foaling in a shared paddock!!

pinkypug1

pinkypug1

Member
Sep 16, 2007
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Northern Ireland
anyone any experience (good or bad) of a mare foaling in a paddock shared with another mare??

my mare is due in 6 weeks & she wont stay in the paddock next to her field mate she jumped the fence & i dont want her hurting herself whilst so heavily preggers, ive not option to bring her in but want to foal her outside anyway as thats were she is used to being. other mare cannot be moved anywhere either. I have almost 5 acres that is split in 3.

they are great frends and happy together im just worried about the foals safety.
 
We unintentionally had a foal born in a field with several other horses & all was well. We moved them when we discovered the foal, but it wasn't a problem. The foal will be 15 this year.
 
I wouldn't have thought that it would be a huge problem - especially as they get on so well. Horses in the wild surely have foals in their herds with other horses close by?
 
foaling outside is definitely a good idea,especially if you have no ditches or slopes towards fences.

Sharing with another mare? I wouldn't like to say. It is of course what happens in the wild - but the pregnant mare would tend to go off alone, and return to the herd a few hours later with the foal.

In a domestic field, the other mare may simply ignore the new foal; she may 'aunty' it; she may try to steal it, causing lots of distress to mother and foal and possible causing a fatal injury; she could simply decide to kill it. I have seen other species do all these things to their companions' off-spring. The only time I tried to put a young foal and mother back in the with mothers pre-foaling companion, the companion tried to steal the foal, nearly killing it in the process, and nearly killing us as we tried to separate them again :eek: When I worked on a TB stud, mares with foals were only turned out with other mares and foals - not with unfoaled or barren mares, ever.

I think there is a good chance she will just become an 'aunty', sharing in the care and rearing, but I wouldn't leave them unattended until I was sure. I have a tent you can borrow:tongue:
 
Which mare is the more dominant? Has the other mare seen foals before?

Is it possible to put the other mare in a paddock next to your mare?

I would say you are likely to be ok, but there are risks. You'd need to make sure that the field is big enough to allow your mare to have her own space when she needs it.
 
Our lot all go in and foal together outside in the sam field. We, so far,have had no bother but some mares can steal foals which is a right pain.

When one of the mares is foaling the other mares stand around and guard her, I have seen this happen on more than one occasion, ONce the foal is on the ground they wander off again.

I don't like them foaling with the stallion in there, it's just me, our boy would never harm a fly, but I think the mares like to have a bit of peace and quiet and no gobby man strutting his stuff round the maternity ward.
 
hi, thanks for all your replies

the land is almost 5 acres but by closing 2 gates i can split into 3 seperate paddocks, i tried separating them the other day but my mare jumped into the other cutting her leg in the process think she keep jumping if i try again!

my mare would be the dominant one of the 2 & yes the other mare has been in the company of foals before but only out in a big mixed herd not one on one!

lol thanks for the offer of a tent but i plan on kipping in my car on the lane beside the fields to keep an eye, but more than likely will all happen when im not around
 
Can u not electric fence 2 paddocks next to each other with her friends close by in touching distance?
 
Dannii5691 said:
Can u not electric fence 2 paddocks next to each other with her friends close by in touching distance?
Click to expand...

there is just post and rail between the paddocks so they can groom n touch over the fence anyway.

i'll maybe try once more in a week or so and if she doesnt settle i'll let her foal out wit other mare.
 
If the other mare has seen foals before and yours is the more dominant then you shouldn't have too much of a problem with her foaling with the other mare in the field. Sounds as though the fields are quite large so your mare can foal in peace if she so wishes
 
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