Did you know that….
- The lungs are the last organ to develop before birth?
- Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) is crucial for healthy lung development, including lung tissue growth, collagen formation, and protecting against oxidative damage and immune function?
- That whilst adult horses can make Vitamin C, foals cannot until 6-12 months of age and rely on the mare’s milk for their only source?
- That mares on the same diet have different plasma and milk vitamin C concentrations?
- That foals concentrate the Vitamin C from the mare’s milk around 5 times?
Bottom line
Foals will benefit from Mare’s being supplemented with Vitamin C throughout gestation and certainly in the last trimester!
Marlin, D. J., and W. R. Allen. “Ascorbic acid status in pony mares and young pony foals.” Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 76 (2019): 108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2019.03.158
