I have a new PMU filly coming in, and I want to pick her up shortly after her arrival. The organizer suggests leaving her for several days before transporting her to her permanent facilty 45 minutes away. What recommendations do other PMU owners have and what, if any, illness should I watch for? Thanks

Hi Nikki,
First off, kudos to you for adopting a PMU baby!
I adopted three PMU mares in May and am in the process of finding adoptive homes for them. My mares arrived at a drop location 2.5 hours from my home after an 1800 mile trailer ride. I arrived at the drop location when they did. They hung out in a round pen for 3 hours and drank and ate and rested. After that, they seemed ready to make the last leg of the trip. We loaded them loose in a big stock trailer and they rode home well. I was glad I took them home immediately because we had some serious medical concerns with one of them, and I needed to have a vet out right away. This way, the horse was close to me and I could deal with the problems (the mare was badly emaciated and had serious dental problems).
The organizer of your adoption has experience with this, though, and it may be easier to let your baby settle for a few days at the drop site with his friends before traveling on.
Things to watch for after arrival are strangles, respiratory troubles, founder, colic, dehydration. Try to keep an eye on what goes in (feed, water amount) and out (make sure she's pooping regularly and does not have diarrhea).
If I could do it all over again, I would have the vet scheduled to come check the new arrivals the morning after they arrived. It was great to have the vet check them over.
Also....try to have very loose expectations about what will arrive! I was in shock when I pulled up and saw my Appy mare---she was 250 pounds underweight and pretty banged up. Likely, your baby will arrive in pretty good shape, but the trailer ride is very hard on them. Keep your expectations low.
Also, as I am sure you know, these horses are semi-wild when they arrive, not having been handled much. Make sure your enclosure for her is very secure and on the small side so you can get close to her and start making friends. My mares had stalls with 24' by 36' pipe paddocks initially. Two would not let me touch them for several days! After that, they were pests!
Good luck,
Katie

Thank you very much for your incite. Your experience is very helpful. I am now planning on being there when they arrive. It is very helpful to know exactly what to look for with health issues also. That my thought about getting her home so she can be closely watch and treated immediately if need be. Thanks again!