Nutrition

The objective of the breeding phase is to raise foals - i.e. future yearlings - that meet specific goals depending on the sport they are aimed at: whether it is horse racing, horse riding, breeding, leisure etc. In all disciplines, it is now acknowledged that the improvement of horses’ performance is linked to the accuracy of genetic selection: speed, endurance, power, etc. The choice of cross breeding is also crucial in this respect. In order to make the most of horses’ genetic potential, it is essential to master the following phases: the stallion’s reproduction period, the gestation, the mare’s lactation and the foal’s growth and development.

The challenge then is to master specific nutritional levels in order to provide horses with balanced rations. Keeping this fact in mind, the following key stages must be the object of special follow up and support: foaling, transfer of immunity, weaning, stallion’s reproduction, end of gestation and lactation.

PASKACHEVAL expertise in precision feeding and in livestock issues has enabled our specialists to write the following articles. Those articles deal with different issues related to horses’ nutrition in breeding context.