Foaling help! updated 11/19 pix pg1

[BriarwoodAcres]

I purchased a mare who was pasture bred with a stallion. The stallion was removed she thinks at the end of Oct 2011. She still hasnt had a foal. We know for a fact she is pregnant. Her belly was bouncing around like crazy when we brought her home. She started making a small bag when we brought her home about 8 weeks ago. We tested her with the hth pool strips and it last read 7.8 a couple days ago. Her milk is sticky when it starts to dry in your hand and is the pretty "gold" honey color.

I took her temp at 6pm. it was 99.2

Shes had foals before Here are some photos from tonight. My bf said her belly is slowing dropping as he doesnt see her 4 and 5 times a day every day as I do. he sees her once in a while.















UPDATED 11/19

Her milk was more whitish and sticky last night and her edema? ( is this the right word)? felf as if it had moved more toward her bag. Her Ph was still 7.2 and calcium was still 0. BUT I FINALLY got milk from her. Good couple streams of it. After not getting any and giving up for a week!











This one is kinda hard to see but I think you can make it out.

 

[cassie]

hey welcome

Your mare is so pretty! and looks really good! I would say next week to two weeks... depends on how quick she bags up... definitley worth watching!

good luck on foaling! what does daddy look like?

at the moment if you want to PH her milk only do it once a day, I would suggest... or wait until she bags up a bit more... she could go over two weeks yet, but given the time frame you have I would think in the next two weeks...

keep us updated

she is gorgeous!

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

I've been saying the next 2 weeks for...weeks! lol

This is Daddy. Grosshills EK's Little Man. he is the grandsire of Alliance Piano Man

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I like the stallion- you should get a cracking foal..........when you get a foal...

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

IF I get a foal lol

 

[lucky lodge]

hi,,,from the belly she looks ready..... but she needs a bit more udder yet is she a maiden mare

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

she is not a maiden mare, shes had 3 babies that i know of.

 

[Wings]

Hi and welcome!

Do you know if she is the 'sneaky' udder type mare? One of mine doesn't foal on a full bag and tricked me with her last foal. Most of the time the mares stick to their patterns... most of the time anyway! LOL!

I find it really hard to judge milk after it's been out for awhile so if you're ph testing do it right off and your most correct colour will be what you see within the first 5 minutes, once it starts to dry the colour warps. When the bags are small I don't ph, I just get a drop or two on my fingers, check the colour and then I rub my fingers together to see how tacky it's feeling.

Good luck!

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

thanks! I took the photo after 1 minute. I rubbed my fingers together and its getting sticky, like i almost want to wash my hand because everything will stick.

Shes never had a foal for me so I have no idea how shes is foaling

​

 

[AnnaC]

How are things looking this morning?

 

[Wings]

Are her old owners easy to contact? I learnt a lot from the old owners of my girls, they gave me some very good tips on what to expect from each mare

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

the lady i bought her from wasnt much help as she was bred and foaled in the field. I dont think she had a baby for them but a baby on her side when she was bought. the guy before her I do know and he said she spits them out like clock work but again, shes was bred and foaled in the field.

 

[targetsmom]

Just a warning that past performance is no guarantee of future success. We have a mare that has had nine pregnancies now, and 8 times she popped out the foals no problem. But one of those pregnancies in the middle was a horrible dystocia. If we hadn't been there and gotten the vet over right away we would have lost the mare. As it was, she (the vet) had to do a fetotomy on the foal, which of course, we lost, but at least the mare survived.

 

[Wings]

Just a warning that past performance is no guarantee of future success.

Very sadly true

The one foal I have lost was from a mare who had never had any trouble before and was quite experienced. A number of issues meant I missed the birth so we'll never know what happened but it was a suspected red bag.

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

UP DATE:!!!! I checked her last night and her bag seemed a smidge fuller. Also, when I checked her vulva I could see some inside. But I am not sure if thats because she got into it with another mare and thats how it stayed because her muscles are getting loose or what. But her hip is MUCH more jello-y now. Halloween baby?

 

[Wings]

If she's comfortable with you checking her vulva check it a lot over the day

Sometimes they seem loose and red after a mare has rubbed so I find you get a good feel for the actual state if you have a lot to compare it to.

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

I took these last night





This was taken this morning

 

[countrymini]

How cute is your mare! Is she a buckskin pinto? Still learning my colours so don't laugh if i'm way out lol. You're so kind to not keep us waiting and start your thread when she's almost ready to pop

Can't wait to see your baby

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

Yep! Shes a buckskin pinto! I LOVE her. Shes one of my favorites!

 

[AnnaC]

How does she feel when you run your hands over her hind quarters - the area/flesh either side of her spine and towards her tail will start to feel a bit 'spongy' or loose as she gets closer to foaling. Also her tail will feel 'loose' when you try to move it from side to side instead of the slight resistance you would normally get. Just wondering if she has either of these signs yet. It is not easy to see but I dont think her vulva itself is loose enough yet for her to be within days of foaling, but of course this can change very quickly with some mares.