How to Feed a Pregnant Mare

Pregnant mares, like pregnant people, need special care when it comes to their diet. Keeping a mare fat is not enough; she needs a healthy diet to sustain her own body weight and health and the health of the unborn foal. Learn how to feed a pregnant mare by following these steps.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Know the weight of the mare. Use her weight to determine the amount of grain and hay she needs. A pregnant mare needs between 1.5 percent and 3.0 percent of her body weight in feed daily. If she is underweight, go to the higher end of the scale; if she is overweight, feed less.
2. Weigh the feed according to what your mare needs. If she needs 20 pounds of feed daily, split this into at least 2 separate feedings a day. Feeding too much feed at once can cause many digestive problems, including colic, which can be fatal.
3. Feed the mare a high quality grain containing at least 10 percent to 12 percent protein. Feed stores carry a quality grain mix or pellet feed containing all of the right nutrients for your pregnant mare. The advantage of a grain mix is that horses usually like the taste better. Some pellet feeds can be digested more easily.
4. Provide a good quality hay for pregnant mares. If in doubt about hay quality, take a small sample of the hay to a local agriculture or 4-H office. Many times they test the hay for free. Hay should be available to a pregnant mare at all times of the day unless she is out in a grass filled pasture. Roughage should account for 80% of the mare's diet.
5. Change the mare's feed in the last 2 months of pregnancy to a feed containing at least 12 percent to 14 percent protein. She should be fed more feed at this time also, unless she is becoming overweight.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't allow a pregnant mare to become overweight. This can be just as harmful as allowing her to become too thin.