CARE OF PREGNANT MARES

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14808, 11 October 1911, Page 12

CARE OF PREGNANT MARES

';.' ' |}Y W.S. [Uvea of the success that shooW-^aUend• horse-breeding, depends upon the ' care and attention bestowed upon' the mare -itorS^ber pregnancy, especially towards and at foaling time. Breeding Jof horses • of I the' better class is one of the most profitable undertakings a. farmer can deal in, •Out to be successful as- a "breeder much Tare 'and judgment ore ■ necessary, for■■without'* these essentials it is almost sure V prove a failure; whether it is taken up *s means of a livelihood" or as a side line Jo mixed farming, it-matters not, there should be "only one aim, success. " If :'rn'ore care were taken with pregnant -mares 1 the-risks would be less and the .unfits greater." Much harm is often done that might be avoided through careless 'handling during that period, for then ■not only is her own health and safety at stake, but the welfare oi her progeny is ' *lso« a matter for serious consideration. ; if suitable, precautions are taken and in- • telligent ; observation maintained; the mare and foal usually pass through this critical-period of their existence in a satis- * factory manner. ";,*'*. Wis certainly true that in many instances pregnant -'-mares* receive I little • notice beyond that given at other times; they are often hard worked and subjected - Jo ail kinds of unfavourable treatment.

v-if i Working the Mare. ;-":,-■:';'.'%:: '"'££ll is generally considered that pregnant ': snares, especially those doing slow work, < Such "as draughts, are belter worked up . -'Hfo the time they are due to foal, provid- j SSjr, it is straightforward work and not of • 100 Jabourious a nature. This practice has ■ its advantages, but she must receive good . * treatment and careful handling-"'-The ad- \ :. vantages are that the animal is kept in Iftong; healthy "condition, the muscles are j 'Lia, better order to stand the strain when j ■ the time for parturition arrives ; by doing ( getoSe work the mare will not set un- j duly fat. which often causes trouble with ; - uncorked mares at-foaling time. Com- j ' raoit bred animals "are less predisposed to j 1 accidents at, this time, than those which J :: are higiilv bred, high' breeding bringing j in its train Water liability,-, to certain ; I' /accidents*.incidental to J pregnancy and - parturition. ■*- High-- bred animals therefore require more careful'supervision on the part of : : the breeder. ."A ptegnant mare should ■- never be allowed- to 'get in any way : fatigued or .distressed, .nor should she be pit to aihfcavy pull nor driven over boggy ground fox fear she should get strained :: or; braised", which might end in.abortion. • The latter is often caused-by working a *'Sire' while heavy; in foal between other I,horses, especially" geldings. If she has to •- be -worked with others, she should, if pos- ■ sible, he put on the outside of the team: ■>

'" Working MaTes' Together. A plan adopted on manyjp! the larger farmslillra there are a number of ! teams forking is to; make _ up a team of pregnant- mares and work them* by I ihemse4Tes. - "Where this method is prac- • tised trader careful management the.-, risks. ■ : are reduced-nSnio^r- to a minimum, a care- - * Jul hand", ": 0 tt il pay : *v*ry attention ; to - the ,:affima|s, u»il.7 f:- -charge., y: ,being I entrusCld with''the : team. ...rTbft team 1 tmiailv-gets the light work, and is not •" expected to do as "much -m.the- geldings | .or other teams: a man being allowed to ■: Yuse his own judgment and only do as } much work as he considers the team able Ito perform '■■ without doing injury to them- . .'selves -or " their offspring. -Great -care •"*• : 3 should be taken while going ?to and from • ~ work, as this is where trouble often com'";mences, especially in big teams., ; *I the ' rgatewa^^^aw^not^mn^CTy^iHett^ . lilow :them :to: walk comfortabSy abreast , without crushing each other they should '■■', -/be' uncoupled so.as to lessen the risk of - ~~i getting injured. 'If the teamis carefully I handled and every precaution taken, then, i in mv: opinion, draught 1 mares doing slow ; work are the better lor being worked ', | until within a few day* of foaling. ~ ■ Approach yof Coaling Time. .

1 "When the mare shows signs of prepara- | tion for foaling, extreme carefulness: S- should be exercised * for -though parturilotion is generally^and apparently a prompt ; S act on a mare, yet* if is not always,' so; \ S oh the' contrary., in : some,; instances^ itji % extremely compUeated* and difficult.' w of these cases have a rapidly fatal ter- j X lrnhatSii^h'enceJ:hd great need for care- - ful observation of the mare at this time, j ■for if the foal should happen J, as it often , " does, to present itself "in; the; genital pas-. sage in an unfavourable position or»-ab-*j $_ normal attitude unless the attendant have -S skill and experience it will | fare badly -with the mare, It is usual »for the man, - who is in charge.of the team to attend to S'the animals during parturition,' so it is $ better that he should base a. little know- - ledge of elementary 'obstetrics to enable &him to deal with a" comparatively simple ■-'■ J ' case of * parturition when skilled if assist--2 ance is not available so, of course, in ? this case he will first make an examinai'tion in order to inform ' himself of the [ cause of the obstruction of delivery. ,>' J :• Duration of Pregnancy, . . I" . The normal duration of pregnancy is j 1' from 330 to 350 days, some, however, will f carrv 365 days or even longer. Owing to ] £ ; this'uncertainty of time it is necessary to j I. carefully note the period which each mare j "§i carries "so as to 'be able to get a more ':■ accurate idea of when she will foal. A -i mare will usually"; carry ; about the same -! time each season. It has often come I under mv notice that certain mares have parried exactly the same number of days, 5 ;>«ach time they proved in foal, for several' j Reasons running, the event of foaling taki ing place to the day '*-% and even the hour, f With this knowledge one has the ad van-*-:tage over others that have not troubled T about keeping a correct record of each :x mare's time. .Upon several occasions I after Shaving become acquainted with ber \ period of carriage, I "nave set the clock . Ito a 'certain ; 'and|h»T^irßye^ just i at the right moment to give assistance.

;.' -'-'Ai Causes of Abortion. ,;.„ ; :' : - - One of the chief causes of abortion is to 'injudicious high feeding. \ It : frequently r happens with": highly * * fed . animals, after being a day or two .idle, in -<tbe stable; when turned out at night they commence galloping. If pregnant mares are turned out on these; occasions they join in the'gallop and become so excited that abortion frequently "follows,' hence i-the. necessity of every care being taken to guard against such a mishap: :"*r.S '* r\ Weaning Time. Ui Many colli.;are.ruined in the first -Jew tmonths of . their life,, through being neg-, elected. Especially; at weaning time a foal &hou!d be'taught to cat a; little dry "feed 'before it 'is weaned, so that when * the 'time arrives for weaning the check will not be so great. Caring for the foal "really begins with caring for the mother. jilt is usual on many farms to work the .'marcs through the day and allow the

'■• .foals to run with them at night, the foals ,: being shut in a yard or small well-fenced •field through the day. On farms where '■■'.■ the work is not too laborious this is pros':'- '-/fiiable practice. The mare will carry and .- ■rear a foal and do all the work that is needed,, and the colt when two or three years old ...bring in a good sum... This js certainly better than allowing the foal to run with the mare while working, as the latter often.proves a soutce of annoyance to the man working the team. Sometimes the foal will get a sack while the •-mare is hot, which' is almost sure to '• cause "fitcmach trouble;: besides following the 'mare about all day is too much exercise j &*. toe youngster, "and a great deal of his . \ il~*A "t'"'H::i' to waste when it should be / ;../...;.: bone and. a:u;cif>. ~.-*- '„

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