What things are "MUST HAVES". . .

[Little Wolf Ranch]

This past April, I only had a setup available for one mare to be foaled out in a 10x10 stall with one camera. This upcoming February I am currently expecting FOUR mares to be foaling out at about the same time, but we all know how that goes! January and February are the coldest months for us here at our farm - with the temperatures dropping into the teens during the nights. We usually only have one or two episodes of snow and when we do, they only last for a few days - a week at most.

We are currently adding onto this building and when it is all said and done - we are going to have one large building that will stand 18x20 and will have two 10x10 stalls (((one for my 37.50" mare & one for my 33.50" mare))) and two 8x10 stalls (((one for my 32.25" mare & one for my 31.25" mare))) for foaling. The dividers and gates will be made from PVC and there will be "french door style" gates that swing both both ways to allow for easier access, air flow, and be able to use my two cameras to view all four stalls at once.

I will be using water buckets that sit on the ground and hanging feeders for grain. I wish I could have automatic heated waterers for my girls but we aren't set up for that and can't do it at this time. I will have a halter & lead rope rack hanging high and away from any possible horse to reach, since I don't have a conjoined tack or feed area and it is located in a seperate building (to prevent those sneaky horses from colicing or foundering on grain in the middle of the night).

My main question is, what are your "HAVE TO'S" for your regular stalls & foaling stalls? I want to be sure that I can have everything as good-to-go as possible and hopefully we can have it all together!

Thanks & God Bless

Katie Guinn and the herd!

EDITED TO ADD:

Where can you get the creep feeders for Miniature Horse foals?

 

[ssshowhorses]

It sounds like you will have a pretty good set up, better then what we work with here! The only major thing that I make sure with foaling stalls is that the walls and gates are a good material so that mares cant get feet stuck when they are foaling/laying down and so that little baby feet cant get stuck. Other then that, camera, feed and a good sized water bucket and good, deep bedding are about all I require.

 

[~Lisa~]

I prefer my foaling stalls as big as possible. I use 16x16 as a minimum. I just find that areas can become very small if you have yourself- a vet- sometimes another assitant as well as supplies. If there is a way to make a wall easily removable or a aisle well lit and usable if need to that would be great.

I hang my water buckets the first few days. I have a friend whose foal was still getting used to working his legs fall head first into a bucket and he drowned. He was just a couple hours old at the time but I still hang mine for a couple of days as I am a bit paranoid.

Then I make it low enough baby can reach but still hung up I find there is less spilling that way. I feed the mares out of a large feed pan once they foal and usually at about a week I put another feed bowl in for the baby. Of course they just sort of think they are eating and mom gets most of it ( I make it part of her daily ration at first) and as the baby gets older I move the pans farther apart and give more to the foal

Electrical outlets are not a must but do make it a bit easier to have as does a close by warm water source just in case. I do have to run to the house if the vet needs warm water but my foaling stalls are less then 100 ft from my front door.

Plenty of clean towels- I try to keep double supplies in my foaling kit especially towels as it never fails they seem to foal right after eachother even if it means one is early and the other late. So I make sure to have enough clean dry towels to use on 2 foals in case I do not have time to wash and dry. We learned this the hard way and were using house towels and old t-shirts one year lol

It sounds like you are pretty well prepared for your new babies Very exciting!

 

[Reble]

I like to bed with straw until the foals are about 1-2 weeks old than go back to my pellets.

Nice warm blanket for the new born.

Good Luck seems you have everything under control.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Just wanted to reply back after reading some VERY informative posts!

1. I do have plenty of electrical outlets in my barn. . .for drop cords, lighting, camera, etc.
2. My barn will be plenty well-lit and lights are left on 24/7 due to the fact of I need them on to be able to see at night & in dim lighting with my cameras
3. Warm water source is only 100 ft. away from the barn in the house kitchen so that is plenty taken care of
4. Stall size - I found my 10x10 to work good for me & my husband to fit in along with the foaling mare and still have room. Unfortunately my vet is 45+ minutes away from my farm so it's up to me, my husband & my two neighbors with almost 50 yrs. combined foaling experience to "get the job done" (both neighbors live only two minutes away)

My mares are all BIG TIME pigs so I would really like to find some nice creep feeders for them to use to make sure they are getting what they need/want. Also, do you know where you can get regular horse sized creep feeders for cheap?

Foal blankets. . .do you apply blankets as soon as the foals are dry? Also what size blankets do you usually order for the blankets - "newborn" or "foal" sized? I realize some foals are bigger than others but I'd like to hear what you guys use.

BLANKETING THE MARES:

I am going to be giving the girls "foal clips" where you shave parts of their legs, udder area & tummies - what size blade do you use and after clipping them do you normally blanket them in weather 20 degrees or cooler?

I JUST LOVE LOVE LOVE LIL BEGINNINGS! Thanks so much for all of the information while I am trying to perfect my setup here for my girls.

 

[Reble]

Just wanted to reply back after reading some VERY informative posts!

Foal blankets. . .do you apply blankets as soon as the foals are dry? Also what size blankets do you usually order for the blankets - "newborn" or "foal" sized? I realize some foals are bigger than others but I'd like to hear what you guys use.

I JUST LOVE LOVE LOVE LIL BEGINNINGS! Thanks so much for all of the information while I am trying to perfect my setup here for my girls.

It depends as you say how small, I have had to use dog blankets for my guys being so small.

Yes, after they are dried and gone to the milk bar, unless really cool, we put on the blanket for a few days.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Foaling alarm (Equipage is the one I have), extra batteries, and breakaway halters! Won't do without one again!

Depending on when your mares are due, a hair dryer! Works wonders when the air is chilly and damp, or just cold! Make sure your mare is okay with the noise prior to the event.

I hang the water buckets up off the ground, high enough the foal can't get into it by accident until the foal is one week old.

Tail wraps for the mares (I use Ace bandages so I can wash and reuse, easier for me than Vet Wrap).

Bucket with a lid to save the placenta for the vet (had an incident when the cats ate the placenta before the vet got there, lesson learned!).

Vet's phone number programmed into the phone!

 

[Lex87]

We put a heated floor in our stable. It was expensive, but it made all the difference.

 

[supaspot]

Ive often wondered ..why do you do foal clips , doesnt it get a bit chilly for the poor mare ?

 

[ohmt]

Supaspot- it's necessary, especially when a mare still has her winter fuzzies because when foals are first learning how to find the milk bar, they can suck on that hair causing them to choke. I've heard way too many choke stories to not clip

 

[Miniv]

We don't clip our mares unless absolutely necessary, but we do curry them and clean their bags and rears.

All of our stalls have rubber mats and we use grass hay for bedding. We also have clean sheets and barn towels we keep in our tack room.

I have purchased some children sized sweat shirts with the arms cut and a "V" cut out of the tummy area (to keep the navel from being rubbed) and put that on our newborns when it is very cold to help soak up the wet and help warm them up. Once they are somewhat dried off, I replace it with a regular foal blanket.

About creep feeders.......We don't bother. We have extra wide rubber feed dishes for grain and the foal and mom both eat from it.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I have often wondered about the foal clip thing, I have been breeding horses for forty five years now and have never clipped a mare, nor have I ever had a foal even come away with a mouth of fur, let alone choke, so I guess that is just one of those things. I will not clip my mares as they are not stalled and they would freeze- imagine running into the frosty dawn sans brassiere, mes filles!

Essentials? A lifetimes stock of valium and a certificate to prove your sanity, you are going to need BOTH!!

The valium is obvious, the certificate is to show to your friends when they scream "WHAT time in the morning? Are you MAD???"

 

[MountainMeadows]

I would recommend that your walls between mares be solid and tall enough that the neighbors can't snoop too easily. Some mares are just fine with neighbors- others are witchy - the foal will be caught in the middle of any witchy-mare fights, so it is best to just not "ask for it".

I don't blanket until I know the foal has nursed on it's own several times - there seems to be some connection with the foal's shoulder, nose & side of head that is necessary for all to be in sync - blanketing before all the "sync-ing" is done can delay the foal's nursing. I have heat lamps to help with the intermediate time before I blanket.

 

[Relic]

A hairdryer to quickly blow dry the mares backend after washing her down. And a warm from the dryer towel to dry baby when he's arrived. No low hanging water buckets and only rubber tubs in the stalls. l love puck board on the walls very easy to keep clean and would never go back to wooden walls. Kids turtle necked sweat shirts for a new foal if it needs to be kept warm.

 

[minie812]

I have often wondered about the foal clip thing, I have been breeding horses for forty five years now and have never clipped a mare, nor have I ever had a foal even come away with a mouth of fur, let alone choke, so I guess that is just one of those things. I will not clip my mares as they are not stalled and they would freeze- imagine running into the frosty dawn sans brassiere, mes filles!

Essentials? A lifetimes stock of valium and a certificate to prove your sanity, you are going to need BOTH!!

The valium is obvious, the certificate is to show to your friends when they scream "WHAT time in the morning? Are you MAD???"

DITTO

 

[cretahillsgal]

Relic, what is puck board?

 

[Relic]

Puck or pucker board is hard plastic water proof non shatter like stuff that comes in 4x8' sheets you can use in either stalls or washracks..

 

[rockin r]

I also hang my buckets high enough so the foals can't reach it for the first week, then I lower them to safe height so the foal can drink if they want to. My foaling stalls are 14x14. Plenty of room to romp and not trample mom. Also the stall won't get saturated from urine. We have a total electric barn, with outlets "above" the stalls next to the ceiling fans. We have web cams in the foaling stalls also. We do have water in the barns, but it comes from the well, and man is it cold! We bought one of those water heater thingys that looks like a huge paper clip that you put in their water bucket till it heats the water and then remove it. I really like it. All of our stall walls are buried in the ground so no ones legs can get caught under them. The foaling stalls also have two gates. Never know when you might have a down horse and you can't get the gate open. Art added an observation room in the front of all of the stalls. I can see directly into all their stalls. After I had to spend 4 days and nights in the barn in April with Dreamer, it was freezing cold. Now if I have a place to stay in the barn with a sick horse, I have an enclosed room with a heater or a window ac unit, that I can also bring the horse/foal into if needed. I keep an oversized/fluffy heated dog bed in there also if the foal has to be kept warm. (Got it at Atwoods) I use deep shavings, some prefer straw. When we were expecting our first foal 7 yrs ago, I was paranoid something would hurt the foal. I got down on my hands and knees and looked/rubbed at every square inch of the stall that was at foal height. I was amazed at how many nails I found sticking out just enough to do major damage to a foal. I keep several foal pjs to I change them everyday. LOTS of heavy towels for the foaling. Bantamine for Mom after she foals. Iodine for the navel dipping a couple of times a day. Novaslane for cleaning her udder, for me it works, I have never had a foal get foal heat scours when I use it. I also have night lites above the stalls so I can see them at nite on the web cam. Sounds like you have been preparing...Good luck One day I would like to get back into maybe breeding a few more foals...Maybe one day..

 

[sedeh]

I also don't clip my mares. They get curried daily and I clean their udder as they get closer. When I decided to have the mares bred so we're done foaling by April I invested in a Kalgo heater. I just love it and the foals all park theirselves right under it when it's cold out! I have foal blankets too but since I got the heater I don't usually use them. Might be more of an issue if I have mares going at the same time but so far they've always been at least a week apart. Good luck!