We all really appreciate how hard you are trying to get everything right for your girl - it cant be easy for you either with 3 little humans to look after too! Firstly, I must differ from those breeders that came to visit you - it is most important that mares have plenty of freedom to exercise on a daily basis, especially on the run up to foaling. Quite apart from the fact that they dont want any changes in their diets - eg. keeping them in away from any normal grazing - they also need to be able to roll to help position the foal, so please dont go shutting her in during the daytime unless she is showing signs of foaling of course!
Another good sign that she is getting near to foaling is that her vulva will become swollen looking as she gets close. Also, if she will let you gently look inside, the inside will have changed from a salmon pink colour to a deep red - this happens with most mares, often signalling 24 hours to foaling, and the colour change is really easy to see.
May I just mention a couple of other things - sorry, I hope you are not getting too confused by everything - have you got a dose of wormer handy? A lot of us like to worm the mare within 12 hours of foaling just as a precaution, also if you use an Ivermectin based wormer it is said to help prevent the foal getting the scours when the mare has her foaling heat. (this year two of my mares foaled early and they had been wormed the week before they foaled so I didnt like to repeat the worming so soon - both their foals scoured at around the 10 day mark when the mares had their foaling heat, whereas two years ago I had 13 mares foal and all had a dose of Ivermectin within 12 hours of foaling - not one of their foals scoured!) So there may be some truth in this idea!?
Secondly, please remember to remove your mare's headcollar literally as soon as she foal - too much danger of a foal putting a foot through it while trying to stand (if the mare is still down) or doing the same if the mare has her head down eating her food or hay.
And lastly (!!) having at last got your foal safely on the ground and having dipped the cord, done a quick check on the sex and seen that all seems well, move out of the stall and let the mare and foal bond. Foals dont see clearly fora couple of weeks after their birth, they go by smell, and it is important that the smell they latch on to is their dams - not that of any human beings. So these first few hours (we always give them several days!) are important for the mare and foal to bond together - after all the foal does belong to the mare and not to us! Of course, if the foal has need of medical assistance, then early human interference is obviously necessary, but under normal circumstances less is better. Dont worry too much about your new foal getting established at the milk bar - as long as it is on its feet, moving about strongly and every now and again actively searching for the udder, it will find it in the end. Many foals take 6 hours or longer to get established and drinking properly so dont panic unless you think there is something wrong. Do keep an eye on them both from a suitable distance, your mare might need some pain relief after foaling, she might want to lay down most of the time or maybe roll and appear very uncomfortable, which will mean that she will not be standing for the foal to find the udder, so you may need veterinary assistance if this happens. If she is fine, then she will also appreciate a warm moist/wet mash of her normal food and some fresh soft hay - she has to get her system working again plus she needs to keep up her stength and make plenty of milk for her new baby!!
I cant wait for you to announce your new arrival - dont think you have much longer to wait!! Good luck!
