SETTLING YOUR BROODMARE BAND

Our mares are being brought into the house yard to supplement their intake of green feed during this 6 year drought. 

They come in to get their supplementary feed (minerals added).  Every morning, they are lined up at the gate and woe betide anyone who goes through before the boss mare!

They are doing a great job of mowing the lawn and bless their little hearts, are taking care not to eat the plants in the garden.  I must say that horses are much better as lawn mowers than cattle.  Cattle just eat everything.

New yards are being erected ready for the breeding season and others are being either upgraded or maintained.

DROUGHT MEASURES

For all of those in Oz who are still battling drought, then make sure your mares green feed intake is sufficient.    

Vitamin A is needed for your mare to hold to service and if she is foaling it is needed for the foal to live.  If the mare is deficient in Vitamin A at foaling time, then the foal may not live past 9 days. 

It is also a good idea to feed 500 mls of cider vinegar to your horses.  For stallions you need to feed permanently especially if they are given bore water all the time. It helps eliminate kidney stones. Feed to your mares in the last months of pregnancy, as it makes the birth easier.

Also remember, that when it rains, the first green feed does not deliver the minerals for at least six weeks.  It is often called a green drought. Rather funny really, there you have lovely green paddocks with your stock sourcing it as fast as they can and they look rather haggard or at least as bad as they looked before.  So don't forget to keep the minerals up to them.