare, contributing to the healthy growth and development of the foals.