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Mini Mare Close to Foaling

101K views 732 replies 49 participants last post by  Mike_User 
#1 ·
My mini mare is 291 days pregnant and is bagging up a little and her teats are a little big and her left side is bigger than her right and when you feel her, you can feel a hard kick by her udders about every 5 seconds! Her hips are sinking in and she is getting te pointy but look! I'm really excited since this is my first time having a mini horse foal at my house! Does anyone have an idea of when she will foal or if it is coming close? She had a foal in May 2011 and had a normal birth! She is bred to Little Kings Buckeroo's great grandson so I am pretty excited! Please let me know if you have any advise! I have pictures and I will try to put some on soon!!
 
#2 ·
I know you say this is the first mini foaling at your house- is it the first foaling period? Have you attended other foalings? I only ask because minis, specifically, are notorious for having foaling difficulties. Do you have anyone IRL that is able to mentor you in regards to her foaling? Are you comfortable with monitoring a horses vitals - specifically with taking a horse's temperature? Temperature charting/tracking proved extremely accurate in predicting our mini's foaling time (I was familiar with using it with dogs and cats, and quite happy to see that it was also useful with horses)
 
#4 ·
mini mare

I have never experienced a mini horse foaling before but I have read everything I can about it! I have watched multiple videos and read many articles and I have the book "The Foaling Primer" on the way! We contacted her previous owner (she had only one other foal out of this mini mare) and she said she foaled without any problems! She said she went out at 10:30PM and went back out at 11:00PM and the foal was born! So hopefully things should go smooth! I have no problem with checking vitals, since we have regular sized horses also and we have a vet that can come ASAP and I think we are as prepared as we could be! Do you have any idea of when she could foal! Her bags feel like she has milk in them but they can't be milked at all, and I can definetly feel a foal kicking! If it isn't a foal then she has some wierd alien living in her! LOL!! The baby has strong kicks and when it is kicking it is about every 5-10 seconds.!
 
#10 ·
I'm sorry this site won't let me upload any of my pictures I have so you can go to
www.stablesofdreamindelmar.weebly.com

to look at the pictures, go to the Jasmine link once you get there and you can see the pictures of her! Sorry, but if you could look at them and let me know what you think, that would be GREAT!!

I will try to put a direct link to the site soon!!
 
#14 ·
Please, please, please quit ending all of your sentences with exclamation points. It really comes across as yelling.

FYI the average for miniature mares is 326. if she goes now I highly doubt the foal would survive. It is not in the "safe" zone for a live foaling. the "safe" date for foaling is anything after 300 days for minis normally...
 
#16 ·
Please, please, please quit ending all of your sentences with exclamation points. It really comes across as yelling.

FYI the average for miniature mares is 326. if she goes now I highly doubt the foal would survive. It is not in the "safe" zone for a live foaling. the "safe" date for foaling is anything after 300 days for minis normally...

Sorry for the exclamation points. I usually use them in the context of being excited not yelling. LOL!!:) Yeah I just don't want to be caught off guard when she has her foal and I want to be prepared.
 
#17 ·
Does she look about 292 days pregnant? If she were to have her foal at 330 days, she would have it May 2, 2012. Do her udders look like they are filling up, or could they still be like that from having her foal in
May 2011?? Just ruling out everything I have thoughts about. Ha ha
 
#19 ·
With out seeing her in person I can't be sure, it appears her udders are filling they are not full yet when they are her nipples will look full and hers are still hanging. The udders usually start filling 4 to 6 weeks prior. They will fill and deflate so to say, when they stay full hard and warm all day she will be close. When was her last foal weaned? Do you know the last date she was bred?
 
#21 ·
With out seeing her in person I can't be sure, it appears her udders are filling they are not full yet when they are her nipples will look full and hers are still hanging. The udders usually start filling 4 to 6 weeks prior. They will fill and deflate so to say, when they stay full hard and warm all day she will be close. When was her last foal weaned? Do you know the last date she was bred?
She was bred June 7, 2011 and her foal was never weaned, we just bought her in November 2011 and that was the first time she was away from her foal! The foal was born in May 2011. They stay the same size all day and are warm, but like you said I don't think they are full.
 
#23 ·
Here are some pictures for those who couldn't get the link to work or who don't know how to look at my pictures. The 30" perlino is the stud she is bred to! The buckskin mini, is the baby's great great grandpa.
 

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#24 ·
This site has some wonderful information and, even better, pictures -- I read it over and over when our Holly was expecting Foalingsigns

Holly was a maiden and didn't ever truly bag up or start producing any testable amounts of liquid until the evening before she foaled (came home from work, saw massive udder development noted her being off on behavior and her temp had shifted - had been temping morning and evening to see the consistent patter -- she foaled at about 5 am that morning) - so the milk test approach was not an option for us. The theory we were given and that proved true is the drop indicated foaling in 12-24 hours. She had been bagging up slowly, but once I saw what her pre-foaling bag actually looked like it was easy to see that what we had been noting in the weeks prior was NOTHING like what her true bagging up was.
This was the evening of the night she foaled:
 
#26 ·
This site has some wonderful information and, even better, pictures -- I read it over and over when our Holly was expecting Foalingsigns

Holly was a maiden and didn't ever truly bag up or start producing any testable amounts of liquid until the evening before she foaled (came home from work, saw massive udder development noted her being off on behavior and her temp had shifted - had been temping morning and evening to see the consistent patter -- she foaled at about 5 am that morning) - so the milk test approach was not an option for us. The theory we were given and that proved true is the drop indicated foaling in 12-24 hours. She had been bagging up slowly, but once I saw what her pre-foaling bag actually looked like it was easy to see that what we had been noting in the weeks prior was NOTHING like what her true bagging up was.
This was the evening of the night she foaled:

So the biggest thing to keep an eye on is her temperature and when she drops?
 
#30 ·
Their butts tend to get verry jello-y and form a 'V' when they're near birthing, because all of their muscles *back there* have to relax in order for the baby to come through. I've also heard that often you can see a large, thick vein along their udder that is very prominent when the time comes near, but I've never seen it myself.
 
#32 ·
Her butt as of right now forms a V and it is not from starving because she had been on roundbales all winter and was wormed. Her bags are not full yet but do you think it is coming near? Around her butt isn't all muscle but it is kind of squishy but it may be from the winter hair. Her butt is in a V shap though. I will post some pictures in a couple of minutes.
 
#34 ·
Picture of Jasmine

Her butt is kind of V shaped right now and her bags are filling but are not completely filled yet. I will post pictures in a few minutes.

Here is a picture of her butt. Her tail is at the bottom of the picture and her back goes up in the picture, if it is hard to see.
 

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#35 ·
To see a V, you'd have to get down at her level and take a picture, not look down at her and take a picture.

'kind of jelly' means that she's not at the point where she's ready to drop. When she's ready, when you tap her butt it will practically jiggle at you.
 
#37 ·
Oh ok!! I thought her butt was supposed to be squishy not like jelly! So the V is formed from behind because a breeder put a picture of the pointy butt she she took the same picture I did so I thought u just took it from above!
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#39 ·
Mini mare close to foaling

My mini mare is almost 300 days pregnant and I think I am pretty prepared but if you guys have any ideas or tips please let me know!! This is the first mini foal to ever be born at our farm and I am so excited!!!!! I will post pictures of the mom named Jasmine and the stud she is bred to. Jasmine is a 35" dark brown and white pintaloosa and the stud named Dusty (he is the great grandson of Little Kings Buckeroo), is a 30" cremello and he has produced 100% fillies so far. He carries the creme gene and all of his ancestors are buckskins, so the baby should be a buckskin! The foal will also be eligible for registration when it's born! But please if you have any advise, let me know! I could use all of the information I can get! Also, when I post pictures, see of you can tell how long it will be before she foals!
 
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