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Discussion on Preparing a pasture for foaling | |
Author | Message |
Member: prakashb |
Posted on Monday, Mar 5, 2007 - 9:39 am: Hey everyone, my mare is due for foaling this summer - sometime in June. I would like to have her foal in a pasture, but I was wondering what everyone thought of this. Also, what kind of preparations should be done to prepare the pasture. I plan to take her off of the pasture she is on now to let the grass grow back good, i plan to overseed to get rid of the sandy areas. But other than that, i have no other ideas. I haven't been able to find much information on this subject on the internet, but i could be typing in the wrong keywords. So if anyone could give me advice on this matter, suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks for all of your help. |
Member: paardex |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 6, 2007 - 7:33 am: All the mares I had that foaled in the pasture did this by accident as weather in Holland usually makes it prudent to get them indoors. One of the ponys at my moms places dumped her foal next to a ditch with water, each time she had the foal out of the water the anxious mother pushed her in again. After that no foaling outdoors if we could prevent it Other then that if you can keep an eye on them I was always told it is clean and natural for a foal to be born outdoors, but you need to check on them so mum and child remain for instance on the same side of the fence. So a big pasture can make life hard on you searching for them and a small one tends to be dirty and has the fences closer.still bigger then a stable and with good weather I would prefer it over a not so ideal stable. Hope this helps Jos |
Member: christel |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 6, 2007 - 9:31 am: Prakash, like jos I have had foals born in the pasture, and both were by accident. Both mares were maiden mares and they didn't show the usual signs of impending birth. The first one to foal in pasture was my very first foal, another mare in with the new mom and foal tried to steal the foal, I was able to separate them soon and all was fine.The 2nd mare I was alerted to by a neighbor, the mare was so far along in the delivery I chose not to interrupt her and actually watched with binoculars and was on my cell phone with my vet because the mare kept laying down and getting up, I thought she was having problems but she finally laid down and the foal literally shot out of her, and all was fine. The only thing I can think of is that the mare needs to be in that pasture she is going to foal in for several weeks (a month maybe) before she delivers. This way she can build up immunity to the germs and bacteria in the pasture that might cause problems with the foal. Another thing that I would be concerned about is, will the mare let you catch her after delivery so you can give the foal a naval dip and any other thing you may want to do. If mare is not vaccinated for tetanus a month before delivery, you will need to give the foal a shot for that. I give my foals a shot of injacom (vitamins a, d, and e) and I give ecoli orally (this puts a good gut flora in the foal) as soon after birth as I can. You will also want to check the afterbirth for tears or missing pieces- wild animals or even domesticated dogs could smell the afterbirth and carry it off if you are not there immediately after the birth- if the mare retains any of the placenta (afterbirth) you will have a serious problem in 24- 48 hours after birth- you will need to watch the mare closely if you are unable to locate the afterbirth. If mare goes off feed, that is a clue something is up and you will need to take them both to the vet. I have had this happen- lactating mares will eat you out of house and home, if they 'go off feed', something is very wrong. Other than that, check pasture for any holes- I have a pasture that has in the past been my foaling pasture, but it has developed sink holes this past winter, I don't feel safe using it until I get those holes filled. There are many many foals born each year out in pastures, I think you will be ok, as long as you can catch the mare after delivery to look over foal and do whatever you choose to do after the foal is born. Good luck, hope that helped. Chris |
Member: prakashb |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 1:19 pm: Wow, thank you both for your information. I hope to have it ready by a month before. There is a lowspot that floods if we get a good rain (which would be my luck, so i probably should find a way to divert the water or fence that section off. I hope i'm lucky enough to be there when she gives birth.The fencing is all no climb, so hopefully that means i don't have to worry about any animals carrying the placenta off if i miss the birth. Thank you again for your help! |
Member: erika |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 6:49 pm: Prakesh, I think it's great that you will have a nice clean pasture for foaling. Your mare will probably appreciate it. The weather should be warm in June and if your mare is used to turn out, she will be much more comfortable outside.Good luck. |
Member: 36541 |
Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 1:22 pm: I have used a broodmare alert device with good success when I thought I might miss a foaling. It attaches to the throatlatch under the halter, and when the mare laid her head on the ground flat out for more than 30 secs, it transmitted an alarm to my pager. When used along with a milk testing kit, I never missed a foaling. I did these things because I lost an extremely valuable foal to a sac entanglement when my maiden mare foaled alone in the pasture. Just a thought for some additional options - you wait a long time for a foal, and you aren't likely to be satisfied with a bad outcome you weren't there to understandBest of luck, Stacy |
Member: oscarvv |
Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 2:39 pm: I hope you will do your best to be there for the foaling. I use Chemetrics to test the milk and it has been accurate for me. When they start to get close, I test them twice a day.ALso foals put their mouth on everything, make sure there are no sharp little branches or anything they could poke an eye on. Since you are in FL and the foal is due in June make sure you have ample shade and do not let the newborn stay in the sun when s/he is first born. Foals cannot regulate their body temps well and can die from the heat if not monitored. I am in FL as well and give my mares EWT and West Nile vaccines a month before foaling. I have a 'foaling kit' on hand for all foalings. Is this your first foal? |
Member: prakashb |
Posted on Friday, Mar 9, 2007 - 11:06 pm: I never thought about the shade issue. THere are two small trees, but I should probably try to get another type of shelter in the pasture.Is there any brand of the foaling monitor that you recommend? I think that's a very cool idea. I worry because she's a maiden mare that she won't produce any milk for me to use in the test kits until after she gives birth. I could be mistaken in this issue though. I appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thank you all for your help. |
Member: prakashb |
Posted on Monday, Mar 12, 2007 - 10:53 pm: Dr. O, do you have any medical emergencies in people who have their horses give birth in the pastures? Anything you can point out that would help me make this pasture as baby safe as possible. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007 - 9:03 am: Hello Prakash,The only pasture related foaling problems that come to mind are cold related and foals slipping under fences. The cold temp in your case is not a problem and someone has mentioned the fencing problem above. Even a maiden should produce enough milk for testing, if you use the calcium tests. DrO |
Member: 36541 |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007 - 9:31 am: Prakash, I used the Breeder Alert with complete success, and have since lent it out to other people. It was @$600 four years ago. It was worth it to me as I had just lost a $6-8000 foal, and I was NOT going to lose another for the simple issue of not being present to see what went on. Because of the Breeder Alert, we saved the very first foal we used it with. Maybe someone in your area might lend or rent one out...It is still on the web at www.breederalert.com Best of luck, Stacy |