hoof trimming and vaccinations?

[kristi@berrett-ranch]

I do not know when the last time that my new mini mares were vaccinated and had their hooves trimmed. Their hooves look terrible, the guy that we got them from said he did his own farrier work. On the one mare we are seeing some signs of her foaling time coming, I am wondering if now is a bad time to have the farrier work on her? Wondering if the stress will cause problems with her foaling?

My next question is on the vaccine issue. When we asked about their vaccination schedule they said they were up to date but could not give us an actual date. All of the mares are in foal, what are your suggestions on vaccinating close to foaling time.

Thanks

 

[weerunner]

I like to get my pregnant girls hooves done before they foal as they dont need that added stress when the foal is new and they are putting all their energy into making milk. If their hooves are very bad, I would be even more inclined to get them done right away as long as they are ok with having them done.

I give tetanus one month before foaling and then every mare gets their yearly vaccines in the spring after they are done foaling. That way, baby gets the extra protection from the shot through his momma's milk.

 

[Mona]

I would go ahead and trim their feet BEFORE they foal, as they are far less stressed than they are afterwards with a new foal at their side, especially if they are in a new home and maybe extra protective of their foal because of that.

As for the vaccinations, I would consider them "new" to vaccinations, as sounds like it is pretty "iffy" with the previous owner. I would go ahead and vaccinate now with what you would normally vaccinate them for, then give the boosters as recommended. I also always give the foal a tetanus antitoxin at birth.

 

[kristi@berrett-ranch]

Thank you for the advice! Trimming went well today, much better than I expected. Now I will get them vaccinated.