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Feeding the Breeding Mare, Foal and Stallion
When it comes to breeding the future stars of the equine world, there are many different factors which affect conception rates and the healthy development of the foetus, from hormonal control, lighting, nutrition and even interaction with other horses. Getting just one of these delicate factors wrong can influence the success of a breeding season and a bad breeding season is not only frustrating, but can also be extremely costly if breeding is your business.
In this article we will look at the nutritional side of a successful breeding programme, because feeding and nutrition has a major influence upon the health and therefore the reproductive capacity of all parties involved.
Scientific research shows that a mare and stallion’s breeding potential can be enhanced by following a specific nutritional program throughout the year, and conception rates have been reported to be higher when the natural evolutionary pattern is followed.
Preparing for the Breeding Season
The Mare – Pregnancy is a huge ask of any animal and although reproduction is essentially what we are all on this earth for, management efforts can be futile if the mare isn’t ready for this physically draining experience. In the wild, a mare is most likely to conceive during the spring, when the grass is rich and the plane of nutrition increases to a point where her body has enough reserves to perform the biological changes that will result from a successful pregnancy. To mimic this rise in nutrition and enhance her condition, it has been widely published that reducing the mare’s condition to a state where she is slightly underweight coming out of winter and then introducing a nutritional “flush” around March/April will encourage the mare’s body to initiate the biological changes needed to prepare her for reproduction.
The next question will then be what should be fed during this “flush” for optimum results? Feeding a high specification of vitamins and minerals, increased protein levels and a dense supply of energy on a high fibre base is perfect. Of course, if your mare is already pregnant at this point she should already be receiving this higher specification diet. If this nutritional flush is coupled with other variables such as increased day length (and associated increased exposure to light), then it is possible to manipulate the breeding season so that it starts slightly earlier than it might otherwise naturally occur.
It’s important to have a mare at her optimum weight at the time of desired conception.  If a mare looks unwell and is generally lacking in condition, then ovulation and fertilisation failure might occur. On the other hand, a mare that is too fat will also have increased chances of embryonic failure. A fat condition score of between 3-3.5 (from a scale of 0-5) is ideal for a mare going into the breeding season.
The Stallion – through the non-breeding season the stallion should be fed in accordance with his workload and be provided with a high specification balancer. The only time that a stallion requires extra nutrition is during the covering season.
The Breeding Season
The Mare –As long as the mare is maintained in good condition and her maintenance level nutritional requirements are being met, then conditions for conception should be optimal. However, if the mare has a foal at foot during the breeding season then she will also be lactating and so will have increased energy requirements. As a result, extra care and attention needs to be paid to her diet.
A 500kg mare will produce up to 18 Litres of milk per day for her foal. This ability to lactate and provide the foal at foot with access to her nutritious milk is highly dependent on feed consumption, water availability and energy intake, and the nutritional value of her milk will drop if she is not fed the correct levels of energy and nutrients, or has restricted access to water. During lactation, a mare’s energy requirement will be almost double her normal maintenance level and if she drops weight because of insufficient energy intake, then not only will she have a lower milk yield, but her ability to re-conceive will also be greatly inhibited.
Protein requirements will also increase during lactation, again to around twice that of her maintenance level. The protein offered should be of high quality, (containing a wide variety of amino acids) and the NRC levels state that a mare in her first month of milk production needs around 1535g of crude protein per day. As mentioned previously, if the mare is allowed to become overweight (4 or above on the fat condition score) then this will have a detrimental impact upon re-conception rates, not to mention the extra weight adding excess pressure to her joints. Monitoring your mare’s weight using a weighbridge will help you to assess if any weight is being lost or gained and her diet can then be adjusted accordingly.
Foal at foot – At this stage in the breeding cycle, the foal at foot may only be around 9-10 days old and will be dependant on the milk of its mother. There is no need for any concentrates at this early time, but the foal may start nibbling the mother’s feed and a little bit of grass.
The Stallion – The breeding season is of course the time when the stallion is at his most active and his nutritional requirements significantly increase as a result. During the breeding season a stallion will require, on average, an extra 20MJ of energy per day to maintain condition on top of his usual daily ration. As sperm production increases, so the levels of some important nutrients must also be increased; an extra 160g of high quality protein should be fed on top of maintenance levels, along with a high specification of the antioxidants vitamin A and vitamin E, which reportedly increase fertility.
Months 1-8 of Gestation
The Mare – If your mare has no foal at foot, then simply feeding her at maintenance level will be perfectly adequate for the first 8 months of gestation. During these 8 months, as long as she is receiving a wide spectrum of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and maintenance levels of energy, her nutritional requirements will be met and the foetus development should be optimal. The main dangers at this stage are soluble carbohydrates – feeding a high starch diet which includes high levels of grains can result in the foal being born with growth abnormalities such as osteochondritisdissecans (OCD). If your mare has a foal at foot then once her lactation slows (or you wean the foal) then her enhanced lactation diet can drop to maintenance level of feed, as indicated above.
Foal1 – During the next few months, the foal will start nibbling grass and some of the mare’s concentrate feed. As weaning time approaches, be aware that a drastic switch from mother’s milk to concentrates will be highly traumatic if it is not carried out gradually. Try introducing the foal to a specifically designed stud concentrate around the age of 2 months and encourage him to eat plenty of fibre as well. By gradually converting him to a stud mix and reducing access to mother’s milk, the transition process will be far easier and this will also help the foal to receive all the nutrients he needs as the mother’s milk quality decreases.
The Stallion – After all the excitement of the breeding season, the stallion can go back to his normal maintenance levels of essential nutrients, but he may need a few extra calories if he has lost condition. Stallions often come out of the breeding season a little on the lean side and some slow release energy sources on top of his maintenance ration (such as vegetable oil) should get him back to tip top condition.
Last 3 Months of Gestation
The Mare – It is during the last trimester of gestation that the mare’s diet must be carefully re-evaluated. Continuing to feed a simple maintenance level diet during the last 3 months may result in serious problems for both the mare and the foal. A whopping 60% of the foal’s growth will occur during these last 3 months, which is why the nutritional requirements of the in-foal mare increase 20% during this final stage. Failure to provide a higher specification diet during this time will cause the mare to drain nutrient, protein and energy reserves from her own body, causing weight loss, poor health and exhaustion and will inevitably result in growth deficiencies and possible long term health problems for her foal. Providing increased energy and nutrition may be easy to accomplish in a non-pregnant horse, however, at this stage of gestation the mare’s capacity to process food drastically reduces as the increased size of the foal takes up most of the internal space! This is where a good quality stud mix comes into play. Stud concentrates that have been well formulated will supply a higher concentration of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and energy in a relatively small ration. One essential micronutrient duo to bear in mind in late gestation is calcium and phosphorus, as the mare’s requirements will almost double, due to the necessary role that they play in bone development and milk quality.
Foal 1 – At this point, the first foal will be approaching the 1 year old mark. His nutrient requirements will have reduced and now is the time to take him off a concentrated stud mix and switch down to a low, slow releasing energy diet which also supplies a high specification of amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Feeding a diet which is high in starch should especially be avoided for the young horse, as soluble carbohydrates will encourage rapid growth which will result in weak bone formation. The aim should be to maintain a slow and consistent rate of growth to ensure spurts are avoided and development is strong.
The Stallion – Again, maintenance levels apply here.
 Birth!
The Mare – As milk production should already be well underway at the birth of the foal, the high specification diet detailed above for the lactation phase should now be fed: twice the maintenance levels of slow release energy, twice the levels of high quality protein and elevated amounts of calcium and phosphorus are all essential. Once again, a high quality stud mix will provide all these nutrients and this, along with access to fresh water at all times, will be perfect for helping to provide the recipe for lactation success!
Foal 2 – The most important factor in giving the newborn foal the best start possible in this world is to ensure that he receives the mare’s colostrum. Colostrum contains vital antibodies, high concentrations of protein and a vast quantity of vitamin A and is the first form of immunity the foal receives, which will help to protect him from the microorganisms in the immediate environment. The foal should suckle this colostrum within 30-180 minutes after birth and continue to feed sufficiently for the next 8-12 hours in order to gain strength.
Foal 1 – Now this first foal is a yearling, only low energy, maintenance levels of nutrients will be required. This diet can be fed continually as he matures and until he starts work, when energy and nutrient levels may need to be re-assessed to ensure weight loss does not occur.
The Stallion – Now the stallion should be in top condition and should continue to receive a high specification maintenance diet in order to prepare him for the breeding season ahead.
In conclusion, throughout the year there are many different aspects for breeders to consider; from the pregnant mare with a foal at foot, to the working stallion that requires a specific nutritional assessment as the breeding season kicks off. However, if the nutritional needs of all breeding horses are given the attention that they deserve, then weight should be maintained, deficiencies should not occur, conception rates should be high and the stallion, mare and foal should be healthy and happy, for optimum health and performance over their entire lifetimes.

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