I've had a HUGE discussion with some freinds of mine about what to do with the foal while the mare is being covered.....some leaves the foal in the box, others have a third part to hold the foal in a distance and others again use metods that I will not even write about .

I hope that all you experinced breeders will share what is the best way, so that I can tell my "freind", that what she does is dangerous and cruel .

Best regards
Gitte

Hi Gitte

What on earth does your friend do?

I recently went to a stud to see their horses and while I was there they asked me if I would hold a foal while they covered the mare. The mare was taken into her paddock and up to the fence rails. I held the foal up to his mother's head from the other side of the fence. The stallion was brought in and allowed to greet the mare and then covered her. The mare was very happy as she could see and smell her foal and the foal was fine and stood well near his mother's head but was in no danger as he was not in the paddock so had anyone got loose at any time the foal would have been safe.

Barbara

We always put the foal in a stable and hold the dam against the stable door so she can sniff foal. Cover against the stable door if you can. No way take foal away out of sight. Down right cruel.

Dear Barbara and Blossom

Thank you som much for your replies .

Well, first she left the foal alone in the stable to cover the mare in a paddock , it didn't work out as the mare and foal naturally got scared and frustrated, so she let the foal loose in the same paddock with the mare and stallion and asked if I would hold the mare. I had to leave...didn't want anything to do with it!!

I've just covered one of my mares in the paddock with a third part to hold the foal so mare and foal still have contact, but no danger for any of them, but she insisted in doing it her cruel way!

Thank's again

Gitte

Not every mare reacts to this situation the same. We usually have someone hold the foal in front of the mare out of harms way while she is covered. I feel this is best for most mares. Some mares however will not settle down when the foal is in sight because they worry too much. For those mares it sometimes works better to leave the foal in the box stall. When we do this we have someone hold the foal and pet it and then return the mare as soon as possible. These mares seem to get along fine that way and will concentrate on the stallion once their foal is out of sight. While they have their mind on the stallion they do not fret about their foal. As far as leaving the foal alone or letting it wander around the paddock while the stallion is covering the mare, that is just downright dangerous and asking for trouble.

We just covered a mare that has a foal by her side. We took the mare just outside her run and left the foal inside where they could see each other, brought the stallion out and covered the mare and then returned her back to her run.

What do you think they do in the wild? Foals in a pasture breeding situation will get out of the way as I'm sure they do in the wild.

It really does depend upon the temperament of the mare as some mares will not tolerate letting the foal out of their sight and then again you have some that will not ever let the stallion approach with a foal at side so it comes down to knowing what the mare will tolerate and what is the safest for all in the process. Mother nature didn't have these problems

I have done this in a few different ways. I find that some mares want the foal next to them, othesr want it left in the stall and the best is a pasture situation where the foal is left with the other foals and their dams. They are used to mom walking off for a few moments and no one is upset. I have had mare refuse a stallion if her foal was not present and other refuse if he was. I think it is really up to the mare. Read your mare if possible and do what she dictates.

I agree with Nancy and Kimberli, each mare is different. My observation is how they handle teasing with a foal at side will usually dictate how they handle the actual breeding. Some are better with the foal nearby but being handled by someone, but others are better with the foal somewhere else, preferably being watched by someone.

As always, JMO!

Beth