Advise please on older broodmare

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Taz

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Hi,
I just adopted a 21 yr old mare from a local rescue, don't even have her yet. Could some of you wonderful experienced people help me with a couple things? I don't know definitely that she's in foal but it's being assumed since she's been running with the same stallion and had many foals for a number of years. I'll be trying to get a yes or no answer after she moves in.

Do older mares have any more problems foaling? Anything I should watch for?

Is she OK for full shots or should I stay with just rabies and tetanus until after foaling?

I read that they shouldn't be wormed in the last month. I don't think that's where she would be from looking at her but it's unknown so I want to be careful. She was wormed 6 weeks ago but had no care at all for a number of years before that.

Thanks so much for the help
 
I would wait on the vaccinations. see how far along she is first. if she has foaled without complications her age probably will not be an issue, but any foaling could go wrong. i got a 21 year old mare several years ago and she was one of the nicest horses i have ever owned. she took to driving like she had done it her whole life.
 
Hi Taz, there are always risks associated with birth and pregnancy in any mare. Id tend to be more worried with maiden mares but considering there is no history with previous pregnancies for this rescue mare, Id still tred with caution.

When you get her can you post a couple of pics ?

I cant answer the vaccination questions as I dont Vacc for rabies here.

Cheers Ryan
 
First, Kuddos for rescuing! 21 years isn't too old for foaling out if she's done it before. I'm like Ryan. I worry more about maiden mares. I also don't vaccinate for rabies. If she's not in her last trimester, giving her a regular 5-way (which includes tetanus), shouldn't be a problem. We don't do pneumabort shots anymore either because we had too many abort within a day or two of receiving it.
 
Ok, I picked them, yes them I have "dad" too, up yesterday. That was the first time I've met them. Looking at her I thought fat old broodmare belly not in foal. After I got her home the rescue told me it was believed she was in foal for an April foal. They thought she caught on her foal heat, last years foal was born on mother's day, but you have to also know they were out together 24/7 on a property without anyone living there and no one watching them so ????? She caught on her foal heat the year before going on foaling dates. Still not thinking preagnant with the way she looks. Later in the afternoon she spent about 15 min rubbing her bum hard on the fence, walking away flipping her head and swishing her tail before relaxing and going back to eating. Hmm. This morning she was eating then started swishing her tail and went and rolled, flipped over 6 times, stood up blew out and went back to eating. Hmm. She has 0 udder. So for now I'm trying to get a stall up for her and watching and checking her over every day.

In case anyone is wondering, dad is being gelded on Tues, they are best friends and then they can stay together.

The first two pictures are Tilly ( AF Tranquila) the third is Spirit (Strongs Chiantis Spirit) They are both pure falabella.IMG_20200325_192254.jpg IMG_20200325_192326.jpg image.jpg
Her belly does look bigger from behind when you see her in person but not huge.
 
I got a mare from a sale last year. Past unknown. She was very round and we suspected she was in foal. Had ultrasound done and she was not. Just plump. Since you know for sure yours was with a stallion, I think you're smart to stay alert. They are handsome and appear to have nice manners!
 
They are both super sweet and have lovely manners. You can tell they were treated well and cared for before the past 5 years. They are both fat and he has foundered and his feet are terrible but that can all be fixed. :)
 
They are both lovely :)

Until she has dropped some of her winter coat , I would be treating her as if she is pregnant.

Taz, if I can ever pass on advice to you for dealing with founder and Laminitis , All I can say is be the "Grass Police" Once a horse has foundered , they will always be prone to it. I have one that wears a grazing muzzle and one that is not allowed on grass at all. Im not sure whats available to you where you are, but if you are planning grazing time, I would strongly recommend something like "Founderguard" . If I can hlp with any otehr info on it, send me a PM happy to help.
 
Thanks Ryan, you're wonderful. I'll take you up on that when I get a chance to breath again in a bit :)

I'm going to go with she's in foal for April/May until I know otherwise. It's the safest thing and I might have felt something in there this morning. Could just be wishful thinking, it would be so much fun to have a baby...
 
Well, Tilly might be thinking about starting a milk bar. Nothing to see but but her teats were thicker for a few days and this morning a little bigger and softer. Her belly looks rounder too. Nothing to show in a picture but crossing my fingers.

Her last two foals were born May 12, 2019 and June 21, 2018 so if she caught the same time and follows the same pattern it could be soon....or not at all and it's my imagination. Haha, time will tell.

I had to order a new camera which isn't here yet so I hope she's read the book and I have a few more weeks ;)
 
When she's eating grain, have your hands up along her side(s) to feel for movement. If she's as far along as you suspect, you definitely should feel something.
 
I've decided that yes, she's in foal. I have felt something a couple of times but very soft, I'd really like a big kick...
Her udder is definitely doing something, again just a small change but there every morning now.
Her belly has gotten wider up higher not just where it's hanging down.

I have finally tracked down an owner from when she was younger, she can hopefully tell me if she has a pattern to watch for. Breeding date is a guess by someone I don't trust to know it but I won't disregard it so I'm officially watching and stressing :eek:
 
If there's not a major kick and her udder isn't full yet, you have time... Once things are full and you get liquid, you can both examine the stickiness and even TEST with a milk test kit.
 
Her udder isn't even close to full but she had a hard kick in the paddock today. She was lying down sleeping, startled awake and turned around and smacked her belly with her nose. Poor girl, I'm pretty sure she still has a while to go.
 
Tilly's moving along slowly. She had hard edema in front of her udder when I got her, it softened two days ago and is moving back tonight. Teats still a little bigger each day, not going down at night. Her tail swishes most of the day with the odd rush to rub her bum on something or roll.

I heard back from a previous owner. Her routine is to have an udder for about two weeks then her back end turns to jello for two days then she foals fast and easy without any help. Hoping she follows that again this time.

The camera has been shipped and is supposed to be here tomorrow, with luck I ordered the right one and it'll be up and running for tomorrow night so I can spy on her.

I'm slowly losing my mind worrying about everything that can go wrong, I don't know how some of you do this every year. :)
 
Have any of you ever seen a horse do this? I've used mirroring with horses that are having problems to help them connect and relax but never seen a horse do anything like this before. Tilly was standing and fussing yesterday, must have been more upset than she looked. Spirit came over and stood exactly beside her but about 10 feet away. He imitated her tail swishing, head shaking and shifting weight side to side then he would yawn(a sign of relaxing) every time she stood still. It went on for about 1/2 hour then she blew, shook and went off to eat. He stayed next to her for a while more then wandered off to do his thing when she stayed settled. What an amazing little guy! I've been told he throws his temperament to his foals, here's hoping.

Tilly started to relax her back end last night but no more changes to her udder yet. The camera came but I had to order the right connectors for my cables, I didn't know there were different ones now, sigh. Shipping today so fingers crossed here tomorrow.

Some of the horses here have a bit of a snotty nose, normal spring time bug. Should I worry about Tilly and the foal at all if she gets it?
 
Horses are fascinating... What does the snot look like? If it's thick yellow stuff? I would pull your mare away. If it's just clear, I wouldn't worry yet...just keep an eye on it.

Once your camera is up and running, here is a hint to pass on......A very successful, long time breeder told me this: While on Foal Watch at night, Drink a full glass of water before going to bed. In 2 hours you will wake up needing to go to the bathroom and can check the monitor. Drink another glass....This will make sure you wake up regularly during the night......She was RIGHT!
 

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