Pregnant Mare

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Cobland

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My wee mare Mia still hasnt foaled yet, shes so huge and her elder is all full, just no waxing yet.

Today i was offered a yard of my own, its too good an opportunity to miss. Get a good arena, 5 large stables, paddock and 3 fields. The yard is well secured, my dad pulled in a favour from the owner when he heard that the guy was putting it up for rent.

Anyway, im wondering how safe it would be to transport my pregnant mare. The yard is about a mile and a half from were i am.

Obviously i dont want to transport her if its too risky.
 
She is past her "due date" isn't she? Personally there is no way I would move her right now. You would be safer to wait until after the birth; at this late stage you're not going to have to wait for too much longer.
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Thats the thing, i never got her due date, it was my other mare Mae that was due on the 15th May and went on the 17th (little romi is keeping really well).

I got Mia from a yard were she wasnt being cared for, they couldnt give me her due date.

My phones playing up or i would get a picture online of her that i took today, her belly is so big lol
 
Ah sorry, I apologise, I was confused for a minute LOL!!

Well I don't know then. I'd move mares up to about 2 weeks beforehand but wouldn't want to risk sooner than that. Is she a stressy mare? If she settles in quickly at new places then maybe she will be okay. I know that the mares do tend to go around finding places that they think are suitable for foaling so this could be messed up a little, although if she is going to be foaling in a stable regardless then I doubt it would be an issue.

With my little Cloud I knew exactly where she was going to foal as I watched her go back and forth to that spot constantly a few days beforehand.

Tricky one isn't it? When can you have the yard from? Maybe if you move really soon it will be okay.
 
Was told if i dont take the yard from tomorrow then there is a chance it will be snapped up. She is foaling in a field and the guy did lend me a field from that yard before, infact she was in it for ages as i wanted the pregnant ones to enjoy some nice grass.

Shes not a stressy mare, its just at the minute ive only got a stable to let her foal in and i would prefer if she was outside. So its really for her too that i want to move, the paddock is all made up like a foaling pen.

The thing is do i walk her to the new yard (hubby thinks its about a mile) or is it safe to put her in the lorry alone.
 
not reallt sure but it is only a very short distance! sureley not a lot is going to happen is less that 5 mins, if you take it very slow etc.... or could you just not pay in advance for the yard to secure it? Surely it cant be snapped up if it's being paid for?
 
I wouldn't move her until she's foaled. Obviously it will cost you a little more for a month or so - paying for two places. But better safe than sorry. She is in familiar surroundings where she will feel safe foaling at the moment.

Moving is always stressful - and so is giving birth. I really wouldn't give her any more stress at this stage than is absolutely necessary.
 
I would leave her where she is until she has foaled and baby is at least a week old (preferably 3) as she will have built up an immunity to the microbes and allergens and other technical things that I can't remember (!?), where she is. If you move her to another environment this close to foaling you could risk the foal as mother won't be passing on the correct antibodies to baby. One of the reasons foals have to be at least 3 weeks old before they are shown is because of risk of infections as their immune system is not so strong.

Can you not work out her due date from the stallion owner, covering certificate, past history etc.? If she has a month or more to go - move her as soon as possible, less than a month - leave her where she is.
 
While it's preferable for mares to be in place at least a fortnight before foaling, if you've no idea of the due date, that's asking how long is a piece of string. The fact that she's quite large doesn't always tally with when she'll foal; I've known mares at five months not put any more weight or change shape again even the week they are due, they're all different.
As it's so close to where you are, have a good check for the vital signs before foaling and if they are not there (slackened vulva, anything on her teats, weight shifting back to behind the girth, etc) then personally I would move her. The longer she is there before foaling, the more settled she will become and the antibodies from there she will pass on to her foal; she will also be getting and dispersing the various bacteria that comes with a new place so neutralising it for her foal, far better than waiting until the foal is born then having to move it IMO especially if you have someone on your back pushing you to move, possibly before they are ready. In a perfect world, people would send mares to stud to foal rather than having to move them when they are so young (when the mare is being re covered that is, no need if she is being left empty) but obviously that is not always possible plus you then lose the experience of foaling your own mare, I can see it from both sides.
We often transported mares due to foal to stud, sometimes at the very last minute due to lack of foresight from the owner or a sudden change of plan and can honestly say, hand on heart, that none took any harm from it; when we went back some weeks later to collect them after covering, we'd be met by big bouncy healthy foals that were so much better able to take the stress of travelling than if they had been younger. Incidentally, the main reason so I was told by bigwig show secretary that foals are unable to be shown under 3 - 6 weeks of age, is not due to bacteria although that is a big factor as far as I am concerned, it is due to the sensibility of having foals as young as that having to travel, be shown, possibly be left on a wagon a long time and then travelled back home; it is not fair to ask such a young animal to do that and that is the main reason from years ago when the rules were first introduced by people that knew what animal husbandry was all about.

It's a difficult problem for you, it really is a make up your mind time. BTW, what has your vet said, they're usually good people to trust?
 
Okay, well having read everything you've said, you have to make the decision; but I think if I was you, I might just risk it! I'd pop her in the box (if she travels well) and ship her over there as soon as possible and hope that the foal isn't due for another couple of weeks at least.

The reason I say box her is that when Cloud was a couple of weeks before her foaling, she got really really stressed if I took her out of eyesight of her field and herd companions....and she is the least stressy mare ever! You don't want to be half way there and find that she becomes very unhappy with the situation.

Good luck whatever you do.
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