Timothy Grass?

ChieflaStables · 05-06-2008, 04:47 PM

Ok so my mini mare, I just found out is definitely pregnant, shes due approx. in July and the vet told me from now on to keep her off the grass (assuming it's timothy, b/c thats what most people grow around here) I dont know if it's fescue though b/c we've only lived here 8 months and we havnt done anything to the fields. She doesnt have teeth on the top in front so she chews her grass, and spits most of it back out (weird i know)
but cleans her feed bowl out every morn/night. But anyways, I dont know if I should take her off the grass to be safe. I dont have a dry pasture though, I do have stalls, but i'd hate to keep her stalled for 2 more months.. I can buy her hay and seperate her and hope she eats the hay and not the grass, but I dont know what all timothy can do to her, other than dry her up and she wont produce milk... Your opinions??

kyryah · 05-06-2008, 04:57 PM

I have never heard of a horse needing to be kept off timothy. Usually it is fescue that causes problems.

Kristina

Haas Horse Farm · 05-06-2008, 05:03 PM

Fescue is the problem not timothy. I dry lot all my mares for the last 90 days of pregnancy that is to keep them from getting the endophyte that is found in the fescue grass.

Have you discussed feeding options with the vet due to her not having teeth in the front?

ChieflaStables · 05-07-2008, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haas Horse Farm

Fescue is the problem not timothy. I dry lot all my mares for the last 90 days of pregnancy that is to keep them from getting the endophyte that is found in the fescue grass.

Have you discussed feeding options with the vet due to her not having teeth in the front?

When we first brought her home we had to keep her seperate from the other horses so I kept her in the round pen, but it has grass in it as well. & grass is growing like mad out here, so it would be hard to keep out of there. No I didn't really talk to my vet about much, truthfuly I dont care from him, & he isn't much of a people person, so he's hard to talk to. Since we just moved here, I have to keep looking for a vet, but deal with him for now .. sorry I meant fescue, but was thinking about timothy, b/c thats what my hay guy is bringing me. my bad my bad! :-)

Appylvr · 05-07-2008, 10:07 AM

I would definately keep her stalled with bought hay... if she has no upper teeth and is spitting her food out... maybe you should switch her to soaked pellets?

How old is she? I had to switch my Appy mare to soaked pellets when she was about 26 years old because her teeth were worn down level with her gums. She was spitting out all her hay and loosing a bunch of weight. After that she was fine.

ChieflaStables · 05-08-2008, 06:42 AM

She is approx 15-20 years old, we were told 15 and my vet said it's hard to tell b/c of her worn down teeth and she could be 15-20. Just any pelleted feed? and soak it? so stall her for the next 2 months? I would hate to do that, but is it really have to be done? even not knowing what kinda grass we have?

Appylvr · 05-08-2008, 01:28 PM

Have you noticed a weight loss in your mare? Maybe her teeth aren't bad enough yet that she needs the pellets.

My mare was loosing weight big time and looked awful. We saw her spitting out her hay, it was all chewed and balled up... so we talked to our vet. She looked at her teeth and was like "She doesn't need to be floated. She needs more teeth!"

So she recommended the soaked pellets. I steer clear of Alfalfa - this Appy mare colicked a few times and once we got rid of the Alfalfa she never did again. Plus my other mare is foundered, so it's a big no no at my place.

We fed her the 100% Orchard pellets and she loved them. They're a bit expensive... so there is also the bermuda and bermuda/alfalfa pellets. She got those 2x daily plus 2x daily nutrena senior. I don't know how big my scoop is, so I can't tell you the weights. I just played around with it for a bit until I saw what kept her at a good weight.

This is what my mare's teeth looked like.

This is what she looked like when I had to put her down last year. The vet was impressed with how good she looked for being 28.

Appylvr · 05-08-2008, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChieflaStables

She is approx 15-20 years old, we were told 15 and my vet said it's hard to tell b/c of her worn down teeth and she could be 15-20. Just any pelleted feed? and soak it? so stall her for the next 2 months? I would hate to do that, but is it really have to be done? even not knowing what kinda grass we have?

I don't know anything about the fescue and what it does to pregnant mares so I can't answer that. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable members will see and answer.

Oh, I forgot to mention in the other post... with the pellets... I just filled the water in the bucket up to just above the level of the pellets. By the time I fed everyone and she finished her senior feed the pellets were soft enough for her to eat.

ChieflaStables · 05-08-2008, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Appylvr

Have you noticed a weight loss in your mare? Maybe her teeth aren't bad enough yet that she needs the pellets.

My mare was loosing weight big time and looked awful. We saw her spitting out her hay, it was all chewed and balled up... so we talked to our vet. She looked at her teeth and was like "She doesn't need to be floated. She needs more teeth!"

So she recommended the soaked pellets. I steer clear of Alfalfa - this Appy mare colicked a few times and once we got rid of the Alfalfa she never did again. Plus my other mare is foundered, so it's a big no no at my place.

We fed her the 100% Orchard pellets and she loved them. They're a bit expensive... so there is also the bermuda and bermuda/alfalfa pellets. She got those 2x daily plus 2x daily nutrena senior. I don't know how big my scoop is, so I can't tell you the weights. I just played around with it for a bit until I saw what kept her at a good weight.

This is what my mare's teeth looked like.

This is what she looked like when I had to put her down last year. The vet was impressed with how good she looked for being 28.

Wow yeah, my mini her top teeth look just like those in that picture, but her bottom are still there, she chews her grass up and spits it out too! I got her a month ago and she was really tiny (skinny) not like WAYY under weight, but underweight so since I've had her, shes gotten a big belly on her b/c of the foal, but still looks kinda thin other than that, so maybe I'll start doing that with the pellets. Shes getting 4 big hand fulls of sweet feed 2 x's a day right now, is it only those certain types of pellets that i can soak to gain the weight on her, or could the sweet feed do it as well, since shes so small.. here I'll add a picture.

Appylvr · 05-08-2008, 06:44 PM

Wow... she looks really thin for being due in less than 2 months. I would definately start her on the pellets. I think any kind would do. Like I said I fed the Orchard pellets, but there's also Bermuda/Alfalfa blend.

I wouldn't up the sweet feed... mini's are prone to founder. Maybe you could start her on a good senior? I feed Nutrena Senior with no molasses. That might be good because of the founder problem with minis.

05-06-2008, 04:47 PM	#1
ChieflaStables Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 332	Timothy Grass? Ok so my mini mare, I just found out is definitely pregnant, shes due approx. in July and the vet told me from now on to keep her off the grass (assuming it's timothy, b/c thats what most people grow around here) I dont know if it's fescue though b/c we've only lived here 8 months and we havnt done anything to the fields. She doesnt have teeth on the top in front so she chews her grass, and spits most of it back out (weird i know) but cleans her feed bowl out every morn/night. But anyways, I dont know if I should take her off the grass to be safe. I dont have a dry pasture though, I do have stalls, but i'd hate to keep her stalled for 2 more months.. I can buy her hay and seperate her and hope she eats the hay and not the grass, but I dont know what all timothy can do to her, other than dry her up and she wont produce milk... Your opinions?? Last edited by ChieflaStables : 05-07-2008 at 04:19 AM. Reason: wrong grass! my bad!

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05-06-2008, 04:57 PM	#2
kyryah Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Harrietta, MI Posts: 2,636	I have never heard of a horse needing to be kept off timothy. Usually it is fescue that causes problems. Kristina

05-06-2008, 05:03 PM	#3
Haas Horse Farm Senior Member+ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dixon, MO Posts: 7,427	Fescue is the problem not timothy. I dry lot all my mares for the last 90 days of pregnancy that is to keep them from getting the endophyte that is found in the fescue grass. Have you discussed feeding options with the vet due to her not having teeth in the front?

05-07-2008, 10:07 AM	#5
Appylvr Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: California Posts: 5,791	I would definately keep her stalled with bought hay... if she has no upper teeth and is spitting her food out... maybe you should switch her to soaked pellets? How old is she? I had to switch my Appy mare to soaked pellets when she was about 26 years old because her teeth were worn down level with her gums. She was spitting out all her hay and loosing a bunch of weight. After that she was fine.

05-08-2008, 06:42 AM	#6
ChieflaStables Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 332	She is approx 15-20 years old, we were told 15 and my vet said it's hard to tell b/c of her worn down teeth and she could be 15-20. Just any pelleted feed? and soak it? so stall her for the next 2 months? I would hate to do that, but is it really have to be done? even not knowing what kinda grass we have?

05-08-2008, 01:28 PM	#7
Appylvr Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: California Posts: 5,791	Have you noticed a weight loss in your mare? Maybe her teeth aren't bad enough yet that she needs the pellets. My mare was loosing weight big time and looked awful. We saw her spitting out her hay, it was all chewed and balled up... so we talked to our vet. She looked at her teeth and was like "She doesn't need to be floated. She needs more teeth!" So she recommended the soaked pellets. I steer clear of Alfalfa - this Appy mare colicked a few times and once we got rid of the Alfalfa she never did again. Plus my other mare is foundered, so it's a big no no at my place. We fed her the 100% Orchard pellets and she loved them. They're a bit expensive... so there is also the bermuda and bermuda/alfalfa pellets. She got those 2x daily plus 2x daily nutrena senior. I don't know how big my scoop is, so I can't tell you the weights. I just played around with it for a bit until I saw what kept her at a good weight. This is what my mare's teeth looked like. This is what she looked like when I had to put her down last year. The vet was impressed with how good she looked for being 28.

05-08-2008, 06:44 PM	#10
Appylvr Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: California Posts: 5,791	Wow... she looks really thin for being due in less than 2 months. I would definately start her on the pellets. I think any kind would do. Like I said I fed the Orchard pellets, but there's also Bermuda/Alfalfa blend. I wouldn't up the sweet feed... mini's are prone to founder. Maybe you could start her on a good senior? I feed Nutrena Senior with no molasses. That might be good because of the founder problem with minis.