Foaling and working

[mini123]

How does everyone handle mares foaling and working?? I work 8-6 m-f. My mares are on the cam every night to watch for foaling. But I am always nervous when I leave for work. When they are close I leave in the stall or a small paddock. But it makes me crazy. How do you cope when no one is home bcause you have work? Esp those who have 10 plus foals a yr?????

 

[cassie]

do you have a camera up outside? how far away are you?

I love marestare lol thats all I can say!! they are brilliant!!

 

[Jill]

My office is too far away to have a chance to get home if I see one going on camera. I own my own business and try to have a light client calendar around when our mares are due and can rescefule most things if something looks ready to happen and if not, my husband stays home. We have video cameras that carry sound and halter buzzers.

Good luck.

 

[barnbum]

This is one of the reasons I stopped breeding. I am gone 7:30-4:00. If the mares' bags were at all tight in the morning, I'd call my father, who lives two miles away, and he'd pop over to check on them. If he thought they were close, he'd stay. Or he'd returen every two hours. He's a farmer and did a lot of calving, but I told him about red bags and the best way to pull a foal if a mare needed help. The vet's number and all foaling supplies were handy. I also had permission from the principal to scoot if I got a call--not easy to do with a classroom full of kids--I had to arrange coverage. But the foal would have arrived long before I'd get home.

When I was more unsure about when the foals would come, it was torture to stay up most the night and teach the next day. It was hard to stay awake at stop lights on the way home. Dangerous. My body took months to adjust back to normal after a week of so little sleep for the first foal, then to repeat it for the second.

Not one of my six foals ever came during the day. Whew! Two foals arrived every other year here, and by the 3rd time around I could pinpoint the night those mares would foal. When I came home from work--if their bags were tight and the milk honey like or had turned to skim--that was the night. Whether 9 PM or 2 AM, I knew it was the night. I always took at least the morning off the next day--for the vet to come check things out and to know the foal was fine. Usually I hadn't slept--so I often took the whole day to fit in a nap to avoid the crash.

Leaving for work when there are new foals--that's another tough one!!!

 

[barnbum]

oops---

 

[Eagle]

I have small kids so I am at home with them. I also have them on MS. I have to move them up to the house for foaling as the main barn is about 400 meters from the home and just too far to get to in a hurry if there is a problem. At home I have the foaling stall with a small paddock in front so I can turn the cam and watch them whilst they are out in case they foal during the day whilst I am out shopping or something. Modern technology is amazing and I can watch them from my phone wherever I am. I don't think it is good for them to spend hours in side a stall before foaling so I like them outside in the fresh air so they can walk and roll the foal into position. JMHO

 

[weerunner]

This is the hardest thing ever. Most of my mares give good clear signs they are going to foal and with the milk test strips and only hand breeding I am pretty sure when they will deliver but you can never be 100% sure. I only work 20 minutes from home so if I see something on Marestare that looks suspicious I can leave immediately and hopefully make it to help if there is an issue.

I still have a very horrible time leaving a mare that has a full bag and is testing at 85% chance of foaling. I will NOT leave if they are testing at 95%. My bosses understand as they have horses too. It's stressful but with the economy the way it is now I dont see me retiring any time soon.

Milk strips, marestare and a keen eye on all the regular foaling signs has meant I've been there for all 8 of my foals and two were daylight foalings!! (one at 930am and one at 5pm.

 

[targetsmom]

Well, I work from home and NEVER leave the property when a mare is 300 days or beyond, and I think you all know how horrible our foaling luck has been in 5 years of breeding. So I have no idea how people can work and breed!

 

[Matt73]

If someone couldn't be here all the time after day 300, I wouldn't breed. Lexus foaled at 7:30am for her first and 3:20pm with her second. If I had a regular 9-5 job we would have lost her first, and both times the sacs were nice and tough, so if no one had been here...

 

[cretahillsgal]

I work only about 4 minutes from my house. And I leave the mares under camera and watch them on marestare on my computer at work. If I see something I rush home.

 

[zoey829]

I too find it difficult. I do Marestare.I cant keep it hooked up during the day since I have to take my computer at work. I leave the mare in a separate pen and have a friend check on her. However, I wish I could take off but I know I cant. So I have a horse sitter visit several times a day.

 

[Leeana]

I work just 5 minutes from home, and if I needed to come home for something quick, I know that I could. My work is very understanding. I use to work midnights, and that was a stress, but I was lucky that all the foals were born in the daytime

. Dad is always home.

Plenty of breeders do all of the foaling out in the pasture natural too.

 

[eagles ring farm]

I work 9-5 also but my husband is retired so he is home

But in addition to marestare at night

The milk test strips are the best

We have had 2 out of 15 foals here born outside during the day the rest at night.

The 2 born in the pasture the mares went off by their selves the best they could and did fine alone thank goodness. And Art saw them soon after they were born and brought mom and baby into their stall.

 

[disneyhorse]

There is someone at my barn who lives there, she foals out her mares and also takes in client mares for a fee. I would gladly pay someone to watch my mare(s) if I was unable to (I work, and she has foaled out my mares for me). There are centers that foal out mares.

If I couldn't be there for my mare, or find someone who could, I wouldn't breed.

Andrea

 

[LittleRibbie]

first breeding was this year..luckily this is a slow time of year for our business and i was able to be home 24/7. Mare Stare was also a life saver. Every person I knew I told them about Peanut having a baby and to watch....people came out of the wood work and watched and it worked out great...especially being a first time breeder...but I or my husband were always home.I also used foal strips.

There would be no way to get home in time if I did have to be at work.

I am not breeding anyone this year but next year I will just count back the months again and hope that who ever i decide to breed will be ready then.

 

[REO]

And I gave everyone a heads up in plenty of time huh Heidi?

 

[LittleRibbie]

You sure did !!! i think it was like

" SHES IN LABOR NOW!!!

"

 

[REO]

No one believed me

I've been known to call CretaHillsGal at work and holler at her when her mares were in labor too.

You'd think I'd have enough to do watching my own mares LOL!

 

[Riverrose28]

Before I retired I only showed, I didn't breed, I've had several mares foal during the day, one has had three fillies all at 1:30 in the afternoon, and one that has had two colts at 10:30 in the morning. I haven't bred any mares in two years because of the economy, so now I get lots of sleep. during foaling time, hubby and I take turns sleeping and I have cameras and monitors, and if I need to go to the store I call for help from across the road to keep an eye on what ever mare needs watching and never go far. While watching monitors I work jig saw puzzles and watch movies all night.