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

LittleWildOne said:
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 ? :)
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There is always some nutritional value in grazing. At the end of the day, your filly was born on the forest, with no additional supplementation to her Dam's diet and has survived perfectly well so her and her foal should do quite well on an ex haylage field. and yes, start feeding the mare and youngstock once she has foaled, or start it a little before if she starts bagging up...

When her udder starts getting bigger if not a little before, I would bring her in overnight, she needs to feel comfortable enough in her stable to want to foal down in there and also build up an immunity to any bugs or germs that may be lurking...and be prepared for her and foal to spend just a few hours a day outside for the first few weeks if the weather is particularly harsh - they really are quite vulnerable until they are a couple of months old, never mind in the middle of winter. I can't reccomend rugs for foals as I don't use them but others do...
 
LWO, i found a large dog coat was excellent as a first rug for a foalie, they are usually small enough both length wise and depth wise, and use velcro at the front and around the chest as the fasteners with no leg staps at all. i used a 24" one on my mares foal for the first two weeks as it was raining for most of the days, best of all it was less than £20, so did'nt break the bank either. you just need to make sure it is the waterproof variety. i also made sure the mare was happy with it on in the stable and ensured the foals smell was on it too, i also had the mare on a headcollar whilst i did this so there was a little bit more control over the situation.

try not to worry too much, its a very stressfull time when its planned but i can imagine you are doubly stressed by the situation you are in. i'm sure your mare will be fine, and you will have a beautiful foal from her, i have two native/WB crosses and they have been the best horses i have owned :)

i found a helpfull website was http://www.yellowhouseranch.com/foaling.htm it has some fab pictures of udder development which can help. when you get closer you can also milk test (1-2 drops of fluid only) which could help narrow down when your mare will foal.

best of luck and cant wait to see your foalie :)
 
Thank you CBFan and Bennions Field :)
My biggest concern is that she gets all the right nutrients she and baby need at this time of year, taking into account that she is a native who has previously lived "wild" (semi-feral for those who feel the need to be picky :rolleyes::p), and her warmblood (old type heavy set Bavarian WB) cross foal.
So, no feed until she foals (or starts bagging up), then the Healthy Hooves chaff with Mare and Youngstock SUPPLEMENT (;)).
In at night, in a big stable, before she foals. Then daily turnout for short periods until Baby is strong enough to stay out for a little longer.

Bennions Field, that's a good idea about the dog coat, thanks. :D
My own dog is too small, her coats are just 16", but I do have a 26" fleece dog coat which I had planned to cut down to size for my dog. That would be ideal for foalie to begin with if he/she is a little cold in the stable, or if he/she gets wet in an unexpected snow/sleet/hail/icy rain shower. A brisk rub with towels to dry him/her off then the fleece coat on tho stop him/her from getting chilled while he/she dries.
I'll still need to get a proper waterproof turnout for the foal though so that I can turn him/her out with Mum, even just for a leg stretch if the weather really isn't being kind for weeks on end. :)
 
koeffee said:
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.
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Can I book you for next June please. Due date 17th but maiden mare so who knows :D
 
LWO, my mare is 15.1 and was a maiden too, the foal was tiny when she was born so the 24" dog coat was fine, as your mare is smaller then the foalie will be smaller too so you may get away with a smaller dog coat. i got mine from the local countrystore, she wore it 24/7 for the first two weeks, it did get a little short in the back at the end of this time but was fine to keep the worst weather off her.

i also didnt feed the mare anything different to normal right up till she had the foal, i did add NAF mare and youngstock powdered supplement to her feed the last month before she foaled but as the mare is a good doer she survived off good hayledge and some alfa A and sugarbeet. both did really well and once the grass came through after about 3-4 weeks (end may) i stopped feeding the mare and just gave a handfull with the supplement in, both did really well and the foal is now a yearling (17 months) standing at around 14.2 :eek: so neither came to any harm without all the fancy balancers / feeds, they are both andalusian so like yours good doers who dont need loads of feed.
 
Bennions Field said:
LWO, my mare is 15.1 and was a maiden too, the foal was tiny when she was born so the 24" dog coat was fine, as your mare is smaller then the foalie will be smaller too so you may get away with a smaller dog coat. i got mine from the local countrystore, she wore it 24/7 for the first two weeks, it did get a little short in the back at the end of this time but was fine to keep the worst weather off her.

i also didnt feed the mare anything different to normal right up till she had the foal, i did add NAF mare and youngstock powdered supplement to her feed the last month before she foaled but as the mare is a good doer she survived off good hayledge and some alfa A and sugarbeet. both did really well and once the grass came through after about 3-4 weeks (end may) i stopped feeding the mare and just gave a handfull with the supplement in, both did really well and the foal is now a yearling (17 months) standing at around 14.2 :eek: so neither came to any harm without all the fancy balancers / feeds, they are both andalusian so like yours good doers who dont need loads of feed.
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Thanks :)
I will start scouring ebay for dog coats. If the ones I have here already are big enough, I have dog coats in fleece, fleece lined nylon (like a stable rug), a Colin Cook thermatex type, a towelling one and a rather snazzy Mark Todd fleece lined waterproof which keeps my Staffie bone dry in the heaviest of rain. Oh, I also have a Burberry check dog coat with a faux sheepskin lining. :D
 
I never rug my mares, I know a mare that foaled early and the foal hung itself on the leg straps.

Diva was a maiden and foaled on 5th March this year. She lived out until January and was then in at night out during the day so I could keep an eye on her. I took weekly photos as it is sometimes hard to see for looking!

About 2 weeks before she foaled she began to drastically alter in shape, and she bagged up and then waxed up.

She was a precious wamrblood who had never lived out until becoming a broodmare. She was fed in the last trimester, stud mix, alfa oil and Level Grow and adlib hay/haylage.

She foaled at 10.10pm on the worst night of the winter, howling winds and torrential ran!

I was a wreck she was fine!
 
Thank you worried1 :)

My filly isn't rugged at the moment, and I want to keep her out and unrugged for as long as possible. She is a very hardy native and is in good condition right now. She has lived out all her life apart from the odd night in before a show, but is pretty laid back about being in so stabling her won't be a problem.
With the weather we get here in Scotland during winter, which tends to be driving icy rain and sleet more than snow where I am, I prefer to put a rug on her under normal circumstances and leave her out. I don't have that option now this winter.
She was never fed while living out ("wild"/semi-feral)down in the New Forest, where she was born, and has never needed any additional feeding in the time I have had her for the last 17 months. The yard I have moved her to has better grazing than she has ever seen in her life, so I can't really feed her anything other than a good supplement to make sure Mum and Baby are getting the vitamins and minerals they need. Foal is a Warmblood x New Forest. My plan is to give her Dengie Healthy Hooves chaff with NAF Mare and Youngstock supplement, plus haylage (grown, fertilised organically and cut from the field she now lives in) when she has to start coming in.

I'll also have to be careful with feeding after the foal is born, but I will need a waterproof rug for baby so that they can be turned out...can't have my (unwanted) foal catching pneumonia if they get caught in icy rain or sleet while turned out. :)
 
Hi

I take the leg straps off my mare's rug (she doesn't grow a good coat and needs a rug in autumn and winter when turned out during the day) and convert one leg strap into a fillet string, but instead of clipping it straight onto the ring at the other side of her bum, I put a thick hair band onto that ring and clip the fillet string onto the band. Then if there are any mishaps with the foal getting caught on the fillet string, the hair band should break and release the string. I also make sure the under belly straps are tight and have no slack in them. I know that ultimately it is safer for the mare with foal at foot to have no rug on at all, but sometimes depending on type of horse concerned, weather and lack of field shelters this is just very difficult to achieve. If I had native ponies I wouldn't rug but I have a beautiful but somewhat high maintenance sports horse :)

I have found the Amigo foal rugs are excellent, I have two 4' ones (in perfect condition) that my foal has grown out of (http://www.rideaway.co.uk/AMIGO-FOAL-TURNOUT-RUG) which I would be happy to sell for a small amount, if these would be of help PM me (not sure if they might still be a bit big though).
 
Thank you Hurricanelady. :)
That's a great idea to use hair bands to attach the fillet string to. I'll use that.
Re foal rugs, I have a friend who can lend me tiny foal rugs when my foal is little, but I will need bigger rugs as he/she grows to see him/her through into summer. My last NF pony's foal at birth was 19 inches from his withers to the top of his tail. He was a pure bred NF though. I tragically lost them both to acute grass sickness, Foal died the day he was born and my mare was PTS the following day. For some bizzare reason though, I took measurements of her foal before I had him cremated. It has come in handy now though as I have a rough idea of the newborn size of a New Forest foal. The foal my filly is expecting now shouldn't be too much bigger at birth than Sandy was. He/she will just grow lots afterwards.
I wouldn't normally rug my filly unless the weather gets very bad. Last winter we had relentless driving rain for weeks on end so she wore a rug. If we get a mild, dry winter, she won't need a rug at all. I'm just preparing ahead incase the winter is a cold, wet one.

As a footnote, forest bred New Forest ponies don't all take too well to winters away from their natural environment. On the forest, they have hunderds of acres to roam around where they can find enough food and shelter during winter. (My filly lived out on the forest during that heavy snow of the winter of 2010/2011). Once away from that environment, a lot of forest bred ponies tend to feel the cold more easily during winter so need to be rugged if required. My own filly moved approx 500 miles north from the New Forest when I bought her in May 2011.
 
So sorry to hear about the loss of your last foal and mare, how tragic and upsetting that must have been :-(

I can imagine the NF ponies don't take well to wintering away from their natural environment. I've also found the Amigo pony rugs are useful for foals, seem to fit them fairly well being narrow.

All the very best with the filly and her foal, although this is clearly not what you would have planned I hope it all turns out well.
 
Hurricanelady said:
So sorry to hear about the loss of your last foal and mare, how tragic and upsetting that must have been :-(

I can imagine the NF ponies don't take well to wintering away from their natural environment. I've also found the Amigo pony rugs are useful for foals, seem to fit them fairly well being narrow.

All the very best with the filly and her foal, although this is clearly not what you would have planned I hope it all turns out well.
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Thank you. :)
Yes, it was totally devastating when I lost my last mare and her foal.
I'd bought that pony as a 2 year old. She was also a forest bred New Forest pony but had never, ever been handled in her life before I bought her. She wasn't even halter broken. The trust she had in me was phenomonal once she got over her fear. Losing her and her foal was the worst thing I have experienced in my life.

I like the Amigo rugs too. I find they fit young ponies very well.
I think your 2 foal rugs might be too big for this foal though. Thank you for offering though. I don't expect my foal to grow around 2 feet in length in his/her first few months. My friend's New Forest yearling is in a 4'6" rug just now, so 4' foal rugs might be a bit on the big side for this baby. :)
 
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