Helping Mother and Baby: When your Mare has a Fou
but remember that it is also a lot of hard work. If you′ve decided to allow
your mare to become pregnant, make sure that you can be responsible for
this medical condition, as well as an extra life. Breeding horses is a
great career if you have the time and effort.
First and foremost, mares are pregnant longer than women. In general, a
mare will carry her foul for about 11 months. During this time, care and
regular checkups from a vet are crucial. You may even want to find a vet
specializing in this particular field. As your mare’s due date approaches,
make sure to keep a watchful eye. Keep your vet’s number on hand and call
whenever the horse goes into labor so that the vet can arrive to help with
the birth. In some cases, a vet may not be needed, but if you are
inexperienced, or if the birth takes longer than a half hour, you vet
should come to help with the birth.
Cleanliness is important. You don’t have to hose out the entire barn and
use a disinfectant, but make sure that you can clean bedding in a clean
stall available for your mare. Also, it is important to tie up the horse’s
tail so that it doesn’t get in the way. Don’t tie this too tightly, and
leave it free was soon as the birth is over. Of course, after the birth,
rinse the mare’s hindquarters and remove any soiled bedding, replacing it
with fresh bedding.
If you see anything unusual going on with the birth, it is best to call you
vet right away. Remember, a horse birth will look very different from a
human birth, so before you mare goes into labor, make sure that you talk to
your vet about what to expect. Afterwards, it is also important to let the
mare care for the foul. Instinct will lead a mare to do the proper things
for her new baby, and interfering may confuse or anger the horse. Keep your
distance, and if you think something may be wrong, call the vet.
You new addition to the family should be walking and drinking milk from the
mare rather quickly. Remember, this is a very tender time in both horses’
lives. Keeping them away from other animals for the first week or two may
be a good idea. Afterwards, it is best to talk to your vet about the
vaccinations and special food your foul may need to grow strong and
healthy.