Talk to me about MareStare

[sanctuary]

Have you used MareStare? Is it worth the investment?

A bit of backstory. I decided to breed my best friend/barn owners mare last year. She is an experienced breeder. I have “been around” during foaling season, and have seen one or two births, but have never really helped in any of them.

Since breeding, my friend has sold the barn and is now touring the country in her new RV Great for her! Now, I’m getting even more nervous about foaling season. I want to foal the mare out myself. But here are the issues.

1. I live a half-hour from the barn and have 2 kids (3 & 11).

2. DH works an hour away from home. I can’t be at the barn as much as I like because of my kids. But is home at night so I can leave in the middle of the night if necessary.

3. The new tenants in the farmhouse, while great people, know squat about foaling horses. Not to mention, said mare is very particular about who is around baby (thankfully she’s not a maiden!)

I do have a camper on property that I can stay in sometimes while on foal watch, but I can’t be there 24/7 indefinitely (see #1 above)

I do have a closed circuit camera that will feed to the farmhouse, but see #3 above.

I was looking at the marestare site. It seems like a good option. Not to mention I can then have my friend watch from whereever they are in the country too, and have “eyes” on me too to help if necessary.

So what are your experiences? Is it difficult to setup? Is it reliable? Thanks!

[rideagoldenpony]

In your situation, I think a camera is a must.

I have a camera set up for my foaling stall that is private. I can view it from anywhere, including on my phone! I love that! I can also give the URL to friends to help me foal watch, yet it is not open to the public. I spent a bunch of time on Mare Stare a few years ago and decided I wasn’t really interested in having my camera public, so this has been a great alternative.

I would also suggest milk testing, so that you can really have a reasonable idea on how close you are to foaling. Milk testing saves me tons of sleepless nights!! Maybe if you know she is close you will want to set up the camper there.

[sanctuary]

Rideagoldenpony - Thanks! I agree with all your points! Plus, you save the subscription fee.

New BOs are great people and technologically adept. So hopefully they can help me sort through all the techno mumbo jumbo.

I look forward to hearing from everyone’s expertise!

[tuckawayfarm]

I have a similar set up to Rideagoldenpony and I love it.

The biggest concern I see for you is being 30 minutes away. The chances of having a problem are slim, but if you do, that time frame makes things more difficult and definitely lowers your chance for a good outcome. Is your vet close enough to get there sooner should you see a problem on camera? (Making it through a red bag delivery has made me uber aware of the time)

Milk testing will be your friend

[Laurierace]

I wouldn’t do it. The chances of you missing the birth are very good. I did it being 15 miles from the barn but had a very experienced BO who actually ended up foaling the mare out as I was on my way. Marestare did it’s job as I was able to tell when she was about to foal and get her help but only because there was a plan B in place.

[back_in_the_saddle]

I was on marestare and had people call me when she started to foal. I was at home as well and was watching. It was nice knowing that had something happened and I wasn’t watching, others were and I’d get called.

Remember, you can turn the camera off at ANY time. Just unplug it.

You can also have a private link set up so only you and who ever you give the address to can see. I’m on this set up now so I’m always watching via my phone but nobody other than my family knows what that link is. So yes, it can be private as we are now.

Our camera system can be set up on it’s own, I think it’s called an IP system??? But we had trouble getting it functional like this so we stuck with marestare. So check reviews on how user friendly it is to set up on online without needing to go through marestare.

Note: If you use marestare try and get the best camera you can. Marestare will degrade the quality of the pictuer. So what you see on your computer 30 feet from teh stall, isn’t the quality you will see when remoting in through marestare.

[springer]

I’m also very interesting in finding out more about marestare. I’m unclear… without being linked up to marestare can you still have a link for internet viewing that can be given to select people? I’m not sure I’d want mine completely public either!

[back_in_the_saddle]

[QUOTE=springer;6081544]
I’m also very interesting in finding out more about marestare. I’m unclear… without being linked up to marestare can you still have a link for internet viewing that can be given to select people? I’m not sure I’d want mine completely public either![/QUOTE]

Yes, you can have a private link that you give to the people you want. I have cameras up now but only me, dh, and my mother have the link to it.

If I want that changed to public, I send marestare admin a request, they change it on their end and I have to change the set ups in the probram (very very easy) and we can be public again with a day if I wanted to be.

[springer]

But that’s still through Marestare, correct? Can you do that without being on Marestare?

[back_in_the_saddle]

It’s through the mare stare ‘system’ but you’re not visible to the public. The link must be supplied to those viewing. Is that what you’re asking?

We started out ‘public’ but had the link changed. We’re no longer public. And only three people have our private camera link.

[JB]

There are other ways to set up camera feeds on the internet without being on Marestare. I’m not savvy on the specifics, but you simply need some sort of hosting service.

In your specific situation, I would not even contemplate foaling her yourself without a camera. And, I’d want one that you can allow others to watch as well, or you’ll have to rely on watching full time, or using it like a baby monitor and letting noises wake you up. Not a chance I’d take LOL

Yes, you can have your MS feed public or private, and if it’s private it’s viewable to anyone you give the link to. Being public means it’s searchable on the MS site.

Incredibly worth the investment, you don’t need to spend oodles of $$ on cameras (I think I had less than $200 in my camera and receiver) and the MS subscription is not a big deal, especially considering the cost of everything else LOL

You DO need reliable ISP service at the barn though.

[K_2]

We’ve bought some wireless IP cameras that we are going to try this foaling season. The images are transferred over our wireless network. The software that came with the camera also allows you to access the camera remotely over a private server. There was no extra cost for this service.

We are using d-link cameras.

[Molly_Malone]

We use MACs, and Marestare proved difficult to use.

So I use a $20 black and white security camera, which is hardwired to a laptop in the barn via an igrabber. This then communicates via wifi with the rest of our stuff and the “world”. I used a system designed specifically for MAC called SecuritySpy.

You can send login and password info for whoever needs it and the whole thing cost me less than $100.

[booboo]

I used Marestare last year and am really glad I did. I was cautioned by some folks not to use it, but I had a really positive experience and am glad I did it!

Someone started a thread on the BB about my mare as they had found her randomly - it turned out to be a huge help for me, esp in the last few days before she foaled. The folks there recorded every move, poop, and tail swish that my mare did - it gave me the opportunity to step away from the computer and not worry that I might miss something. Plus, there were people all over the world watching from different time zones, so I felt sure someone would call me if something important was happening.

When my mare was foaling, I was there but outside the stall watching and after a few minutes someone from MS called my cell just to make sure I was aware. I thought it was great that someone I didn’t know would make that effort.

To a fault everyone was extremely kind and supportive.

Also, I had given the link friends and family and it just sort of spread - there were many non horse people who were riveted to the camera, in particular a large hospital lab had it on during the overnight shift and tons of people were rooting for us. I still have unexpected people asking me if I am going to do that again!

I used a $25 webcam connected w/a 15-foot cable to older computer in my barn, with wifi stick. Worked great and more than one person commented on the clarity of my camera!

[ShadowsMom]

I’m another happy MareStare customer. We checked on our mare 15 minutes before she started to foal last year and went back to bed because nothing appeared to be happening. We got a telephone call 15 minutes later from someone watching MareStare telling us our mare was foaling. If it wouldn’t have been for MareStare, we might have missed the foaling, or had a very sick or dead foal because our mare’s bottom was adjacent to the wall of her stall. She kept pushing the foal out against the wall! Luckly, we were able to get our mare up and move her away from the wall and we delivered a normal foal.
We will definitely hook our MareStare up on public view again this spring. We had two people sleeping in the barn last year, but they got pretty tired staying up all night for the 2-3 days after her milk came in…

[sanctuary]

Yes! Milk testing will be my friend! This mare has a history of foaling late. I will stay on property when the time comes, but it will be comforting to know other eyes are helping! I have people who are ready to also stay over and help watch, but it’d be nice to know someone else is watching too.

My vet lives 5 mins away thank goodness!! I can get to the barn in 20 minutes if I break the speed limit

[Graymaresrule]

I used MareStare several times, and always hae een pleased. Given the cost of everything else, it’s NOT anywhere near a major expense. When I set mine up I got a discount from Riverwind Foaling Cameras because I was a Marestare customer.

But it’s ONLY one tool out of many. The half hour away from the barn could be a problem. Milk testing is good ut my last 2 mares went from slightly sticky yellow serum to foal in less than an hour.

I also used a Breeder Alert on the mare’s halter

[rodawn]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;6081485]
I wouldn’t do it. The chances of you missing the birth are very good. I did it being 15 miles from the barn but had a very experienced BO who actually ended up foaling the mare out as I was on my way. Marestare did it’s job as I was able to tell when she was about to foal and get her help but only because there was a plan B in place.[/QUOTE]

This. With you being 30 minutes away, you will never have enough time to get there unless you happen to be milk testing and decide to stay the night. The deliveries happen really fast once a mare commits. If there are problems, like a red bag, or a dystocia, you don’t have the luxury of time on your side.

With you being so far away, I would recommend you have the mare foal out at a foaling facility, or a repro vet who is set up with staff and monitors, etc., on hand for foaling services. It will be a bonus for you to be notified by the vet that foaling is imminent so you can be there at the right time, but it’s the security of knowing someone IS there which, by far, exceeds the cons of moving her.

For the most part, things tend to go well and smoothly. But, when things go wrong, they tend to go REALLY badly wrong and it can get really ugly really quickly. I don’t want to scare people, but, like most breeders in this world, I’ve had some hellfire and brimstone deliveries that I wish everyone could have watched - and none of those deliveries would have been survivable by mare, foal or once even myself, personally, had I been all alone with those mares (one mare went blindly out of her mind with pain - and both vet and I were in real physical danger! I was glad my vet stayed the night with us and I don’t think she ever billed me for all those after-hours or even for all the drugs she used on that mare).

So, don’t take the chance. You have young kids yourself who need you, so from my perspective your mare may or may not need human help and your best shot is a foaling facility.

You can still set up Mare Stare for your mare even at the facility. I really like Mare Stare and watch it all the time.

[Faiths_CremelloWB]

I LOVE IT!!! Worth the $$$ and it allows many people to watch with you. Would never go without it again. Between MareStare and milk tests, foaling season is SOOOO much easier than what it was 5 years ago.

My first mare is due the start of March and then my camera will be on 24/7 until the end of June when the last foal is due…

[Ajierene]

I would not foal the mare out yourself in your situation.

When I foaled out my mare last Spring, I had experience in that I interned at a breeding farm for a foaling season. My trainer also foaled out several horses. My internship was about 10 years prior and my trainer’s experience was not that far back. I had her as my trainer’s so she could be back up. I missed the entire delivery, even with sleeping outside the stall. Of course, my mare was a month late and while I DID hear a noise, by that time I had been checking on her every 2 hours for three days (this is with milk test) and didn’t think the noise was anything.

The delivery went fine, but if it had not and I had been watching on a camera half an hour away, that would have been a bad scene. It was also good that I was there right away and she was small and needed some help getting up initially.

If I had not had my trainer to help out, I would have sent her to a facility to foal her out. In your case, I would send her to a facility to foal out.