mare after giving birth

Question
We recently purchased a mare we were suspisious that she may be pregnant but the previous owner was not sure. Well.. she was! She gave birth to a baby girl late Sunday night or early Monday morning. We had only owned her for a few months previously but other than biting she did NOT act ugly. Now just today she backed up on me and took off after me trying to bite my waist off for no apparent reason. The foal was on the other side of her, so I was not a threat to her (I dont think). anyway, we are just curious if its just the mothering instincts and will get better. Is there something we can do about it? She literally attacked me. We have small children and do NOT want to put them in danger. They are not allowed in the pasture w/ the minis right now and we are going to seperate her from the stud(not the daddy-but another horse we have). We would just like some suggestions on how to handle this behaviour. And the biting? how do we handle the biting? Our little stud is doing the same thing. Thank you for any info you can give us on that!

Answer
Hi Crystal-
Thanks for the question. There are a whole lot of things going on right now. Your mare has just given birth. At a time when she and her baby should ideally be separated and given privacy and quiet, they are out with a stud and so she has reason to be very protective, even from you. She is probably very nervous which can in turn make the baby hard to handle if the mother is scared of everything and everyone. Babies usually take the cues from their mom. She is just protecting her baby and doesn't have the wherewithal to figure out who's a threat and who's not. Please give these two some peace and quiet as soon as you can and I think you will see a change in her when things calm down. The stud may be reacting from the aggression of the mom with his biting.After all, his herd dynamics have changed, too. Please see my previous answers on how to deal with biting if it continues to be a problem after they are separated. Keep the kids away, at least from a distance for awhile. I trust you wormed Mom immediately and put iodine on the baby's navel? I hope this helps and good luck. Best, Toni