Care Advice Please For My 3 Year Old Filly. FOAL DUE DURING WINTER

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LittleWildOne

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Okay, so, due to a dishonest and negligent EX yard owner, my 3 year old New Forest filly is going to foal sometime before March.
All I know is the sire of my filly's foal is one of the EX yard owner's Warmblood cross colts...there are 5 of them. (Maybe more colts...I didn't know they were still entire).
The colts are all by either a Bavarian Warmblood by Dumas, or a Bavarian x TB (also by Dumas).
The colts dams are WB (one is Hanoverian), WB x TB, and pony mares (one is around 14.2hh (bay), the other is about 13.2hh (spotted pony). I have NO idea which colt got to her...or when....and the EX YO didn't even tell us.
My filly was scanned by my vet yesterday. He estimated her to be somewhere between 5 - 9 months pregnant. She had been at this yard from 20/5/2011 until I removed her on 20/10/2012. She only left the premises twice during the 17 months she lived there, once on 19/8/2012 and once on 8/9/2012 to go to shows (where she was fully supervised at all times).

My vet first examined her manually. Her uterus was enlarged but he couldn't get his arm in far enough to feel the foal. He then used an ultrasound scanner, first in his right hand then again in his left hand. He examined her very thoroughly inside.
On the scanner, he could see that her uterus was full of fluid, he saw the foal moving, but due to it's position he couldn't get a full view of the foal. The foal is currently low down and quite far forward inside my filly. (It was hiding from the vet...lol !). He did see legs and a nose moving, so we know we have a live foal. He said the foal is about the size of a cat, or a newborn lamb right now. He estimated somewhere between 5 - 9 months, based on what he felt, what he saw on the ultrasound and on my filly's outward appearance.
There is no udder development yet. Her teats are normal for a maiden filly, but she does have a little bit of ventral oedema just in front of her udder. No looseness in the ligaments/muscles at her tail head, and her vulva is normal.

She is living out (and getting very furry), condition is good but not too fat for a native going into winter, but she has just moved to a yard that has grazing a million times better than where she was before. I'm not too worried about the better grazing as the nutritional value will be dropping off now. Plus, she is still growing.....and now....cooking a foal. She is not getting any additional feeding and is not rugged.
So, there's nothing I can do about the situation now, other than looking after my filly to the best of my ability and hoping all goes well with her foaling (which I am extremely annoyed about).
Could anyone please help with advice on looking after a pregnant filly, who is going to foal (Warmblood x New Forest) sometime during the winter ?
My vet will be out to check her again throughout her (now known and confirmed) pregnancy.
Thank you. :)
Here's a photo of her, front on, taken yesterday. (sorry about the quality).
Callie25thOctober2012_zps1e45a70d.jpg
 
If the earliest covering was in May she is not due to foal until April next year and cannot be more than 5 months pregnant unless she was already in foal on arrival at the last yard.
 
I have a mare due to foal early March, so probably slightly better off than you, however, mare also had a foal in 2010 and one in April this year, I bought her with foal at foot, she is only around 13hh and current foal is from a shire x cob, there are 3 potential fathers for the one she is carrying so I am also unsure what I am going to get. I have had her on mare and young stock mix since August and am now putting haylage out ad lib, current foal will be weaned next week, she will then carry on as she is living out, unrugged, as this is what she is used to, however, I am bringing her in to foal as worried about the potential for very bad weather that early in the year, planning to bring her in around end of Jan early Feb. I know how you feel I certainly was not planning a foal, but like you am making the best of it
 
s4sugar said:
If the earliest covering was in May she is not due to foal until April next year and cannot be more than 5 months pregnant unless she was already in foal on arrival at the last yard.
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We have NO idea when she was covered. It was a result of entire colts getting out, no idea when or even how many times it happened. The colts owner (EX YO) didn't even have the decency to tell us they were still entire, never mind when or how many times they got in with the mares, including their own mothers. She was at this yard for 17 MONTHS, (arrived on 20th May 2011 - left 20th October 2012). Couldn't POSSIBLY have arrived "already in foal." ! Another livery saw the colts with our mares 2 weeks ago and told us all, STILL not a word from the EX YO though. All hell broke loose as a result of this, I moved my filly, another livery moved her 4, another livery is looking for a yard for her 8.
Now, I'm asking for advice on how to look after my filly as best as possible as a result of the EX YO's negligence. My vet is an experienced equine reproduction vet. He scanned her yesterday and estimated the foal will be due before March based on the result of her rectal ultrasound scan, manual rectal examination and her outward appearance.
I'm now having to deal with my still growing 3 year old being pregnant to "A" warmblood cross colt through no fault of my own.
Could I just ask for advice please without the why's, what for's, if's, but's or whatever's ???
Thank you.
 
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She looks pretty healthy and is in a nice field that still has grass so if she was mine I would be keeping her on a bit of good hay or haylage so she always has a full belly to keep her and foal warm and make sure she has access to a good mineral lick. keep an eye on her and watch for her to start swelling around the front of her teats or the bag itself to give you an idea of when she is preparing to foal although a first foaler can take a long time after the milk starts to appear just to keep you guessing :) being native you can hopefully have her unrugged as you don't really want leg straps or cross straps that the foal can try and get itself tangled up in or that could cause a problem if she were to foal at an unexpected time. Reason I would not want to feed her for growing the foal is although the mare will not have a foal thats too big for them, because of the probability of the foal being by a warmblood cross and her looking good enough to give the foal enough nourishment without the foal being encouraged to overgrow its frame inside her. Hope it all goes well for you and her.
 
Do you have access to a stable / barn? only ask as depending on when she does foal, you might need it! and whilst it is perfectly safe for a mare to foal outside, i would not be particularly advisable in winter... So, if you don't have access to any kind of man made shelter, I would advise moving to a yard that does.

I would continue as you are with feeding - good grass and acess to hay is basically all that is required. Maybe give her a handful of chaff with a broad spec / youngstock supplement added to ensure she and foal get all that they need, but that said, if she looks well then the foal will more than likely be doing well too. Leave her rugless. foals and rugs are not a great mix.

If it's any reasurance most racehorses are born on January onwards and do perfectly well and my boy was an October baby, and after a month out in the field, overwintered in a big barn and did well.

Try not to worry. Your mare will do well by her baby cooking inside her.
 
Thanks suey12, I hope all goes well with your mare. Please feel free to keep us posted here on my thread. :)

Thanks crabbymare and CBFan. :)
crabbymare, she has a little bit of swelling (ventral oedema) just in front of her udder at the moment. To describe this best, I can cup the swelling in my hand right in front of her udder, but it also extends along the very bottom of her belly...sort of like an elongated pear shape, oval in front of her udder with a long "stalk" extending forwards along her underside towards her belly button. Don't know if I have described that very well. :confused: There is NO udder development at all yet. She still has little baby maiden boobies. :D

I'm not feeding her at all at the moment. I've only just moved her, away from the "bad" yard where the grazing was poor (Ideal for natives though). She moved on Saturday (20th Oct) to where she is now. The field she is in is a haylage field which will be a lot richer than any grass she has had in her life. (She was born on the New Forest and lived there, as "wild", until I bought her in May 2011 as a 2 year old. She came from there up to Scotland, directly to the yard I have just left. So, 2 years on New Forest grazing, then 17 months on poor quality grazing, now in a haylage field.)

The yard she is at now has excellent facilities, and I will have access to a stable when needed.
Feed wise, I have some Healthy Hoof chaff and about half a tub of D&H Mare and Youngstock Supplement. Would that be enough for her ?
My biggest worry is that the foal will be born in potentially bad weather. Up here in Scotland, December to April/May tends to be the coldest, wettest time of year and the biggest chance of snow. Could my pony wear a rug with just a fillet string rather than leg straps if she needs to ? Should I get a tiny turnout rug for her foal considering the time of year he/she will arrive ?
I'd prefer to leave them unrugged, but there's a very high chance of having a lot of driving rain, sleet or even snow at that time of year.

CBFan, just out of interest, my filly has a bit of CB ancestry. 22 generations back, but she has a few Cleveland Bay ancestors in her pedigree. :D
 
I wouldn't be worried about her if she were mine. I'd be planning for an April foal but would be mindful that it could come in February (however unlikely). Feed wise I'd not be feeding her much, ad-lib hay and then around December perhaps feed half a pound (1 cup) of a good balancer per day. It doesn't sound like ventral oedema associated with pregnancy to me, possibly just the regular enlargement horses get at this time of year, so that wouldn't concern me. Fetus' rarely grow too large for the uterus so shouldn't be any problems there. What you do have to watch is the large shoulders you can get when a smaller mare is bred to a larger stallion, but if you are there for the foaling then you'll be able to help her should she need it. It's an unfortunate situation, and one you had no choice over, but it will more than likely turn out fine in the end.
 
PS. I always rug my broodmares however my foals are born in April and May so the mares are normally out of their rugs by this time. My rugs all have filet straps, I would never use legstraps with a broodmare ever. I do have a number of Amigo foal rugs just in case. I've only had to rug foals a few times in the past though and that's just been because we've had rain for days and I don't like my foals having to stay in, I like them out either later the day they are born or the following morning and if it's rainy then they have to wear rugs.
 
Personally as she was previously a forrester she would not have had proper food for winter or a rug so with food I would not rug her unless she is shivering as having had a mare come here after her foal had to be pts after getting tangled in a rug I would not want anyone to go through that. being native and looking good the hay will keep her warm and she can fluff up her coat to keep herself warm. If the foal is born in the cold weather then yes it may need a rug for turnout especially if the weather is wet as it takes a while for them to be wateroroof but give it a day or 2 to bond with the mare and also make sure you rub the top of the rug on the foal so that the top smells the same as the foal and also make sure the mare accepts the foal in the rug. dark colour rugs are best for foals as the mare is more likely to see the foal as being approx the same colour as it actually is so try to stay away from unnatural pinks and blues if you can and wait until foalie is born before you get one so you know you have the right size as buying early may mean taking it back if its not going to fit.
 
Thanks Spring Feather and crabbymare. :)

My filly is used to wearing rugs herself. I make a point of teaching youngsters to accept rugs, stabling etc in case of emergencies.
She wintered out last year wearing a rug during the worst of the constant driving rain and icy winds, but had no additional hay or hard feed.
The swelling in front of her udder isn't "normal" for her. It was present on Saturday morning before I moved her to the new yard.
She has ballooned in size over the last month. 19th August, she was in perfect condition weight wise at her first ever show away from home.
8th September at her second ever show away from home, she was still spot on weight/condition wise but had gone very bum high due to a growth spurt.
Now, her weight/condition is still spot on for a native youngster going into winter, but her belly is massive. She looks even bigger now than she did just a week ago.
By my vet's estimation, she has anything from 2 months to 6 months to go before foaling. The huge increase in her belly size over the last couple of weeks makes me think she is closer to foaling rather than later, so we're expecting a foal anytime between December and March...definitely no later.
If she holds on to it for a bit longer, till the weather gets milder, that would be better...but the foal will be born when he/she is ready, and that's what we don't know. Foalie is the size of a cat/newborn lamb right now.

Being positive about the situation, I looked on foal colour calculator to get an idea of baby's colour.
Mum is bay roan (chestnut roan sire x black dam. Sire's parents were ch roan sire x ch dam, dam's parents were bay sire x grey dam). The colts (whichever one got her) are all chestnut, dark bay and black (their parents are bay (Bavarian WB) or chestnut (Bavarian x TB) sires, and bay or chestnut dams (with one spotted pony mare in the mix, she's black with varnish roaning and a spotted blanket).
Foal colour calculator is giving me bay, chestnut, black, bay roan, chestnut roan, blue roan. The percentages for bay or bay roan being the highest.
(But I'm secretly wishing for a blue roan FILLY ;):D).
 
You can have a little fun on sexing the foal if you like. Some of us breeders play that game here at foaling time :) Take a piece of string and tie a nail or gold ring on the end and hold it over your mare's loins. If it swirls in a circle it's supposed to be a filly, if it goes back and forth it's a colt. It actually often works for me :)

If I showed you a picture of one of my mares who isn't due until May, I think you might die :D She is the size of a house ... more a mansion actually! So don't always go by the size of the mare.
 
Spring Feather said:
You can have a little fun on sexing the foal if you like. Some of us breeders play that game here at foaling time :) Take a piece of string and tie a nail or gold ring on the end and hold it over your mare's loins. If it swirls in a circle it's supposed to be a filly, if it goes back and forth it's a colt. It actually often works for me :)

If I showed you a picture of one of my mares who isn't due until May, I think you might die :D She is the size of a house ... more a mansion actually! So don't always go by the size of the mare.
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I think I'll have a go at that game. :D
It would seriously annoy the owner of the colts if my filly has a filly. ;) (Her own mares only produce colts but other mares have fillies by her stallions :D).
If anyone happens to be looking in future for a nice little sports/competition horse, my filly is true to type reg, forest bred NF and has a proven showing record to date....won/placed every time out so far against Mixed M&M breeds. ;)
 
Feeding:
I would get her onto a stud balancer as soon as possible. Personally I would recommend the Top Spec, I did a lot research before putting my mare onto one and this is about the same price as the others but has a lot more in it in the terms of vitamins and minerals. I would use a balancer as it makes sure she gets all the necessaries for the growth of her and the foal. The vitamin and mineral componants needed for a brood mare are different from that of a normal mare and I would use a balancer over a supplement because the balancer has protein as well as the vitamins and minerals but doesn't have the calories of a stud mix which she won't need due to her type.

Rugs:
I would rug her, exactly how depends on your weather and her type but she needs to be using her nutrition for growth not keeping warm. You can use a fillet string till she starts to show signs of being ready to foal then once closer to foaling, so long as the rug fits well and has proper surcingles you should be able to use the rug without a fillett string or leg straps.

Foaling:
Given how early she may well foal you are going to need a stable or barn for her to foal in. Once she gets closer to foaling start bringing her in at night because if she foals out in a field in febuary at night the chances are the foal will become hypothermic and won't survive. She absolutly needs to be stabled or in a barn for the foaling. Also for the first couple of months the foal will need to be stabled at night as they are very vulnerable to cold and wet. I would be getting a small turnout rug for the foal given how early she is due. Don't buy until the foal is born as it's impossible to tell the size you'll need till then, if in a stable, thickly bedded with straw then it will be ok.

Good luck and pics when born please :D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Thank you mynutmeg :)
Stud balancer it is then.

Here is a list of the potential sires. It is one of them, but no idea which. There are 7 in total :eek:.

Colt 1 - Dark bay 3yo by a Bay Bavarian Warmblood stallion, out of a 13.2hh bay cobby mare.
Colt 2 - Black 3yo by a Chestnut Bavarian WB x TB stallion, out of a 13.2hh black mare, blanket spotted with varnish roaning.
Colt 3 - Dark bay 2yo by a Bay Bavarian WB stallion, out of a Dark bay Hanoverian mare.
Colt 4 - Chestnut 2yo by a Chestnut Bavarian x TB stallion, out of a Dark bay WB mare (not sure of mare's WB status, but she is big and chunky).
Colt 5 - Black 2yo by a Chestnut Bavarian x TB stallion, out of a Dark bay WB mare. (Again, not sure of mare's WB status, but also big and chunky).
Colt 6 - Bay/Brown 1yo by a Bavarian WB stallion, out of a Dark bay WB mare.
Colt 7 - Dark bay 1yo by a Bavarian WB stallion, out of a Bay WB mare.

Both stallions are half brothers, both by the Bavarian Warmblood - Dumas (Duplikat x Lorina).
The Bavarian stallion is out of a bay WB (status not known) mare.
The Bavarian x TB stallion is out of a Chestnut TB mare.

Where I say WB status not known, it means I don't know whether it is Hanoverian, Bavarian, KWPN or other WB type.
I believe at least one of the mares (colts dams) is from Japaloupe S lines.
Pity none of the colts are registered. :rolleyes:
 
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i would rule out the yearlings in that bunch, which colt was the more dominant one??? having 3 yros in there i suspect its one of them poss a 2yro? if she didnt go to the yard until may then the ealiest is april so you have a a while to go, the size of her belly is probably due to the grass you have in you new field?!!!!! also your vet if a good equine one she should have a better idea when she is due, i recently bought a mare and he new just by feel she is due april time.
 
koeffee said:
i would rule out the yearlings in that bunch, QUOTE]
Sorry, that isn't always the case. Like the OP I have a mare due within the next three weeks (I hope) Despite the fact that my stallion who knows all about the job, said that my mare had finished her season, my yearling colt, when put back in with the mares, covered her. I wasn't over fussed, as mares will stand even though they have ovulated. However, in June, after she was turned out due to my accident, she suddenly went from fit to fat in a matter of two weeks! The foal is now very active, and she's getting grumpy, but not that much bag development AND she's a maiden, so goodness knows when the foal will come. It will be an interesting cross though, as dad, now a gelding, is by Kings Composer out of a welsh D cross TB who was a 2* eventer, dam is a full Hackney, so could be a real sports type!
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koffee, my pony arrived at that yard on 20th May 2011, she has been there for 17 months. I removed her from that yard on 20th October 2012, after being told by another livery that the colts had got out and were seen with our mares.
EX Yard owner failed to tell us that A) Her own, homebred colts were still entire. B) She failed to maintain her fencing, resulting in her colts getting out. C) She didn't tell anyone herself, that HER colts got out and had access to our mares (and their own mothers !). D) She is denying it even happened. E) Like some other people, she doesn't seem to be aware that ANY entire colt, as soon as it's balls have dropped, IS capable of getting a mare pregnant.

Based on my filly's rectal ultrasound scan on Thursday 25th October 2012, the foal is now the size of a cat/newborn lamb. This makes it around 250 days old, meaning my filly was covered around late February/March this year. This makes my filly 8/9 MONTHS pregnant.....into her last trimester.
Going by approximate dates, and the size of the foal shown on her ultrasound scan, this means my filly has approximately 70 - 120 days to go.
This gives an approximate foaling date (based on 320 - 370 days gestation, counting back 250 days from her scan then adding the remaining days left after her scan) of between 3rd January - 22nd February 2013.
 
If the fetus is only the size of a cat/newborn lamb then I don't think the mare is as far along as your (non-repro??) vet seems to think. I doubt it either purely based on size of fetus and also the time in which mares are usually only having transitional heat cycles. It's very unusual, although not impossible, for a mare to be having full breeding heat cycles in March unless is was an exceptionally warm and sunny March this past year?

BTW, the vast majority of colts are born with descended testicles and it's very very rare that weanling colts (which they were at the time if they're only yearlings now) will cover a mare, so Koeffee has a valid point :)
 
LittleWildOne said:
We have NO idea when she was covered. It was a result of entire colts getting out, no idea when or even how many times it happened. The colts owner (EX YO) didn't even have the decency to tell us they were still entire, never mind when or how many times they got in with the mares, including their own mothers. She was at this yard for 17 MONTHS, (arrived on 20th May 2011 - left 20th October 2012). Couldn't POSSIBLY have arrived "already in foal." ! Another livery saw the colts with our mares 2 weeks ago and told us all, STILL not a word from the EX YO though. All hell broke loose as a result of this, I moved my filly, another livery moved her 4, another livery is looking for a yard for her 8.
Now, I'm asking for advice on how to look after my filly as best as possible as a result of the EX YO's negligence. My vet is an experienced equine reproduction vet. He scanned her yesterday and estimated the foal will be due before March based on the result of her rectal ultrasound scan, manual rectal examination and her outward appearance.
I'm now having to deal with my still growing 3 year old being pregnant to "A" warmblood cross colt through no fault of my own.
Could I just ask for advice please without the why's, what for's, if's, but's or whatever's ???
Thank you.
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Thanks for the replies so far.
My vet is an experienced Equine Reproduction Vet thanks very much.
I'm going to ask TFC to delete this thread.
It's stressful enough without having to go round in circles repeating facts that I have already posted.
I'll ask elsewhere for advice.
Thank You.
 
well pardon me for reading the may date wrong, if you didnt want peoples input which you will always get on an open forum then dont post? as you im glad your vet is a good one, but the first post was a little vague as to the dates from 5 to 9 months is a huge gap,most good vets are slightly better at dating than that, but i know nothing about breeding!!!! so i will refrain from posting on here from now on, i will happily stay on fb.
 
If you have reasonably good grazing at the new place, I would stick with that, hay and whatever you would usually feed her if you do. Remember that the NF ponies on the forest get no additional feed and there isn't usually a lot to eat out there, yet go on to produce some pretty good foals, if your mare is forest bred, she is one of them herself.

I would keep her unrugged. It's just easier that way especially when you don't know when she will foal. Do you have a field shelter? Otherwise could you bring her in at night? I wouldn't bother with a stud balancer, those things are designed for TB's rather than native ponies. Too much protein is not a good thing. Maybe just a general vit/min supplement if you want something for peace of mind.

What's the fencing like in your field? Very important for the foal. Don't want it rolling under the bottom into the next field.

Sorry for your predicament, I would be going mental if it was my filly. However, as I have mentioned on here my filly was just 4 when she had her first foal, but that was her choice not mine (she runs on the forest). She had a straightforward pregnancy and birth, but found the foal hard work... She was very grateful when brought home to join her older half sister and her foal and have a permanent babysitter and play mate for her colt foal.

Depending on when foal is born, I might be minded to bring them both in overnight to get them out of the worst of the weather/give them a break from it. Deep straw bed is best. It will need two of you to do this although often when there is a foal about on a livery yard you can find someone to help you!
 
koeffee said:
well pardon me for reading the may date wrong, if you didnt want peoples input which you will always get on an open forum then dont post? as you im glad your vet is a good one, but the first post was a little vague as to the dates from 5 to 9 months is a huge gap,most good vets are slightly better at dating than that, but i know nothing about breeding!!!! so i will refrain from posting on here from now on, i will happily stay on fb.
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Thank you for your input. I asked for advice with regards to looking after my pregnant 3 year old, not an interrogation or the questioning of my vet's experience.
I feel bad enough that I have been seriously let down by the sheer dishonesty and negligence of my EX YO. Negative posts like this really are not helpful.
I have asked TFC to delete this thread as my situation is stressful enough without being made to feel even worse by some of the replies here.
Maybe you would like to come and do a bit of foal watch on my 13.2/3hh 3 year old who is heavily in foal to one of 7 Bavarian Warmblood cross colts ?
The weather gets pretty nasty up here in Scotland at the time this foal is due.
 
hey would love to help foal watch, nothing new for me sleeping in a cold van waiting for 7 of my own to foal!! i would suggest you bring her in at night though as you say gets pretty nasty weather in scotland.
 
Just wanted to say sorry that you've ended up in this situation.

The downside of this forum is that there are some mean spiteful people here who think they know better than anyone else. The upside is he majority are nice, very helpful and a godsend in an emergency. I try to ignore the negative - theres one lady who accuses me of mistreating my horse whatever I do, as I value the positive.

Good luck with your foal - great joy can come from this disaster yet. :D

Paula
 
mynutmeg said:
Feeding:
I would get her onto a stud balancer as soon as possible. Personally I would recommend the Top Spec, I did a lot research before putting my mare onto one and this is about the same price as the others but has a lot more in it in the terms of vitamins and minerals. I would use a balancer as it makes sure she gets all the necessaries for the growth of her and the foal. The vitamin and mineral componants needed for a brood mare are different from that of a normal mare and I would use a balancer over a supplement because the balancer has protein as well as the vitamins and minerals but doesn't have the calories of a stud mix which she won't need due to her type.
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I am sorry but I STRONGLY dissagree with this advice. This is a Native pony. she simply doesn't have the requirement for such a rich feedstuff. In foal or not. And given the update about the pony's new grazing arrangement (a haylage field!) I would say that it really doesn't need anything else. Certainly not a balancer. You mention that you prefer balancers over supplements because of the higher protein content, however this FAR exceeds the requirements of a mare and growing foal and it just encouranges big growth spurts and related complications.

OP, The mare and youngstock supplment sounds ideal but I wouldn't actually feed it until the foal is on the ground, given your new grazing and that you say she is a bit fat at the mo.. Just add it to a handfull of your chaff and she'll be grand :)

re rugs, it is up to you but IF the foal is born during wild weather I would be more inclined to keep them in more than normal and wait for the foal to get some oil in it's coat and some meat on him. by all means buy a rug, but do make sure it is waterproof. A sodden rug on a foal's back is just asking for pneumonia.
 
Not really much input but my mare is currently 5 months gone and so fetus is about the size of a rabbit, they due usually say approx:

80 days - size of chipmunk
100 days - size of a kitten
150 days - size of a rabbit (this is what we are now hehe)
180 days - size of a beagle
240 days - size of a lamb
Day 270 -size of a german shepherd

Good luck whatever happens x
 
Thank you PennyJ. :) Yes, my filly was forest bred and forest run until I bought her directly from her breeder on 17th May 2011. She came off the forest only 3 weeks before this. She was born and lived around the Lyndhurst area. She is actually very mentally mature for a 3 year old. A bonus from having grown up in the New Forest living in a herd environment, then having some excellent basic handling from her breeder before I bought her. :)
I will leave her unrugged but do have 2 lighterweight rugs handy incase she needs them. One is an Amigo, so no leg straps, the other is a Mark Todd which has detachable leg straps.
Fencing etc as discussed with you by PM. :)

Thank you Paulag. :) I'd never ever by choice put a 3 year old in foal in the first place. I'd especially never put a maiden pony in foal to something as big as a Bavarian WB cross. The Bavarian breeding in this mix is the older heavy set Bavarian type, NOT the finer types I have seen. Think 16.3hh+ of big boned, heavy bodied Bavarian Warmblood. I fully agree with you re the mean and spiteful people. They really should read all of the information given properly before opening their mouths and gobbing off. (I know, it's on a keyboard and computer screen, but it's the same thing :rolleyes:). There really is no need for it, especially when someone asks for specific advice. In my case, I'm asking for advice on caring for my very pregnant 3 year old, nothing else. I've been around horses for a VERY long time, just never before in this situation. :)
This is stressful enough without people being judgemental. It wasn't my fault. I'm having to deal with the result of someone else's negligence and dishonesty. Not to mention the additional costs I will now have.
ALL negative remarks will be ignored, so from now on, if I don't acknowledge your reply....consider yourself ignored. :p


Thank you CBFan :) I did wonder if a stud balancer would maybe be too rich for my native pony and her warmblood cross foal, which is why I asked. Especially with her new grazing to take into account. The weather here hasn't yet got cold enough for the grass to stop growing, so there will still be SOME nutritional value in the grazing, just not as much as in spring/summer/autumn. We are at late autumn right now. I wouldn't normally be feeding my pony at this time of year. A handful of Dengie Healthy Hooves chaff with NAF Mare and Youngstock supplement, plus ad lib forage after foaling then ? The forage here will be haylage (grown from the field my pony is now in). She has never had hay since I bought her, only ever haylage when needed (the odd night in/in the trailer at shows/when brought in to groom & handle). It's hard to find good hay here due to the rubbish wet summers.
I will be able to stable her at night whenever I need to. I'd prefer if she could stay out for as long as possible though. Mum and baby (when born) will be able to have daily turnout, so I'd prefer to buy foalie a little turnout rug given the time of year he/she will arrive. Any recommendations for a suitable foal turnout rug ? :)

Victoria25, thank you and good luck with your own mare and baby to be. :D
Victoria25 said:
Not really much input but my mare is currently 5 months gone and so fetus is about the size of a rabbit, they due usually say approx:

80 days - size of chipmunk
100 days - size of a kitten
150 days - size of a rabbit (this is what we are now hehe)
180 days - size of a beagle
240 days - size of a lamb THIS is where my filly is now. ;)
Day 270 -size of a german shepherd

Good luck whatever happens x
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OP, you have complained about people not reading your posts clearly. Some people may have skimmed over what you've written, others have not, either way it really isn't the big deal you are making it out to be. Since you are though, I'll just point out that you said in your original post that the fetus was the size of a cat or a newborn lamb. A newborn lamb and the average cat weighs around 13-15lbs. They are certainly NOT the size of a beagle which probably weighs in at almost double that. I'm sorry you are in the situation you are in however many of us are breeders in this part of the forum so I think I can speak for most breeders on this forum in saying that we do know the sizes of fetus at given months and most seasoned breeders can quickly and easily identify a non-repro vet. You clearly are incredibly stressed over this which is understandable but non-productive. It is what it is.
 
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