How to Properly Feed Before Pregnancy

Here is segment two on Breeding 101. What comes to mind when you think about feeding a pregnant mare? Do you only think that you are just feeding for two? Do you only up the regular feed and forage? Or do you do blood work to find out what your mare needs? Do you know what's lacking in your feed program?
Proper feeding takes place from conception. What your mare got in the womb is going to effect her for the rest of her life. And what your future foal gets in the womb from your mare is going to effect it's life. I like to start pre-pregnancy feeding a year before I plan on breeding. This gives ample time to do blood work, get on a vaccination schedule, and prep to make the mares uterus a more hospitable environment. The healthier the mare and her uterus the less stress pregnancy and the breeding process will be. If you are going to AI, she will probably take a whole lot easier.
To do this I like to start a breeders feed or cubes. I normally do blood work two weeks before my year of breeder feeding starts, 6 weeks after I start my breeder feeding, a month before I breed, and at most of the vaccination times during the pregnancy. This way I can evaluate whether or not my breeding program is working or if I need to supplement. I normally feed TizWhiz Broodmare along with supplementing DAC Broodmare during the year breeder feeding during the prepartum year. DAC broodmare is a great product if you want to increase fertility in both stallion and broodmare or just give that extra boost. I may switch to Platform:Mare & Foal after breeding continuing with DAC broodmare for the first 2 trimesters and then switching to DAC Orange Superior in the last trimester. During this time I may soak the pelleted feed in hot water a few hours before feeding. I've found that some mares have more sensitive teeth during pregnancy and they eat the pelleted mash better. I aim to feed small meals 3 times a day with high quality grass and alfalfa.
I never try to over feed but I keep in mind that from the 8th month on is when the growing baby is going to grow the most. Your mare will always need extra from the 8th month on, especially if you are living in the cold parts of the country where the temperature starts dropping end of August and September. During this time I might add beet pulp or soaked alfalfa cubes. I also like to keep free choice forage available during this time. It is crucial to remember that the forage is more important than the grain.

Tomorrow I will continue with Breeding 101 on Vaccinating during Pregnancy.