STUD NOTES

CARE FOR THE PREGNANT MARE

Just like a pregnant woman, the pregnant mare does need special attention, but resents being wrapped in cotton wool and suffocated with kindness!

GENERAL MAINTENANCE

Drenching and Vaccinations
A regular drenching program should be maintained throughout the pregnancy, however it is advisable not to drench the mare in the last four weeks of gestation. Some drenches should not be used on the pregnant mare, so check the label before purchasing.

It is advisable to have the mare vaccinated against tetanus and strangles. If your mare has not been vaccinated in the last 12 months, then an initial program should be commenced.

This program entails:

• Tetanus and Strangles 2 in 1 vaccination
• Strangles only vaccination two weeks later
• Tetanus and Strangles 2 in 1 vaccination again, two weeks after that

It is very important to stick to the program accurately and keep the needles as close as possible to the 2-4 week interval. This should be done before the mare comes to stud to foal down.

If the mare has had regular vaccinations, then her annual booster should be given 3-4 weeks prior to her due foaling date. This allows some cover to the foal via the colostrum.

Routine at Yallambee Stud is that all pregnant mares are given a tetanus and strangles booster 3 weeks prior to foaling.

EHV 1,4 vaccinations are now a part of routine vaccination programs. Their purpose is to help inhibit the effects of a contagious abortion outbreak, so their importance is significant.

FOR PREVIOUSLY UNVACCINATED MARES

An initial vaccination at 4 months gestation, then at 5 months, 7 months and 9 months of pregnancy.

FOR PREVIOUSLY VACCINATED MARES

Vaccinate at 5, 7 and 9 months of pregnancy.

Farrier Programs
One of the worst things that can be done to a pregnant mare is neglect her feet – like us girls they can swell in the legs, which can reduce fitness levels and cause stress. As the mare gains weight, splits will form more rapidly, accelerating more serious hoof problems. The importance of well-maintained feet can not be stressed enough. Check your mare's feet now, and get a 6-week farrier program into action if it is not already in place.

WEIGHT, FEEDING AND FITNESS

The golden rule - a fit pregnant mare at the correct weight

The overweight mare tends to have a much more difficult foaling. Her lack of fitness and muscle tone means the act of foaling has much less effort put into it. Fat mares tend to 'chuck it in' half way through the job, resulting in a slower delivery … which can cause all sorts of problems. A greater rate of professional assistance by attending personnel is required in an attempt to get the foal out with minimal internal damage to the mare. The rate of recovery for a fat, unfit mare is also hampered, slowing down the initial nursing duties that must be carried out by the mare in a very short period of time. Internally, the uterus is much slower to contract, again due to lack of muscle tone. This has a direct effect on the fertility of the mare for that season.

The underweight mare also invites problems, both to herself and the foal. Certainly she will also suffer from lack of strength during the foaling process. She is more likely to suffer serious internal damage. She is also more likely to produce a 'weedy' foal, which will require extra attention to get it up and going. This foal is more likely to have other health problems, and be foaled early. The mare is less likely to provide the required levels of colostrum, and support the foal with adequate milk.

The last 1/3rd of gestation is nutritionally the most important period to the pregnant mare. It is also when the weather is colder and she would require greater energy levels anyway, therefore, feed supplementation needs to carried out. If on good pasture she will certainly require lucerne hay and grain, along with any mineral and vitamin supplements your property is deficient in. On poor pasture, much more will be required. There are many commercial pregnant mare feeds available, and should be investigated by the owner for this period.

Keep your mare fit - do not lock her up in a small paddock. Again, like us girls, they have a need to roam wide open spaces and to socialise. A large, well-pastured, well sheltered paddock, with your other pregnant mares if possible; also having to walk a distance to feed and water is ideal.

I do not encourage that the owner rug a pregnant mare - it will have to come off at some stage prior to foaling.

SENDING THE PREGNANT MARE TO STUD

Common thought is that the pregnant mare should be sent to stud about one month before she is due to foal. The reasoning for this is wide and varied, but briefly it allows enough time for:

• The mare to accustom herself to the farm's natural microbial population, building up resistance via the colostrum to the foal for optimum health.
• Allows the stud to 'get to know' the mare
• Allows the mare to settle into a social group
• Reduces the chance of a stress induced foaling from transporting the mare too close to foaling

SOME FACTS ABOUT FOALING

Gestation period for the pregnant mare is calculated between 335 and 342 days. At Yallambee we calculate at 338 days post service. However, the due date has little to do with what is considered 'normal' gestation.

The mare is capable of having a normally developed foal at 325 days, right through to 365 days. It is not unusual for mares to go a month over their due dates, and we are not fussed at all - it's can't stay in there forever!

In general, these tend to be older or underweight mares. Quite often it looks like they are nowhere near foaling, but one day you walk out and almost out of the blue she looks ready to foal: having very rapid udder development and other signs of being imminent … she will probably foal that night!

Conversely, a mare that foals about two weeks early can also have a normally developed foal (provided that it's not induced by stress or placentitis), and sometimes mare that foals at her due date can have a dysmature (under developed, but not premature) foal. This situation demonstrates very strongly why induction of foaling is not recommended.

Our record for overdue mares is mare that foaled 40 days past her due date and had a normal foal and foaling: and no, there was not a mistake on the last date of service because she was at the stud right through! Needless to say the owner was very anxious about how overdue she was, and that is natural. This particular mare did break our previous record by three days, which was held by my own mare (it can happen to anyone! - I sold her and she went well over time three years running). The nuisance value of the very overdue mare is that it sets back her breeding program. Just to put your mind at ease, last year (2009) 33% of our mares foaled two weeks plus over their due date, 10% went three weeks and over and 2% went the full 30 days or more!

Most mares foal at night: an unfortunate fact of life. An observation by Rick and myself (albeit undocumented) is that mares are clever … they tend to foal earlier than expected prior to a spell of rough weather, giving us quite a little run of intensive foaling. The remainders seem capable of holding off until rough weather has passed. Rough weather can certainly cause stress induced foaling, when mares foal earlier than they should and producing a dysmature or premature foal. This is particularly prevalent in the under weight mare.

We have found over the years more and more mares require assistance during foaling - unlike many other commercial animals, we are not selecting for 'ease of foaling', but for pedigree, type and racing ability. We, as breeders, have a nasty habit of putting very big stallions over smaller mares to "get some size into them" - thanks guys ... that's also increasing our rates of an assisted foaling.

A TIP

In early July, go out and take a very good look at your pregnant mare - do you honestly think she is still in foal? If there is a shadow of doubt, get her pregnancy tested. You still have time to get the mare under lights and ready to get served early in the season, and with the breeding game, time is money. Getting the mare cycling also allows more time and opportunity to sort out the cause of abortion through swabs and treatment programs. Imagine, and it happens all the time, that mid October you decide your mare may not be in foal and pregnancy test her: and of course you were right! You have already lost six weeks of breeding time before you even start to get organised.

SUMMARY

There is plenty the owner can do to look after the health and welfare of the pregnant mare. She is an expensive creature to keep, but complete and sensible care helps ensure a happy result for all involved. Once again, we girls are worth all the worry, expense and work ... you'll be repaid many times over with the resultant joy.

Neglect us though ... and things get ugly!