Looking at breeding a mare for the first time. She is also a maiden mare. I want to do as much research as I can in preparation. Does anyone have any recommendations on books for before and after foaling? Would also like to include the actual insemination of the mare and vet process.
Blessed are the Broodmares was the book - and it has undergone a couple of editions - but I found it to be scary - and first time mammas/breeders are worried enough, eh?
But the part on red bags was helpful.
My vet, Dr Juan Samper has written a book, and he is a world class expert but I don’t know if it is user friendly. When he was writing it, he told me he planned it to be (but with these brilliant types they might not understand ‘user friendly’ in the same light as us normal types.)
Main thing is to learn as much as possible, give your vet a heads up when you think the baby is due, and always, always, be present at the birth - no matter how many sleepless nights that means. You do not have a lot of time when things go wrong to get help…try to have an experienced local friend handy.
If you are willing to travel, Colorado State University offers an excellent foaling and newborn care class with hands on experiences in delivering foals. It is a one day class. If you are interested in AI, they offer a longer course that also cover hands on stallion collections and hands on AI of mares. The classes are not inexpensive, but they are very educational and were worth the money, in my opinion.
"Blessed are the Broodmares was the book - and it has undergone a couple of editions - but I found it to be scary - and first time mammas/breeders are worried enough, eh?"
Lol, yup. A good book on the subject but it dwells WAY too much on all the things that can go wrong. The majority of which never happen. Even if they did the majority of breeders especially newbies wouldn’t have enough experience to deal with. Most are going to have a vet on call and near by.
I’ve only foaled a few hundred. Other than the “normal” early,late term abortions we have only had 1 major worse case scenario that happened mid morning and was caught insistently. A team of vets and surgeon were here within 20 minutes. Lost the mare, there was nothing that could have been done to save her even if she had been in a clinic. “Saved” the foal, but it was iffy it was going to be “viable”. Would have cost many,many thousands in neonatal to find out. Hate playing “god” but one has to be realistic about these sort of things.
A “Red Bag” situation can and is tricky. Even if caught early. A lot of the times the foal is compromised and can be very expensive to save and one runs the risk of having a “compromised, weak” individual for life. More times than not it is better to let nature run it course. Of course there are exceptions.
Out of many,many foalings we have only had to call in the assistance of our vet a couple of times. And that was more because the client/owner was a PITA and I didn’t want to be thrown under the bus if things did go wrong.
IMO and experience breeding and foaling is one of the few things horse do with ease and little to few complications. 95+% of the time everything goes as nature has planned and fast.
The book I recommend is called the Complete Book of Foaling. We breed TBs which is live cover only. My limited experience with AI makes me appreciate breeding live cover. Much easier and cheaper.
IMO and experience it is very easy to raise foals/weanlings yearlings. Keep the mare happy and the foal will be also. They don’t need a lot of interaction. I tried the idea of “imprinting” at birth with 6 and found it to make no difference with future management and handling as compared to the rest of that years foal crop that I didn’t “imprint”. Good in theory but IMO and experience doesn’t hold any water.
There are a lot of books and complicated opinions on raising foals/weanlings/yearlings. I have never found it to be “rocket science”. We keep things pretty simple around here.
Wireless foaling/stall cams are pretty cheap these days. Worth the investment. Maiden mares, mare that I have not foaled, gotten a handle on can be a PITA estimating when they are going to foal. Makes one lose a lot more sleep than necessary. Being able to watch them in the comfort of ones house makes a HUGE difference for one’s well being and health.
Gumtree presents a very valid pov…but his experience of hundreds of foals puts him with more experience than a lot of general purpose vets. New to the experience, you should have your vet on speed dial and give him the heads up when you think the baby is coming. Get a foaling kit and the camera is a good idea. I had one for my first foal because I, too, was nursing and could not be out there all the time.
Foal should still be seen by a vet asap for blood, general check-up, and to make sure placenta and first poop have come out.
My friend lost her first foal (just to freak you out) because the colt did pass its first tar-like poop, but not completely. She saw some pale ‘milk manure’ come out, had given him an enema, etc. Day later foal was straining, no vet would come out as she lived in the toolies and they were cow vets who said they were busy, so finally a neighbour came and hauled her and the mama and the foal in the back to the closest clinic where the baby was operated on, but they lost him. A little puck of the meconium had remained in the foal. I’d never heard of this, but was told by another experienced breeder that males are plumbed differently and this can happen.
Another foal came out with only one foot presented. Going on our sheep experience, my husband waited for a contraction to end, then pushed the leg back in, found the other leg, positioned it so both feet would come out on an angle so the shoulders did not block the exit, and all went well, thank goodness.
Don’t worry, mares are very good at foaling. I’ve not had a lot of foals, but we live in a very horsey area and the vets all back each other up so I can always know I can get one fast. That is about all I know!
I would also highly recommend learning about the bloodlines of whatever breed you are breeding.
If you are looking for warmblood info, it is hard to beat The Making of The Modern Warmblood.
