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8 quick questions to ask yourself before foaling season.
December is nearly here and the first of the year is just around the corner. As soon as the holidays are over you'll be jumping right in to foaling season.
It's been a while since you foaled your last mare and your feeling refreshed and ready to go but hold up, do you remember how you felt at the end of last season? Were you breathing a sigh of relief when those last set of hooves hit the ground? Scowling at your mare for coming up empty? Trying to get the last client mare bred even though she shipped in having already ovulated? If we set aside the excitement for a minute, you'll probably remember just how busy last season was and maybe you even said to yourself "next year I've got to figure out a better system" The lack of sleep, astronomical vet bills, scrambling to get mares bred, and miscommunication with staff was not what you were hoping for.
We hate to break it to you but waiting "until the holidays are over" or "until i'm ready to breed my first mare" or "when I have my first foal of the season" is going to result in frustration, some last minute scrambling and an “oops I didn’t realize Missy was so close to foaling, we better get inside”. If you are expecting foals next year, or have your broodmare band ready to breed, you're not going to get LESS busy come January 1st, 2019. Practice some self care this month and treat yourself to the gift of organization and preparation.
So let's see where you're at.
1.) Foaling kit ready?
2.) Cameras set up in the barn?
3.) Foaling stalls disinfected?
4.) Straw is stocked?
5.) Mares are in good condition, up to date on vaccines, dental and farrier work?
6.) Fetal monitoring is up to date?
7.) Your staffing schedule is figured out?
8.) Records are backed up and ready to go ?
Wait, what was that last one? Backed up? Well they're in a binder somewhere in the office and I've got to get around to printing off some new spreadsheets if I can find the file...
Let's go back to the end of last season when you thought to yourself
"No way am I going through this again"
Life doesn't have to be that hard. Maybe this year your doing your own ultrasounds, your desperate to improve staff communication, and you can't afford to miss cycles and breed mares late.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and over again and expecting a different result" - Albert Einstein
So don't do the same thing . Join us in the 21st Century, simplify your life and leverage your breeding accuracy. It's really not complicated and it's not a trick, it's just time. Science and technology has provided us with once unimaginable opportunities and now it's here for the equine industry as well. The best part is, you don't have to be a tech guru or a millennial, we've got you covered.
Give yourself an early Christmas present, sign up now and let's set your records straight. How nice would it be to receive a notification from our gestation tracker to let you know when your mare needs her next Pneumabort vaccine? Or to log a tease score with just one click and get a graphed visual of her progress?
Get your season off to a good start by being prepared and organized. Set your mares up on FoalPoint BEFORE the breeding season starts because you've clearly gotten into the eggnog early if you think it won't make a difference.
Ok, away you go!
Step 1: Hop on FoalPoint (first 21 days are on us!) www.foalpoint.ca/register
Step 2: Enter mare information and get profiles set up before they foal or come into season
Step 3: Give yourself a pat on the back, come February you, your staff, and your vet will know exactly where to find everything.