Hello from Wisconsin!! Oh boy will I have questions!! :)

[Whispering_Pines]

Hello Everyone-

My name is Val and I bought my first mini horse this summer, her name is Ginny. I bought her to really just be a part of our family, she visits schools and nursing homes, and really just makes everyone around her happy! We bought her knowing she possibly was pregnant. We had her vet checked in August, and it took them a while to conclude she was pregnant, apparently her hormone levels were a bit off. She was with the stallion the first week of May. She is 5 years old and in good health. So here are my questions...she lives on our property we have 2 miles away, has a barn that she is locked in at night with her companions, 2 goats. We visit there many times throughout the day. My big concern is what am I going to do when it comes time for her to foal? I am willing to put a remote camera in there to monitor her, I would put phone/internet service there to do that. Any suggestions, and is it even possible to view her remotely 2 miles away. How does mare stare work/cost? I would stay there with her but, Wisconsin is still pretty cold in March. I currently am giving her 1 pad of grass hay per day, and a cup of grain morning and night with mare and foal supplement in it. She looks good to me yet, except she resembles a yak! I can feel her ribs (they are not hugely prominent) under her hair. OHH...She does have a vet, but I do live out in the country, and the vet will not be here for at least and hour if problems arise...

Any suggestions, things I should be doing, that I'm not? Any other supplements I should be giving, she is up to date on worming, and her vaccinations...

 

[REO]

Welcome to the forum!!! And to minis!

Read up on everything you can about foaling. Has she had foals before? Put together a foaling kit. I saddly read here where many people check their mares once every 30 mins to find a foal dead, drowned in the sac. Yes some mini foals do get out of the sac if you're not there not not all do. The saddest thing is to find a dead baby that would have made it if someone had been there. And some mares need help giving birth, even experienced mares. Is there any way you can make a little pen/ shed at your house to bring her to when she gets close? Births are fast and can happen in only 3-5 minutes. If you're alerted and drive 2 miles, maybe in snow, it might happen too fast for you to catch. My heart lies in foaling out mares, my passion! So forgive me, I only want to give you food for thought. I can tell you love your girl very much and are setting things up as best you can! We'll all be here to talk to as her time gets closer! She's a doll

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Hallo and welcome. I don't think you are giving enough feed- or hay- for your mares growing requirements. Unless she is a real piggy I would be offering free choice grass hay to her through out her pregnancy. I agree with Reo you need to have her where you can see her when she foals- I camp out with my mares and it is cold, I agree, but it is part of the bargain. I have a small trailer that I pretty much live in during foaling, that way I get no nasty surprises. At the very least you need to make arrangements for the goats to be away from her for the last few months- horses and goats do not speak the same language and she probably just views them as a bit of a nuisance anyway, so I doubt she will worry too much. Having them penned together at night will not work if she is foaling. Ideally it will be better for you to move in with her than to move her to your place, but I do know that this might not be possible as you obviously have family commitments! Do you know what she is in foal to- looks like the mare is varnish appy, you could get a very "bright" foal!!

 

[targetsmom]

Welcome to the forum! It is great what you are doing with your new mini. As for her pregnancy status, in your situation I would strongly urge you to find a place that could foal her out for you. There are commercial farms that do this. Or else put a stall somewhere on your property (garage??) so you can get to her in seconds. Cameras and Mare Stare, plus a buzzer or Equipage to let you know when she goes down (IF she does).... So it is probably less expensive in the long run to send her out somewhere that will have all these things. I speak from experience after many catastrophes and dead foals. In one case, I checked the mare and she was fine, eating, showing no signs of foaling and 15 minutes later there was a dead foal in the stall.

By all means, use the Mare Stare watchers/chat forum here on Lil Beginnings where you can post photos as your mare progresses, read other experiences and ask lots of questions! Plus have eyes watching your mare so you can get some sleep!

If your vet is not 100% sure that she is pregnant I would also urge you to use a Wee Foal 120 urine pregnancy test on her (Google it). They cost about $35 and you do it yourself. I have found this test (for 120 days of more into the pregnancy) to be accurate but I don't trust the one for early pregnancy any more. I used one of these last month to confirm a pregnancy on a mare that my vet ultrasounded at about 18 days and said was pregnant but I wanted to check.

 

[Whispering_Pines]

Thank you Ladies, I am very excited to have found this forum! I spent HOURS last night on this sight reading, looking at videos....

I don't think you are giving enough feed- or hay- for your mares growing requirements@

I can up her grass hay, she is a GREAT eater..

I will add som xtra for her starting today, but when I check beneath all her hair, I do not feel her ribs.

This is her first foal, she is bred to a 27" in tall Pinto with blue eyes. She is 30" tall.

At the very least you need to make arrangements for the goats to be away from her for the last few months- horses and goats do not speak the same language and she probably just views them as a bit of a nuisance anyway...

I will take picture of our arrangments tonight and her...we do have it set up to gate off her portion of the barn for a foaling area that the two goats do not have access too, I don't think she will miss them as much as my little goat will miss her, they are inseperatable...LOL

Wee Foal 120 urine pregnancy test .....

I have looked in this, but simply have not done it yet, I believe I have felt the foal kick this past two weeks, it is generally when she is eating and located right in front of her udders.

We have talked so much about what we are going to do when she gets closer to foaling, I am tempted to move in with her during the night, I just need a heat source! LOL We also have a large camper that we can sleep there at night and take turns being with her. I honestly don't have any room for her at our home, so I would need to go to her. I have watched many many videos on foaling, do any of you have any suggestions on reading material that would be helpful.

I will try to get some up to date pictures of her today, and her YAK like appearance!!

Can someone explain Mare Stare to me and what equipment I need/cost ect? Thanks!

Val

 

[HGFarm]

Awwww, an Appy!! I would give her more than grass hay- she needs alfalfa in her diet too in my opinion.

My very first Mini foal I lost due to it not getting out of the sac and I swore it would NEVER happen again. It only takes minutes. I invested in a camera and breeder alert, but my horses are not a couple of miles away.

Yep get a foaling kit together. Read and study as much as you possible can on twisted foals (dystocia), red bags, etc... just in case. In case of emergency, depending on what it was and where the vet was, we have actually put the horse in the trailer and met the vet part way. Make sure you have gas in your truck at all times during foaling season and keep your trailer ready to hook up quickly and use at a moments notice! Have your vets number on speed dial, lol Call at the very first SECOND of trouble- dont wait. Your vet is going to have to get up, get dressed and get their bearings while trying to hurry to your place.

I also would seperate the goats at night and after the foal is born, she is likely not going to tolerate them any more- she will be protective of her foal.

Regardless of your camera setup, someone needs to BE there when the time comes. Getting up and getting ready, driving over there, etc... you have likely already lost a foal stuck in the sac. I actually sleep with a t shirt and shorts on during foaling season- or sweats if it's still cold here- and have a pair of shoes I can literally 'run into' on the way out the door when it's time. Sometimes the foal is already out and stuck in the bag by the time I run out there and it's only a few very short yards.

How exciting for you. Another thought is, is there someone else who has experience that could be a midwife or some way you could stay there all night? The problem with getting up to check on them... it disturbs them and I have actually had mares wait until you walk off and THEN lay down to have the baby! No way you can bring her to your place temporarily to set up a camera, etc..??

 

[Whispering_Pines]

Yep, I have the foaling kit list together. She is due aproximately the first week of April. We can stay with her at night, we can work that out. I work but my husband, is around all day d/t seasonal work (self employed landscaper) I honestly do not have a place at our house for her...she is on our 16 acre farm right now, we are building a home there next summer.

If I start adding Alfalfa at what rate should I add it? So when all the signs are showing she is getting close, we should start making arrangements to have someone around her 24/7? How do people do that, with full time jobs, I can't be the only one out there that lives in an area where people are not able to be in the barn 24/7? Like I said, staying with her at night we can make work. This is going to stress me right out!! LOL.

The goats won't be a problem, they can be easily seperated and we have her area set up now, that just by swinging the gate the other way, she now has a foaling stall of her own. I am not worried about that. Thanks for everyones help.

Val

 

[targetsmom]

I didn't get into breeding until I retired and set up a business from home. I do not leave the property from the time the first mare reaches about 290 days gestation until the last mare foals. When we lost the foal I mentioned in post #4 I was less than 100 feet away from the mare, holding my riding horse for the farrier. I have no idea how other people manage.

Foaling IS incredibly stressful....

Any feed changes should be made gradually over at least a week to 10 days. You should also be increasing her grain in the last trimester, up to what it indicates on your feed bag for lactating mares or mares and foals. I once bought a mare that the seller insisted wasn't pregnant and she was very thin by the time she foaled because I didn't increase her grain.

Good luck!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

You do know, don't you , that the one time you can be absolutely SURE a mare will not foal is the day she is due??

Minis can foal from 300 days right through to the full year, so the best thing you can do is keep a log book of her bag and her hiney so you can compare them- actual pictures are great but for goodness sake don't show the book to your friends unless they are farmers or they will have you committed!! You can also log when you see the foal move, where it is lying etc, this will help you see as she gets nearer to foaling. I would definitely do the Wee Foal BUT it is not 100% if it gives a negative- if it gives positive you can be pretty sure you have a foal coming but if you get a negative it could be just that there was not enough hormone present when you tested or you had got the days wrong, or something silly like that, so if it gives you a negative and you are sure she is in foal I would be inclined to go with your heart just to be safe. I think moving the camper up there from day 310 at the latest would be a good idea....now, worst case scenario- do you have or would you be able to get, even temporarily, a trailer in case things do go wrong- it is often easiest to take the animal to the Vet instead of waiting for the Vet to get to you. Maybe a horsey neighbour could lend you something if you get stuck?? Horse people are all crazy, you know that, but it is a good kind of crazy and we tend to help one another out, I would start asking now as fore warned is fore armed.

I hope everything goes absolutely fine, and we will, of course, help in any way we can, but you need to be ready. I can see you have children...that is something else you need to think about, I can remember being up all night and getting home to be greeted by a bright shining face and having to tell it that I could not save the foal- she just crumpled, I wish I had rehearsed it so I could have put it better, I wish I had prepared her for the possibility, but I had not expected it myself (sold a mare with an AWFUL foaling record, did not know, lost two foals in a row from her, was there all the way with both of them...)

Please know I am giving you the WORST that can happen- the best watched mares wait until you turn your back and foal, without problems, in two minutes flat, and an incredibly smug look on their faces- I hope this happens for you!!!

 

[Whispering_Pines]

I do have my own horse trailor, I bought one this summer for her, a small 2 stall. It is in our barn, cleaned out and ready to go. We won't have to move our camper, it is right outside the barn door. My husband told me if I want him to make me sleeping quarters by Ginny, he can handle that! (I hope he knows he's taking his turn too!!)

How much grain would you give her per day? My bags won't say since they are mixed at the feed mill. I know to add gradual amounts, and she already gets mare and foal, she has gotten that since August. I will have to go buy her some Alfalfa cubes also. I exercise her still, we go for walks a lot, people look at me like a Crazy Lady, walking my mini horse down the road!

I so hope all goes well, and she throws no suprises at me, my luck I will go through all this and just like you said, will go to the bathroom and come back and there a brand new baby will stand....

Val

 

[AnnaC]

Hi and welcome from the UK. And many congratulations on your pretty mini lady - so exciting that it appears there's going to be a baby next year!

Firstly, take a deep breath and keep calm - you have plenty of time to gather info and to put plans into action! Ask loads of questions and read as much as you can, but most of all watch your little mare - she will be the one telling you how things are progressing. Obviously her tummy will swell, but around 4-5 weeks before foaling you will see some changes in her udder too, maybe she will get an edema type swelling in front of her actual udder or maybe the udder itself will start to fill, but either of these will give you the sign that she is getting close. Also get to know her as she will also give you signs as foaling gets closer - a lot of mares get grumpy, even really bad tempered for a short while, whereas others become super friendly, even clingy just before they foal, while some just give out very subtle signals that only their owner would recognise- they are all so different!!

When she gets closer to foaling (or as soon as you like!) do join us on the Mare and Foaling forum here - we love to help folks with their mare watching and foaling.

 

[dannigirl]

I do have my own horse trailor, I bought one this summer for her, a small 2 stall. It is in our barn, cleaned out and ready to go. We won't have to move our camper, it is right outside the barn door. My husband told me if I want him to make me sleeping quarters by Ginny, he can handle that! (I hope he knows he's taking his turn too!!)

How much grain would you give her per day? My bags won't say since they are mixed at the feed mill. I know to add gradual amounts, and she already gets mare and foal, she has gotten that since August. I will have to go buy her some Alfalfa cubes also. I exercise her still, we go for walks a lot, people look at me like a Crazy Lady, walking my mini horse down the road!

I so hope all goes well, and she throws no suprises at me, my luck I will go through all this and just like you said, will go to the bathroom and come back and there a brand new baby will stand....

This would be the BEST kind of luck.

Val

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Hello and welcome to the mini horse world! =) Beautiful mare! Good luck with the foal (I don't have experience with foaling so I hope the others can help you! =))

 

[Tami]

Welcome from another WI mini owner!!!

Yep, if you can have your husband make you a place to watch her from that would be best. I have cameras and a Breeder Alert and still sometimes it goes so fast that if I am not heading out to the barn at the first sign of labor it could be too late. I have been breeding for 30 years and I love and hate foaling season.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Well, I have had a few foals nick named "cup of coffee" or "just a pee" and one my friend threatened to call "Indian Takeaway" (I swear it took 15 minutes to get and the foal was out, up, washed clean, nursing and the after birth was passed.....) that was a few years back and we tend to take it in shifts now...

 

[Whispering_Pines]

We talked today, and we are going to clean a spot out in our shop (my husband own a landscape business) his shop is outside our front door, we can make her an area about 7x12, we can put up some gate panels and a rubber mat on the floor and make it her home for the last 6 weeks or so. I just hope she tolerates the change ok. We can then put a camera on her and also view it from our house, ect and he will be with her all day and can find stuff to do in his shop. We would have to take her out for exercise each day...

 

[REO]

Wonderful!

 

[Small_Stars]

So nice to see someone else who is new. We've had horses for years, but just got our first mini's and one of them is due in February. The breeder we got ours from said that in all her years of raising mini's she has a fool proof way of telling when they'll foal. She said when it gets close, every day she checks the milk and when the milk gets sticky, they'll foal in 24 hrs. I don't know if this is totally fool proof. Maybe someone else can vouch for that, but I'm going to use it none the less and see what happens.

Wishing you a very beautiful, healthy foal!