**UPDATE**Help- Mare will not accept foal

[Allure Ranch]

Congratulations.... on your beautiful little filly.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

The Arab mares are not kept like that, they are tied for short periods of time to allow and encourage the foals to socialise.

Tying an animal that is not used to being tied, especially for any length of time, is, indeed, not only dangerous but I would consider it cruel, too. The mares ad Janow have been trained to that way of life from birth, they are not suddenly tied up.

There is also the point to consider that the mare cannot interact with the foal, when tied, so it is really not something you should do, especially as the mare is already accepting being in a stall next to the foal. Ideally you need to get her accepting the foal in with her, and sedating, at least for a couple of days, is the easiest way to do this.

The tube sedative Ace is safe to use on mares and does not affect the foal.

This product is not safe for stallions and geldings, though.

 

[Annabellarose]

The Arab mares are not kept like that, they are tied for short periods of time to allow and encourage the foals to socialise.

Tying an animal that is not used to being tied, especially for any length of time, is, indeed, not only dangerous but I would consider it cruel, too. The mares ad Janow have been trained to that way of life from birth, they are not suddenly tied up.

There is also the point to consider that the mare cannot interact with the foal, when tied, so it is really not something you should do, especially as the mare is already accepting being in a stall next to the foal. Ideally you need to get her accepting the foal in with her, and sedating, at least for a couple of days, is the easiest way to do this.

The tube sedative Ace is safe to use on mares and does not affect the foal.

This product is not safe for stallions and geldings, though.

Actually, those mares are often kept like that all day in inclimate weather (instead of being stalled in loose box stalls). I am certainly not advocating that everyone tear out all of their loose box stalls and go to all tie stalls (as I do believe that would be a step backward), I just commented that tying THIS mare in THIS situation (if she excepts her foal when tied) might be an acceptable solution for the first couple of weeks. Is it not "dangerous" and "cruel" to deny the foal? Again, I stand by saying that this has been an acceptable animal husbandry practice the world over for centuries (or more!). And, in this situation, the mare really does not need to be interacting with the foal if she is attacking it! That is unlikely to change at this point.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

After reading these posts of maiden mares rejecting their foals, does this ever happen with proven broodmares?

Best of luck with your little one! And thank goodness for the knowledge and support on this forum!

Can happen in older broodmares, but not nearly as common. And usually if it does those mares were known to be poor mothers in previous pregnancies.

Dr Taylor

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

The Arab mares are not kept like that, they are tied for short periods of time to allow and encourage the foals to socialise.

Tying an animal that is not used to being tied, especially for any length of time, is, indeed, not only dangerous but I would consider it cruel, too. The mares ad Janow have been trained to that way of life from birth, they are not suddenly tied up.

There is also the point to consider that the mare cannot interact with the foal, when tied, so it is really not something you should do, especially as the mare is already accepting being in a stall next to the foal. Ideally you need to get her accepting the foal in with her, and sedating, at least for a couple of days, is the easiest way to do this.

The tube sedative Ace is safe to use on mares and does not affect the foal.

This product is not safe for stallions and geldings, though.

This is certainly a circumstance where there is more than one way to 'skin a cat'.

But, I have experienced mothers of many species that have injured and killed their babies. I have seen mares bite foals so many times and so hard that they have sloughed skin over 25-40% of their bodies. Tying up (or having her stand in a set of stocks) a mare or leaving a goat, sheep, or cow in a stanchion 24/7 for days if not weeks I do not consider being inhumane considering the risk to the baby.

I have also tied up young horses for months to help repair a fracture. They sometimes have not been tied before and certainly were never conditioned. I have never seen adverse effects to the tying.

Better an animal experience short term frustration rather than long term disability or death.

I will also add, in Australia shepherds go on vacation during the lambing season. This is in part because the grass is the best and feeding is less of a concern, but also because they will cull any ewe who couldn't have and raise a lamb on her own. Callous actions it may seem, but after years of this they now have genetics that produce strong active lambs with few dystocias. In this country we have been so concerned with 'pretty' that we have bred out of many species the ability to care for themselves or their young. Frequently a poor mother had a poor mother.

Dr Taylor

 

[champsmom]

My mare rejected her colt last year. We tried to restrain her to let him nurse but after being kicked and rammed by her a couple times before we even got to her, he was already afraid of her. We milked Mom for the colostrum and fed it to him. We had the blood test done 2 or 3 days later to make sure he didn't need a transfusion. We bottle fed him for 4 months, using Buckeye Mare's Milk plus. He is a very healthy 10 month old now. It is a lot of work, though, to be sure. My mare was unfortunately rebred and is due any day now. I am praying that she does not reject this foal again but I did save some milk replacer in the freezer and learned a few things from last years experience. First give every attempt to NOT give him a bottle but to get him to drink from a shallow pan so that I can eventually leave a few hours worth of milk for him/her. Good luck, try not to worry too much, and congratulations. Your filly is BEAUTIFUL!

 

[levi]

I devised a hobble system and it WORKS!!!!! I had a mare like that and after three weeks she accepted the foal on my methods and system.

 

[supaspot]

Congratulations , your little filly looks beautiful , you asked for a name and my first thought as soon as I saw her laying there on her own was .... (prefix) LONESOME DOVE

 

[msbjmassey]

Thank you everyone for the advice. We are praying she will take to the milk supplement.

 

[Miniv]

Please update, okay?

 

[Riverrose28]

Hope every thing works out for you and that you have lots of help! Bless this little baby at least she has a surrogate Mom, my little guy only had me. It's so much better if they have a horse step mom. Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[Allure Ranch]

Whats' the status of you mare and foal?

 

[msbjmassey]

Whats' the status of you mare and foal?

The foal is drinking about 7 ounces of milk every feeding. We would like more but think she is still progressing with the 7 ounces. We had to take the foal away from her dam and place her on milk supplement. She was just not getting enough milk from her dam. Other than that we are still going and trying to make it through. We had placed her with a surrogate mare but she kept trying to nurse the mare ( and the mare didnt mind, its a shame she didnt have any milk!!!) and she became so tired from trying to nurse her that she didn't want to eat for us. So we have separated them and she seems to be getting along okay. We are all exhausted but we know this little filly is depending on us for her nourishment. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thank you everyone for your encouragement and advice.

 

[MountainMeadows]

If you have a gentle yearling filly to buddy her up with (except for feedings) it will help a lot. Last year a friend of mine had a mare with hyperlipemia with a 2 week old filly. Pulled the filly from mom, tried to get her to bond with another mare at my place but the mare was having nothing to do with it unless she was supervised - so, we opted for a buddy and Foal Lac in a pan - she did quite well, started eating more solid food (as most mini foals do), and went on to Equine Jr along with her milk and hay, and fresh grazing - she did really well and is now a robust and healthy yearling. Her buddy really helped keep her from getting depressed and getting ulcers IMHO

Keep us all posted, I am sure you are exhausted - good luck to you all

Stacy

 

[palsminihorses]

The foal is drinking about 7 ounces of milk every feeding. We would like more but think she is still progressing with the 7 ounces. We had to take the foal away from her dam and place her on milk supplement. She was just not getting enough milk from her dam. Other than that we are still going and trying to make it through. We had placed her with a surrogate mare but she kept trying to nurse the mare ( and the mare didnt mind, its a shame she didnt have any milk!!!) and she became so tired from trying to nurse her that she didn't want to eat for us. So we have separated them and she seems to be getting along okay. We are all exhausted but we know this little filly is depending on us for her nourishment. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thank you everyone for your encouragement and advice.

Since your other mare is accepting of the foal trying to nurse her, I bet you could give her Equidone to promote milk. I've heard that this product will make even a non-pregnant mare come to milk. Ask your vet about it. It sure would make your life easier! I've raised a foal by bottle before and it takes a lot of work............as I'm sure you're finding out. LOL

Pam