Matua bromegrass hay for mares in gestation and lactation1

Abstract

Matua bromegrass hay (Bromus willdenowii Kunth) is a high quality forage, but its value for mares during gestation and lactation is not well known. Intake, rate of passage, performance, and reproduction by gestating and lactating Quarter Horse mares fed the hay was investigated. In this experiment, 12, 2- to 12-yr-old gravid mares (mean BW = 553 kg, SD = 36) were fed Matua hay (CP = 11.5%) or alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa L.) (CP = 15.4%) for variable days prepartum (mean 59.9 d; SD = 23.5) and for 70 d postpartum. Matua and alfalfa hay were fed as the roughage portion of the diet with a grain supplement. Mares, blocked by age, expected date of foaling, and BW, were assigned randomly within blocks to treatments (six mares per treatment). Forage type did not affect intake, gestation length, birth weight, number of foals, foal weight gain, day of first postpartum ovulation, cycles per conception, or pregnancy rate at 70 d. On d 1, milk from mares fed alfalfa hay contained less (P < 0.03) CP than milk from mares fed Matua hay. Milk CP decreased (P < 0.01) in all mares over time. In a separate experiment, voluntary intake and rate of passage of Matua (CP = 15.5%), alfalfa (CP = 24.9%), and Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) (CP = 4.1%) hays were determined in nine 2-yr-old pregnant mares (mean BW = 447 kg; SD = 21). Diets were 100% forage. Timothy hay did not meet CP requirements for mares. Voluntary intake of alfalfa hay was higher (P < 0.01) than Matua hay. Intake of Timothy hay was lower (P < 0.01) than the mean of alfalfa and Matua hay. Rate of passage offorage was measured by passage of Cr-mordanted fiber. Passage rate and retention time did not differ between Matua and alfalfa hay; however, the retention times of Matua and alfalfa hays were shorter (P < 0.01) than for Timothy hay. Our results indicate that Matua hay is a forage that can be used safely for mares during gestation and early lactation and for their young foals.

Gestational length in Carthusian broodmares: effects of breeding season, foal gender, age of mare, year of parturition, parity and sire

“…Average values obtained in Carthusian mares were shorter than those obtained in different breeds such as, Thoroughbreds (Hintz et al 1992, Davies-Morel et al 2002, Kurtz Filho et al 1997, Duggan et al 2008, Sharma and Dhaliwal 2010, Freibergers (Giger et al 1997), Lipizzaners (Heidler et al 2004), Quarter Horses (Pool-Anderson et al 1994, Guay et al 2002, Duggan et al 2008), Hannoverians (Winter et al 2007), Pantaneira (Zúccari et al 2002), Andalusians (Valera et al 2006) and Arabians mares (Valera et al 2006, Cilek 2009). …”

“…Indeed, several authors failed to detect differences in GL when comparing mares of different ages (Hintz et al 1992, Kurtz Filho et al 1997, Davies-Morel et al 2002, Guay et al 2002, Pérez et al 2003, Winter et al 2007.…”

“…This variation of the type of nourishment, may be a major factor in the differences or conflicting results found among the diverse studies. Nevertheless, there is no cientific consensus in this area (Guay 2001, Guay et al 2002.…”

“…Up to now, GL data have been reported for Thoroughbreds (Hintz et alElliot et al 2009, Sharma andDhaliwal 2010), Freibergers (Giger et al 1997), Lipizzaners (Heidler et al 2004), Friesians (Sevinga et al 2004), Quarter Horses (Guay et al 2002, Duggan et al 2008, Standardbreds (Marteniuk et al 1998, Villani andRomano 2008), Criollo (Winter et al 2007), Pantaneira (Zúccari et al 2002), Andalusians (Valera et al 2006), Arabians (Demirci 1988, El-Wishi et al 1990, Valera et al 2006, Cilek 2009, Meliani et al 2011) and Andalusians of Carthusian strain (Pérez et al 2003). In all these studies, GL ranges between 330 and 350 days.…”

Pluriparidade Nas Éguas: Relação Com Características Maternas, Placentárias E Neonatais

“…Valores aproximados foram descritos para a raça Quarto de Milha, em que foi observado tempo gestacional entre 333-343 dias (14) e 339-344 dias (15) . Porém, neste estudo não foi encontrada relação entre a idade da fêmea e o tempo de gestação (p=0,52 e R=-0,13).…”