Curious .. How do you monitor mares ready to foal

[minimom1]

Hi

I have one mini mare that may be in foal for 2010. I am not a breeder and this

is most likely the one and only foal that will be born on my property, she was

bred prior to me buying her. So although I want to make sure I am present I dont

want to spend a fortune on equipment to foal out one mare.

So my question is because obviously I want to ensure that I am present for the

birth ... is how do YOU monitor your foaling mares ?

Sleep in the barn ... there are mice LOL and this might also delay the onset of labour

Foaling Monitor for the halter ... Cant seem to find one in Canada and not sure of the

range they will cover, my house is about 600 ft from the barn

Barn Camera ... seems like the best option BUT what if I fall in to a deep sleep

and miss the whole thing, that could have disastorous concequences

Do you set your clock for every 1/2 hour to check the monitor or ????

I know I seem like I am panicing a little early, I just want to be prepared and have

all the stuff I need well in advance.

Thanks for your replies

 

[targetsmom]

I am no expert ... but I would suggest checking the Best of the Forum and also doing a forum search for foaling. You should find lots of info, although every situation is unique.

For someone only doing this once, you might want to consider sending the mare to foal out at a place that has experience with foaling out MINIATURES (not just big horses).

Read everything you can - Blessed Are the Broodmares and The Complete Book of Foaling for starters.

Buy a foal buzzer (Google "Foal buzzer") for about $50 and a baby monitor (or borrow one). That combination should alert you when the mare lies down to foal, but you will need to check the range to make sure it reaches your house.

I have had very good luck (and it may be just luck!) predicting when a mare will foal based on the consistency of her milk (very sticky!) This has gotten me to within 24-48 hours anyway.

There are inexpensive web cams out there, and the price of MareStare is extremely reasonable, so I would recommend that route. Mare Stare (www.marestare.com) will get you LOTS of people watching your mare and calling you if they think she is about to foal. You might even do without the buzzer, but I recommend both.

Have your vets phone number handy.

Good luck!

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

You'll get great advice on this forum. You make some good points in your questions that made me smile thinking about this years foaling where we sat with our feet UP to avoid the mice in the dark - you know, turn off the lights cause the mares like it better LOL - whisper so not to disturb them LOL - keep those feet up for all the mice or they'll climb up your leg! ick! One night we fought a raccoon - who didn't care about us at all - we were sitting up on the stall wall holding rakes to scare him off (LOL that was my daughter-in-law!) - finally caught him in a live trap with peanut butter and jelly (and that's after he was smart enough to reach in and pull it out first three times).

Hubby sleeps through it all in the house - but Holly and I are true campers out in the barn with no electricity (100s of feet of extension cords though), long johns, stocking hats and coffee in thermal mugs (our Polaris got alot of use back and forth for coffee fillups - oh and have a 5 gallon bucket and roll of toilet paper out there LOL). We are too dumb to take turns so one can sleep in shifts - we watch in pairs so we can keep eachother awake! LOL good grief we were hopeless! ha

Next spring we'll be setup better. Concrete already poured and the office framed with a window to look out over most of the stalls, electric and water will be installed and hopefully a camera system. But we roughed it so far. LOL

I can't tell you how many false alarms we had toughing it out in the barn and no baby. But we were there for 7 out of 9 this year! I had toothpicks in my eyes going to work every morning but boy do I love it! lol What a life huh?

You've got some time yet to prepare so read and read and read and ask lots of questions. Folks on this forum have lots of experience to share that can help you. Have a pretty good idea of her due date helps alot.

 

[CheyAut]

I use and HIGHLY recomend www.marestare.com Doesn't cost much: you can get a camera at Radio Shack for $40, and marestare isn't pricey per month. Then when your mare is close, post on there and people will help you watch and call if your mare is acting funny/in labor

And when we are sleeping, hubby and I do set our alarms to go off at night, esp if the mare is close. We don't sleep well, but worth it!

 

[minimom1]

LOL Whitetailsmini that was a great post, thank you to all who responded.

I am a bit spoiled that way, we have a very nice heated barn with a working bathroom,

electricity, hot and cold water and a fride and EVEN a telephone, I can bring food and

coffee maker with me BUT even though I have not seen them I KNOW there is mice

in there as I see the little droppings. I am hoping that my hubby will come watch with

me so I can nap periodically and he can be on mouse watch LOL I just dont care for

the thought of a mouse under the covers with me or running across my head or chewing

on my hair LOL. We have a very clean barn and some of the stalls have not even had horses in them so I was thinking of getting a foal buzzer and staying in the stall next to

her, I would be out of sight (although she would know I was there) but atleast I could check on her if it buzzed. I have assisted a couple of large horses foal and seen many other animals have their young so I think I will be okay, I am just worried I will miss it. Also my vet is only 12 km away and would be here in less than 10 min. Thanks for the advice !

 

[mmmorgans]

I wish you all the best in your foaling - it is a wonderful experience - although heartwrenching at times.

My words of wisdom are simple....

1) Marestare - can't imagine foaling without it

2) Equipage - many hours of lost sleep - but worth it!!!!!

3) Plenty of rest before your mare is close - because you won't get much sleep when you start "watching" her!!!!

Again good luck - and keep us posted!!!!!!!!!

 

[minimom1]

Thank you, I will definatley look into Marestare and yes I know if anything

goes wrong I will be devistated, I plan to be prepared as possible and

at all costs be there with her when the time comes.

In the mean time Im sure I will have a lot of questions after and during my

research on foaling.

Have a great night

 

[Katiean]

I have not had foaling dates on any mare I foaled out big or mini. With one big mare I foaled out for a friend I slept at the barn. My big mare I checked her every hour. I was there for both of them. With my minis I just watched them. Yes I was tired and I did miss one of them. The foal was fine. I had only just missed the birth because the mare was still down and the foal had slid down the hill a bit. The real bummer is not knowing when they are due. I don't think I would like a halter alarm because my mares lay flat out all the time catching the rays. That thing would be going off all the time.

:wacko I just recommend staying close to the mare when you figure she is near foaling.

 

[Jill]

As ours get closer, we do a "****ie check" 2x a day and they are monitored w/ cameras that carry sound and foaling halter buzzers

:yes

We've had a few surprise us going sooner than we thought but only one that foaled before we got out there. She surprised us and was foaling when we went out to feed early one morning in January. I thought we had a few more weeks, but all turned out well and we got a great little filly

 

[barnbum]

I've only foaled out 6--and we're done; I missed the first by 5 minutes and never missed another. We bought security cameras from Radio Shack--I had one on each stall. The monitor is a 5" black and white model.

For two years, I had to watch in the library in our home because that room has a window facing the barn and it's the only place it came in (wireless). The love seat in there is short--even for 5'4" me. But--this year my husband figured out how to have the horses show up on the TV screen--which was much bigger and in a room with a couch. Oh the luxury.

At first--when I know they're not too close, but I can't stand not checking, I'll set my cell phone alarm (just learned how to do that for this year's mare stare) for every 30-45 min, but once I know they're close (milk changes, udder hardness, vulva length) I simply do not sleep. And I go to work the next day (teaching 10 year olds) while my dad takes over the watch. Several people asked me this year "You stay awake ALL NIGHT? HOW do you do that?" I just say "because the life of my mare and foal depend on it." I have no help for mare stare at night--my quilting forum buddies help me to stay awake by chatting with me via forum posts... but no one is here--awake.

I didn't use the pager because my mares lay flat every night several times, pregnant or not.

Marestare--if I had more than two foals every other year, I'd consider it, but since these were the last two I just toughed it out. Oh, my quilting forum ladies sure wanted me to get one.

I will say--it's so hard the first time because every change makes "maybe tonight's the night!" resound through your head. Only after the first several foals were born could I narrow my sleepless night from 3 weeks to 2 days. And that's only because I knew my mares and took copious notes every year about everything to use the next time. When foaling every other year, everything has to be relearned.

Good luck!! If this is the only one--just do what you have to be to be there... then take a nice long nap once the foal is pooping, peeing, nursing... that's a whole nother chapter.

 

[barbiedoll68346]

We simply do not sleep much during foaling season and it does tend to wear on us. We have our mares under cameras, baby monitors, lights, and we can look out the bedroom window into our foaling stalls. I need to get set up on marestare this year. Only 1 mare foaled last year while I was away at work, otherwise I caught all of the births. Will have to be looking up the marestare info this winter, another winter project I am sure.

I have slept in stalls before with mares in sub zero temps with two (yes, two) pairs of coveralls on just knowing that the mare was going to foal, NOT!!!!. It was freezing that night. My husband tells me I always start watching and panicking about a month early, but, oh well, that is me. I am sure i will freeze and deprive my body of sleep again this year.

It is such an exciting time until foaling season is about over then you pray for the last mare to foal so you can rest.

Barb

 

[triplethorsefarm]

[SIZE=12pt]Our barn is close to 400 feet away from the house , so unfortunately the cameras from radio shack don't work (we've tried lol). This year I used the foaling predictor strips from Mother Natures Miniatures. I will NEVER go through another foaling season without them. I was present for 6 out of 6 foals this year! While I still have to spend the night camped out in the barn, I only had to spend one night per mare, instead of weeks of sleepless nights. I sleep on a couch in front of their stall, the lights out, a small flash light pointing towards the stall, with my cell phone alarm set for every 15 minutes! It is quite a sight, but it has been very effective

[/SIZE]

Good luck with your mare and continue to use this forum. I continue to learn everyday on this board. There are some great people on here with priceless information to share.

[SIZE=14pt]Triple T Horse Farm[/SIZE]

Raising correct and colorful AMHA/AMHR Horses

www.freewebs.com/triplethorseranch

 

[yankee_minis]

I've foaled out over 20 mares and expect 6 foals next year (YIKES!)

Marestare marestare marestare

If you fall asleep someone will call you. Very nice people all over the world.

My equipment cost about $100 for one camera and switch box.

Good luck!

 

[lilmiraclesfarm]

When I foaled my mare I slept in the stall with her on a cot. At the time I didn't have a barn. I bought one of those foal buzzers and slept with her. But every morning I woke up with a huge rump in my face trying to sit on my cot with me!

So I ended up sleeping in my car with the baby monitor. lol

 

[minimom1]

Lilmiraclesmom - That is FUNNY ! I plan on sleeping in the stall BESIDE hers so she

cant sit on me but I am a tad worried about the mice (LOL) I also plan on getting

the foal buzzer. Maybe I will borrow somebody's cat and lock it in the stall with me.

 

[lilmiraclesfarm]

Oh ya it was a woot! She would sleep right next to me all night. But come 6 am. Its time to get up and she did it the best way she new how. To just sit on you!

Why don't you get a cot and a small 1-2 person tent. Then you can pitch the tent inside the stall. The foal buzzer is great. I would of loved to set up on marestare and have all the nice pagers but for what. One horse who I might only breed every few years. The foal buzzer worked out really well. But it takes them some getting used to as it will buzz right in their ears. As soon as she was down I pulled the halter right off of her.

 

[~Lisa~]

Starting at about 300 days we do a"baggage" check we do that every couple of days till we start to notice development and then check daily as we get closer 2 times a day.

I am lucky in that my foaling stalls are about 30 ft or so maybe less from my bedroom window. We have cameras in the 3 stalls and the mares also wear a breeder alert.

I have only missed I one I think maybe 2 actually in 15 years. For a one time foal I think I would try to get a halter buzzer if that would not bother your mare and a baby monitor I am not sure how far they work but some wireless cameras are pretty inexpensive or take her to a foaling center?

Congrats on your upcoming foal

 

[kmh]

We highly recommend Mare Stare....the best money you will ever spend during foaling season! The Mare Stare family (cam owners and viewers) have been a HUGE help with phone calls during the day or night when a mare may not be acting normally and they suspect something is going on. After the viewers watch these mares for a few weeks (before they foal) they also learn the mares pattern of behavior.

After several weeks of us watching expectant mares, working full time during the day and trying to stay up all night to watch mares that are close..........those phone calls from the viewers are a god send! There have been many times we had fallen asleep and someone will call to wake us up that a mare appears to be in labor.

We also use the Equipage system, the mare wears an alert device on her halter. When she lays out flat in the foaling position it sets off the pager which wakes us up and alerts us that she is down. Sometimes this is a false alarm as we have one mare that sleeps flat out throughout her entire pregnancy, but I would rather be woke up and be able to look at our cameras to be sure everything is ok vs losing a foal.

Hope this helps,

Steph

 

[minimom1]

Thank you to all of you for your helpful advice and tips.

LittleMiraclesMom: that is exactly the thing, this will be my only foal as I am

not a breeder, just bought 1 mare in foal. I will definatley get the foaling buzzer.

 

[Miniv]

Here's another angle...... We have a camera/monitor system. Yes, we have a number of horses. HOWEVER, even if we'd only used it for one mare, we have also used it for a number of sick horses over the years. It's been well worth it for just that.