Sandy B
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone! I have been on the Main Mini Forum and was invited to step on over here since my daughter and I are expecting 5 mini foals this year. I think many of you are familiar with our story fro last year but long story short.... 2011 was our first year expecting miniature horse foals. I have had horses for 35 + years and showing, breeding & foaling Quarter Horses for 20. My daughter got her first minis a couple years ago. We bought a AMHA stud and gelding and then quickly added 3 mares. We settled two of the mares for 2011. I knew going in to breeding minis that there was a higher risk of complications. I warned my daughter (who was 11 years old) but honestly did not think that in our very first year expecting mini foals and only two at that, not to mention that our stud is 30.5" and the mares were 32 & 34", that I would have complications. The first mini mare was acting like she had colic (no udder and we pasture bred that first year, so guessing on a due date) as she was about 10 months along at the farthest. I gave her Banamine and we hand walked her and it was then that her water broke and she presented with a red bag. I grabbed scissors and immediately cut through and dove in to grab legs to only find the vagina empty. Vet was called as I was trying to figure out what was what inside. Vet arrived 30 minutes later and all I managed was to get one front leg out after I had straightened a sideways, neck back foal. Even after slinging mare up and 2 hours of trying, the vet could not get the head through the pelvic ring, and the mare was so in shock, we put the mare down. Then the next mare was shaping up like clock work and I knew she was close to foaling anytime. She had been out grazing and I brought her and her buddy in to the barn in the afternoon and she was scarfing around looking for food and acting normal and 30 minuted later my daughter finds a mini foal in the sac. We tried like heck to resuscitate the foal for 15 minutes, to no luck. She was a gorgeous bay pinto. Needless to say my daughter freaked out as she wanted a mini baby so bad and had waited all year long. We almost gave up, but the wonderful mini world stepped up. Sandy from Cavallini Farms gave my daughter a foal (that was not even born at the time) and it was a buckskin filly. Then Kathy Morlang called me and offered to give my daughter two mares and when we got there we ended up taking three home, all had shown and one was even a AMHA Res World Champion. So 2011 ended up being a busy year teasing an hand breeding 7 mares. We settled 6 and one mare aborted at about 8.5 months pregnant. So we have 5 remaining mares due to foal with 340 due dates starting from April 25th and going until June 1. Right now we have two mares, due 4/25 & 4/26 under cameras and wearing our recently purchased halter monitors from Equipage. I do have to say I am pretty anxious about this mini foaling deal. Luckily I have a great vet that lives a few miles down the road from me and is on "alert". We have already made a hoist in preparation as well. I hope to God we never have to use it.
Unfortunately, we do not have high speed internet where we live so we rely on a wireless card, and I am unable to use Mare Stare because we are only allotted so much air card time. I was told that I could still come to this forum and post pictures and you guys could give me advise or opinions as we go along. I will post each mare there own topic page and take pictures periodically. Thank you all ahead of time! I am so grateful that we have somewhere to go to mingle and get advise and help from the more experienced. These minis sure make me appreciate the ease of my quarter horse broodmares
Unfortunately, we do not have high speed internet where we live so we rely on a wireless card, and I am unable to use Mare Stare because we are only allotted so much air card time. I was told that I could still come to this forum and post pictures and you guys could give me advise or opinions as we go along. I will post each mare there own topic page and take pictures periodically. Thank you all ahead of time! I am so grateful that we have somewhere to go to mingle and get advise and help from the more experienced. These minis sure make me appreciate the ease of my quarter horse broodmares
