Feeding Broodmares in Fall and Winter

For many years horse owners and veterinarians thought the nutrient needs of pregnant mares increased only at the end of gestation. But new research shows that pregnant mares’ nutrient needs increase as early as the fifth month of gestation.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

For many years horse owners and veterinarians thought the nutrient needs of pregnant mares increased only at the end of gestation. But new research shows that pregnant mares’ nutrient needs increase as early as the fifth month of gestation.

Early October is an excellent time to evaluate broodmares’ body conditions and to determine whether adjustments are necessary prior to the next breeding and foaling season. The Henneke system evaluates horses’ body condition scores (BCS) on a scale of 1 to 9; where 1 is extremely thin and 9 is extremely fat. A body condition of 5 is considered moderate.

Many research studies have documented that reproductive efficiency is impaired if mares have BCS below 5 at the onset of the breeding season. Therefore, one of the goals of broodmare feeding programs should be to have mares in a body condition of at least 5 by the end of fall.

Evaluate body condition by palpating the amount of fat in several areas on the horse: the neck, the shoulder, the ribs, the withers, behind the shoulder, and above the back and tailhead. A horse in moderate body condition will have enough fat cover that the ribs are easily felt but not visible. There should be enough fat cover on the withers, back, tailhead, pelvis, and shoulder so the body parts blend to together smoothly. Remember to evaluate the amount of fat cover manually, as a thick hair coat can be deceiving. The size of the abdomen (belly) is not an indicator of body condition and is often enlarged due to pregnancy or prior pregnancies

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:

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:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 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!