The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Rescue Mare In Foal

7K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Chiilaa 
#1 ·
Were do i start? i will be adopting a TWH Mare who is in foal. She was rescued from the feedlot in January by a couple who did not know she was in foal. They do not have the money nor the facilities to take her all the way. They could not even afford the ultrasound so the vet gave a october-december due date from palpation. She wont be coming into my care till mid next month (the 18th) No one knows when she was covered. They know she came from a TW breeding farm so she might be in foal from another TW or the baby could be a who knows what from the feed lot. i decided to join this forum cause i have lots of questions and need lots of help and opinions. I have seen a mare giving birth but it was never my mare. This will be my first experience. Im thinking millie is due sooner then november-december. im thinking more like september-october (maybe just wishful thinking) but wont know for sure till i can get my vet to see her (she is 168 miles away from us, and might be to late to do a ultrasound) Does the mother nature foal predictor kit work? I have been doing ALOT of online research and have learned a bit but its nothing like hearing from other people who have been thru it. please feel free to share all your foaling knowledge with me lol. Here are pictures from last friday including her udders. what do you think. Im a little worried about foaling in the fall as our falls tend to be wet and rainy.







This was her a on the 13th. You can see a little bit of change in her back. Its got a bit more of a sway now.
 
See less See more
6
#2 ·
First off, shes beautiful. You did the right thing by taking her on. If she was, indeed, bred by another twh, I think they do dna blood typing..it certainly would be worth looking into.

I cant really offer any advice as ive never been personally in care of a pregnant mare. I just wanted to welcome you to the forum and wish you the best of luck. I am a SUCKER for a good looking gaited horse. I just love your new girl!
 
#7 ·
It just depends on how she is built. Some horses start to really show early on and have a HUGE gut, some you can barely tell until there is a foal on the ground.

Can you get an ultrasound done?
 
#9 · (Edited)
I found this website to have a lot of useful photos, especially once my mare got close.

Foaling

I also bought "The Complete Book of Foaling" and a friend gave me the book "Blessed are the Broodmares." Both gave me lots and lots of good info. I would suggest getting at least one good foaling book.

Both are short of photos though, that's why the website link I gave above is nice. You can actually see what the milk changing color looks like. :)

From what I can tell, from my first and only foaling experience, the consistency and color of the milk is your biggest guide. My girl had clear, watery "milk," then clear sticky "milk" and then finally about two days before she foaled, she had actual white milk that leaked easily from her udder. But I know the timing can vary alot from mare to mare.

But anyway, good luck with your girl! My foal was a rescue of sorts too. I actually bought my mare (a Foxtrotter) really cheap as my next trail horse and it turns out she was pregnant. I was really happy about it though, because I always had a fantasy of having a foal. :lol:

My mare's foaling actually went great, I missed it by about 1/2 hour and mare and foal were doing well when I discovered them (baby was standing but still sopping wet!).

Then we had sort of a rocky start because he got a navel infection due to a patent urachus (urine leaking from the navel) but all seems under control now and he is a strapping, almost 3 week old colt whom I adore. :D

Anyway, another book I really like is "Imprint Training of the Newborn Foal" by Dr. Miller. I didn't do the imprinting exactly per the book, and I missed handling my foal before he stood, but I still touched him all over several times the first day, (and had to hold him down to doctor his navel for about a week, sigh!) and anyway, he is a very friendly foal and very easy to handle thus far. Plus, the book has lots of good info on halter training and such. So even if you don't "imprint" per say, it gives you lots of good info on training your foal.

I have my guy leading fairly well, picking up his feet, and moving off of pressure from my fingertips and he is not quite three weeks old. I am working on tying and ponying him too.

Sorry for the novel, but I hope that helps a little. :D

PS. Another thing I would suggest is really getting to know your mare before she foals, and handling and grooming her a lot and really getting to know her and what she is like temperment-wise. Because if you want to be able to handle and work with baby, you need to be on good terms with momma!

My mare is sweet as can be, but was/ is very protective of baby. Luckily that mostly shows up when other horses are around, but I still keep a good eye on her because she is rather irritable since she had her foal. She threatens other horses a lot if they get too close, and even threatens baby if he is too pushy nursing. So try to build a good relationship with your mare before baby is born.
 
#10 ·
I found this website to have a lot of useful photos, especially once my mare got close.

Foaling

I also bought "The Complete Book of Foaling" and a friend gave me the book "Blessed are the Broodmares." Both gave me lots and lots of good info. I would suggest getting at least one good foaling book.

Both are short of photos though, that's why the website link I gave above is nice. You can actually see what the milk changing color looks like. :)

From what I can tell, from my first and only foaling experience, the consistency and color of the milk is your biggest guide. My girl had clear, watery "milk," then clear sticky "milk" and then finally about two days before she foaled, she had actual white milk that leaked easily from her udder. But I know the timing can vary alot from mare to mare.

But anyway, good luck with your girl! My foal was a rescue of sorts too. I actually bought my mare (a Foxtrotter) really cheap as my next trail horse and it turns out she was pregnant. I was really happy about it though, because I always had a fantasy of having a foal. :lol:

My mare's foaling actually went great, I missed it by about 1/2 hour and mare and foal were doing well when I discovered them (baby was standing but still sopping wet!).

Then we had sort of a rocky start because he got a navel infection due to a patent urachus (urine leaking from the navel) but all seems under control now and he is a strapping, almost 3 week old colt whom I adore. :D

Anyway, another book I really like is "Imprint Training of the Newborn Foal" by Dr. Miller. I didn't do the imprinting exactly per the book, and I missed handling my foal before he stood, but I still touched him all over several times the first day, (and had to hold him down to doctor his navel for about a week, sigh!) and anyway, he is a very friendly foal and very easy to handle thus far. Plus, the book has lots of good info on halter training and such. So even if you don't "imprint" per say, it gives you lots of good info on training your foal.

I have my guy leading fairly well, picking up his feet, and moving off of pressure from my fingertips and he is not quite three weeks old. I am working on tying and ponying him too.

Sorry for the novel, but I hope that helps a little. :D

PS. Another thing I would suggest is really getting to know your mare before she foals, and handling and grooming her a lot and really getting to know her and what she is like temperment-wise. Because if you want to be able to handle and work with baby, you need to be on good terms with momma!

My mare is sweet as can be, but was/ is very protective of baby. Luckily that mostly shows up when other horses are around, but I still keep a good eye on her because she is rather irritable since she had her foal. She threatens other horses a lot if they get too close, and even threatens baby if he is too pushy nursing. So try to build a good relationship with your mare before baby is born.

Thanks so much for the website. its awsome. i bought the complete book of foaling and may people have told me about the "blessed are the broodmares" book, i might have to get it. I plan to get to know her well and spend everyday with her just grooming her and showing she can trust me.
 
#12 ·
Sorry, but do we really need 2 different threads about the same mare and the same subject? Mods?
Just a bit confusing.......


If your confused then you shouldnt post it on a live posting. Maybe it would have been more mature to Pm me or Pm a mod directly? Its not the same post. i have updated pictures of her and also of her udders as i am new to this foaling thing and have many many questions. Im here to learn. Not to confuse or agitate someone. If you have a problem with me or my posting next time please Pm me
 
#13 ·
TB, most people keep updating the same thread so as not to bog down the board with numerous threads. FNB wasn't trying to be rude by any stretch of the imagination so please don't take offense to it as it seems you have. Posts on here can only be edited for a short amount of time which is why she asked a mod to take care of the threads.

Again, welcome to the boards!
 
#15 ·
TB, most people keep updating the same thread so as not to bog down the board with numerous threads. FNB wasn't trying to be rude by any stretch of the imagination so please don't take offense to it as it seems you have. Posts on here can only be edited for a short amount of time which is why she asked a mod to take care of the threads.

Again, welcome to the boards!

hey thanks for sending me the Pm. my yea, thanks wasnt meant to be rude or sound like i was just blowing you off. thank you for letting me know. i had no idea. but now i do. I think i got the edit thing down. i think lol
 
#20 ·
My TB mare was not showing any signs of being pregnant. I sold her, and then 3 weeks after selling her, she dropped a filly. We didn't even know that the stallion had got out lol.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top