First of all here is how Rivervalley foals mares and what I believe:
One, all that people have wrote is great! So I won't repeat that. Now depending on your layout or amount of space...greatly depends on how you should foal out your mare as well as climate! Here, in the mountains, the mares are out on winter pasture, they are fed as well. However, if a mare is ready to foal and it is good weather, she is left to pasture to foal. Yes, she is out with 30 other horses at this time. However, she will go off by her self to foal, before she foals she will let everyone know she is not interested in company, and the other horses may watch from a distance, but I have never had any that bothered the mares while foaling, from yearlings on up, from geldings to at times in the spring with a stallion. However, if you do not have room for the mare to go off by herself, and quarters are tight, the mare will get upset about the other horses sometimes and should be seperated. I have never seen a foal hurt in with the others. The mares have an uncanny ability to protect their little ones and keep them from harm. Yes, many of the other horses will within a week or so, protect the little one too!
There is good and bad when seperating your mare off and foaling her. It is much harder to put them all back together later on, and I have found, with our set up, it is easier on everyone to be left alone to foal out to pasture. Now, young maiden mares, depending on their temperment, condition, ect. some times I bring them in if they are not a dominant type. However, it is amazing how this changes with a birth! They have instincts beyond words, even as maiden mares!
Do I think that foaling mares inside is bad, of course not! When the weather has its extremes and nature calls, the mares come in. I do however think it is much cleaner on winter pasture, and less dangerous, they can't get caught up or "cast" out in pasture like they can in a stall or small run. But, if thats what you have, then you make it work. They are not hard to foal, haflingers are very tough and very smart! They generally have foals with ease compared to many other breeds. Of course its labor... but haflingers, even the new colts, are tougher than the rest!
I don't know your set up Carol, but I can say that if I had worries and had limited space, I would seperate my mare like others have said. If your horses share a room at night (stall), this won't work well. Seperate. If you do have an area sizable outside for everyone to get along, then maybe keep them together in the day in the paddock area, but seperate at night and close gates so everyone has their own room.
Yes, the other horses will be curious about the little one, and it will upset mom if one reaches over for a sniff, or gets too close. Be careful of yourself and other two leggers when you are around the mare and foal, especially if others are near. Haflingers are very good moms, not generally aggresive towards us, but always keep the foal in between you and mom, never get in between a foal and its mother, and be mindful of where the other horses are, don't get in between them and mom and the foal either! If mom looks up and sees one stretching its head out towards you or the foal, she will generally get upset and go towards the other horses to declair her space. If you are in the way...well, you get the picture. Mother nature is overruling of humans in many cases!
OK- thats for later on I know, but in case she foals sooner than later...you should know.
Other signs your mare is getting close... generally we see a mare go through a "colicy" stage within a week prior to foaling if we are very watchful! This could last an hour or 6 hours. Each mare is different. It could be she just stands around and sweats a bit, or she is getting up and down and acting a bit colicy as many know it. This is normal. She is moving the baby for delivery. The baby is headed towards her head for months and upside down, at this point she turns the foal around and right side up. This does not always mean she is going to foal right then, however, if you missed this stage, then she is probibly getting ready for foaling. This can happen seven days before actual foaling or within hours, generally a day or day and a half before. The bagging up..everyone is correct, some mares bag early, other wait, most bag up, but until the bag is tight and the teats start to fill, the foal is not ready to be delivered. Trickery happens, once in a blue moon a mare doesn't bag up much until after the foal arrives! This is not common though. The softness around the tail head...some mares you really see this, others you don't until labor begins. The elongated "flupper" (LOL) is another good sign, but can also trick you. This can happen several times before actual birth. The best advice I know of is to know your mare. If you know your mares attitude, temperment, ect., you will notice a change in her before she foals. If she is a real quit mare, she may get nervous and jumpy, if she is a real nervous mare, she may get very docile. Her eyes will tell you when she is ready, but most people can not see this. But if you know your mare and are watchful, she will try to communicate with you to let you know. Some mares want to be brushed and yes, they will shed their coat early many times, this is due to a hormone change and they have no control over it. It is how the body works. Many times we spend time bringing in a mare and brushing her, as this relaxes her when you are around and also is a good way for you to go over her and see and feel changes.
With haflingers, go easy on the grain folks. After the foal is on the ground, adding feed is good in moderation, but haflingers are easy keepers, not TBs and high amounts of protein and added grain can cause more problems than anything else!!! In many ways!
Allow good hay, clean water, salt and minerals, I use 12:12 mineral, in blocks, loose and added to feed with the mares in foal. We are low in calcium, phosphorus and selenium here, so it depends on your situation too. But offer them at the very least.
Despite everyones up roar at foaling time, mares are very capable without our help for the most part. Things seldom go wrong and nature is very smart. If you are not right there at the time, do not alarm, be sure to check things before getting all worked up! Check the mare, did she clean? How long has it been since she could have foaled and didn't clean. If you have a problem with this...call a vet. Next, is the foal up? If so, and you are foaling in a pen or stall especially, dip umbilical with a mild anti-bacterial solution like betadine or chlorhexidine (the blue stuff), is mom up? Is foal trying to nurse? Does mom have a good bag and teats are full? Does baby seem lively, sparkel to his eye? If all this is going fine, leave well enough alone and let mom and baby do the work and bond. Help when you are needed, not just cause you want to! Dip foal several times over the next 24 hours, naval cords drip,so redipping is needed to help wash away bacteria.
Just stay level headed, and things will work out fine!
My best advice, is get some rest....the first day your foal is around, you will be glad you did! They are hard to pry away from...it is like christmas all over! Also...don't have a barn full of people bothering your mare before and during her foaling. Stay quit even when you are around, prepare things so you can be quit. Have things laid out ahead of time so you are not rushing around the barn when you want them. If your mare is in the barn and other horses are in also, which is generally good and keeps a mare quieter, watch them too. You will see them change a bit when the time is right...somebody will tell you, you may not notice it, but when you think back on it, you will remember how "off" a certain horse was! Life is neat isn't it?!
Everyones advice here is great and I'm sure helpful! Keep up the good work and congrats on being the owner of a bred mare and soon a foal!
Sincerely,
Dawn
--- In haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com, hancapet@... wrote:
>
> First...remember me....the lady who had three geldings and not interested
> in breeding/foaling/babies???? Well, guess what....times have changed! LOL
>
> Daughter bought a mare from a neighbor. Mare had spent a year in a corral
> with a stallion. Previous owners swore mare could not become pregnant.
> We got mare end of September. No belly at that time. But about a month
> later, she began to have a belly. At first we thought it was because I feed
> well. Nope, belly is growing! and growing!
>
> Anyway for questions. Have no idea when mare was bred. What do I look
> for? Do Haflinger mares blow coat before delivery? Mare is blowing coat but
> geldings are not. No increase in utter area....check almost daily. No
> softening of back area. But I have read that with a maiden mare there may be
> no warning at all. Just a baby come morning when we go out to feed!
>
> She and three geldings have free run of three 10 x 20 run in stalls and the
> 200 x 100 arena during nite hours. Don't want to start locking her in a
> stall (we have one ready for her...put up plywood walls tied to pipe corral)
> as we don't want her to begin peeing and pooping in her baby area. She
> might not have baby until summer! Just how fat will she get before delivery
> and what things do I need to watch for?
>
> If she delivery at nite out in arena area, will boys hurt her or baby?
> No way to separate them unless we close her in stall. We are really not
> set up for babies but trying to make it work.
>
> H E L P
>
> Carol in Snowflake AZ
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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