Field companions for pregnant mares

[jonib]

Can you all help.?

One of the ladies at our yard has sent her mare away to be covered,and the rest of us are a bit worried re the grazing situation when she returns. Due to the natural shelter/water availability in the field we are a bit restricted as to how we split the field,and we already have several different requirements..ie poor grazing/good grazing/a riggy gelding that has to be kept away from one of the mares as he causes her to have problems with her seasons etc.....

What can a pregnant mare graze with safely?

Can they share with geldings(obviously not the riggy one),are they better on hilly or level ground,are there stages at which these requirements change etc......?

Also what would you all say are the minimum requirements re veterinary care for a pregnant mare......ie vet checks/scans etc
Just being nosey re that bit,to be honest

[flintfootfilly]

Was hoping that someone with more experience of this would reply to you, but with my limited knowledge (bred one foal and read up and spoke to lots of people about it beforehand), I guess my first comment would be that you can never guarantee that a pony can graze safely, whether an infoal mare or other, whether grazing alone or with other ponies. Life is a risky business.

Having heard lots of different thoughts on suitable companions etc for an infoal mare, the common thread in all seemed to be the common sense approach of trying to keep the mare on her familiar routine and avoid unnecessary stress throughout her pregnancy.

For Megz, this meant that she continued to run out with the three other ponies who were here at the time, who just happened to all be female but ranged from a yearling to a 21 year old, all of whom she was used to running out with.

As her pregnancy progressed, I tried to keep a good close eye on how comfortable all the ponies seemed with their field companions. About a month before foaling, it was clear that Megz was hanging back from the herd a bit, avoiding putting herself in a position where she could be cornered in a field, and she just looked more protective of herself than usual. I took that as a sign that she'd prefer to have a bit more space to herself, so swopped her into the foaling paddock on her own. She seemed very happy with this arrangement, and she continued to graze alone (with the others in an adjoining field) until 2 weeks after her foal was born. At that time, I reintroduced each pony to Megz and her foal one at a time, so that by the time the foal was about a month old both mare and foal were grazing with the whole "herd".

If there had been any signs of friction in the herd, I would have changed the grazing arrangements straight away.

If Megz had been happy grazing alongside geldings before being covered, then I'd have opted for keeping them all together unless/until I saw any signs that it wasn't working out.

Whatever I thought of as suitable grazing for a geld mare, I'd consider suitable for an infoal mare, in terms of slope or whatever. I guess it's like they say about people when they are pregnant - we need to remember they aren't ill, they're just pregnant....... and the fitter (within reason) they can be at the time of the birth, so much the better as it's one of the most strenuous things they'll ever do.

I'd think the amount of vet attention an infoal mare would get must vary enormously between owners. Some opt not to scan at all, while others opt for 1, 2 or more scans at different stages. Some opt to have a vaccination booster 6 weeks or so before the foal is due, while others don't bother with that. Some will have their mare watched 24/7 on cctv possibly at a stud to be sure to catch the foaling and have help there at the time if need be, while others may just turn up one day and think the foal may be a day or more old!!! Some will have the vet out immediately after foaling to check all is ok, while others will only call the vet if there appears to be a problem.

Don't know if that helps at all?

Sarah

[rebeccajane]

Much as Sarah says

- A lot depends on the mare - and the owner, mine tend to run as a herd with various movings about depending on the weather/grazing/foaling history and behaviour of the other ponies, some Mares will try and pilfer the foals of others, some just wont bond with their foal unless thats the only friend on offer!

So really its suck it and see!

[jonib]

Thanks...We are just worried that one of our horses/ponies might do something to cause her to lose the foal or damage it in some way..couldnt live with ourselves if that happened...

It seesm that she will be ok staying with her friend,the TB gelding when she comes back,but we will have to suck it and see as you say.

Thanks

[acorn]

I think that it would be more stressful to split up two equine friends. More of a risk than keeping her with a gelding!! I think the risks of keeping a mare with a gelding are over rated

[kermie]

If they are usually all happy in the field together then I would just pop her back in with them. I've done that both times with my mares and then just separated them for the last month and it's worked well. Obvious exception would be if you have a gelding with a penchant for mounting

[acorn]

Yes, a "studdy" gelding might be a problem!