Best Place To Keep Her?

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Tia

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Can I ask your opinions on something please?

As you may know, our little pony is due to foal in about 3 weeks time. At present she is living in our big central corral. I guess it is about half an acre and she is quite happy in there as she is surrounded by all of the fields so she still has interaction with the others....not that she cares mind you; she is quite happy to be alone or in a field full of others.

She has been coming into the stables at night time and once again the stables come of this corral. Now the last couple of nights I have left her out all night as it has been so mild and the other horses who were stabled are now out 24/7 again. She wouldn't have any problems being the only one in the stables so that isn't a problem.

Now this corral is right next to our house (about 20ft away) however it is at the opposite end of the house from my bedroom. It has no run-in shelter although there are a lot of natural windbreaks so it would mean she either stays out or she has to go into the stables overnight. The stables are the furthest away building from our house and cannot be viewed at all from the house.

I have a small paddock which is about an acre in size and it is directly opposite the house (about 50ft away) and this is directly across from both my front door AND my bedroom upstairs. In fact I can see into this paddock without even having to get out of my bed as I have a low window right next to my side. This paddock has a decent sized field shelter (12 X 36) and once again, I can see straight into this shelter from my pillow.

So my question is; if she were your pony where would you put her for her foaling?

P.S. Bear in mind that we do have wolves and coyotes around here however they never come anywhere near the house these days since their big-guy leader is no more.
 
If it was me I would prob move her to the paddock with the shelter you can see from your bed
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I would have her so you can get her in to the stable without having to carry the foal ages etc esp if your on your own and its dark. So Id have her in the paddock right next to the stables and then she can have it in the clean paddock and if you need to carry it in side it wont be too far towalk
x
 
I was going to say in the paddock that you can see from your bedroom but when I read the bit about wolves I think the stable might be safer. You will just have to camp out with her.
 
I think the second option would be more suitable for you to keep an eye on her. Could you not box in the field shelter and make a temp stable, keep her safe?
 
Ok, Cloud is a good girl, so I would be tempted to put her in 'Spotty Horse' field (I think that's the right one???) Would it be possible to string electric fencing around the outside of the regular fencing to stop any wolves just in case?
 
Paddock with shelter.

It's great that you can just check on her from your bedroom window, my "foaling paddock" can only be seen from the kitchen window
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How about keeping a torch handy, I worked at one native stud where we'd do an "eye" count every night, the number of times we found foals before morning by that method was amazing. I still do it now, but often see other eyes too (deer/ raccoons?) which is a bit startling.

The other night OH was checking and came in convinced there was something strange out there about dog height.......he'd caught sight of the reflective tape on a rug, bless
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Is there anyway you can convert your Shelter in to a secure stable? Can you make some kind of safe, internal stabling? (I am just thinking if you think you might prefer to shut her in at night).
 
I'd put her in the paddock that you can see easily for your peace of mind. If she stressed about being on her own, could you fence off some of the paddock and put one of the others in there to keep her company??
Looking forward to seeing piccies of ickle foalie !!
 
QR -

The thing is; Cloud is just a happy little pony. She never ever cares where we put her. She isn't one of those types who get upset about things - she just doesn't "do" upset, LOL!!

I am edging towards putting her in the paddock straight across from my bedroom window to be honest. Yes this is the paddock known as "Spotty Horse paddock" LOL! We can have lights down there and this paddock is lighted from the outside lights on the house, which we have on overnight, so I can see her in there at any time day or night.

The dogs are pretty good guards so if anything was amiss then they would certainly alert me. The other thing is that with our window being open now (whatwith this warm weather at nights) I can hear the horses munching on their hay all night, so I'm pretty sure I would hear Cloud when she goes into labour.

Great idea of putting the electic on though, thank you. I do actually have the electric on around this paddock at the moment so it wouldn't be difficult to put another couple of strands at a lower level in here.

Sounds awfully lazy I know; but it is really quite practical aswell as I can see her at all times, day or night. I wake up loads through the night anyway so this way I can check on her every couple of hours without having to even get out from under my duvet.

The stables are about 300 ft from the house so I would have to get up and dressed every time I wanted to check on her and although a good idea, I'm sorry but I am not inclined to camp out in the stables LOL!!

Thank you all so much for your ideas and suggestions.
 
Yes I could quite easily do this. Each section of the shelter is 12ft long so it would be simple to just put 3 gates over the front of it to keep her inside.
 
I am going to go against the norm here and say that with her being 3 weeks from foaling I would leave her where she is. Even though she doesnt stress I dont really see it as a great idea to change things from the way they are now. With foaling mares we always try to have them moved to the location they are going to foal at least 2 months before hand. This way they get into a routine and it also allows them time to build up antibodies for the place they will foal in, which are then passed to the baby in milk. Our vet told us that simply changing the field they go out in changes what they are exposed to. She stressed that the anitbodies in mummys milk are important for the foal, so we always try and keep the turnout and stable the same for about 2 months before.

This is a little long, 2 months, but in your case if she is due in 3 weeks there is the chance she could foal as soon as 2...or even earlier.

Its great to have easy access but I think the barn and her normal paddock are the best bet.
 
All our fields are in a horseshoe shape around the main centre corral where she has been for a week or so. It is a real pain having her in here as although she isn't any trouble, people get their horse in and out of their fields and tie up in this corral. Sometimes when they go out on their horses they forget that she is in there and although she won't go anywhere I don't want her wandering around the garden. They also have a tendency to leave the barn door open upstairs - I keep the tack, hay, straw, blankets and feed in there and because she is only little she can just wander into the barn. Well I don't like her going in there and I can't be watching people every hour of the day.....so I had really wanted her out of there.

Anyway I appreciate your comments Annie, many thanks but I have already moved little Cloud out of the corral earlier on this afternoon. She likes that little paddock as she is still next to all the same horses; not that she cares mind you, but they do as they like her.

My lovely stallion (and foal's Daddy) is right next to this paddock and she hasn't been with him for a few weeks and he called her over. It was actually really sweet. Cloud went over to him and they kissed and snuggled over the gate - I really wish I had had my camera with me; it was a truly lovely moment. Then she wandered off down to the shelter and he went back to his hay....everyone seems happy with this arrangement, so I am happy too.
 
Easy - in a stable. I'm sure she'll appreciate being in a safe, warm environment. And it will make life easier for you if things go pear shaped. And as for it's location - think your just gonna have to do some running around several times a night - or perhaps get a camera??
 
Tia, it sounds so idyllic where you are, I am most jealous
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As for Cloud, I think I would be inclined to put her in the field you can see from your bed... having just done the foaling bit, I know it is much easier being able to check them as often as you like without leaving your bed (the Trailer Vision I had was fab for this). I think you are also inclined to check them more when you are not having to get up and get dressed too.

I would think about making the field shelter into a little temporary stable too, but I would leave it open so she can go in and out as she pleases. I would put a nice bed down in there just in case, but if it is nice and warm she will probably chose to have her foal in the field.

How exciting... have you any recent pictures of her?

Rebecca x
 
Yes, I have a picture of the little munchkin. This photo was taken just a couple of days ago.

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Thank you Becki. She really is a super-nice little pony. Very special little girl to me.

Emma - I think you need to come up ooooooh sometime in about 22 days!
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Emma will be running up and down between foals!

Tia, is Cavan up near you? (mislaid my atlas)

Someone, please, hide my bank cards! Been trawling for horses for Evie and instead find a reg APHA mare in foal, with free breeding for 2008 for $2000!!!!! (Blind in one eye hence price says the ad) I MUST NOT buy any more mares.......yet
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Ohhhhhhhh
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Too far, Mick won't go that far to view a pony. Shame, never mind. Plenty more pebbles on the beach. Did find one that looked perfect, except it was in Ottawa!
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Yes Cavan is near me - about 45 mins drive. If you would like me to pop over and take a look for you, by all means just ask and I'll be happy to.
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