My mare is 256 days along. I am in the process of buying a new house; it already has a pasture; the neighbor has two mares also. I am wondering...I plan to move in next week or the week after..is it safe to try to move her or should I let her just foal where she is? If I leave her here, how long should I wait to move her after she foals??? Need some help on what I should do..??
Cathy Posted From: 63.228.245.23
Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 09:03 pm:
I would say it depends on how long a move this will be for her. If it is a short trip you should have no problems.
Sandy Posted From: 4.228.249.93
Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 09:51 pm:
Ronda, I sold a mare that was approx. 280 days along and she was transported from UT. to WY which was about a 12 hour trip, and she did just fine. I had talked to my vet about it prior to the move and he told me not to do it any later than at least 30 days prior to their due date. He actually said that it was better to move them while they are pregnant (if it's 30 days or more to foaling) than it is to move them with a new baby at their side. It is less stressful on the mare, and of course the foal suffers no stress at all. Hope that helps.
Cathy Posted From: 63.228.245.23
Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 09:57 pm:
Sandy you're in Utah?? I'm in Idaho!! Where abouts are you?
Sandy Posted From: 4.228.252.182
Posted on Monday, January 24, 2005 - 11:54 am:
Cathy, I'm about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. I'm a couple of towns north of Provo.
Anyssapark Posted From: 202.92.102.220
Posted on Monday, January 24, 2005 - 06:22 pm:
Ronda, i think it all depends on how well the mare adapts to change. I have a mare that is fine once she's settled in, but doesnt like to be moved around. When i bought her, she was pregnant with 6weeks until she was due. We traveled (a 1.5hour trip) very slowly, and let her out twice for half an hour, all seemed fine with the floating, she was calm, and didnt seem the slightest bit stressed. Two days after i had her home, she went into labour, she had trouble with the birthing from the very beginning, and the foal was stuck in the birth canal for over 2hours, so we thought we were going to lose the mare aswell. We finally got the foal out, and it was a major shock when he was still alive. He was a dummy foal, but he recovered from that, and sadly went back downhill, and died from septicemia. If you really know 100% that your mare easily adapts to change, then yes, it is safer and easier to move them when they are pregnant, but if you have the slightest doubt, i personally wouldnt do it! I wouldnt wish what me, my mare and her poor little colt went through on anyone. It was not only a heartbreaking experience, but also a very costly one, as i had vets (three of em!!) spending the whole day with us while she was in labour, and then checking back for the 3days that the foal was alive for. Let us know what you decide to do, and GOODLUCK!!
Cathy Posted From: 63.228.245.23
Posted on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - 03:33 pm:
Sandy I'm just north of Idaho Falls. we aren't to far from each other.
My mare has never been moved before, so I don't know how she would be. The ride is only about 30 mins. Would having one of her pasture mates ride with her help? or to stay a few days? Also, the neighbor at the new house has two mares...right next to the pasture at my new house. How might this affect things? I don't know what I should do....???
Sandy Posted From: 4.228.243.36
Posted on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 01:34 pm:
Hey Cathy, We're not too far from each other at all! That's cool. Ronda, A 30 min. drive shouldn't bother her at all. Especially if she is still somewhat early in her pregnancy. As for the neighboring horses, that could make her either more comfortable, or nervous, it just depends on how she accepts them. But as for the trailering for the 30 mins. I would think she would be totally fine with that. I don't know that I would take a pasture mate along to stay for a few days just to turn around and take that pasture mate away. That could make her more upset once her buddy leaves. I would just go ahead and move your mare, by herself, and just let her settle in on her own.
Anyssapark Posted From: 202.92.102.220
Posted on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 09:41 pm:
Ronda, A 30min drive shouldnt halm her, just keep a real close eye on her behaviour once she gets there, and try to make her as comfortable as possible as quickly as possible. I also agree with sandy, if you were to take a pasture mate with her, i would try to leave her with your mare until she foals, and once she has the foal, she wont even notice if you take the other mare away. Once you get there, try to keep doing things with her exactly as you were at your old place, keep her feed the same, feed at the same time etc etc, so that all she really notices is that she is in a different paddock, she shouldnt stress too much.
Joanna Posted From: 216.47.53.187
Posted on Monday, February 07, 2005 - 03:58 pm:
I am considering buying a mare that is due on April 2, and we have to trailer her from Helena to Missoula, MT which is about a three to four hour drive. Do you guys think that is safe, or should I just let her be where she is until the baby is born? Also, how soon after a baby is born can mare and foal travel? Any help is really appreciated.
Anyssapark Posted From: 203.34.9.250
Posted on Monday, February 07, 2005 - 05:52 pm:
Joanna, If you are going to do it, then your mare will probably need a few stops along the way just to let her out, and stretch, and maybe have a roll. When i transported my pregnant mare, she would just get out of the float, and have a drink and some grass, and then have a lay down or a roll and she was up and eating again. As you can imagine, standing on the one spot with a big pregnant belly would get rather tiring on the mare. But if you are going to move her, then do it now, the longer you leave it, the bigger risk you are taking. Keep her happy, give her hay and water on her stops, and try to make it a no stress trip, and she should be fine. I would ask the current owners how she travels, how she settles in once she's moved etc, if they have had her long enough, they should be able to tell you how she will cope with it. Goodluck
Joanna Posted From: 216.47.52.88
Posted on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 04:45 pm:
Just an update: We did decide to go ahead and transport her, and it went perfectly. She was moved this Friday, and today we had her checked by our vet, ultrasound, ect, and both mom and baby are doing great! So now, I just have to be patient till the end of March, and we will have a new baby horse (so exiting). Anyway, thanks for all the info, you guys, it really helped
Sandy Posted From: 4.227.133.32
Posted on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 12:55 pm:
Joanna, Glad to hear that the move went well. I'm sure your mare is going to be fine throughout the rest of her pregnancy
I am relocating and the ranch where i board my mare is being sold. She is about to foal any day. here due date was on the 16 of Febuary, she is not leaking milk yet but im going to have to move her and her foal soon but i dont want her or the foal to get hurt. I understand the the foal needs to stay in the pasture and not in a trailer with in the first days after being born. I would like to make a deal with the new owners to leave them both there till the foal is strong enough but i would like to know how long do i have to wait till i can transport them for a 2 hour drive?
Sad news to report. I went to feed the mares on Saturday morning and noticed Pixie (my breeding stock paint due July 1st) wasnt coming to the gate with the other mares. I was worried and went to look for her and found her lying in the barn enclosure. She got to her feet when I called her and joined the other mares getting her daily feeding of oats and mare and foal supplements... I was a little concerned as she was very dirty, looked like she had been rolling in the dirt and straw and she seemed quieter than normal. I mentioned it to my fiance who was busy feeding the calves and he came over to look at her. He looked at me and said we should check the barn. I knew he suspected she had lost the foal. Sure enough, he was right. In the corner of the barn lay a small perfectly formed 6 1/2 month gestation foal. I was heartbroken. This was to be my first foal. I don't know what went wrong that she would be fine one day and the next morning this result. I called the vet and she was there within half an hour. We couldnt find any trace of the sac, so we werent sure whether she had retained any or not. The vet gave her a sedative as the other horses were going nuts, bucking and jumping, making us all very nervous to be in a small enclosure with two very anxious mares, this mare and about 30 calves. The vet gave her a sedative to calm her so she could do an exam to feel for placenta. Nothing found on examination. She also gave her 10cc Banamine, 2cc Rompin and 3cc Oxytocin. While we were waiting for the sedative to take effect one of the other mares unearthed the placenta from under some hay and the vet examined it to see if it was all there. We couldnt be sure as it had been trampled by all the cows and the horses but the vet thought the probability was good it was all there. She left us with Depocillin to give 25cc twice a day for three days and told us to keep her away from any other pregnant mares because we dont know what caused her to abort. Pixie was set to go to the boarding facility where my other pregnant mare is yesterday so that is on hold now until I speak to the vet. On speaking to some other horse owners there are those that think the Rhino is the cause ( she had that 6 weeks ago), then others think that her eating the calf silage might be the culperate, though the vet said no... and still others think it might just be one of those things. I am taking the foal to an agricultural college for autopsy to see if they can shed any light on what the cause of this might be. Up until yesterday morning she was doing wonderfully.
Cathy Posted From: 67.129.138.75
Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 01:23 am:
Oh horselady I am sooo sorry. I have been there, and know how devastating it is. Please let us know what the necropsy reveals. Cathy
Sandy Posted From: 4.228.243.220
Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 11:51 am:
horselady, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I have only lost one before at about 5 months gestation, and it is so heartbreaking to find that little perfectly formed foal. Please let us know what the results show.
horselady Posted From: 67.71.153.246
Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 12:38 pm:
Thanks.
I dropped off the foal at Kemptville Community College Equine Lab this morning. I wish the vet had told me to save the placenta, but she didnt. Maybe the stress of the situation on all of us made it slip her mind. The lab wanted the placenta as well to check for any irregularities, but they said they would do all the regular investigations and let me know what they found if anything. Will keep you posted. Ive let the stallion owner know of our loss and I guess we will rebreed come spring.
We still have our Becky due with her first foal this May. We are keeping her off the farm just in case the problem was related to the cows, the silage, or some viral infection. She will stay at the horse boarding place until we move her to the foaling facility 10 minutes away April 1st. Foal is due May 4-12 area. Im keeping positive thoughts about this mare and hoping to find out what happened to that precious little foal by the week's end at earliest.
Eagle View Arabians Posted From: 152.163.100.13
Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 12:45 pm:
I'm sorry to hear of your loss horselady. I went thru the same thing a couple years ago but we were unable to find the foal in the 10 acres she was in. I hope you find some answers.
Eagle View Arabians Posted From: 152.163.100.13
Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 12:47 pm:
David, on the answer to you question, I've bred back my mare a few times after foaling and have moved her and the new foal down to the breeders when the foal was a week old. The drive was about 3 hours and everything was fine.
David Posted From: 63.13.224.16
Posted on Sunday, February 27, 2005 - 05:58 pm:
Thanks for answering my question "Eagle View Arabians" this is the first mare and faol that iv owned, i love them both to death and would blame myself if anything were to happen to them. That is why i wanted a second opinion befor i made any plans.
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