The duct tape never worked very well on my mare - I think it depends both on the stickiness of the tape and the texture of their coat. You could try gorilla tape, which I think is a bit stickier. A piece of elastikon has also worked slightly better for me than duct or gorilla tape.
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This stuff should hold a little better with liberal applications, I saw you mentioned it up thread but it seems to stick the best IMO.
https://www.macgill.com/economy-elastic-tape-3-x-5-yds-4-box.html
I might try a light shirt sleeve and stuff it with wool then tape it up, if you are ready to get a little creative.
Good luck, whatever your method!
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I came back to check this thread and was hoping for some comfort for my foaling anxiety. Just before I went to bed, my sister sent a text asking me if I was going to get a foaling monitor or something for my mare. I said no. But now I’m anxious and awake all night. Reading the horrible news from a couple of people on this thread is not helping my anxiety!!
I’m trying to remind myself that horses have babies all the time and most of them are out in a field somewhere without human intervention. But then there are those times that go wrong…. And indeed my first mare this year had placentitis and we lost that foal…
We live 45 mins from the closest vet so in reality they’re never going to get here in time if there’s a problem anyway.
We have a farm with cows, sheep, goats, who all have their babies without our aid. When we see that a cow will soon have her baby we leave her in the field overnight to do her thing in peace.
I wish I could be relaxed like that about my mare!!
Does anyone leave their horses to foal outside?
I have stalls but they aren’t very big (I think it’s 10 x 13). I’m tempted to leave her outside in the field in front of my house, but I don’t think she’d be happy alone and I don’t know if it’s safe to have a friend (gelding) with her? I’m also not sure if she’ll be stressed outside. She never ever lays down outside (I’ve only seen her lay down once when she was colicing).
Someone please tell me I don’t need to be stressing out!!
I’m twice that far from my vet and over 2 hours from a major clinic with weekend/emergency services. Here’s the most significant thing I would do differently if I had last Saturday morning to do over again: The second I realized the foal wasn’t presenting correctly, I would have immediately loaded the mare and headed to the clinic. Would it have still been too late to save the foal by the time I got there? In all likelihood, yes, but still…Make sure your trailer is hitched up and positioned for a quick getaway if necessary.
I’ve worked at facilities where we foaled mares on pasture, and it worked well, but it involved a lot of nights spent snoozing in a vehicle parked by the fence and taking turns walking out to do a visual check every 15 minutes.
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My very first foal ever was born in the field. But I was such a neophyte! I knew nothing, so it’s good it was an uncomplicated birth. I had another mare foal out in a field unexpectedly and the foal rolled under the fence. That was scary and a friend told me geldings may harm a foal. I was fortunate that time, too.
Having a foal outside is not a bad thing, but I agree with having your trailer ready to go. Make sure, if the mare lays by the fence, the foal won’t end up on the other side. Can you put another horse close, but in a different paddock?
Please let us know how it goes. Most births are uncomplicated, but it’s the complications that scare the tar out of us. Sending good luck vibes.
I sure do understand the quandary! But I wouldn’t put her in a small stall…i like the front yard idea. I would put the other horse on the other side of a fence.
I’m wishing you the very best of luck! Odds are greatly in your favor of having a smooth foaling.
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Thanks for the ideas !
My horses normally all live in a herd in a 20 acre field. But I have a 1 acre field in front of my house that I can close off and a 3 acre one next to it. Indeed the 1 acre field has the best fences for a newborn because its just a square and it’s all fenced for sheep (page wire). So maybe the best idea is to have her in the 1 acre field overnight and a couple of friends next door locked in the other smaller field. The horses usually come to sleep in the small field in front of my house anyway - I think they find it safe because it’s near the barn. So maybe that will be the lowest stress option.
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That sounds like a good arrangement and plan. I’d start getting everyone used to that routine before she’s close to foaling, that way it isn’t a big change adding stress to foaling.
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So sorry for the loss of your foal. How are you holding up? Sending hugs.
I am so sorry, not sure why I never got the notification of the tag. I would use a big strip of elasticon or KT tape
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Thank you. I guess I’m doing as well as I could be. I was very, very sore for most of last week (couldn’t even turn a door knob or open a water bottle one-handed on Sunday or Monday). I had a very busy week at work, which helped keep my mind occupied.
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Fuego got another recheck and overall he looks great. He will get early arthritis in his hocks due to some crushing of the cartilage as he developed, but other than that he looks good. They still want us to get his left hind angles corrected a little more before he gets turned out, but we were able to move him to a pen where he can have some neighbors and a little more stimulation than being in box stall jail!! We never would have thought this early on, but we were actually told to keep an eye on him growing a little TOO fast at this point! We’ll give him some grass hay instead of his alfalfa and make his milk a little more diluted. We are also hoping that being around other horses will teach him to eat more hay, since he’s still getting most of his nutrition right now from the milk replacer.
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Seem to be fighting a bit of an infection here. WBC was low but no symptoms other than he has been a bit lethargic. He’s on antibiotics and I hope he’ll be feeling 100% very soon. I’m stressed but he is in good hands so hoping for the best!
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Oh, no! Baby jingles! But maybe the lethargy made him stand still enough for that photo? 
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My mare is retired from breeding, so I am LOVING all these babies to oogle over 
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Jingles for your little guy! He sure is a cutie, with perfect markings.
Trying to mentally gear myself up to “get back on the horse”, so to speak…I’m scheduled to give Arielle Lutalyse this weekend, and the vet is coming Wednesday morning to hopefully confirm that she’s good to go.
My new mare should also be making her way here sometime this month. Hopefully she arrives in good shape and gets a clean bill of health at her BSE, because it’s getting a bit late in the season to just be getting started with one her age.
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I have some questions regarding my two foals’ weights. My fear is…the last time i had a foal, mare had mastitis and so i fed according to vet’s recommendations and that filly ended up getting OCD in her stifles. And i feel i did that by over feeding/over nutritionalizing …she was never fat. I would rather grow these two more slowly, more naturally, than have what happened to that last one (20 years ago)
I am inclined to error on the side of slim foals after my last, very sad, experience (i still have that mare, and she has always been compromised…could have been genetic, but i have always assumed that i did that to her)
are they skinny? I’m seeing so many foals of the same age online that have padding. I think neither of mine do. But, they do run a lot… Both mares are on same feed: free fed orchard grass hay, and basically free fed pure alfalfa hay. and about a pound of grain twice a day. And what ever little bits of grass they can nibble in the turnout. They will go onto pasture tomorrow…just for a few hours a day until their guts are better acclimated.
Filly, 8 days old
Colt, 13 days old
A couple of questions that will likely be asked:
- Do you have an analysis of your hay?
- What is the cup of grain?
Lean is better than fat, but there can be other reasons for OCDs developing besides a foal being chubby.
ETA: I think your foals look perfect. The condition they carry can vary depending on the breed and how they are kept.
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OCD, yeah, i understand it could be genetic. One reason i never sold that mare is because i never EVER wanted her bred and there was only one way i could control that. I never bred her dam again either…kept her also until the day she died.
no hay analysis.
Actually… grain is custom mix for lactating ewes and fleece producing sheep: basically: whole oats, cracked corn, soy meal with added vitamins/minerals and dry molasses (it’s been YEARS since i hired a yale nutritionist who formulated and sent to my granary. I’d have to check with them to get the mix ingredients, but the exact ingredients and quantities is available to me.). I feed it daily to my Assisted Living sheep so always have a ton (literally) on hand.
My hope is the pasture will shine up the mares and keep them in good, if not better, milk. Both mares actually have bags. And looks to me like they could each feed twins. And foals aren’t on them seemingly?? too often, nor for too long.
2 more questions:
On filly foal, will bucked knees go away?
On colt, will sloping rear pasterns lift?
