As I said last week, foaling season is upon us. My first mare, my heart Sonata, has begun to bag so I think it is a good time to test my memory *smile* This is an 'off the top of my head what I need to watch for for foaling' post.
The most obvious of course is a milk bag. Mares will begin to "bag up" anywhere from 45 days ahead of time, on. Some mares are 24 hr baggers, as they have not yet read "Blessed are the Broodmares" or any other foaling book and learned they are to give us a few weeks warning by bagging slowly! Once a mare does that, or if she has a mother that does that, I know to be watching for other signs. Mares often pass on their personal foaling traits to their daughters, so those are good things to know, as it gives you a bit of direction at least in what to be aware of.
Miniature mares, unlike their full size counterparts, rarely wax or stream milk. In 18 yrs I have had ONE mare who waxed. From talking to friends with long term Mini experience, I hear they have had pretty much the same. So don't count on waxing in Minis!
Waxing, just in case, is when the tips of a mares teat's get covered with a bit of dried colostrum, and they look
like they have been dipped in candle wax and it was allowed to dry on.
Other signs....
..... when standing behind the mare, her rump will assume a varying degree of an "A" shape, as the muscles loosen up and droop.
......when pressing on the muscles around the tail head, they will have a jello type 'watch it jiggle' looseness, as opposed to their normal tight and firm feel. This jello feeling will trace all the way down the buttocks.
......she no longer has the ability to clamp her tail down when you lift it.
.......my biggie--within 24 hrs of foaling the brain will release Oxytocin, which results in the complete loosening of all muscles in that area. This loosening means the body can no longer form the stools into the common 'apples', and her stool will go to mush. When this occurs, I do not let her out of my sight until she foals! I have *never* had a mare go over 30 hrs (1 that went 30) and the majority don't go 12 hrs without foaling.
Later this week I will look at my vet books and see if I forgot any =)
The most obvious of course is a milk bag. Mares will begin to "bag up" anywhere from 45 days ahead of time, on. Some mares are 24 hr baggers, as they have not yet read "Blessed are the Broodmares" or any other foaling book and learned they are to give us a few weeks warning by bagging slowly! Once a mare does that, or if she has a mother that does that, I know to be watching for other signs. Mares often pass on their personal foaling traits to their daughters, so those are good things to know, as it gives you a bit of direction at least in what to be aware of.
Miniature mares, unlike their full size counterparts, rarely wax or stream milk. In 18 yrs I have had ONE mare who waxed. From talking to friends with long term Mini experience, I hear they have had pretty much the same. So don't count on waxing in Minis!
Waxing, just in case, is when the tips of a mares teat's get covered with a bit of dried colostrum, and they look
like they have been dipped in candle wax and it was allowed to dry on.
Other signs....
..... when standing behind the mare, her rump will assume a varying degree of an "A" shape, as the muscles loosen up and droop.
......when pressing on the muscles around the tail head, they will have a jello type 'watch it jiggle' looseness, as opposed to their normal tight and firm feel. This jello feeling will trace all the way down the buttocks.
......she no longer has the ability to clamp her tail down when you lift it.
.......my biggie--within 24 hrs of foaling the brain will release Oxytocin, which results in the complete loosening of all muscles in that area. This loosening means the body can no longer form the stools into the common 'apples', and her stool will go to mush. When this occurs, I do not let her out of my sight until she foals! I have *never* had a mare go over 30 hrs (1 that went 30) and the majority don't go 12 hrs without foaling.
Later this week I will look at my vet books and see if I forgot any =)
