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Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition

   Welcome to my forum. 

Here you will find more than 6 years of questions and my answers. It is searchable and offers a great deal of information. 

Currently, I am discontinuing new questions. This may change in the future, but in the meantime, please know that It has been a true pleasure serving you. 

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And finally, look for my articles in a variety of local publications and online newsletters, as well as the Horse Journal, where I am the Contributing Nutrition Editor.  

 

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 Dr. Getty 

 



Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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pregnant mare

I have a 5 year old maiden mare who is three months pregnant. She has bad allergies and she becomes very itchy, rubbing her hair off. I currently have her on 1/2 scoop alfalfa pellets, 2 scoops preox, 2 scoops flaxseed and just started her on 2 oz of rice bran oil. Does this sond like a good diet? The oil actually seems to be helping her skin. I noticed she was dropping a little weight prob. from the stress of her itchy skin. The oil has changed her attitude and she seems more comfortable. She looks a lot better to. She also gets free choice hay and pasture, and salt.

Thanks!!

Where are you from? Pa

Re: pregnant mare

Hello Sherry,

Congratulations on your upcoming foal. You are supplementing her diet correctly and the combination of fat from flax and rice bran has helped her skin. The antioxidants in PreOx have also helped boost her immune function so she is better able to counteract the allergens that are causing the allergic response.

Alfalfa is also very important to boost the overall protein quality so she can build healthy tissue. And this is the only place I would make a change... give her more alfalfa. If hay is not available, give her 20% of her hay ration in the form of alfalfa pellets. A scoop can come in any size and it measures volume, not weight, so it's best to weigh your feed so you know how much she's getting. If she's consuming 30 lbs of hay each day, for example, give her 6 lbs of alfalfa pellets, divided between meals.

As she gets further along in her pregnancy, she'll need more calories since she'll be gaining most of her weight during the last three months. Beet pulp is a good choice along with more flaxseed meal. You'll want to give her 1/2 cup per 400 lbs of body weight. Be sure to use a commercial flax product such as Nutra Flax because flax has much too high a phosphorus content in relation to calcium. You didn't mention if you grind your own, but I generally do not recommend it because it starts to go rancid within hours, leading to damaging free radical formation.

If you need some guidance on what to expect throughout her pregnancy, during foaling, and care of the newborn foal, consider an excellent resource called The Complete Foaling Manual.

Happy Foaling!

Dr. Getty

Sherry
I have a 5 year old maiden mare who is three months pregnant. She has bad allergies and she becomes very itchy, rubbing her hair off. I currently have her on 1/2 scoop alfalfa pellets, 2 scoops preox, 2 scoops flaxseed and just started her on 2 oz of rice bran oil. Does this sond like a good diet? The oil actually seems to be helping her skin. I noticed she was dropping a little weight prob. from the stress of her itchy skin. The oil has changed her attitude and she seems more comfortable. She looks a lot better to. She also gets free choice hay and pasture, and salt.

Thanks!!

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO

Re: pregnant mare

Thanks for replying!! I buy all my products from you. I do use Nutraflax. She gets 2 scoops a day. Thanks :-)

Where are you from? Pa

Re: pregnant mare

Hi Sherry,

Glad to help! Keep up the very fine work.

Dr. Getty

Sherry
Thanks for replying!! I buy all my products from you. I do use Nutraflax. She gets 2 scoops a day. Thanks

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO