Breeding & Foal Raising Help?

[Rose Hollow]

I have been riding since I was able to walk, but the second I came across the miniature horse breed I was mesmerized.

Just recently we traveled to a miniature farm near us and I absolutely fell in love with a little blue-eyed paint mare- an in foal one at that!

While I have a lifetime experience of working with horses, I have none with taking care of a pregnant broodmare, nor delivering a foal or raising one.

The closest we came to that was buying a weanling quarter horse, so I'm a bit lost as you can imagine!

I would love some help being walked through the process, and any books on the subject would be well appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[mrsj]

Hi and welcome! I am no expert but Blessed are the Broodmares (sorry forgotten the author)is a great one to start off with, some people here have good stuff on their websites too.

 

[Lindi-loo]

Welcome to the world of mini's

Im no expert either sorry..iv only had 2 foals myself so will leave that to the more experianced but like you i also bought a mare in foal as a lifetime (wife) companion for my mini stallion soon to be gelding

which iv had from a foal who is now 17..theyr alot of fun but very addictive Im no longer allowed to browse the miniature pony sales or classified adds

out of bounds just incase i might just see a tiny little face that i cant resist to take home

..you'v come to the right place to find out all you need to know about looking after your mare while pregnant through the birth and beond..there are some lovely people only to willing to share theyr knowledge and own experiances as i found out first hand..best of luck with your new pony and CONGRATULATIONS

 

[targetsmom]

First, congrats on your first mini. Do you have good breeding dates on the mare so you know when she is due? Do you have other horses now? If you have other horses then you will need to make sure that the pregnant mare does not get Rhino while she is pregnant (well, late in pregnancy anyway). Talk to your vet about Pneumabort shots at 5, 7 and 9 months of pregnancy. What I would strongly suggest is for you to find someone who is willing to foal the mare out for you. Perhaps the breeder where you are getting her? By all means, read the book, watch mares on Mare Stare and learn as much as you can, but there are still lots of things that can go wrong. You really should have the mare on camera when she is due and also have some sort of monitor on her that will let you know when she goes down to foal. Plus you need to watch her constantly because they can be very sneaky, with deadly results.

 

[cassie]

the complete book of foaling is the best!!

also alot of the good miniature horse books mention breeding and raising

welcome and hope you learn heaps

I know I have I'm only new to the breeding thing aswell, my mare Suzie is on marestare you can take a peek if you like her thread on here is mare ready to foal...

http://www.marestare.com/fcam.php?alias=kingspark

here is the link... we think she still has about two weeks to go (I don't have any dates at all to go off) but she is progressing steadily n we have alot of fun watching her and the other mares at the moment!! I learn heaps from watching all the different mares foal!

so have you bought the mare? if so pics are a must

Welcome to LB there are alot of lovely people on here how are more then willing to answer any questions you may have

 

[lucky lodge]

Hi and welcome, I to are a first time breeder and have a mare ready to foal in about 4 wks so excited but crapting my self as well....there are lots of people on here that will guide you in the right way.....good luck with your new horse... pictures would be good we all like pictures...........