Foaling Alarms and preparing for foaling???

[Ladyfresha]

My scanned not in foal mare is now showing all of the signs of in fact being in foal. She is getting massive and starting to bag up. I hope it isn't a phantom!! Is there anywhere that sells a reasonably priced foaling alarm? Am thinking about borrowing a caravan so I can keep an eye on her but having an alarm as well would help keep my mind at rest should I drift off in to a deep sleep and ignore my alarm clock!

I hope is isn't just having me on but I want to make sure I am prepared just in case!

Thanks!!

[treena]

i would suggest you get the vet to check her over. if no foal was seen on the scan it doesnt mean she is not pregnant as i have known the little blighters to hide. a foaling alarm is a good idea although it never worked with my mare as they work on detecting sweat, my mare did not sweat up so alarm didnt go off. fortunately i knew the other signs to look for. do you have a rough idea of a due date. the udder can start to develope up to a month before the foal is born. once the wax appears on the ends of the teats then i would keep a close eye on her. the wax will drop off and the milk will start to drip indicating that baby is on way. i know a vets visit costs money but it will put your mind at rest as to whether or not you areto expect the patter of tiny hooves and how soon, on the other hand if there is no foal they will save you countless days and nights worrying. good luck

[Ladyfresha]

After her scan I put it all out of my mind so can't really remember the dates but from what I can remember she probably has about 2 weeks to go. I will have a chat with my NEW!! vet. I have no faith what so ever in my old vet, I don't think he scanned her properly, first thing he said was that one of the vets had been kicked in the face the day before and he seemed very reluctant to get near her. At her 15 day scan he thought she was but he wanted to come back a week later to have another look as he wasn't 100% sure.

She is normally so laid back but has started getting tetchy with me touching her teats when I check her. We will see what happens!

[Gingerbear]

Hi As Milliemay said they can bag up earlier than you think. One of ours bagged up six weeks beore she had her foal. You can hire foaling alarms for about twenty five pounds a week but they only work if they sweat up. Also it didn't go off with two of ours and one was quite sweaty. We also used the milk strips bought from e bay for a tenner and this was 100% accurate, however they don't always have any milk till the last minute. As Millie May said the waxing up is usually the sign that somethig is going to happen pretty soon. Good luck with the vet.

[Ladyfresha]

Gave my girl a good check tonight. She got agitated when I was checking her teats and when I was checking around her back end and under her tail. She is normally really laid back and you can usually do anything with her. Not much change in her udder tonight, just still a slight swelling. She seems to be getting rather spongy in her buttocks though! Couldn't get hold of my vet, just the receptionist! I will phone her in the morning though.

[k9h]

Sorry to hijack OP's post!

What are the milk strips please!?

[Ladyfresha]

Tonight girly had more swelling in her udder and it was starting to feel a bit firmer. Also seems to be carrying lower than she was. Getting really annoyed with me when I check her teats! Will try to wash them with some warm water tomorrow, see if she lets me do that!