# Pregnant Mare Feeding question



## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

so next week i'll be getting a 14 year old Few spot Appaloosa( Snowflake) and she is BEAUTIFUL but she is 8-9 months pregnant (sad that they don't know for sure..... ) this will be my first horse pregnancy.. my mom has been through some before. now snowflake has a bad eye. she's had it for over 8 years.. but she is gentle and still rides great. she has also foaled 3 time before with no problems what so ever. since she is 8-9 months no Fescue hay right?? we are gonna be getting some Orchid Grass for her. and will being on a pasture with little grass be ok. that way she can stretch her legs during the day? because we are gonna have her in a foaling box at night. my first question is. when should i up her feeding?? we normal feed our horses 2 quarts of sweet feed a day. and a 4th of a bale of hay each. will that be plenty for her? or should we go ahead and start feeding her more? and how much do you suggest. also how long till we quit riding her? we will only be riding bareback. can we do that up till the birth? or just untill the last month or what? and yes i am FULLY ready to be on watch duty night after night untill this foal is born. and i completely excited and i want to be there during the birth. any other advice you guys suggest? oh. when should she get her booster shots? and can't we administer those ourselves??


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## equus717 (Aug 20, 2009)

You can adminster them yourselves but the first question I would ask the previous owners is when was she exposed to a stallion? My mare is also 8 months along or possibly 9 months. We know we bred her in 2 different months. Her due dates are either Jan, 17 or Feb. 10, 2010. The thing about feeding I would ask what the previous owners were feeding her and how much. I will be giving PT a scoop and a half in the morning and at night then when she is a month away from due date I will up her again to 2 scoops in the morning and at night. Yes this is a 2 qt. scoop used for horses. Fescue yes you are right none should be given to your mare. Orchid grass hay is fine. I am feeding PT orchid and timothy hay. Turn out is fine. I do not dry lot my mares unless absolutely necessary. She is turned out with the stud right now to keep him company until I can have my foal Caddo gelded and then he will become company for his sire. Riding you can ride her. I don't but none of my broodmares are broke to ride. PT has a bad hip from an injury inquired as a yearling. I would probably not ride her once she hits 10 months along. When you pick her up and the owners can recall when she was exposed to the stud calculate 343 days for gestation. Mares can go as early as 300 days and as late as 380 days. Once a mare reaches 300 days the vets consider the foal to be full term. My mares give birth about 326 days of gestation. I start paying attention to the udder and to the tail croup for signs of labor and impending birth of the foal. I hope that this helps you out.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

ok i'll ask them. the odd thing is i got her off craisglist. and they had her listed as a 17 year old appaloosa that is 5 months pregnant. but then when i called they said she was 8 or 9 and then when i visited they said she was 14 years old.. could a vet palpitating her tell me roughly when she is do? the stallion they breed to is a on their second farm. so technically they should know when or at least the week they put her with him. but i don't know it all seems sketchy. 

are you any good with genetics?? so far snowflake has had 2 babies. her first one was a light palamino. her 2nd was black blanket app with LOTS of roaning. and the 3rd looked the exact same as the first. i'm hoping she is flopping back and forth and another black blanket app is next because he was beautiful i looked for a picture of something close to him and this was as close as i could get. he looked like that but with black instead of brown. (no the picture isn't mine i found it off google for comparison reasons) also the stallion is a jet black quarter horse. and she is white with a brown spot here and there. with a brown mane and tail. and all her legs are brown from the knee down. so how do you think they next baby will come out??


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

Was she bred to the same stallion for all of her foals? If not then the palominos might have acquired their cream gene from their sire-- its still possible that the black QH has a cream gene I suppose-_ I was just speculating on whether the mare herself might have a cream gene.

Without knowing anything about her bloodlines or her original base color its really hard make any type of "educated" guess on what colors she could produce, besides what we already know...... If she is a "true" fewspot, her foals should always have Appaloosa characteristics (mottled skin, striped feet, sclera-- usually some roaning eventually)-- but they might not show up right away. She can produce black, so she has at least one little a, and since she can produce palomino, she has at least one little e, so she can also produce chestnut, depending on the stallion she is bred to. (AND we don't know if she has a cream gene or not or if the sire contributed it.....)

Regardless, I hope you get exactly what you want! LOL


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

yes same stallion every time. i'll get some pics when we bring her home this weekend!! i didn't get any good looks at the palamino's but they may have some mottling but i didn't get any close ups of em. and thanks i WILL get exactly what i want. because color doesn't matter i just want the little guy/girl to be healthy and happy. if thats happens and all goes well. then i will have exactly what i've always wanted.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

and now that i think about it. could it be possible that she is whiteish with a blanket?? because the spots are only on her rump if i am recalling correctly. but can blanket apps be like that? also on all of her legs from the knee down are a brownish color so i'm really not sure. lol i'm not very good with genetics and colors and such


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

Yes, she could have been a blanketed horse that roaned, and is now white enough to look "fewspot". 

My stallion still has a fair amount of "varnishing" showing, but he was born solid bay with only a small white blanket over the top of his hips. If he roans further so that his varnishing roans off, he will eventually look "fewspot". You can see his one spot on the top of his left hip.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

if he roaned out some more he would look fairly close to her! so thats probably what happened she is a blanket app thats roaning which would help explain why the colt she had has a pretty good amount of roaning as well


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

ok well i measured our "foaling box" and it is definatly NOT a foaling box! it's only 10ft by 12ft definatly not big enough. would it be ok for her to have the foal outside in our 2 acre pasture? that whole pasture is made of wire. but not barbed wire. and while she is there i will reflag the fense in either pink, green or orange flags. the pasture is about 2 acres? with a place to get out of the rain under the trees. would this be suitable? because i definatly don't think the stall is big enough. and i want her to be away from the other horses incase they do something stupid and hurt her while she is foaling.


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

hi there. you sound like a worried grandmother/mother. i was in your situation back in April. I bought a mare last November,, possibly bred and she was.. i was just as worried as you. the nice thing was is i kept in contact with her previous owner and asked about her other foaling experiences. this reassured me. i did not have a barn or a stall to let her foal in. in fact the barn/stall i did have her in, made her too nervous. i decided to let nature take its course. she safley had her baby and was a great momma. she will protect her newborn and the baby will not wander away from mom for a while. if it makes you feel better, call the vet to see where she is at in her pregnancy. honestly, i just watched her. i watched her belly, her tail, her backend area.., and her bag. when she is bagged big time with possible wax or milk coming out she is super close. my mare didnt wax up or no milk coming from her teats. so no clue for me. i would just watch her. i fed grain, mare feed. started out at one scoop then two and then 3. i also gave her her shots( alot cheaper that way) and wormed her with safeguard. you will want to get a foal blanket. get on line and just do alot of research or get some books. always better to find out all you can and be prepared for the day. good luck!


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

haha i am a worried mother this my first foal and pregnant mare so i'm excited and i want everything to be perfect and done right with no problems lol. i am defiantly gonna look into some books for christmas. and you are the first person to suggest a foal blanket. what kind of feed, and mare feed do you feed her? and will she be ok eating grass in a pasture? idk if it's fescue grass or what kind of grass it is. but our hay is fescue so i know we are definatly buying her orchid or timothy hay for her. the previous owners just said they woke up the next day and there was the foal. but i kinda want to do some imprinting if i can. if not then oh well when should i worm her with the safe guard?


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

hey, the place i boarded my horses at was nothing but grass. i dont know what kind of grass it was. i would change your hay you feed tho. you can get mare/foal feed from a feed store. make sure you up her protein. that is really important. i know how you feel about the imprinting. my mare foaled about 8pm on a rainy nite and i couldnt do much imprinting. i made sure my mare passed her placenta and the bag completely, maybe held the baby for 5 min. ?? and left. came back the next day and hung around the mare and sat on the ground for the baby to come and investigate me. it took probably about a week before i was able to have the baby trust me but i didnt want to rush it. after that i did alot of holding and rubbing and desensitizing. this baby now is so used to touch and feet being done that she will be a breeze to train later. just give him/her time to learn you and dont sneek around him/her. i would go right up to the mare and brush her and give her snacks so the baby would see i wasnt a bad thing. curiosity eventually took over. just have fun with it. i would also say. really get this mare used to you and trust you before she foals. spend as much time with her as you can. even if you dont ride her take her for walks, let her have grass on the outside, do whatever to make her trust you. that will also help when the baby comes. if she shys from you the baby will too.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

extremely cute baby!!! yeah i definatly plan on working with the mare and exercising her and such so she is fit and healthy for the foaling!! i don't mind if it is raining although it'll be cold i'd be to excited to carea bout the rain lol i think right now we are feeding 10% sweet feet called Bartlot or pasture horse or something along those lines the mare/foal feeds do i offer some to the baby after he/she is born? or just feed it to the mom while she is pregnant? and once the baby is born should i instantly drop back down on her feeding or slowly reduce her food intake back to normal?


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

your too funny. just dont interfere with the mother/baby bonding process. let that happen before you go ahead with imprinting. you will have plenty of time for that. as for the feed.... work her up from one scoop for 3 days then one and a half for 3 days up to 2 and so on but keep your mare at 3 scoops until that baby is weaned. she will need all she can get to keep herself in optimal shape for her and her baby. as for the baby, that baby will only want to suckle on mom for awhile. eventually the baby will test out what mom is eating. now i will say... have a couple of fleet enemas handy. my baby had the roughest time passing stool a week later. because she wasnt used to the roughage she was testing and it got stuck. i had to have a vet out to help her pass it. a little scary. but other than that the baby just tests everything out.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

lol i don't think i'm gonna be useful at all during the foaling. i'm gonna be one of those people running around like a chicken with it's head cut off lol so keep feeding her 3 scoops of mare and foal feed untill the baby is at least 6 months old. although they said they usually weaned her babies at 4 months. :-o our scoop is a 2 qt scoop so thats 6 qts a day of mare/foal feed? wow she is gonna be a lil fatty! ok another strange question... while she is pregnant is it ok to put her with the other horses? they've never met her before so their may be some kicking and biting is that ok? and what about after the baby is born? is it ok to put them both with the other horses?? what if they pick on the baby? idk this just strikes me as odd because when i introduced the little paint to our herd my horses flipped out because he was spotted and small.. they didn't know what to think.


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

i would be extremely careful putting her in with other horses. i had the mare seperated from my other two mares for almost two weeks. they could only talk over the fence. after the two weeks and i felt they were ok with each other is when i put them all together. you need to find out who the dominant animal is in the herd. as for putting the mare and the baby in the herd... slowly. the mare will protect her baby but if you have a dominant horse/ mare that mare could try to take her baby from her. there could be some implications to this. i made sure that the baby was strong enough (?? 3-4wks old) before i put them all together. we had at the time 10 mares. so i first put a less dominant mare in with mom and baby and she eventually became the auntie and then added another lower ranking mare under the one i added. i did this in a two week interval. you just have to watch the attitudes/and read them to be able to understand who can be mixed,eventuallyiwas able to have all of them together and the other mares instinctivley knew she was a baby and were pretty gentle with her. but she learned herd dynamics and was just fine.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

ok well as of right now we have my Mustang mare who was the lead mare of the "herd" she is an inch shy of 14 hands. she will run people off but isn't usually kicky but can be if needed. 

then we have a quarter horse mare who will protect herself and isn't usually aggressive unless someone is mean to her first. she will kick if need be 

then we recently got a TWH gelding who is becomming herd leader and IS aggressive at times (i think he is just learning the ropes of being leader...) he tries to run everyone away from their feed. and he HAS to be fed first because he wont let anyone else in their stalls. he always runs them off.

and a (we think to be young) paint he is about 11-12 hands and pretty small i think he is either pony or only a year old or so. he is pretty sweet unless he is eating his feed . then he has a major attitude. he usually keeps to himself away from the other 3 and isn't aggressive acting unless someone is aggressive to him first. 

should the paint be the first one to put in with her? the QH and Mustang are buddy sour to each other. so if one goes the other has to how would we go about this. and here are some pictures

the black horse is the huge TWH gelding
the bay is my moms quarter horse 
and the white one is my mustang
and the paint is the paint lol 
the QH and the paint are next to my mom for size references and my mom is 4'11 if that says anything.


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

you will have to find out when your new mare gets home who is really bossy. i would have them seperated at first. i definetly wouldnt put a gelding in with her. most geldings and mares do not get along very well. and a gelding might try to kill the baby. just be very careful. i would put your youngest in first. only because your new mare will know that he is young. they will fight initially. just make sure your new mare is able to get enough food without being chased off. this probably would be a hard thing for me to figure out. only wait and see how they react to each other over the fence for a couple of weeks before putting any of them in with her.


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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

is this the pasture she would be in? the grass is really short and shouldnt hurt the new horse a bit.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

well no she will be in the bottom pasture but the grass is about the same. would taking the baby and the new mare snowflake on leads outside of both pastures and introducing them work? that way we have some control over the situation? and she will get plenty of feed. we always stand and keep the horses back till each one finish. so that is part of our feeding routine. so the mom and baby definatly should not be put with the gelding?? haha thats gonna pose a problem... because the land isn't ours. we are using it and the TWH gelding is the owner of the land. although he is the newest horse to the herd. and also the paint is a gelding as well. and i asked about snowflakes temperment and they said she usually keeps to herself but does protect herself when necessary.


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

You won't want to drop her feed intake after the foal is born-- she will be needing the extra feed to produce milk. In fact you will probably have to keep increasing her feed as the baby gets bigger and nurses more. Its really tough to get weight back on a nursing mare if they start to lose it, and nursing can take alot out of a mare if they aren't getting all they need.

If your pasture grass is fescue, that could cause a problem as far as grazing during the later stages of pregnancy. Your county extension agent might be able to help you find out about fescue in your area, and/or where to take a sample of your grass to have it looked at.

Based on what you have said about her foals, her being a roaned blanket rather than a fewspot does seem likely-- that does not mean all or even most of her foals will roan though-- for example, my stallion above ^^ roaned, but most of his offspring have not. He sires mostly blankets that do not roan, with an occassional roan-- for example, these four adult geldings/stallions are all sired by him, out of Thoroughbred mares--






























And the mare on the left has an Appaloosa dam-- the mare on the right has an AQHA dam.
















So, depending on the mare, stallion, and serindipitous Appaloosa luck, your offspring colors/patterns may vary :lol:.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

:shock: how much should i keep increasing? and how often should i increase it? yeah it being fescue could cause a problem since the stalls are to small for her. if you looked at the pictures i posted would even that much hurt if it was fescue because the pasture she will be on is just like that. and does fescue have a distinct look? maybe i can get some pictures of it for you?

hehe as for the genetics well i'm hoping for an app foal but i will take what i can get!! even if it comes out just a regular ole sorrel horse i'm fine with that. but if that baby comes out appy then i am gonna be jumping for joy lol because our herd needs some color!


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

_>>>> :shock: how much should i keep increasing? and how often should i increase it? _

That will really depend on the mare-- they are all different. Just be very obsevant of any minor changes in condition so you can reverse any loss immediately while it is minor. 

_>>>> yeah it being fescue could cause a problem since the stalls are to small for her. if you looked at the pictures i posted would even that much hurt if it was fescue because the pasture she will be on is just like that. and does fescue have a distinct look? maybe i can get some pictures of it for you?
_
Fortunately we don't have fescue in my area, and as such I am not the person to ask about anything fescue-related-- I just know about the problems it can cause.

_>>>>hehe as for the genetics well i'm hoping for an app foal but i will take what i can get!! even if it comes out just a regular ole sorrel horse i'm fine with that. but if that baby comes out appy then i am gonna be jumping for joy lol because our herd needs some color! _

My sentiments exactly-- I breed and raise Appaloosas and of course hope for color and love all the possibilities, but a healthy happy correct baby is the #1 priority for sure!
__________________


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

alright. i will also ask how they increased her food the past times that she was pregnant.

darn i guess i'll go picture hunting on some websites and see if i can compare. if not well then i guess i'm going to have to keep her in the stall although i'd hate for her to have her baby in there. so maybe when it gets around her due date late her go ahead and be out in the pasture?

exactly i just want it to happy and healthy. it doesn't even have to be easy to train. i'll work hard on training if it's hard to train = ) i've got plenty of time and patience


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

i brought her home today!!! YAY! i was going to get soem pictures but it was raining. and yesterday someone told me to feel around for her Milk Vein. but i don't really know where to feel. and i felt around her stomache and didn't really feel anything? so where exactly do i feel and what am i feeling for??

i can't really find any Orchard Grass hay that isn't mized with Fescue. i have however called a pretty knowledgeable girl that was selling hay and she has a mixture of Fescue, Orchard, and Kentucky Bluegrass that isn't headed. and she said that the Head of the Fescue is what hurts the pregnant and lactating mare so would that work??

also if that doesn't work i found a man that Sells Bermuda Grass hay that is 12% protein like Orcahrd. although he keeps insisting that we feed Alfalfa but i'd rather not feed her Alfalfa hay. which one of these do you guys think would be better for her??


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## Production Acres (Aug 26, 2009)

lilkitty90 said:


> i can't really find any Orchard Grass hay that isn't mized with Fescue. i have however called a pretty knowledgeable girl that was selling hay and she has a mixture of Fescue, Orchard, and Kentucky Bluegrass that isn't headed. and she said that the Head of the Fescue is what hurts the pregnant and lactating mare so would that work??
> also if that doesn't work i found a man that Sells Bermuda Grass hay that is 12% protein like Orcahrd. although he keeps insisting that we feed Alfalfa but i'd rather not feed her Alfalfa hay. which one of these do you guys think would be better for her??


You live in NC. Unless you know that your pasture is not fescue, you can assume that it is fescue! Unless you have nearly no grass at all - I mean dirt, not 2" of grass, you have too much fescue! The fescue seed head will contain the endophyte, but so will the leaves, roots, stems, etc. Fescue is not safe for a broodmare in the last 60-90 days of gestation. I don't care if it is pre-bud stage or not - nor does it matter if it is mixed with orchardgrass - unless it is more than 95% fescue free, you don't need it for the last 90 days. Unless you have personally planted the pasture in the last 3 years with fescue free grass, you need to drylot the mare!
Your pretty knowledgable hay dealer needs to learn some more!
If your bermuda guy has a forage test on his hay proving it is 12%, it is probably pretty good hay. I'll second the notion of feeding alfalfa, if you know how to feed it! 
If you need some more sources of fescue free hay in NC, pm me and I'll be happy to give you a list of dealers I know in the NC area.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

well i really have no expierence with Alfalfa so i doubt i know how to feed and ration it for her. it doesn't really look like it has any of the heads on it. but i'll have to get a picture of some pictures of the pasture so you know how little grass there is. if you seen in the pictures i have posted that is about how much grass there is. i don't have a Dry lot and my stables are too small for her to foal in so i have no other choice really


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

Seriously, I would hate to have to deal with fescue. But after googling and reading the info at the links below, I think that if I lived where it was a problem, I would figure out a way to dry lot my mare. IMO too many risks to mare and foal letting them graze fescue. 
Rural Heritage Vet Clinic - Endophyte Fescue Toxicity
Fescue Toxicity in Broodmares

Both articles also mention having your grass tested for presence of the fungus-- it lives between the cells in the grass and is not visibly detectable, nor is it JUST in the seed head.... but your county agent can test for it. 

Also, as a FYI, The second article must be older, as it says Domperidone is still being tested in clinical trials and not readily available-- I know that it is now widely available.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

does it usually cost alot to have the county agent come out?? and how would i go about finding the number to contact them??

on a good note here are some pictures i took of her.
one of the pictures is of her bad eye. they said her eye has been like that since they've ahd her and they got her when she was 6. and she is 14 now. 
and also one of the pics is of her only bad hoof. the farrier was out today and looked at it and said it was fine. and it looked like she had had and abcess once but it is growing out and getting better.

so what do you guys think? blanket app??


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

She is really cute! She is in nice condition too. One thing I can tell from these new photos is she is not a fewspot. She might have had a blanket, and roaned off. She is not a roaned snowcap either-- too many spots on her butt-- so she will not produce color/characteristics 100% of the time-- closer to 50/50 for producing app color/characteristics. But cute mare!

My county extension agent has an office in the town one over from me, and I probably would just call first, and depending on what they instructed me to do, probably end up taking a sample in, and it would be free. (My dad did this with corn and hay when he had a specific question-- years ago when he was farming--at least thats how we did it then.) Mine is listed in the local phone book under the "US Federal" section in the Government pages-- Agriculture Department of-- USDA Service Center. so there is phone number and address there.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

thank you! yeah she has produced 2 pally's and the blanket roaned app. out of the same stud.

well if thats the case i'll definatly be getting ahold of them for this!! so they should be able to tell me if it has the fungus and if it's fescue right?? because that'd be great!

as for the Hay will the Bermuda Grass hay work for now? ebcause sicne we couldn't get ahold of any yesterday she had to go without and i would hate for ehr to have to go withotu hay again today. and i am thinking maybe if we constantly keep hay in there for her maybe she wont even worry about the grass to much.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

ok i think i have come up with a conclusion to the drylotting problem. we have an overhang that is 14ft X 15ft and i think that is big enough for her to foal in. all we would have to do is temporary board it up like a stall. and she will be good to go? what do you think??

disreguard the horses in the pictures. they no longer live here now.
but here are some pics of our shack of a stable. but here is the overhang


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

Bump!

Bump!


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

here are some more updated pics. and our progress on making the overhang a foaling box.


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