Feeding ‘Marey Mares’: What to Feed and Avoid for Behaviourally Challenging Mares
Podcast # 26
Join Dr. Nerida as she tackles a listener question about feeding "marey mares" - those behaviourally expressive, sensitive, sometimes moody, often brilliant mares. This Happy Horse Nutrition episode explores why mare behaviour issues are less commonly about specific ingredients, and almost always about gut health, feeding management and pain.
What You'll Learn:
Why hindgut health is THE most important nutrition factor in mare behaviour
The gut-brain axis: how microbes produce dopamine and B vitamins that directly affect temperament
Why feeding hay before riding is non-negotiable for sensitive mares
The three things mares MUST have for good mental health
How mycotoxin contamination (especially zearalenone in corn) can wreak havoc on hormones
Why ruling out pain (hooves, reproductive organs, saddle fit) must come FIRST before changing diet
The proper way to test individual ingredients if you suspect feed sensitivities; and
How your own energy might be mirroring back through your mare's behaviour
Dr. Nerida shares how her own horses transformed from anxious and fractious at feed time to calm and peaceful after major life changes. She also reveals that in 25 years of working with thousands of horses, she can only recall three distinct cases of true alfalfa sensitivity and one soybean sensitivity - making these reactions far more uncommon than we might be led to believe.
This episode is perfect for mare owners struggling with grouchy, anxious, or ‘hormonally expressive behaviour’. Whether you're dealing with a mare who pins her ears at grooming time or one who's genuinely difficult to handle, this episode gives you a systematic framework to identify and solve the real underlying issues - starting with a pain assessment, then gut health, then management, and only lastly, individual ingredients.
Topics Covered: Mare behaviour, equine gut health, gut-brain axis, hindgut microbiome, gastric ulcers, feeding before riding, mycotoxin testing, zearalenone, soybean sensitivity, alfalfa reactions, salicylate sensitivity, forage diversity, dopamine production, vitamin B1, horse psychology, stable management, saddle fit, pain assessment
Discover and download the MyHappy.Horse app: https://www.myhappy.horse
And ask your nutrition questions 24/7 with Dr Nerida AI: https://www.myhappy.horse/nerida-ai
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