Pregnant mare

[shivvy]

I know absolutely nothing about horses but a pregnant mare is being kept in a field beside our house. Someone told me today that she should be being fed as well as the grazing she gets in the field.
Is this true?

[chas2008]

theres nothing more natural than grazing as long as theres plenty of it...

[shivvy]

Thanks chas. I'm just not too sure that there is enough grass. Well, there is grass but mostly brownish in colour instead of green.

[carmalee]

our mares have supplementary feeding when they are pregnant - special 'in foal feed' together with good quality hay. Agree grass is a natural feed but in the wild mares have huge areas to roam whereas they are restricted to what is in the field if not wild. Also a lot of wild mares look dreadful after giving birth, no worming programme, teeth not checked etc etc. Of course 'your mare' may be very well looked after and getting what she needs from a caring owner. Do you have any reason to be concerned about the mare's condition?

[shivvy]

No other real concerns carmalee but she broke out last night for the first time since being put into that field and I thought that she might have looking for more grass?

I have to be clear though that I know nothing about horses and am also a real softie when it comes to animals - which is probably a dangerous mix! I would just hate the thought of her being hungry. I give her carrots and celery which she loves (I checked that it was ok to give her them with her owner). Is there anything else that would be ok for me to give her?

[chas2008]

glad you checked with the owner about feeding,its a very sore point with horse owners.
You would be surprised waht gets launched into fields by people feeling sorry for horses, ie grass clippings, bags of apples etc. these can do more harm than good and can lead to mega vets bills and worse.
Believe it or not to much grass can also cause certain horses problems.
( google laminitis when you have a minute)
It could be this mare is being fed hardfeed/suplemants but you can only do so much of this and the horse will demolish it in minutes ! so you may well not see this happening (ie early morning / late evening)

[carmalee]

if she is kept on her own that's more likely the reason she broke out (which also suggests the fencing should be checked) great that you are speaking with the owner before feeding anything - I lost a pony years ago through well meaning people putting a huge amount of grass mowings down for her. The odd carrot or an apple is fine, but you can cause behavioural problems by feeding too many tidbits. Any idea how far pregnant she is? most non-thoroughbred foals are born around Spring so you may have a foal to coo over soon! great stuff and keep us posted.

[shivvy]

For anyone interested in an update - the clever old mare had the most georgeous foal on Friday morning! As my lovely niece says, he is sooooooo cute!
I would have always said that I wasn't a horsey person but I have fallen head over heels in love with this horse and her adorable new foal. I can't stop going out and looking at them!
Although, that said, I wasn't a cat person until I was adopted by a stray puss in need a couple of years ago and within weeks she was sleeping on our bed!