How far would you travel for mare inspection/approval?

[mtngirl]

Just curious. Does it make a difference to you if you have to take a foal with the mare? What if the foal is already weaned and isn't going to be inspected? Would you take the foal as proof of her ability to produce offspring of quality?

[siegi b.]

If it's just the inspection for the mare I would not take a weaned foal with me.... way too much trouble and not worth it in my opinion.

[Dressage_Diva333]

I would REALLY prefer not to haul a mare & foal more than 4hrs.

Mares, I would haul up to 6hrs for Inspection. Weaned foals I would also haul longer distances.

The way my trailer is set up, for most of my mares, I have to put the mares in the front divider, and leave the foal in the bigger back portion. Unfortunatly I only have a two and a half horse trailer. This is okay for short distances, but baby needs to nurse at least every two hours. As far as taking the divider out, there's only one mare that of mine that I will do that with. That is the one that I trust 99.9% would not freak out if baby got caught in the rope, or something.

For the weanies, I'll either take the divider out, or put them in the back portion (they are so little, the weight balance doesn't really bother me with not having a horse up front). I usually don't tie them either, because they are so little.

Thankfully I've never had to trailer a tiny baby (like under three weeks). Not sure what I would do then, as it would be a complete disaster if it were to try to go under the divider to get to mom.

Trailering babies just makes me a nervous wreck.


And no, I would also not take a weaned foal with me to Inspection.

[ElegantExpressionsFarm]

I have a 3 horse slant that I open up completly if I am trailering a mare and foal. The youngest I have trailered is 4 days. The mare just stood there eatting her hay...the foal just stood there as well...luckily for the first 4 or 5 times they were shipped they only went 40 minutes....(I was bringing the mare to and from the breeding farm...)

The youngest I have ever shipped solo (in their own stall) in a slant is 6 months. They had been on the trailer countless times beforehand and knew how to tie as well...they had no issues what so ever!!

I would also third this..."I would also not take a weaned foal with me to Inspection."

[sixpoundfarm]

Althought not my preference, as I'd love to stick to 2 hours and under, I did mark the 6 Hr option, as we did make a trip this long just last week with a mare and her almost 4 month old colt. We bedded the trailer really well, gave them all 4 spots and stopped every few hours to offer water and give them a break. Everything turned out fine, coming and going. Thank goodness.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

The closest inspections to me are 4 hours--regardless of registry. So I guess 4 hours...

I plan to use a stock trailer and keep the whole thing open like a giant box stall.

[About Time]

I hauled my 2 month old to her inspection that was 10 hrs. away. Not an ideal scenario for sure but it was the closest for me. I set up a video camera so I could watch everything they did. Mare was tied with hay. Put hay on the ground for the foal. Bedded the trailer very deep. Foal slept comfortably for much of the trip. It took nothing out of the filly. I arrived the night before the inspection. She and mom slept soundly all night and baby was a crowd pleaser in the morning for her inspection.

I think if you plan it out well and take care of mare and foal's needs, you should be fine. If you don't have to take the foal along of course...that would be best. It would just make evrything all the harder.

[mtngirl]

Hmmm...I guess I should have added another option of "I would not take a weaned foal"...don't know how to edit that part...:confused:

Gosh About Time: I can't imagine hauling a youngster that far both ways. Glad it worked out well for you!

I'm new to the inspection process. From the research I've done, I see that in general most inspections are not very close in distance. The closest one I found (for AHS) was 3 1/2 hrs from me...and did not work for me date wise. The next closest is 4 1/2 hrs. Seems like that is the norm.

[Jesse'sMom]

i just a month ago had to take a mare/foal to the Carolinas for an inspection from florida... 7 1/2 hours.