Question about foaliing

[luvmyracker]

Do you keep the mare in her stall 24/7 once she is close to foaling? I had planned on keeping her in only at night but now am thinking "What if she foals during the day, in the pasture?"

 

[Katiean]

If the weather is good I leave them out. But it has to be warm. But then my pasture isn't that large.

 

[Triple 7 Farm]

Mine are in most of the time (every night and most of the day). However, they get daily turnout for exercise when I'm home in the morning & evening for a few hours each time (for foaling in the early spring months). Otherwise, if I have a mare due to foal in the summer, when I know it's warm & not muddy/rainy, I may keep them in a smaller pen by herself close to the barn so I can keep a close eye on her. We have lights off all sides of our barn, so I don't have to fumble around with a flashlight (makes things really nice at night).

But for the most part, mine are in most of the time just to be on the safe side when they get close- don't want stray dogs coming or a foal going through a fence, etc.

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

Ours get turned out as much as possible if there is someone there to keep an eye on them and the weather is nice.. They need the turn out especially in the later months up to foaling as they need the excercise to minimize edema, stretch their legs and move around with the weight, and also allow them a lot of extra room to roll and get that foal in position..

 

[Magic]

For me, it depends on just HOW close she is, but yes, if she's close to foaling she's in the stall 24/7 except for turnout where I can keep a very close eye on her.

When the mares are still likely a few weeks away, I start stalling them at night so they can get used to where they will be foaling, can eat as slowly as they like and I'll be sure they get their full ration, and I can start watching them on camera a bit to see what their normal activity is like, but they go outside during the day in all but the worst weather so they can get all the exercise they want.

It's a balancing act.

 

[Miniv]

We tend to have them out during the day........It depends on the circumstances. It's really best that they are allowed exercise, in my opinion.

If it's warm out, I've put a mare out in our front yard.............in front of our picture windows where I can see her clearly during the day. And we've had several of them foal out there, right on our front lawn.......and then I've scooped the baby up in a clean sheet, trotted them to the foaling stall with momma following close behind.

I try to have a clean bed sheet handy to slip under the mare's hind end during birth, but even if I miss the moment, having them foal out on our front lawn is okay too.........Our vets have told us that good clean grass is a wonderful place for foaling!