Broodmare Diet Impacts Placenta and Colostrum

The diet you offer your gestating mare, particularly in the last trimester, can influence development of the placenta as well as the level of immunoglobulins (IgGs) in the colostrum, reports a research team from North Dakota and Texas.

“Foals subjected to external stimulants, such as reduced nutrient supply to the fetus, can have lasting effects on development including

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

The diet you offer your gestating mare, particularly in the last trimester, can influence development of the placenta as well as the level of immunoglobulins (IgGs) in the colostrum, reports a research team from North Dakota and Texas.

"Foals subjected to external stimulants, such as reduced nutrient supply to the fetus, can have lasting effects on development including reduced neonatal health, skeletal muscle growth, feed efficiency, and athletic performance," said Carrie Hammer, DVM, PhD, an assistant professor at North Dakota State University.

This phenomenon is referred to as developmental programming.

Hammer and colleagues hypothesized that feeding broodmares too much or too little would negatively affect colostral quality, and that selenium supplementation could offset some of these negative effects. To test their hypothesis, they randomly separated 28 Quarter Horse mares into one of four treatment groups: pasture, pasture plus selenium, pasture plus grain, or pasture plus grain and selenium. Selenium supplementation started 110 days prior to foaling

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Stacey Oke, MSc, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. She is interested in both large and small animals, as well as complementary and alternative medicine. Since 2005, she’s worked as a research consultant for nutritional supplement companies, assisted physicians and veterinarians in publishing research articles and textbooks, and written for a number of educational magazines and websites.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
287 votes · 287 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!