What's everyone's preference? Foaling in or out?

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smiles24

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As title really. My mares got 11 weeks to go till her due date and my plan is big stable, CCTV and no sleep for me.

Have spoken to several people recently and I was surprised the differences in opinions so was wondering what you all do?

I have access to 14 by 12 stables with concrete area outside too and also flat clear safe paddocks so not a problem either way.

I'm sure when it comes to it she'll make her own decision in the two minutes I nip off to the loo knowing her!
 
I've done both and will now always choose foaling outside provided the weather is good. I always have a foaling alarm on too and a good head torch works a treat. I have had a mare sort out her own bad presentation by moving around in the paddock herself which I am confident she would not have done if in a box.
 
If it's later in the year when the ground is dry then I much prefer to foal outside. Foaling outdoors is alleged to be a cleaner and more natural environment for a foal to be born into and it's one I subscribe to but rarely am able to put into practice as my foals are normally born between April and beginning of May. My mares don't tend to foal through the night though so they're generally out in the field when I see them go into labour. I leave them till there's no going back and then I whisk myself out there and lead them into their foaling box (which is directly accessed from their paddock). My foaling boxes are huge and usually 32ft x 12ft although I am able to make them any size I wish as they have removable partitions. All of my long established broodmares make their own way to the foaling boxes every years as they've had many foals here in those boxes so they're used to foaling out there. When I know my mares are due to drop within 24 - 48 hours I put them in the foaling box at nights so that I can keep an eye on them. I have cctv, lights and power in their stables.

The only problem with foaling outside is if the mare decides to foal during the night and you're not able to watch her on cctv and also if there were any night time complications you would need to make sure you had access to an electrical outlet for lighting etc.
 
Have done both, I would always like the choice of a warm, dry stable for obvious reasons and some mares will get frightened and may be easier to catch and help inside but the foals definitely find their feet more easily outside. When I win the euromillions I shall have super dooper foaling paddocks with solid fences but until then each decision is made according to how things seem at the time. Last year my daughters pony had her 2nd foal, the first was born outside in designated safe place, this time she spent a lot of time faffing so I let her out to walk about most evening and just watched her, she walked all over, found me to thump with her foot as if to say "do something cos I don't know" then just before I had to go on the school run walked into her stable and foaled inside of 5 minutes. I'd have thought she'd have gone for outside again but obviously she had been waiting for me to shut her in.
 
Inside for me when given the choice!! No rain, no slippery ground, no post and rail fencing for foal to roll under when trying to establish his legs! no other mares in the way, no lack of light if a problem.
 
I'm with Shirley on this. If your ground is dry, if you have fencing a foal can't get a foot stuck in, and even some stud fences are large enough mesh for a soft baby hoof to slide through, if if and if.

But what if she foals in the night, and the ground is cold and wet, the vet is needed and he's half an hour away, or she foals the minute your back is turned just as it starts to rain?

I have had them foal outside in the daytime where I can see them, and then as SF says once there is no going back stroll over with everything I need. But as soon as the foal is up, navel done etc etc we bring them in. Just how we do it!
 
shirleyno2 said:
Inside for me when given the choice!! No rain, no slippery ground, no post and rail fencing for foal to roll under when trying to establish his legs! no other mares in the way, no lack of light if a problem.
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Just this. In addition sometimes I have had early foals (late March, early April) and the temperatures are still minus at nights. I don't want to be outside on a night like that, my Vet certainly wouldn't want to cope with an emergency and I shouldn't think the foal would care for it much either.

Talking of rolling under fences, I did have a new mare foal unexpectedly one night, looked out of my bathroom window at 6am and thought "Wow, there's an albino deer out in the forest!" Not so, it was a palomino filly, only an hour or so old and heading into coyote country, it was so lucky it didn't become breakfast. The mare was off eating at the other end of the paddock showing no signs of having foaled at all.

No, I vote for my warm, well lit barn with comfy couch, heating and coffee pot on the go in the office thankyou very much.
 
Inside for me - if only because it 'feels' much safer to me in that I have light/power/cameras, large foaling boxes and good mobile reception should I need the vet!

I also like them in as I can watch from a distance after the foal is born and I have cleaned up to make sure all is OK. :D
 
Had my first last year.

We put the mare in smallish paddock which had a barn lean-to attached to the cow shed. Space 60 x 30, bedded down in 3ft clean straw, gated all round with wind breaks each end and left front open for mare to wander in and out.

CCTV covered paddock and straw yard, but I did find the night vision on the camera was not brilliant.

The mare followed a pattern of bringing herself in as darkness fell (May) and stayed lay on her straw through the night, then she would wander out again as it got light.

When her due week came we started closing the gates when she had gone to bed, purely because the camera was not picking her up if she went out of the infra red range.

She foaled at 4am a fews day over and the foal did need help to break the membrane.

We left mare and foal in same set up for 3 months and the mare followed exactly the same routine, bringing baby into bed as darkness fell.

Interestingly, the now weaned foal has wintered out back in the paddock/lean to where she was born, this time with an elderly pony mare for company, the foal brings herself into the straw yard and happily kips the days and nights away now. I have also notice if something upsets the foal she will come into her lean-to until the 'danger' has passed.
 
My mare showed no signs of foaling. Hardly any bag, no change in shape so she continued her usual routine in her herd. Then one afternoon at 4pm she decided to have it in the field just as my friend went to bring her in. He pulled up in the car and saw her lying down to foal... by the time he got to the field baby was there and mummy had walked off!! He carried baby into the stable and came back for mum all was fine but the shock for me was heart in mouth.
 
My mares have the choice if it is an early foaling between the paddock and a field shelter, later in the year I foal them out. I have a purpose build paddock with field shelter access and lighting available for both.

I have monitored them closely over the years and they know what the weather is doing a lot better than some highly paid employees of the met office!!!. As I monitor with milk tests I know within a day or so when they are going to foal so foal watch is less uncomfortable for me but then I not the one doing all the work! Though it is me that would have to get down and dirty if anything went wrong as the vet is too far away so I would prefer to have the room to work.
Personally I have found them much more relaxed outside and they have the room to roll and reposition if they need to.

Only once has my mare foaled in the field shelter as it was -2 but she timed it to perfection foaling with 4 days of sunny weather ahead of her. However they have all been very sensible and bring the foals into the shelter at night of if the weather is bad.

It very much depends on individuual circumstances though which way you go.
 
I have only had 1 foal but I decided to let my mare foal outside, we made a new paddock for her to go into at night away from my friends mare who was also due to foal 1 day apart they could still chat over the fence so they were not isolated. So glad we did partition the fence off as the other mare was not pleased at the new arrival, and when hers was born she was very foal proud and I know it would of got nasty.
The mares were reintroduced when the foals were around 3 weeks old, both mares stayed away from each other completly, althought the foals decided to give the mums heart attacks by constantly going off together. I was shocked at how mobile both mares were whilst foaling, they were constantly on the move going up and down during labour, which must be better than having to stay inside in smallish space.
Once the foals had suckled and had been checked over by the vet they snuggled up on a huge pile of fluffed out hay whilst their mums munched on it. One bit of advice for foaling outside is it gets quite cold sitting on deck chairs hidden in a corner of the field, so take blankets and a flask, we camped out like this for 7 nights.
 
My one and only foaled outside - she was a little early and in a field about 150 yards from the stable - Which doesn't seem far until you are carry a foal :-)

She foaled brilliantly on her own but then we struggled to get her to let him feed which in the end we found it easier in the stable after I got the milk flowing with my hands and he started looking in the right end !

She did move about a lot during the birth and I was really lucky to be there with her as we were on the way home from having tea in the pub for my OH's birthday and I just had a funny feeling I needed to check her at 11 pm !
 
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