Hypothetical - foster mare / orphan foal

[mynutmeg]

Say you had lost a mare and so had an orphan foal would you expect an offered foster mare to travel to you or should the orphan foal go to the mare?

Which would you prefer as a foster mare owner or as an orphan foal owner?

All hypothetical but an ad I saw made me think

 

[noodle_]

how weird as i thought this too!!

personally id expect mare to go to foal.....? as mares older/travelling etc?

but if it was my foal id lost id want the mare to come to me..!!!


but generally in theory mare to foal?

 

[mynutmeg]

how weird as i thought this too!!

but if it was my foal id lost id want the mare to come to me..!!!

See this is my thinking in that if I'd lost the foal I wouldn't want my mare going anywhere (while at the same time I'd want to offer a foster spot) but if I'd lost my mare I'd want to keep the foal at home as well! (I know, kinda selfish of me but she's my baby)

 

[HBM1]

I would want my mare to stay with me. She would have been through enough without having to leave home as well.

 

[Alec Swan]

I would imagine that it would depend on several factors. Were the foal from valuable racing, or competition stock, then there's no question that the mare would travel to the foal. A journey of any distance would be out of the question for a new born foal, and there would most probably be a welfare issue. So again, the mare would be the one to travel. Were the mare mine, and provided that the receiving owner of the foal knew what they were doing, I would prefer that my mare went into a new and different environment. It would give her something to think about, and following on from the loss or the separation of her own foal, I think that a change of scene would benefit her.

Alec.

 

[eventrider23]

Totally echo what Alec has said. A change of environment will likely be good for the mate to get away where she lost her baby but also, the whole mare bonding with foster foal

 

[eventrider23]

Sorry silly phone!!

Mare bonding with foster foal process is soo intensive with round the clock care, vet visits, etc that I would personally always prefer the mare to go to the foal. I would never expect some stranger to dedicate their time towards ensuring my foal was bonded and happy as I would donate myself.

I know one person who lost a mare last year. A sweet cob mare came in as a foster. They tell in love with her and gave the best of everything and in the end were given the mare as her owners saw how happy and well she was. Not saying this is the norm but it shows they are usually cared for as well or better than their own. I know also I would personally not be happy sending my foal away under any circumstances for a stranger to care for....

 

[_Samantha_]

I lost a foal a couple of years ago and took the mare along with said foal quite a distance to foster an orphan.as soon as we arrived the orphan was calling and mare was desperate to get to her as she hadnt bonded with poorly foal who never stood up.mare stayed there until foal was weaned.personally I wouldnt expect someone to travel their orphan foal to the mare unless the mare's facilities etc were more suited to their care. I can understand people want to keep foal or mare at home but I wouldn't be happy to send foster mare or orphan foal away unless I was convinced the recipient would do a better job than I was able to offer.

 

[varkie]

It is usual for the mare to travel to the foal. When a foal is orphaned it is often fairly vulnerable, and travelling it could be traumatic, let alone the exposing it to an environment it would likely have no immunity to.

Five years ago, I lost a mare, leaving me with an orphan. Sadly, we only found one possible mare to foster - and the owner of the mare not only wanted me to travel my (very distressed) foal to her mare (a distance of some hours), but for me to sign ownership of the foal over to her. Needless to say, this didn't happen, and he was hand reared, with companionship of another of our ponies instead of a foster parent.

 

[mynutmeg]

It is usual for the mare to travel to the foal. When a foal is orphaned it is often fairly vulnerable, and travelling it could be traumatic, let alone the exposing it to an environment it would likely have no immunity to.

Five years ago, I lost a mare, leaving me with an orphan. Sadly, we only found one possible mare to foster - and the owner of the mare not only wanted me to travel my (very distressed) foal to her mare (a distance of some hours), but for me to sign ownership of the foal over to her. Needless to say, this didn't happen, and he was hand reared, with companionship of another of our ponies instead of a foster parent.

She wanted you to sign ownership over? I don't think so!

 

[Maesfen]

Agree with Alec completely. Mare to foal never foal to mare.

 

[carmenlucy123]

Mare to foal

Another thought would you expect to pay?

 

[carmenlucy123]

Varkie I'm not surprised I was offered a mare for a vets bill of £700

 

[eventrider23]

Regards payment it dies get dicey. If it were my mare/foal then I would say any fees pertaining to the individual I.e foal issues, mare etc woul be by respective owners but things like sedation to help bond etc would be covered by foal owner as it is all after all being done for their foal. I know someone who lost a foal last year...contacted the owner of an orphan cob foal offering her mate and found the reason they hadn't found a suitable foster as yet was because they wanted foal to not only go to mate but mare owner to pay any and all expenses for the foal....which THEY wanted back at weaning. I think they ended up hand rearing as understandably that was just not going to happen.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

My miniature mare had a still birth last year and many people on here asked if I was going to offer her as a foster mother but to be honest I decided not to as most people who want a foster mare expect the mare to go to the foal and I really didn't feel that that was the best move for a grieving mare. I am sure she would cope with the situation far better in surroundings she was comfortable in and would happily have had a foal here for her to foster but not the other way around.

 

[carmenlucy123]

It's difficult isn't it especially when the truth is everyone cares for there animals differently and the chances of finding someone who you can entrust who is in an awful predicament is slim! I would have loved to have met someone who let me care for their mare I wanted nothing more but there was no one out there and I found it all just too much to think about without having a third party involved.

 

[Maesfen]

I would expect all mare expenses until weaning to be taken care of by the foal owner including transport both ways as you are doing them the biggest favour at a very sad time for yourself. Some foal owners play the game and can bend over backwards for the mare owner by getting mare in foal again (if they wish) or paying a stud fee, things like that while others think you should be paying them to do them the favour! The latter type should get real and hire a mare from one of the companies which is quite expensive at about £2000 or hand rear their own foal and see how much more expensive and time consuming that is.
Anyone who lets their mare go as a foster mare is incredibly generous and should be treated as such; it goes without saying that the mare should be treated like gold dust too.

 

[maestro]

We have done it both ways, mares and foals have come to us. Mainly because we are experienced in the proceedure as a stud. Foals are actually very tough when it comes to traveling, one came down with a goat as company. Fostering is very full on for the first few days, most mares are amazing to be honest started right but the key is total commitment for those first few days. The usual payment for the use of the mares, is keep fees plus the mare being returned in foal to a sensible priced stallion if that is mare owners wish. It goes with saying (I hope) the mare is very well cared for and returned in good condition. I have also hand reared a foal and while it was absolutly fine it was also a very expensive way as bags of milk are not cheap and for upto 3 months you have to be there24/7 for the foal and early on feeding every 2 hours, exhausting.
It makes you be very grateful for what the mares do for you

 

[carmenlucy123]

Yes I was expecting to take the mare obviously at my cost and then arrange what the owner would like i.e the mare recovered at my cost
I was shocked at being out on the spot for an upfront fee not knowing if the mare would take my foal or attack it!
It also made me feel like when I took his mare he had me in a place where he could dictate more from me
It was an unfortunate situation and I just found myself exhausted with thinking about it

 

[Crugeran Celt]

I would have been more than happy to have a foal come to my mare and would have expected the foal's owner to cover any costs for the foal but not for costs of my mare. Not sure if that is normal just what I would have expected but having looked into it it appears that most people want the mare to go to the foal and that was not an option for my mare in my eyes.

 

[Sportznight]

I would expect all mare expenses until weaning to be taken care of by the foal owner including transport both ways as you are doing them the biggest favour at a very sad time for yourself. Some foal owners play the game and can bend over backwards for the mare owner by getting mare in foal again (if they wish) or paying a stud fee, things like that while others think you should be paying them to do them the favour! The latter type should get real and hire a mare from one of the companies which is quite expensive at about £2000 or hand rear their own foal and see how much more expensive and time consuming that is.
Anyone who lets their mare go as a foster mare is incredibly generous and should be treated as such; it goes without saying that the mare should be treated like gold dust too.

This!! Also if a Foster Mare is 'hired' for the usual £2,000, it is expected that she will be returned in-foal!