day 331 how long do they go?

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maranatha minis

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I am wanting everything to be ready for the new baby, how long do I have to get ready? I have my foaling kit ready but it is not at the barn. The baby blanket is still out in the barn, needs in where it is warm. When do I put the mare up in her stall? Lots of questions I know, but this is a maiden mare and my best horse. I know I am a worrying mother, but I am so nervous!! thanks for your help.
 
I would have the mare in the barn already, mine went in at day 297. Especially with a maiden, it could be any time now!! I just had a maiden deliver at day 324. I hope everything goes well with your girl and she should be giving you that baby any day. Good luck!

Jodi
 
I had one foal at 310 and 321, and yes, I bring them in before that so they are comfortable and adjusted to being in their stall!
 
I've had two maiden mares foal this year so far, and the first one foaled at 313 days, the second at 320. The first mare was *not* showing signs of being ready, but thank goodness she was already in a foaling stall under camera or I would never have known she was foaling at nearly midnight! It was COLD that night and the foal would have frozen I'm sure, without my help in drying and blanketing, turning on the Kalglo heater and adding lots of straw to the stall.

So I say, get ready NOW and put the mare up in the foaling stall asap!
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Good luck!!
 
I would have had her in the barn already also! I have one mare that likes to foal anywhere from 311-320 days! Most go around 340 days......give or take! I usually put them in the barn as soon as they started bagging.......maidens even sooner. Good luck with her!
 
If your mare was here - she would have been in the barn and everything ready to go at least 31 days ago!
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The two foals who have arrived here (so far) came at 314 and 318 days (one maiden mare, one very experienced mare)... do not expect all mares to show you all the signs - or even any signs. I know I repeat this a lot - but it cannot be said enough:

[SIZE=14pt]The most predictable thing about a mare is her unpredictability... [/SIZE]
 
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She has a very small bag, actually only beginning to bag up, she has been this way for a few weeks. It has turned colder here and I don't have any heaters but we have blankets and hay and shavings. Do I put shavings in the stall or hay or straw, what is best? thanks for the help!! Keep u posted!!
 
Hay or straw is best, I'd go with whatever is softest. Since I hate to clean straw-bedded stalls, and straw is so expensive and hard to get sometimes, I generally wait to put the straw down til the mare is in labor, I have a pelleted-bedding base underneath that. Some mares have neat enough stall habits that they can have straw ahead of time because they won't "waste" it.
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Put down a layer of shavings - and then the straw or hay on top. Nice clean straw is preferable - as it is hollow and thus warmer. Hay will also work - but there is nothing like soft, clean straw if you have it. DO NOT go by how your mare is or is not bagging up - some mares (like the two who have already foaled here) do not even start letting the milk down and developing a bag until they are in labour. The milk test strips obviously are no help with them!

Very few mares have read the foaling book and follow it chapter by chapter, point by point...
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Put down a layer of shavings - and then the straw or hay on top. Nice clean straw is preferable - as it is hollow and thus warmer. Hay will also work - but there is nothing like soft, clean straw if you have it. DO NOT go by how your mare is or is not bagging up - some mares (like the two who have already foaled here) do not even start letting the milk down and developing a bag until they are in labour. The milk test strips obviously are no help with them!

Very few mares have read the foaling book and follow it chapter by chapter, point by point...
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I agree 100%. Not many mares have read the foaling book. None of them are to be trusted. I always start watching them carefully under a camera a month before their due date. You can study their habits. I have discovered most mares doing the aggressive rolling routine about 4 days prior to foaling. And I find a lot of mares foal around day 320.

Don't go by their udder. I have one mare that does not get an udder until after she foals........and even then it is not a big udder, but she successfully raises foals. I have no idea where she hides her milk supply.

Good Luck. Wendy
 
Like so many here, I put my mares in the foaling stalls at day 300. That SHOULD give them time to adjust and be comfortable. I had a mare foal here Thursday night at 309 days. It was a bad delivery and if I hadnt had her on monitor & Equipage, I would have lost her too! I had checked her bag at 10 pm. Soft, lopsided, couldnt get fluids. She was in labor at 12:15 and in big trouble.

Like everyone is saying...dont trust her to give you all the right signs that she is going to foal.

I also bed with a good layer of shavings and a good layer of hay over that. I keep the hay over the shavings as long as the baby is in the stall, to keep the shavings from causing a problem.

Good luck! I'm sure everything will go fine.

As far as how long will she carry? As long as she wants to!
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Viki
 
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