The foaling mare clip

[Shawntelle]

I have my first (and only) foal due this year as early as next week....I'm going to do the clip on her tomorrow, but I am hestant due to the weather being so unpredictable here in Ontario...it was 35 f today and yesterday it was 6 f and snowing again....

I wish my mares were shedding, would mean there is still hope for spring since this seems like the longest and coldest winter ever

 

[Genie]

We are in Ontario, Canada and we clip belly and a bit of flank.

Better in so many ways than not doing it.

 

[Candice]

I haven't had to yet as my mares have all had fairly short coats. If I had one with a really long coat and she was shedding out all over, I would.

 

[Joanne]

Still in the 30's at night here. We are unable to clip except just around the udders and a small amount of the underbelly.

No sides, flank or butt here!

Too cold burrrrrrrrr!!!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I have never done this and I have to admit I have never spent hours grooming my broodmares, either, in fact they actually get groomed once a year (after foaling) unless I want pictures.

Whatever state they are in, hair, shed out etc, that is the state they foal in.

I have never had any sort of a problem.

The weather is far too unpredictable to have half naked mares wandering around, so even if I wanted to I could not do this, and the only time they are stalled is when they are about to foal!

 

[kaykay]

I used to just do the flank clip and learned the hard way its not enough. A few years back we had a 2 week old filly colic and took her to ISU. They took one look at her dam and said she was not clipped nearly enough and they were sure the filly had a hair ball. Hooked her up to IVs and thank god she passed a huge ball of hair. They then clipped the whole back half of my mare from about the shoulder back. I was brushing that mare everyday to remove the loose hair but it wasnt enough.

Now I clip all mares way up in the flank and down the whole belly. Most foals will nuzzle their dams high in the flank etc so I make sure I clip all that off now.

 

[midnight star stables]

When my mares foal, I DO plan to do a preg. clip. Even here in Ontario - I'd rather be safe then sorry.

That said, I'd bet that all of the horses I own were born without preg. clips.

Good luck with Red and Star

 

[Becky]

I never have and *probably* won't start.

I have a few mares that I'm not sure what their reaction would be to clippers OH! , and I hate to stress them out that much just before foaling. I've never had an issue with hair (knock on wood) and hope I don't!

 

[Matt73]

Those of you in Canada probably don't have mares shedding out like crazy yet

I do a partial clip, how much I clip depends on how much the mare is shedding. I've done a moderated version for the mare I'm waiting on now, but at the rate she's going I'll be body clipping before she foals! 355 days today.........

Jan

Yes we do

Shedding is more of a response to length of daylight than temperature. My one guy started shedding at the end of December! Go figure...

 

[Suzie]

We clip here. You can see our mare on camera now for her clip.

Hi Suzie

Is that mare due tonight? She looks ready to go!

I got a good look at her clip job, thank you!! Good luck!!

~Tammy

Yes, she is actually past my calculated due date for her by a few days. She was shedding heavily and although we brush her daily, hair is just coming out in gobs. I may have to shave her higher once the foal arrives but the weather here is unpredictable (54 now-supposed to snow tonight). I basically shaved enough so I could see under there myself and get her cleaned up some. I don't want to take off too much hair and end up blanketing her -I think that would be even more risky for a foal to get trapped and injured.

 

[Millstone Farm]

Unless the foals are due in May or later, ALL my furry-as-yaks mares get the preggo cut. I know of one breeder who had foals ingest hair and required colic surgery (when just days old!). Better safe than sorry

 

[slv]

We do it with all of our mares. It became mandatory here on the farm when I noticed a three day old filly whose eye was swollen shut. When I examined her I could see something sticking out of the corner. I pulled it gently and a huge hair ball came out of her eye. The eye was watering all down the side of her face and after a week of treatment, she was fine, but I see no need to risk this or even the issue of ingesting a hair ball when it is just so quick and easy to do the clip.

 

[sedeh]

sedeh, What is a 'furminatior'?

A furminator is actually a dog grooming tool, though now I see they have extra large sizes for horses. I use the large dog size. It's a bit expensive but it really grabs the hair and sheds them out quickly. Gets rid of all the loose and not so loose hair. Good luck with your mares!!

 

[Charlotte]

thank you Sandy. I Googled it and found a large dog one at Petco for around $60!! Wow! then went to Amazon and they had the same for $25. Much better!

Does it have little tiny teeth real close together? I couldn't tell from the pictures but from the videow it sure looks like it works! I think I need one.

Charlotte

 

[Becky]

I really like the GroomeeZ for getting long, loose hair off. A great tool!

 

[Connie P]

Yes, we definitely do the foaling mare clip here. I also keep the mares tail tied up because one year we had a foal eat some of mom's tail and it cost LOTS of money having TWO different colic surgeries to save his life after it clogged him up. That was a nightmare.