How
to care for a mare in foal - preparing for foaling
 Pregnancy
in a mare lasts for about 340 days and in most
cases there are no complications.
There is little need for specialist care for a mare in foal except
to give additional feed during the last 2 to
3 months.
But we have a few hints and tips on how to care for your mare
during her pregnancy.
The amount to feed a mare in foal will depend
on her general condition - it is important that she does not become
overweight as this makes foaling more difficult.
Daily exercise is crucial for a mare in foal
to help maintain tone in body muscles and general activity of
the heart and lungs.
If you don't have suitable grazing, where the horse can exercise
naturally, many pregnant mares can be safely ridden out for a
short time each day - even late into pregnancy.
Vaccination, especially equine tetanus jabs,
should be given a month before foaling.
This ensures that antibody levels in the mare will be highest
at the time of foaling. This will then benefit the foal through
the mare's colostrum.
Regular Worming
during the mare's pregnancy will ensure that the mare does not
contaminate the pasture with worm larvae for her foal to pick
up.
Foaling box
An important measure to take is to introduce the mare into her
foaling quarters at least a month before
the birth.
This gives the mare time to adapt to any minor infections that
may be present and develop antibodies against
them which will in turn benefit her foal.
Straw is recommended as the most suitable bedding
for a foaling box. If good wheat straw is not
available, oat straw is a good alternative.
Allow an under layer to develop rather like deep litter, but
keep plenty of clean straw on top. This is a good way of keeping
a safe non-slip base that will allow the mare to get up and down
during foaling without the risk of scraping through to the concrete
and slipping or bruising herself.
Of course rubber stable matting is an excellent,
and cleaner, solution.
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