New moms

[Kari]

Hello,

I have no clue how to word this...

My bred mare, Gracie, is a maiden mare. I've never dealt with a maiden before, and am really nervous as to how she'll do handling labor and motherhood.

I guess I'm wanting to know if any of you who HAVE dealt with first-time-moms have noticed any common or usual behaviors or issues in many of these mares?

Such as not bagging up until the foal's on the ground.

Or, do a lot of them have difficulty accepting their foals?

Gracie is five months along and still has her girlish figure. Are many/some maiden mares like this?

I do realize that mares are each unique and follow their own set of rules (or even none at all), I guess I'd just like to hear your experiences.

Thanks!!

Kari

 

[Miniv]

Kari,

Many of our maidens have not bagged up until JUST before foaling. They also didn't "show" their pregnancy until into their last trimester and then - BOOM.

May I suggest that you get her used to having her bag/teat area being touched? Gently touching it with a warm damp wash cloth is how I usually start.

 

[Sue S]

When my maiden mare had her baby last May she didn't bag up very much until she had the baby than her bag got big, She was an excellent mother right from the start. She had an easy time of having Shimmering Rose.

 

[Riverdance]

Besides maiden mares not bagging up much before foaling, many of them do not know what to do with the foal after birth. Some may not want the foal nurshing on their sore bags. If this happens I usually will tie the mare up and help the foal to nurse and along the way, the lightbulb goes off in mom's head and she then is alright with her new baby. But I always keep an eye on them for a while to make sure mom is lettig baby nurse.

 

[JWC sr.]

We have 7 first time moms this year and Cindy and I were just talking the other day about the temperment changes in them when they had their respective babies.

We have had lap puppies that followed you around and were real pests, change to completely standoff actually mean new momma's. On the other hand really standoffish mares that when they have a baby they almost fall all over you to show off the new one.

In any case each mare is different, but you should really watch yourself untill you fiqure out where her head is. Gentle talk, imprinting the baby and slow movement are the norms for us. Don't make the mistake of thinking your sweet little pet would not hurt you, they can and sometimes will give into the natural protection mode of a new mother.

As far as bagging and showing signs, maiden mares are a study in contrast in that some do not show any signs untill right before the delivery and others just spread. But I guess that is to be expected when you think about even humans. It all depends on the length and heigth of the mare and her general confomation in my opinion. As a general rule they show later and bag later, but there are even exceptions to that. OH!

I agree with the other poster about getting her used to checking her bag and milk vein, so as to not upset her when the exercize is needed.

It is an un-beleiveable experience and I am sure you will enjoy it. Relax and take it all in as the miracle it is.

 

[stormy]

Had kind of an interesting one last year, had a maiden mare foal...a fairly difficult delivery, had to pull for a while to get him out. The mom didn't know what this wet thing was doing in her stall at first but than became so fasinated by him she would not take her nose off him well he couldn't get to the faucets as Mom keep turning to keep touching him. We had to hold her every hour or so for the first day until she got over the novelty of having this little baby in her life!

 

[JWC sr.]

That is a cool story Stormy, these little horses never cease to amaze me. LOL

 

[Mona]

I also have 2 maidens due this year, and I ALWAYS worry about those first timers more than I do the more "seasoned" mares.

One thing I have noticed, is that sometimes when the maiden mare goes into labour, she can often act really "scared" about what is going on. They seem to get more nervous when they go into labour, not knowing what it is all about.

Good Luck with your mare!

 

[Kari]

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!

It's so helpful to know about some of the possible situations that may arise and how to handle them.

I'm a LITTLE less nervous now!

Kari