Feeding Breeding & Youngstock (Elementary Level)

Read the following information and then complete the quiz questions at the end of the page to test your knowledge and earn AMTRA points.

This resource will introduce you to the following topics:

• Feeding the stallion
• Feeding the broodmare
• Why should we use alfalfa for breeding and youngstock?

Feeding the stallion

• A happy, healthy stallion will produce good quality semen.
• Obesity is a common problem in stallions and can reduce semen quality.
• Diet should be forage and fibre focused to manage the risk of gastrointestinal disease, reduce stress by keeping the stallion busy for longer and to reduce over-exuberance.
• If additional calories/energy is needed, Dengie Alfa-A Oil is a useful option as this supplies a comparable energy level to a competition or conditioning mix to help maintain weight and condition, but with 10x less starch.
• Diet may have an influence on semen quality, with omega-3 fatty acids being linked to improved sperm motility after semen had been chilled or frozen.
• Zinc is a mineral that is also frequently identified as being important for male fertility, particularly if they are fed organic forms – often listed as chelates or Bioplex minerals on ingredients lists.
• Adding a balancer or broad-spectrum supplement to supply the stallion’s key vitamins and minerals for a balanced diet will help to ensure they are getting everything they need alongside their forage.

Feeding the Broodmare

Conception and Pregnancy

• Mares should be fit not fat!
• A rising plane of nutrition is advocated for conception.
• Deficiencies of any nutrient can probably reduce fertility, but there is no evidence to show that supplying levels above requirements is beneficial.
• Mares in good body condition = higher conception rates and fewer cycles required to conceive.
• Achieving a healthy body condition takes time.

Fat scoring

• Gives an objective measure of fat cover.
• Aim to maintain weight at a Fat Score of 2.5-3 (on the 0-5 scale).
• Overweight
  • Remove unnecessary extras.
  • Manage grass and forage intake.
  • Choose less digestible forage sources.
  • Balance the ration.
• Underweight
  • Why is the horse underweight?
  • Feed more digestible sources of forage/fibre and add oil.
  • If using mixes and cubes, keep the starch intake to less than 1g starch per kilogram of bodyweight per meal (Click here to try Dengie’s Starch Calculator).
  • Balance the ration.

When do a pregnant mare’s nutritional requirements change?

• No real change in nutritional requirements.
• Continue to monitor body fat cover and feed accordingly.
• Ensure the diet is balanced with respect to vitamins and minerals.
• Grazing and forage alone does not provide a balanced diet even for horses at maintenance.

What is the problem with not feeding during pregnancy?

• The mare will deplete her own reserves to meet needs of the foetus.
• Problems may not be apparent in the first one or two pregnancies.
• DOD may occur in subsequent pregnancies.
• The quality of the forage also plays a part.

Final Trimester

• Most foetal weight gain occurs.
• The mare’s weight should increase by 10-15% from her initial weight over the course of the pregnancy, e.g., from 500kg to 550-575kg.
• 90% of calcium and phosphorus and 80% of magnesium present at birth are deposited in the foetal skeleton during the 8-11th months of pregnancy.
• Around 50% of copper accumulates at around 10 months.
• If the foetus doesn’t accumulate sufficient stores because of an inadequate supply to the mare, growth problems may occur.

Balance throughout pregnancy

• Pearce (1997) demonstrated that copper supplementation of mares during pregnancy resulted in a significant reduction in epiphysitis cases in their foals.
• Foals from non-supplemented mares still developed lesions even if the foals were supplemented themselves.

Providing a balanced diet

A couple of different options:

• Stud Balancer alongside a fibre feed
• Vitamin and mineral supplement
• Fortified feed, e.g., stud mix or cube
• Mineral lick – though it is difficult to monitor if the mare is consuming the correct amount to receive a balanced diet.

The table below shows the different nutrient and calorie contributions of some typical fortified feeds for a 500kg pregnant mare. With the highest daily feeding rates, a stud mix will provide a higher calorie contribution so may be preferable for those who struggle to maintain weight and condition. However, this feed also supplies the highest amount of starch, so is not suitable for those with health problems requiring a low starch/low sugar diet, or those who can be over-exuberant. The vitamin and mineral supplement supplies the lowest calories and the lowest starch but is also lower in lysine and copper compared to a stud balancer.

Lactation

• Most demanding time for a mare – energy requirements increase significantly.
• The mare can consume up to 3% of bodyweight per day on a dry matter basis (a 500kg mare could eat 15kg of grass on a dry matter basis or around 60kg on a fresh matter basis!).
• When energy intake is below requirements, no effect is seen on foal growth, assuming the mare has fat stores to mobilize to support milk production.
• Thin mares with insufficient energy intakes will compromise foal growth.

Feeding the Youngster

The Newborn Foal

• A foal is born weighing between 7% and 13% of its adult bodyweight – this is equivalent to a 70kg woman giving birth to a baby weighing 5-9kg or 10.7-20lbs!
• Regularly weighing a youngster allows you to monitor their average daily weight gain, which can be plotted on a simple graph (see below): plot time along the bottom (x) axis and weight up the side (y) axis.
• Contracted tendons or epiphysitis are clearly evidence of a problem but the aim is to try and spot a fast growth rate before clinical signs of growth problems or Developmental Orthopaedic Disease (DOD) are apparent.

Weaning

• During the first 3-4 months, the foal is reliant on their dam’s milk, as the enzymes in their digestive tract are not yet developed enough to be able to efficiently digest proteins found in forage or traditional bucket feeds.
• After this point, the foal’s digestive tract will have started to develop the ability to gain more nutrition from fibre and so becomes less dependent on a milk based diet.
• Getting them established on their own feed before weaning is important in helping to minimise weight loss post-weaning, especially if this is happening in the autumn as the foal will start to use more energy for keeping warm.
• An alfalfa-based chopped fibre combined with a suitable stud balancer is typically a good place to start, and these can be continued as the youngster develops.
• More information on feeding youngstock can be found here.

The Role of Alfalfa

Why should we use alfalfa for breeding and youngstock?

• It is naturally high in good quality protein, supplying 0.7% lysine.
• Alfalfa provides abundant calcium.
• Alfalfa is a natural buffer to acidity in the digestive tract.
• It is often fed in the form of a chopped fibre (e.g., Alfa-A Original, Alfa-A Oil or Alfa-A Molasses Free) or in the form of a pelleted feed which needs to be soaked before feeding (e.g., Alfa-Beet or Alfalfa Pellets).

Suitable options from the Dengie range include:

Summary

• A balanced diet is important for stallions, broodmares and youngstock to support fertility, conception and correct development.
• Taking steps to achieve a healthy body condition is also key.
• Alfalfa provides a fantastic source of good quality protein and calcium and is a suitable fibre option for youngsters and breeding stock.
• Working alongside a nutritionist can be beneficial when managing youngsters and breeding stock to help ensure their requirements are being met and promote optimum growth and development.

Test your Nutrition Knowledge!

It’s now time to put into practice what you have learnt about feeding breeding and youngstock. Answer all the questions below correctly to receive your Dengie Nutrition Certificate, plus you can earn TWO AMTRA Suitably Qualified Person (SQP) points. To ensure your points are awarded please make sure that you include your unique AMTRA number in the box provided with your details.