Expert nutrition strategies for healthy mares and growing foals

Foaling season is one of the most critical times in equine management, requiring careful attention to nutrition for both the broodmare and the foal. Proper feeding ensures a healthy pregnancy, delivery and optimal growth and development.

During this period, the mare’s dietary needs increase, necessitating adjustments to her feeding program to maintain health and provide essential nutrients for her foal. This article explores key dietary considerations for raising healthy foals in their first months of life.

Nutritional Needs of Pregnant Mares

The mare’s energy needs increase dramatically in the final trimester of pregnancy as the foal undergoes rapid growth. This is when it’s especially important to ensure her diet provides added nutrients to support foal development while maintaining health and body condition.

Early and Mid-Gestation Months 1-7

During the first two-thirds of pregnancy the mare’s nutritional requirements remain similar to those of a maintenance diet, but ensuring she receives balanced nutrition plays a crucial role in fetal development. Key nutrients like protein, vitamins and minerals support early formation of organs, skeletal structure and immune function in the foal. Deficiencies can impact bone density, muscle growth and overall health. It’s essential to ensure the mare receives adequate:

• Forage: High-quality hay or pasture should form the foundation of the diet.
• Protein: Total diet should include 10-12% crude protein to maintain muscle and tissue integrity.
• Vitamins and minerals: Adequate calcium, phosphorus and trace minerals like copper, zinc and manganese to support fetal bone development.
• Energy: A balanced diet without excessive calorie intake to prevent obesity.

Late Gestation Months 8-11

As the foal’s growth accelerates in the final trimester, the mare’s nutritional demands increase significantly:

• Protein: Increase protein in total diet to 12-14% to support fetal tissue growth.
• Energy: Slightly elevated calorie intake to accommodate increased metabolic demands.
• Calcium and phosphorus: Important for proper fetal skeletal development; maintain a 2:1 ratio.
• Copper and zinc: Essential for strong fetal bone formation and connective tissue health.

A properly balanced concentrate feed designed for broodmares can help meet these increased requirements.

“That final third of gestation is a critical point to make sure you’re providing adequate protein, vitamins, minerals and the calorie content to maintain that broodmare in at least a body condition score of five. For a lot of broodmares, you want to see a body condition score of six as they go into foaling.” – Dr. Randel Raub, Sentinel® Director of Research and Nutrition

Nutrition for Lactating Mares

After foaling, the mare enters peak lactation, which places the highest nutritional demands on her body. Proper feeding supports milk production and ensures the foal receives the nutrients needed for strong early development.

Key Nutritional Considerations

• Increased energy needs: Lactating mares need 50-70% more energy than maintenance levels.
• Protein: Should be at least 14-16% of total diet to support milk production and rapid growth.
• Calcium and phosphorus: Crucial for milk quality and foal bone development.
• Water: Increased intake is vital for milk production—provide constant access to clean, fresh water.
• Utilizing a higher fat feed or supplementing with stabilized rice bran, vegetable oils and flaxseed can provide additional calories without excessive starch.

A high-quality mare and foal feed paired with free-choice hay or pasture can help the mare maintain body condition while producing nutrient-rich milk.

Foal Nutrition: Birth to Weaning

Proper nutrition in the first few months of a foal’s life lays the foundation for a healthy, well-developed adult horse. Foals transition from relying entirely on mare’s milk to consuming solid feed over time.

“You want to target a diet that's relatively lower in starches and sugars,” Dr. Raub says. “If you’re growing an equine athlete for a long, healthy, lameness-free, productive career, try to avoid any rapid changes in growth rate where you put the foal in a stress condition, usually around weaning.”

The First Few Days

The first milk produced by the mare, called colostrum, is rich in antibodies that protect against disease. Ensuring foals nurse within the first 12-24 hours is critical for passive immunity transfer. Newborns nurse multiple times per hour, so it’s crucial to ensure the mare is producing adequate milk.

Weeks 1-8: Introducing Solid Feed

Foals begin nibbling on hay and grain within a few weeks of birth. Gradual introduction to high-quality feed supports early digestive development.

• Creep feeding: Providing a specially formulated creep feed ensures foals receive essential nutrients without competition from the mare.
• Protein: High-quality sources such as soybean meal or alfalfa support muscle and tissue growth.
• Calcium and phosphorus: Proper ratios are essential for developing strong bones.
• Digestive health: Prebiotics and probiotics can aid gut health and development.

3-6 Months: Preparing for Weaning

Left to nature, the mare will wean the foal between six and 12 months, but the industry standard is around four to six. At this point, lactation begins to drop off and the foal starts eating grain and forage. There are several schools of thought when it comes to the best way to wean foals.

One is to physically separate the mare and foal completely. The other is a gradual weaning, where the mare may be a few pens over, but still within sight. The idea is to diminish the overall stress level by separating them for shorter periods, while still learning herd dynamics.

“You might have an older horse in the pen, so younger horses have something to gravitate to as a herd,” Dr. Raub says. “There’s still some sight and visual interaction, so the theory is you’re diminishing their overall stress level.”

Exercise and Developmental Orthopedic Disease (DOD) Prevention

While genetic disposition is a key factor in DOD, nutrition and exercise can play an integral role in lowering the risk of orthopedic disease in foals and supporting healthy bone and joint development.

Types of Exercise for Growing Foals

• Turnout in large paddocks or pastures: Free movement in a safe, spacious environment allows foals to develop coordination and naturally strengthen their musculoskeletal system.
• Interaction with other foals: Social play, including running and sparring, encourages natural movement patterns that promote joint and tendon strength.
• Controlled hand-walking or ponying: In cases where turnout is limited, short, structured exercise sessions can provide needed movement without excessive strain.

By providing ample opportunity for exercise alongside proper nutrition, breeders can significantly reduce the risk of DOD and set young horses up for lifelong soundness and performance.

“It’s important to ensure these young, growing horses have adequate exercise or turnout in pasture or paddock. Are you physically exercising them at least five days per week for a given period of time? We've seen several studies where that can benefit and serve as some insurance against the development and severity of orthopedic disease,” – Dr. Raub