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Essay on Foaling Report

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It is said that the horse is the most insufficient domestic animal at breeding and reproducing. This is largely because breeders have manipulated the gestation periods of the mare so that they are out-of-season breeders. The gestation length of a mare is in between 335 and 340 days. This leaves little time in the year to successfully rebreed a mare after foaling. Because of this, there needs to be considerable time taken to effectively care for the pregnant or open mare. Nutrition is an early factor in the gestation of the mare, this is then followed by the necessary vaccinations and deworming programs that should be routinely scheduled. The preparations of the stall and the mare are easy to ready for foaling, most can be done well ahead …show more content…

The third trimester is the period of the greatest amount of growth in the fetus, 60 to 65 percent of the growth occurs during this time (Blanchard et al., 2003). For this reason in the last three months of gestation the crude protein content of the total ration should be increased to around nine to ten percent (Blanchard et al., 2003). Another factor that affects the horses ability to attain proper nutrition is the dental health of the mare. The horse’s teeth should be examined and or floated every six to twelve months to ensure proper chewing, which in return helps maintain the optimal body condition (Blanchard et al., 2003). Lastly, fescue grass needs to be completely avoided in the diet of the pregnant mare. The fungus found in fescue causes the placenta to thicken and become unusually tough. It can cause a prolonged gestation date, abortion and or dead or weak foals and potentially higher prenatal foal mortality (Reed et al., 2004) Second to nutrition of the mare are vaccinations and deworming programs. Each should be specific to the needs of the farm and even more so, to that of the gestation period of the mare. The point of vaccinating and deworming the mares is to protect the mares from any infectious diseases or parasites that can adversely alter the fetus and, in some cases, cause abortion. It is suggested in many

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