Mary's Pregnancy & Foaling Thread- SHE FOALED 5/22~~~FILLY~~~!!! New PICS pg 56

[mthowdy]

Thanks for the pictures Ben - brilliant! You are doing a great job with Mary and it sounds as though she is progressing steadily.

Whole oats are not the best feed for horses - they dont break down the hard outer 'shell' very easily which means they dont get the goodness from the kernal inside. Bruised or crushed oats are better and more easily digested. The reason why we suggested a mare and foal feed for Mary is that any changes to her food must be made slowly and with her possibly this close to foaling, any changes need to be started soon. Oats would not be a good feed for the new foal who will undoubtedly be trying out Mary's food within days of its birth. Nothing wrong with a senior feed either, as long as the protein level is high enough, but go for the pellets as the mix can contain some 'hard' bits that may cause the foal to choke.

Really hoping Mary foals for you and your Mum on the 12th May!

We did crushed oats for a while, and then one day when I went to get more from our local feed store the owner was telling me that whole oats are better because it preserves the oil in them which would be beneficial. It's been a while so I can't remember exactly what he said- but, I will take your advice and switch back to crushed or rolled oats!

And I wasn't planning on letting her have oats after she foals- unless I'm there. When I feed them oats I always put each horses serving in its own bucket and then stand there and pet/talk to them while they eat, and until they are finished. It is one of the best opportunities for bonding time for us

I appreciate your advice though, so I'm definitely going to switch- but I'm keeping the same routine

I have a question about the mare/foal feed...

Is there a suggested amount I feed her? I know the brand I can get most readily, Allegra, is made for big horses so I doubt the directions would do me any good. Maybe there is a suggested anount of food compared to a body percentage or something..?

Make that three questions then- do I give her the feed twice a day, along with the flake of alfalfa? Sorry to be such a newbie!

Any suggestions on slowly transitioning her to the feed?

This is what I'm thinking:

Give her a handful here and there for a couple days- then move up to a once a day feeding of half what she should be eating for a couple days- then go to the normal routine of a morning and an evening feeding each day until she foals, and after.

I just need to figure out how much she should be eating at each feeding, if she should still get alfalfa, and how to transition her so her stomach doesn't get upset! Luckily I have you ladies to help me

Ok last thing I just thought of, then I promise I'll leave everyone alone! After the foal is born, I continue to feed Mary the mare/foal feed for how long? And the foal will get it until it is weaned, or longer?

Thanks everyone, I am so glad I have this place to ask newbie questions and not feel dumb!

Update on Mary:

She is still shopping daily, at that slow and steady pace she seems to love- and I despise!

She does seem to be relaxing in the hooha, but only slightly- and her tailhead is still very firm.

Her stomach is definitely starting to shape up- I think the foal must be getting too big to move around much so now it is getting ready to line up. I definitely haven't been seeing the foal move around like it used to- I am assuming this is normal.

That's all for now! I will get pics up tomorrow or the next day!

(oh and no promises, but we have been talking about getting a nicer camera set up and get marestare hooked up- but it is still just a possibility, one that I am really going for!)

 

[Sandy B]

Welcome Ben! My 12 year old daughter and I are relative newbies to this forum and since we do not have a 24/7 internet option I can only post pictures too. Mary and Rowdy are nice looking minis and your Mary looks built to have babies. You have come to the right place for information and help. We have 5 miniature mares due to foal. Two of those are officially just past the average due date of 340 days and have been bagging up well over a month now. After two foaling disasters last year, I have now added foaling alarms for back up.

As far as fescue, there are many types of fescue grass and what you would need to find out is if it is infected with the endophtye fungus. This is what causes late term abortions, foaling issues and problems with milk supply. I am told that most fescue that contains the endophyte fungus are those that are used for lawns, like a sod. But a quick call to your vet or county farm bureau should be able to help you. I am hoping that all goes well.

I am going to bet your mare is a good 4 to 5 weeks away from foaling, but keep those pictures coming!!

 

[mthowdy]

Welcome Ben! My 12 year old daughter and I are relative newbies to this forum and since we do not have a 24/7 internet option I can only post pictures too. Mary and Rowdy are nice looking minis and your Mary looks built to have babies. You have come to the right place for information and help. We have 5 miniature mares due to foal. Two of those are officially just past the average due date of 340 days and have been bagging up well over a month now. After two foaling disasters last year, I have now added foaling alarms for back up.

As far as fescue, there are many types of fescue grass and what you would need to find out is if it is infected with the endophtye fungus. This is what causes late term abortions, foaling issues and problems with milk supply. I am told that most fescue that contains the endophyte fungus are those that are used for lawns, like a sod. But a quick call to your vet or county farm bureau should be able to help you. I am hoping that all goes well.

I am going to bet your mare is a good 4 to 5 weeks away from foaling, but keep those pictures coming!!

Thanks for the welcome! I have been following your mares thread- I check for a foal every time I am on!!

I wish I could get a foaling alarm- but it is a little too expensive right now, especially since I just have the one mare. She lost her goal last year from not making it out of the bag, so I am determined to be there this time. (I didn't own her last year, I got her after she had been rebred to Rowdy.

I've been looking at all different kinds of cameras- right now I think marestare/Internet feed is impossible for us- but I think I will get something that hooks up to my tv, or a video baby monitor so I can check her every half hour when it gets close. (without having to go outside and disturb her)

I forced the thoughts of fescue and all the horrible things that can come from it out of my mind. She has been on a dry lot and eating alfalfa for almost a week now, and if she still has another 3-5 weeks until she pops then hopefully all the fescue toxins will be gone. (if there were any)

Right now she has been developing nicely, her udder is filling, and everything seems normal so hopefully we are an all clear. The only thing that I'm worried about is the baby having a tough time breaking the sack- as that was the problem with her foal from last year. Ugh, I'm just gonna have to stay positive and do the best I can!

As soon as I feel like it might be close, i am going to be putting 24 hour surveillance on her!!

 

[Eagle]

our local feed store the owner was telling me that whole oats are better because it preserves the oil in them which would be beneficial.

It is amazing what people will invent to sell stuff

As Anna said, horses don't chew their food much so whole oats are a waste of time and money as they just get pooped out whole and horses have no way of extracting the goodness out of them. Also oats are good for working horses or a stallion during the mating season but not really necessary for a brood mare.

I have a question about the mare/foal feed...

Is there a suggested amount I feed her? I know the brand I can get most readily, Allegra, is made for big horses so I doubt the directions would do me any good. Maybe there is a suggested anount of food compared to a body percentage or something..?

Yes I expect their will be some indication or food per body weight, When you get a bag let us know what it says and we can work out her daily ration.

Make that three questions then- do I give her the feed twice a day, along with the flake of alfalfa? Sorry to be such a newbie!

I would feed her twice a day with mare and foal food plus a flake of Alfalfa and try to make sure it is 12 hours between each feed if possible.

Any suggestions on slowly transitioning her to the feed?

This is what I'm thinking:

Give her a handful here and there for a couple days- No don't think this is a good idea then move up to a once a day feeding of half what she should be eating for a couple days- Yes I would start once a day with a small amount and then gradually work her up to half the daily amount, after a couple of days on half you could then start the second daily feed gradually increasing the amount until you arrive at the suggested daily amount. then go to the normal routine of a morning and an evening feeding each day until she foals, and after.

I just need to figure out how much she should be eating at each feeding, if she should still get alfalfa, and how to transition her so her stomach doesn't get upset! Luckily I have you ladies to help me

Once you have a bag we can work out how much she should get, All feeds are different but the one my mares are on works out at a cup in the morning and a cup at night, (just to give you a rough idea).

Ok last thing I just thought of, then I promise I'll leave everyone alone! After the foal is born, I continue to feed Mary the mare/foal feed for how long? And the foal will get it until it is weaned, or longer?

Each mare is different so it is hard to say at this point for how long you will need to feed her, my mares usually get fed until the foal is about 4 months and then just the foal continues to get fed , after about another 2 months I wean the foals and they are already used to eating hard food.

Thanks everyone, I am so glad I have this place to ask newbie questions and not feel dumb!

Update on Mary:

She is still shopping daily, at that slow and steady pace she seems to love- and I despise!

She does seem to be relaxing in the hooha, but only slightly- and her tailhead is still very firm.

Her stomach is definitely starting to shape up- I think the foal must be getting too big to move around much so now it is getting ready to line up. I definitely haven't been seeing the foal move around like it used to- I am assuming this is normal. Yep! as baby gets bigger there is less room for gymnastics

That's all for now! I will get pics up tomorrow or the next day!

(oh and no promises, but we have been talking about getting a nicer camera set up and get marestare hooked up- but it is still just a possibility, one that I am really going for!)

I bet Mary will foal around the same time as my girls

 

[mthowdy]

Alright- I picked up a bag of the Allegra baby Brand feed for mares/foals.

Here is what the directions say:

For pregnant and lactating mares- feed to last trimester pregnant and lactating mares, along with quality forage at a rate to maintain proper body condition. As a general guideline, feed pregnant mares between 5-8 pounds and lactating mares between 8-12 pounds of Allegra Baby Equine Formula along with good quality hay and/or pasture, salt and water.

So I am assuming that the amount they say is for big horses, not the minis!

I am going to give her a morning feeding tomorrow morning (however much you ladies think I should) and continue once a day feedings for a couple days to a week, then add in her evening feeding.

I will continue to spread one flake of alfalfa throughout her pen each day, and then give her a flake at night so she has something to chew on.

Once the foal is born- I just keep her on the same schedule/amount and let the baby nibble if he wants? The bag says to start offering it to foals at one month old.

Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it

This Morning Mary's belly looked really weird- the foal must have been trying to turn around or something. One side was flat looking, almost sunken in, then the other side was poking out really far! I just checked again and she has her normal round belly back.

Her udder was very floppy today, barely had anything in it. Her hooha is definitely starting to relax though- two days ago it was about 3-4 inches and now it is at least 5/6 inches.

I am going to worm her this week as she is gettin close enough to delivery (I'm thinking 2-3 weeks but everyone else thinks longer apparently)- then I will worm her again within twelve hours of the delivery....That is correct, yes?

Once I get this feeding schedule/amount done I am all good to go!!

Thanks again! I'm going to wait until tomorrow for pictures, there really isn't anything to see today.

 

[mthowdy]

I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS:

I measured out ONE CUP of the feed, and it weighs approximately 4.2 ounces- and that is an average of a couple different cup sized samples.

So if one cup is 4 ounces, she should get about how many cups a day?

 

[AnnaC]

Sorry but it's a bit late here (nearly midnight!) for me to go into an in-depth chat about feed amounts, but as your cup is 4 ounces I would suggest that you will be quite safe adding a cupful to her morning feed straight away.

And yes, spread her morning flake of alfalfa around so she gets plenty of exercise (most important!) and give the other flake during the night. Actually, do you know how much a flake weighs, and how long it lasts her through the night. Remember that it is most important for horses to 'trickle feed' which means that they should have enough 'fibre' to graze on throughout most of the night - not clear it all in a couple of hours and then spending 8 or 10 hours with nothing going through their systems.

 

[mthowdy]

Sorry but it's a bit late here (nearly midnight!) for me to go into an in-depth chat about feed amounts, but as your cup is 4 ounces I would suggest that you will be quite safe adding a cupful to her morning feed straight away.

And yes, spread her morning flake of alfalfa around so she gets plenty of exercise (most important!) and give the other flake during the night. Actually, do you know how much a flake weighs, and how long it lasts her through the night. Remember that it is most important for horses to 'trickle feed' which means that they should have enough 'fibre' to graze on throughout most of the night - not clear it all in a couple of hours and then spending 8 or 10 hours with nothing going through their systems.

Perfect! First thing in the morning I will give her one cup along with her alfalfa and then slowly increase it the the suggested amount. Thanks for the help!

She usually has some left overs in the morning, but not very much- so I think she is getting just the right amount of alfalfa throughout the day and night. I don't know how much a flake weighs, but I can try and figure that out tomorrow. Seeing as she seems to be maintaining her weight, and seems happy with what she is getting, I think I will jut continue with that and then add in the mare feed.

Thanks again!

 

[chandab]

I have a question about the mare/foal feed...

Is there a suggested amount I feed her? I know the brand I can get most readily, Allegra, is made for big horses so I doubt the directions would do me any good. Maybe there is a suggested anount of food compared to a body percentage or something..?

Make that three questions then- do I give her the feed twice a day, along with the flake of alfalfa? Sorry to be such a newbie!

Not all, but most feeds have directions for feeding listed as so many pounds of feed per 100# of body weight. So for example if the feed says 1#/100#, and your mare weighs 350#, then the amount recommended for her size is 3.5# daily. Some feeds just say 6-8# daily, and that is usually based on 1000 or 1100# full-size horse, so a mini of 350# pounds would get about a third of that or 2-2.75#. You'll just have to read the label and see what it says (I just pulled these numbers out of the air, so you'll have to check the directions on the bag of feed).

 

[Mima Acres]

Just wanted to say hello from the Pacific Northwet, (Washington). Your horses are lovely. I've actually learned a lot just from reading this thread and the others on this forum, it's very helpful! I can't wait to see your little foal!

 

[chandab]

Chanda, his feed bag of Allegra baby Brand feed for mares/foals says this:

As a general guideline, feed pregnant mares between 5-8 pounds and lactating mares between 8-12 pounds of Allegra Baby Equine Formula along with good quality hay and/or pasture, salt and water.

That's why I picked about 3.5 pounds as a "middle range".

I hadn't caught up with all the posts, before I posted.

 

[mthowdy]

I bet Mary will foal around the same time as my girls

When are your girls due again? It's so hard to keep up with everyone's threads, let alone keeping all the names/horses names/foal names in order!!

 

[mthowdy]

Just wanted to say hello from the Pacific Northwet, (Washington). Your horses are lovely. I've actually learned a lot just from reading this thread and the others on this forum, it's very helpful! I can't wait to see your little foal!

Hello Neighbor!!

This place is definitely full of Information and knowledgeable people, I am so glad I found them!

The horses are a little chubby and furry- but thanks!

I will definitely be posting pictures ASAP when the foal is born!

 

[mthowdy]

Chanda, his feed bag of Allegra baby Brand feed for mares/foals says this:

As a general guideline, feed pregnant mares between 5-8 pounds and lactating mares between 8-12 pounds of Allegra Baby Equine Formula along with good quality hay and/or pasture, salt and water.

That's why I picked about 3.5 pounds as a "middle range".

Thank you for the info!!

I gave her one scoop of the feed this morning along with her regular routine/alfalfa and she definitely liked it! Haha

She is doing really good, and progressing nicely! I can't wait to show you guys the pictures! (next post)

I'm going to give her a scoop this evening, and continue this routine for a week before I start increasing it to the proper amount.

Tomorrow is the move in to her new pen so we will see how that goes.

Ok, now I'm going to upload some pictures!

 

[mthowdy]

I didn't get a shot from the back today, but the baby is riding low and a little wide. She has a bigger udder than ever! I almost couldn't believe it when I saw! Yesterday she was tiny, but not today!

Her hooha is continuing to relax and elongate, but her tailhead is pretty hard still. Sorry for the awful picture, she was not being very cooperative today!!

So...what do ya think??

 

[LittleBittyBritches]

She is coming along nicely

 

[mthowdy]

She is coming along nicely

Good to hear!

The waiting is killing me...I just wish I knew when it is going to happen!!!

On the same note: I JUST ordered my foaltime test strip kit!

Hopefully that helps with figuring out at least somewhere near the time she is going to foal!

 

[Eagle]

Morning Ben

My girl is due mid May but judging by Mary's progress I think you will get a baby before me

When you give her breakfast can you take an udder pic but from behind, it is easier to see the size that way. Thanks

 

[AnnaC]

Morning Renee and Ben.

I think she has a little way to go yet - 10 days or so??? But as she has had foals before she could move a lot quicker, who knows!

Do let us know what she thinks of her new pen. Oh and did you ever find out about the fescue?

 

[mthowdy]

Morning Ben

My girl is due mid May but judging by Mary's progress I think you will get a baby before me

When you give her breakfast can you take an udder pic but from behind, it is easier to see the size that way. Thanks

Good Morning!!

How exciting! I am following your thread, I can't wait to see your foals

Don't take it personally, but I'm very happy to hear that Mary might beat your girls

I will get a whole round of pictures for you guys in the morning!! I can't wait to see what she looks like- I'm half tempted to go out and get pics right now haha!

But I checked on her two hours ago and all was well, so I will wait til the morning. Besides, I need to get all the sleep I can now so I can be rested up for the 24/7 watch I'm about to begin!

That reminds me- I need you ladies to help me decide when I should start hourly checks or anything like that!