Foaling soon but no vaccination history?

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violetblush

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Hello! We have a new mare who will foal within the next two weeks.( My other half rescued her from a very elderly couple...) We've been trying to find out if she has had any vaccinations in the last couple of years but are drawing blanks so we are now assuming not.
Can she be vaccinated this late in her pregnancy? What about the foal - will it get any antibodies from the colostrum ? Can they vaccinate soon after birth?
I will phone the vet tomorrow but right now am very concerned and losing sleep as well as planning complete stable scrubs in the morning and every day from now until they are safe.
Any advice (apart from changing husbands) hugely appreciated!
 
I wish we had a month but we have ten days to two weeks and that's just my calculation on the past owners 'well there was a season in April, not sure about the month after." She's bagged up today so I guess if the worst comes to the worst I'll get down tomorrow and there will be a unvaccinated foal as well as an unvaccinated mare ... x
 
Don't worry. Many mares start to bag up a few weeks before foaling. If I was you I would wait until the foal is born and then have the vet give the foal a tetanus antitoxin shot at birth. Once the foal is born the mare can start up her vaccinations.
 
If you haven't foaled a horse before then there are 2 books I'd recommend - From Foal to Full Grown, and Your Mare's First Foal. Obviously the first few chapters aren't going to be much use but they both have good information for the foaling, what to expect and what to get the vet for.
You don't need to scrub the box every day. Wash it out with Jeyes or similar and then so long as she is well mucked out everyday and well swept out then you don't need to re-scrub.

The other thing that would be really useful would be to get hold of pH strips and calcium testing strips (you can get from aquarium/pool shops) and test the milk. The values jump and give pretty accurate indication of the mare foaling (24 - 48 hours) or so I'm told :-) Am using for the first time this year.

Good luck
 
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Ok, thanks for advice on books, have been reading articles on the net avidly so will track these down. I'm not seriously going to wash the stable everyday:D but will once over today. She's coming in at night at the mo, but I was planning on letting her foal outside. She has had one foal before and did very well in her field so I think we'll stick with what she knows and go out again. Our stables are 15 x15 ft and she is 16/16.1 hh so could get a little cramped too and no way of moving her elsewhere at this late stage. Pasture is good, field is clean, lights on hand and its easily accessible. x
 
Just remember that although a preg is worked out at 340 days anything from 320 to 360 days is considered normal. You may get an early surprise or be waiting for an easter bunny
 
Be careful about foaling outside just now as we're still getting very hard frosts. A 15 x 15 box is totally adequate, most manufacturers foaling boxes are 14 x 14 anyway.
I presume the mare has no passport or there should have been vaccinations entered in it. I personally would have vet out to give her the first course asap, not wait until after foaling, have the foal checked and jabbed the day of birth and then mares second jab the same time you do the foal sketch and chip for the passport (as long as it's by 90 days of the first jab) that way you can tie in visits and your mare is covered from the start which will pass on to the foal to some degree. Ask your vet for their advice but I know mine would say get her jabbed now.

We need pictures of course!
 
I bought a heavily pregnant mare with no vaccination history and as already mentioned, had the vet out the day foalie was born, to check he was all OK, give him an anti-toxin jab and start mare's jabs too.
 
Our mare, owned by a vet, had a tet booster 3 weeks before foaling.

6 weeks before foaling she was moved into a small nursery paddock with a huge field shelter. The paddock had been cleaned and closed for several weeks before she was moved. The mare needs to have chance to develop her own antibodies to her environment before foaling, so if a move is to be done it should be done well in advance of her due date.

Exciting times for you, good luck. Remember your camera, we do want pictures and I can recommend Red Bull and maltezers for long nights of foal watching !
 
Thank you all so much for the advice.
Spoke to the vet this morning. He said as she was bagged heavily the vaccination would have very little impact on the colostrum as it was already being made. So he'd give an anti toxin after the birth and start mums jabs at the post birth exam.
He's happy for her to foal out, she has 5 acres to do it in and its clean grazing. We are down in the very south and have been frost free for a while and 16 degrees today! Woo Hoo! She is a suffolk punch x so large in all ways and she does seem to fill her stable well.
Yes, I will take photo's - very full udders today so hopefully wont be so long now!
 
One thing that I dont know if its anything - she has tiny white spots, like freckles) on her udders above where her teats are (her teats have all but disappeared) is this OK?
 
violetblush said:
Thank you all so much for the advice.
Spoke to the vet this morning. He said as she was bagged heavily the vaccination would have very little impact on the colostrum as it was already being made. So he'd give an anti toxin after the birth and start mums jabs at the post birth exam.
He's happy for her to foal out, she has 5 acres to do it in and its clean grazing. We are down in the very south and have been frost free for a while and 16 degrees today! Woo Hoo! She is a suffolk punch x so large in all ways and she does seem to fill her stable well.
Yes, I will take photo's - very full udders today so hopefully wont be so long now!
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Vaccinations can be funny things, that's why I'd not vaccinate a mare this close to foaling. I'd do exactly as you are planning to do.

Foaling out is always preferable if it can be done and you're not so bothered about missing the birth of the foals if they foal overnight. My girls all go into their foaling boxes (of their own choice) when they foal during the day. My foaling boxes are in their paddock, which in turn is attached to their big grazing field. I am always present for my foalings so I keep them in overnight when they test that they are going to foal within 24 hours as I have foalcams so can watch them through the night (wouldn't be able to if they were in the paddock). None of mine have ever foaled in the middle of the night! They've always foaled, morning after their breakfast, later afternoon or in the evening.
 
violetblush said:
One thing that I dont know if its anything - she has tiny white spots, like freckles) on her udders above where her teats are (her teats have all but disappeared) is this OK?
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Yes they are normal.

Can you squeeze out a tiny drop of milk and either test it or taste it. The milk will change from salty to sweet just before foaling. You won't need much, just a speck and it won't affect colostrum production

Her back end will also go jelly like, the muscles at her tail head will go so squidgy you can push your fist right in her muscle easily

When she is fully bagged up she will just about lose the central crease and her teats will point outwards a bit. Some mares don't bag right up prior to foaling though so don't rely on this. It's normal for the bag to change size throughout the day, decreasing with exercise.
 
Hey, she struggled walking in about 50 meters tonight, her tail head is very squidgy, she bit her side and kicked her tummy just the once whilst she was feeding. She does though look very round (am trying to upload a photo ... but its not working?). No central crease and and one teat is down the other up. She does though still look really round and barrel like, as though she hasn't dropped down. (and phew! finally had it confirmed she had a her tetanus jabs 11 months ago ... ) x
 
D'you have piccies of her teats? We lurve looking at teats on this forum :D

Good that she's covered for tetanus, won't do much for the foal as it was done so long ago so still have the foal jabbed with the tetanus anti-toxin once it's born and then continue with the mares vaccinations when she's due.
 
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