Anyone use foaling alarms?

[pinkcatkin]

I live about 1/4 mile away from my stables but have seen the foaling alarms that strap to a mare's neck and react to changes of temperature.

Does anyone have experience of these and could they tell me who to contact?

 

[ccooxxyy]

i used one last year, it was awful, was very sensitive, even when sensitivity was turned right down and would go off all the time and give me a heart attack each time!. I also had cctv which was far better. ended up not bothering with the alarm in the end!

 

[pinkcatkin]

But is CCTV very expensive and do you have to be near your stables?

 

[kerilli]

i slept in the stable next door to my mare for the last few nights the first time she foaled... after that i got a baby listening device off ebay and used that, but the range is only about 100 yds i think, sorry! i think i'd kip in the tackroom and use a listening device if i were you tbh, know too many awful stories of foals unable to get out of the sac and suffocating because the mare was clueless and there was no-one there in the vital minutes.

 

[juliehannah58]

I've decided not to use a foaling alarm as I've heard too many stories of them going off when they shouldn't and then not when they should! Instead I've getting a wireless nightvision CCTV (from ebay, not that expensive, should be under £60) and then a baby monitor as well as I've heard sound on the cctv is unreliable! I'm also investing in some milk tester strips, they are supposed to be very reliable at telling you how near your mare is to foaling.

I've got a tiny, and I mean tiny (!) caravan lined up which I'll put outside the barn. So it won't be all that pleasant but I couldn't have it any other way, I'd be worrying too much!

 

[arwenplusone]

I park my lorry outside the stable block and sleep in that. I then set my alarm for every hour and a half!

so I can get up and check her.

Luckily, my mares have been very good at showing signs of foaling so I can get the timing down to two days

 

[kerilli]

baby monitors are plenty sensitive enough, tbh i could hear every mouthful my mare chewed all night when i used one (!), no way could i have slept through Niagara Falls as her waters broke...

 

[louismacshoe]

Have used them with great success for over 8 foalings, only one false alarm. The alarms we used could be adjusted for sensitivity., and combined with CCTV, saved a lot of sleepless nights.
If you pm me, I will let you know the brand name.

 

[nikkiportia]

We use them on the stud, yes they sometimes go off, but if you fiddle with the sensitivity, you can usually get it right.
We use cctv as well, simply because some mares don't sweat, and they don't ping the alarms off. But this is quite rare.
We've used this system for many years, with little problems

Well, the stud groom has to stay in all the time, so i guess thats a problem for him, but at least he gets to stay in his house. He keeps the monitors by his bed so he can watch throughout the night.
Although people often can't believe we don't sit up!

 

[JanetGeorge]

I've used the moisture sensor alarms from http://www.foaling-alarms.com/ for 5 years - of a total of about 30 foalings I missed 2 - one because the mare was so early she wasn't wearing it - and one where the mare (a TB) didn't sweat at ALL!

You can get false alarms in very warm weather - during very muggy weather I put pedestal fans immediately outside the mares' doors - they love them and stand in the cool breeze - which stops the alarm going off until they move away to lie down.

Nothing is totally fool-proof - and I still do hourly checks when I a mare is VERY close - but I wouldn't survive foaling without them! In fact, I'm off to order another one - more mares this year and 2 won't be sufficient!

 

[jomiln]

I have got 9 mares to foal this year and have for the first time got a foaling alarm alongside the cctv. Dont mind a few false alarms as will check camera before venturing out.

Fingers crossed it will make life easier.