weaning

Question
QUESTION: Hi There! I'm relatively new to the pony thing , I have a miniature class B sized 6yr old pony which had a male colt born June 11th 2009 . The mare had been foundered the year before on oats,and the vet limited her to just a hand full a day. She was in good shape before she had the colt with about 3 inches thick at top of neck at the point where the main grows. My concern is that she has lost weight and the neck in that area is considerably thiner . What could I do to help her recover the body weight  and get in shape to have another colt next June?

ANSWER: Whitetail,

What are you feeding her as forage?  She needs access to good grazing supplemented with hay if needed.  She's got a foal also draining her because she's lactating so her energy requirements are a lot higher.  She can't handle the carbs in grains, but she can get a high fiber/high fat diet.  The fat will provide the calories she needs.  There are a number of low carb/high fiber/high fat feeds on the market now.  Most of them are beet pulp based and horses/ponies that are prone to founder, are most likely insulin resistant, do well on the beet pulp& fat feeds.  Insulin resistant animals are kind of like human diabetics.  Humans have to be very careful to avoid sugars, which are what carbohydrates are made up of.  Horses have to watch the carbs.  This isn't a new condition, we've just learned to recognize it as a real condition that can be very successfully managed with diet.  Nutrena, Purina, Pennfield, Clue Seal , all have the kind of feed you need for her.  A lot of mares milk very heavily and lose a lot of condition with a new baby.  I increased my endurance mare's feed 50% over what she ate when she was competing hard and she looked fabulous throughout her pregnancy and while she was nursing her filly.  Milking puts a pretty good strain on the animal.  You don't see fat dairy cows and those cows are fed every time they are milked as well as having either pasture and/or hay too.  It's expensive to feed a dairy cow.  

So get some appropriate feed for her, give her all the good hay she'll eat, and I do mean good hay and just monitor her.  When you wean the foal you'll need to cut back, immediately, her intake of concentrate (feed) to help dry her up.  My horses/ponies get soaked alfalfa cubes and beet pulp with their feed at night so I just left out most of the grain when I weaned Dream.  Keeping a brood mare/pony in condition is kind of like walking a tightrope.  To do it right you need to monitor them all the time.  The mare's energy requirements aren't much above normal until the last 3 mos. of the pregnancy when the foal really grows and the mare has to provide the raw materials for that growth.  Having been foundered already and she's only 6 is not good.  I assume she's recovered from the foundering and didn't wind up with signficant hoof damage.  But you don't want to get her fat.  That would be a bad thing for her.  I weigh all my feeds, keep a schedule on my computer and update it whenever anything in a horse's diet changes and reprint it and post it in the feed room.  Check her at least once a week, I do every 2-3 days, by feeling the mare.  I check to see that the ribs are covered with a layer of tissue thick enough that you don't see the ribs unless the animal takes a deep breath. Then you see a faint outline of them.  I check the neck to see if it is getting cresty.  The hip bones shouldn't stick out and her but should be rounded, not angular.  If I feed the girl is getting a little pudgy I cut back the concentrate amount. I leave the beet pulp/hay cubes the same just reduce the amount of feed that's mixed in.  

I've sort of rambled but I wanted to give you enough information to be able to manage your little momma intelligently.  

Lyn

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi There Lyn, Thanks for a speedy reply ! Sounds like a good plan . She is on open pasture at least 8 hours a day , and gets a handfull of oats morning and night . I remember my dad saying to increase oats double what I was giving her whan she's pregnant , but thats what foundered her . The vet had me soaking her hoofs in epsom salts when she foundered and her hoofs look good now ,and ferrier trims her . She is only 38" tall (B class) could you tell me how much to feed her of the Purina feed and what it is called? I have one of those dealers in town , but I dont think he has this knowledge of horses ? Also , how long should I let the colt nurse befor weaning,6 months?

Answer
Whitetail,

I went to the Purina site and was a little disappointed because I didn't find exactly what I was looking for.  They do have a product, WellSolve LS, that is high fiber, low starch/low sugar feed.  They don't have one like I use from Pennfield that is low starch/high fiber/high fat.  The WellSolve is a shy on calories that your little mare needs right now.  To use the WellSolve LS you'll need to add some extra fat to it to meet the calorie requirements.  You will need to supplement it with Athlete for the fat value.  You'll need to be careful with the Athlete, start her on it with a little at a time, increasing it a little every couple of days.  She will probably need  no more than maybe a half a cub along with the WellSolve.   She can probably be worked up to about 1/2 lb. of that a couple of times a day. Start with a handful and gradually increase it until you get to the 1/2 lb. mark.  Then monitor her closely after that.  If the feed dealer doesn't stock the feeds you'll have to get him to order them for you.  

As far as weaning goes, let the baby stay with mom at least 6 mos.  I left my filly with her mom until she was nearly 8 mos. old.  As soon as he starts showing an interest in mom's food it's time to give him his own.  I would take an extra bucket out for the first few days and just scooped some of mom's foot into a bucket for baby. A handful or 2.  Once they clean that up then they can get that much on their own, and let mom keep her feed. At that point he could be changed over to Omolene Complete 300 (I think, read the label). Just make sure mom can't get to his feed and vice versa.  My horses all get tied up at mealtime and Dream started getting tied when she was about 2 months old. If you are putting them in stalls for meals then try to put them in different stalls but they need to be side-by-side.  
They may need to be worked up to this over a period of week or so.  It's a lot easier if they can see each other and will settle in and be quiet.

Hope this helps.

Lyn