How many of you use a foaling alarm?

[luvmyracker]

I only have one mare foaling this year. I have put a foaling camera in her stall. She is due Feb. 23rd. I was looking at foaling alarms and boy are they expensive! I'm thinking of not buying one this year but, of course, that worries me. Do you think I would be okay if I checked on her every hour around her due date? She has had many foals before and has never had a problem foaling, but that's not to say she won't.

So, should I buy one or not??

 

[lilfolks]

I have cameras and the Breeder Alert system and never took a chance on foaling without using both.

But they are expensive so it's really up to what your financial situation is this year.

Joyce

 

[wcr]

I have foaled out many mares and don't use a foaling alarm. What I have heard from friends that do have them is that you are constantly getting false alarms. I love the cameras with sound and move it around the house with me where ever I am. At night I turn the volume up and wake up with any unusual sound, kinda like a mother, Just open my eyes and look at the moniter. NO tramping down to the barn in the cold and disturbing the mare. If they are foaling then I wait until the point of no return and hot-foot it down to the barn and am there for the birth.

 

[eagles ring farm]

if your camera has sound

this is a cheaper alternative that we use

it works well as long as it agrees with the mare

4 of our mares it work great on

1 will just lay flat and let it buzz just to sleep

and 1 it didn't go off as she may not have laid her head out

but the downfall is the mare also hears the buzz not like the expensive ones

and some just get real aggrivated by it

but the cost is less than $60 including shipping

we have used ours for 3 years now

Foal Buzzer

 

[Joanne]

I have used the Breeder Alert for years and cannot imagine foaling without them. I have many mares that foal during the day, and with the pager, I can continue working on the ranch while waiting for them to foal knowing that the pager will tell me if they are laying down.

It takes 30 seconds of them laying down to trigger the alarm and their head has to be flat. It does not help if the mare stands when she foals, but that is extremly rare (usually a malposition).

I have a few mares that lay down flat to sleep when they are full term (but most do not). Those few mares I note on their records and remember from past years.

I also have cameras. The combination of the cameras and the Breeder Alert is THE way to go. I have 15 years of use and many live foals thanks to them both.

 

[Riverdance]

The chances are the foal will be alright, but.

I have two cameras with sound, two foaling alarm halters, (I use Equipage, there are less false alarms with that one, it does not go off unless the mare is flat out).

If you just rely on camreas and check every so often, your mare could foal without you. I had one mare last spring that I just could not wait for her foal, her full siblings, two of them, were AMHA World Grand Champions. She is just as pretty as her siblings, but on the smaller side. Only 29" (if that). She was in foal to my new stallion, an L & D Scout son: Fallen Ash Scouts Prince Of Tides. Anyway, I watched her like a hawk. Got up early one AM, she was doing nothing but standing quietly in the corner, as she had done all night. No fussing, nothing. Stupid me turned off the alram. I went into the den to my computer for 10 miniutes. Got up to look at the camera again, and there was a dead foal in the stall. A beautiful bucksin filly (of course).

What I am trying to say is that a camera is nice, but it will not tell you if the mare has gone down to foal. The sound fromt he camera, well that picks up so much noise from all of the horse, that you tend to either be up all night because of the noises, or you tune it out and sleep.

 

[Viki]

I use Equipage and camera. I would be lost without the combination! This combination has resulted in no mares foaling alone in years! I've not lost a foal due to my sleep deprivation because of the Equipage! Yes, I too have a mare that will lay flat out, even an hour before giving birth, so I do get false alarms with her. I'd much rather have a false alarm than the loss of a foal and/or mare!

If you can afford it at all, get some kind of 'beeper' system. Either Equipage or Breeder Alert, they both work great! I prefer the Equipage because of the 'sender' placement and weight.

Viki

 

[Denise]

Before I even had a pregnant mare on my property I had the Equipage and the camera system ready to go. I could not imagine what it would be like without the pager system. It is very nice to be able to go about the farm, go to the pond and fish, do chores and not be glued to the t.v. When the pager goes off I just get up and look at the tv. These mares can drop and foal out in a few minutes. I had checked on one before leaving for work, not even 10 mintues after leaving dear hubby calls and tells me she is down and pushing-if not for the pager telling him we might have lost that baby.

 

[Magic]

I have both the Equipage system and cameras, but before I got those, I slept in the barn with the due mares when they were close to foaling. Can you say cold and uncomfortable? lol! Not much sleeping on my part.

Before I started raising minis, I had a full-size horse due to foal and I slept there with her, and she waited for those ten minutes that no one was watching while I was in the shower to have her foal. The foal was fine, but I learned early on how tricky a mare can be when it comes to sneaking that foal into the world.

I agree with those who have suggested that you get one of the cheaper "buzzers" for this year. You already have the camera so (if it has sound anyway) you will be able to hear the buzzer go off if she lays down to foal.

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

I have the Equipage system, and cameras with sound. I wouldnt be without either, and ditto ...to what everyone else has said. Corinne

 

[Getitia]

Add me to the count for the Equipage group with cameras with sound. I cannot imagine foaling season without this combination.

 

[sedeh]

I only use the camera with sound but I think I'll look into the Equipage! I have missed one birth.....thankfully all went well but if it hadn't I would have been beating myself up! I do wonder how well they'll work with some of my mares because I have more than one that likes to sleep flat out on their side towards the end stage of gestation.

 

[Sue S]

I don't have a foaling alarm but I do use a outdoor/indoor camera(security camera which has sound, it got me through all right last May when my maiden mare had her baby, I will be using it this summer to. Cost around 50 or 60 dollors at walmart. I can't afford a foaling alarm either. Its hook up to a tv in my bedroom. and turn the sound up.

 

[coopermini]

We have Equipage and cameras. Wouldn't be without either.It is so easy to sleep right thru a mare foaling after waiting weeks for her to foal. We've had two mares foal with less than a minutes notice. Eating hay walk around lay down and 2 pushes and foal is on the ground in the sack. Some mares you can tell hours before they foal and others are really in stealthmode.

 

[Becky]

Some mares you can tell hours before they foal and others are really in stealthmode.

Isn't that the truth!

I've had a few that thought they were going to be really sneaky and fool me but with the camera and beeper, I've been alerted. Boy, have I had some surprised mares when I show up at the stall door!

I, too, use both an Equipage/Breeder Alert (I have both) plus a camera. I wouldn't be without either!!!

Yes, there are false alarms, but I'd much rather wake up in bed and open an eye to look at the monitor without raising my head, than risk the worry of losing foals and/or a mare. I lost 2 of 3 foals one of the first years I had foals back in the early 90's and it likely wouldn't have happened if I had a camera and foaling device. I never want to go through that again!

 

[MSRminis]

I use both too and really like the combo. Tried it ONCE with alarm only and no camera and then ate top ramen for several months to afford the camera. Check with your vet-our vet rents them to patients on a per month basis!!

 

[Suzie]

I have Equipage, halter monitors and cameras. Never too much as far as I am concerned.!

 

[heart k ranch]

I'm waiting till I have money to buy a alarm. I have a camera but that cost a arm and both legs!!

So I guess maybe I'll have a foaling alarm soon!

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

We use a camera, baby monitors and hourly checks, but have been looking into the buzzer alarms.. I've foaled out 9 foals so far and have missed ALL of them by 5-10 minutes as the gals found it necessary to foal in between hourly checks OH! I'm very thankful that all were great deliveries (I video tape the foalings so I can rewatch them) with no problems..

 

[River1018]

Use the breeder alert here, have 5 cameras and the pager and the monitor. There are times when of course it's a false alarm and they are just down sleeping, but I'd rather know what is going on than miss something. I really wouldn't go without mine, I love it.