The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Signs Of Foaling?

14K views 66 replies 14 participants last post by  JCnGrace 
#1 ·
So I have a mare who is exactly 317 days into her pregnancy today (She was bred: May, Fri, 13 last year via AI) and I have been watching her closely. Does anyone have any particular signs that they watch for besides the signs of imminent foaling ei. sweating/restlessness/bagging up? I am sooooo excited for this filly to be born and I noticed three days ago that it was having a rock concert in my mare's belly. The poor girl's sides could be seen heaving from a distance, but since then there's been no foal activity. Is this a sign that she's getting ready? She's also just started developing a bag and it doubles in size every day. Other then being particularly cranky to the other horses during the day, she's not showing anymore signs (that I know to look for). She is a 17 or 18 year old mare and I only know of one foal that she had previous to me owning her, however she never carried the foal to full term. Anyone have any advice? I'm so excited that the wait is making me crazy.
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#4 ·
The way I figure due dates she won't be due until April 23rd. I only caught a foal moving into position one time and it was like a huge tidal wave rolled through the mare's belly. It was still a couple of weeks before she had it (been too long ago to remember exactly how long) and yes you'll see and feel very little movement from now on, don't let that worry you. As far as other signs every mare is different. Some wax, some don't. Some drop their milk before hand, some don't. Some show signs of pain when they go into labor, some don't. I usually just started foal watch a week before their due date and camped out at the barn. Checked on them every 30 minutes and more than once one had laid down and spit out that foal in between checks. LOL
 
#5 ·
Usually their belly will be more of a V shape instead of round, their vulva will stretch and the muscles on their rear will get very soft and jello like when it's getting close.
 
#6 ·
She is a 17 or 18 year old mare and I only know of one foal that she had previous to me owning her, however she never carried the foal to full term. Anyone have any advice? I'm so excited that the wait is making me crazy.
Because she has foaled in the past, once that you know of, and you say she didn't carry full term (horses don't really have a 'term'), I did some calculations. Do you know just how early her last foal was? If she holds until day 320, she could go on March 29. If she goes until day 340, she could go around April 18. Right now, she doesn't look like she's going to go anytime soon, based on the picture. Mare are notorious for changing their minds, though.
 
#9 ·
Yes you guys are right about her miscarrying her foal, I do not know 100% whether it was a miscarriage or late term abortion due to stress or trauma though. The man I bought her from bought her pregnant and threw her out into his herd of horses. The stress and bullying that could have occurred due to that may have been the cause for her losing her foal.

That being said I also have seen some changes the past week such as a softening around the tail area, puffiness in the vulva, very slight amount of reddish discharge, and her belly had been cone shaped up until I took that picture. She had a very V shaped belly but after the foal had a very active day her belly seems to have gotten rounder and wider and I haven't had any foal activity since. Today she's been resting quite a bit and has often looked at her belly, making me wonder if she's not going to surprise me with a foal a bit sooner than expected. I haven't noticed any elongating of the vulva yet, but she's got a fairly long vulva to begin with so I'm not sure if I'd notice any change right away.

I worked at an equine repro vet and was in charge of watching the mares there for signs of foaling, however it is somehow different when it's your mare foaling (she was my first horse too, so she's my baby). I'm not unfamiliar to the signs, but some people have mentioned things to me that can be watched for that I'd never heard before and I am always eager to learn more.

Knowing my mare, I really DreamCatcherArabians' estimate of foaling due date will be highly unlikely, I am starting to suspect she's going to foal sooner rather then later, however it wouldn't be the first time a mare might trick someone, would it? Ever since the first day she was bred I could tell she caught, simply by her attitude. She would be sleeping out in the pasture and would suddenly sit up, turn her neck around, and in the most affectionate way, nuzzle her belly. I have no doubt she'll be an amazing mom.

I will definitely keep you guys posted and have pictures to share soon. Anyone have any advice on the discharge I'm seeing? I have Googled it and everything I can find (barely anything) says that it's normal, however I never witnessed it first hand. It's a dark red colour and there's usually just a drop or two on her vaginal area. Nothing that has me alarmed, just attentive.
 
#10 ·
It sounds like "Bloody Show", which occurs when they lose their wax plug. That can mean anything from imminent to ????? who knows. If she's softening around her tail head, look for her to lose control of her tail. Not all mares will, but I've noticed older mares tend to be more likely to get a very limp tail. Look just inside her vulva, it will go from pink to deeper pink, to almost a fuschia to very dark maroon. When it's deep in color, it's getting closer. Since she's technically a maiden, never carried to term, keep an extra close eye on her. Since she aborted/miscarried the last fetus, be ready for anything because you don't know if she got any vet care after. She could have a very mild placentitis which will cause her to foal early because the placenta is 'incompetent'. If that occurs, be ready for a dummy foal and to need to do a plasma transfusion. Has your vet examined this mare at all since you got her? If not, I would have him do so, ASAPish.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the advice, she definitely has a very limp tail, nothing that was too out of the ordinary for her though. She is a very relaxed mare. I will definitely look at her vulva more closely and see if I can spot those signs you mention. As for being technically a maiden, I am not 100% sure she is. I mean I bought her as a 14/15yo and the guy I bought her from only had her for a year, there could have been a foal or several before that. She has been checked by a vet, the vet I worked at palpated her and we bred her via artificial insemination with absolutely no complications. My vet has been doing this for forty years or more and was very surprised by the healthy state her uterus was in especially for her age. I definitely don't expect any complications, but I have been keeping a close eye on her and my vet lives no more then five minutes from us, so help is literally just around the corner if it's required. We had an ultrasound earlier in the pregnancy to determine that foal was growing and to find out sex (It's a filly!), previous to that she was checked for twins because she was bred twice and ovulated both times. I have also ridden or walked her throughout the pregnancy to try and keep her in shape and reduce the risk of bad edema.
 
#14 ·
You have a gorgeous girl! What is her name? We need more pictures of her!
Do you have any name ideas for the baby?
 
#15 · (Edited)
Thank you. She's registered as Jet 90 Proof, but I call her Freedom. I do have a name picked out for the foal, it will be out of Donner Bube and I plan on calling her Du Soleil. I will post more pics of her and some of the stallion when I get the chance. ;)
 

Attachments

#16 ·
So the pictures above are 1) my sister just having a bit of fun (in a Western Saddle). Freedom is about two months pregnant there. 2) Enjoying her wooded pen. 3) Enjoying the green front lawn.

Here are some pics of the stud:
 

Attachments

#20 ·
So here are the signs I've noticed so far. Anyone have any opinions on how much longer? I'm worried by her lack of a bag that she's going to make me wait a couple more weeks which would suck for me since I have classes. Like I said there was only one foal before her that I know of and she lost it sometime in her pregnancy so she could technically be a maiden or not. She is 323 or so days in and seems pretty miserable.

-Mucus plug lost (I'm pretty certain)
-Tail is limp and relaxed
-Belly is hanging lower, but not as low as it was for awhile
-About ten times wider then she was before
-Around the tail head is very soft and jelloish
-Her bags are a bit bigger today but not much, a clear/yellowish liquid is now able to be squeezed out in a drop or two
-She's become really nasty towards the other horses

Is it uncommon for a mare not to develop a bag when all the others signs seem to be pointing to the foal arriving soon?
 
#23 ·
Freedom's bag have become more then twice as big as they were at 8:30 am and after checking her at 2:00 pm I have noticed small plugs on the teats. She is still dripping a dark brownish/red liquid from her vulva area. Not much, just enough to cause a bit of staining on her vulva region and at 12:30 she was down and looking quite ready to have a foal, but alas she's been up since 1:00 and hasn't shown any signs of going down again yet. I would be so happy if she'd foal today and put an end to the stressful day I've been having.
 
#26 ·
One of my mares went a full month over her due date. The previous owners said she went to a full year once. Once she starts waxing you are close...if she is dripping for quite awhile though I would try to collect as much colostrum as you can and freeze it for baby. My foal needed a plasma transfusion as he did not get enough colostrum from momma and his antibodies were not doing enough. Yay love babies!!
 
#31 ·
Soooo, Freedom has yet to make up her mind about what she's doing. She had a FULL udder with thick yellow colostrum and waxing. A few days ago and...poof! Gone! No more bags, wax, and just clear fluid drops. Her belly has dropped significantly and I felt the baby move, so baby is still okay, my former boss (a specialized equine repro vet for over 45 years) says that it would seem no mare knows what to do with herself and that her own herd of mares is being just as silly. Freedom is only about 136 days so I'm not worried yet. Below is a picture of her out and about, supposedly enjoying the spring grass coming in, instead she seems to have a craving for sunflower seeds...
 

Attachments

  • Like
Reactions: LoriF
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top