How long should I wait

[bannerminis]

I am watching my mare Slaney now for the last 3 wks. As of today she is 12 days over her due date which was May 12th at 330 days.

She was covered in hand for 3 days on June14th, 15th and 16th and I tested her about 22 days after that with the stallion and neither had any interest so I was happy that she took.

She was scanned (external) in Nov and vet could see Uterus and fluid but at that time couldnt see a foal. Scanned again (external) in Feb and the same again and thought we caught a flash of a limb while moving the probe around.

She has softened up behind and been that way for over 2 wks, belly has dropped, she is rolling and sitting on her butt pushing back and forth, scratching and in the stable lays down but then looks back at her belly, tail swishing belly kicking the lot. She had a small loose udder and then over the weekend it filled out more so I figured she might go in the next 24 - 48 hrs but this morning the udder looks to have shrunk back again.

I think I am going insane - even yesterday evening she was coming to the back door and then standing by her stable door so I knew she wanted to go in so thought she might up her game or go through the night.

She is eating away - totally normal for her. The first foal she had with me she ate her dinner around 8 pm and foaled at 9.20pm.

She has had 3 foals with me (this being no. 4) the first was 4 days early (colt), 2nd was 4 days over (colt) and last yr she was 8 days early (filly).

Today she would be at 342 days gestation and I was wondering how long do you leave it before calling the vet??

 

[Ellen]

It can't hurt to call the vet, but I have never had one do anything. We have had mares carry a full 12mos. And more then one vet said let them go. I know it isn't what you want to hear. But good luck, I am sure you will have a happy ,healthy filly in no time at all.

 

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

I feel for you, but really wouldn't be too concerned. The longest I ever had a mare go was 364 days and she had that foal VERY fast,I guess she just could not hold out any longer. I have had mares foal at 305 days and one at 351 days this year so they are all different. Just hang in there ,she will have it when she is ready.

 

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

I feel for you, but really wouldn't be too concerned. The longest I ever had a mare go was 364 days and she had that foal VERY fast,I guess she just could not hold out any longer. I have had mares foal at 305 days and one at 351 days this year so they are all different. Just hang in there ,she will have it when she is ready.

 

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

I feel for you, but really wouldn't be too concerned. The longest I ever had a mare go was 364 days and she had that foal VERY fast,I guess she just could not hold out any longer. I have had mares foal at 305 days and one at 351 days this year so they are all different. Just hang in there ,she will have it when she is ready.

 

[Anne]

Really 342 days isn't "over due" sorry nothing to do but wait, babies just don't come until they are good and ready.

 

[bannerminis]

Well I put a call in with the vet (well his wife

) and she will talk to him later and let him decide when he might need to see her if he does at all. I like to keep my vet up to date in case a problem occurs and also for my own peace of mind. I am not worried about her health wise but she just had me a bit worried with having all the signs that she is nearly there and then her udder shrinking back.

She is doing cowpat poos (for a week now). You would think I had a cow out the back - its every 2-3 poos is a cowpat and the others are softer then the normal marbles.

Would rather be paranoid then ignore whats in front of my nose

I have had 1 foal a yr over the last 10 yrs and they have all foaled very close to the 330 days either a few days before or a few days after but never this long so have no experience with it.

Thanks everyone

 

[Matt73]

Last year, my maiden mare foaled at 372! She and the filly were perfectly fine and healthy

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

Wait, wait and more waiting - that's what you do. They can go either way - ahead of schedule or later - seems most are going later these days - not sure what's in the air everywhere. LOL But we're ALL waiting this season! lol

Seems the longer we wait, the more little signs we think we see and "this is it - going to be tonight" and then another week passes! LOL

Hang in there as the wait will be truly worth it!

Good luck !

 

[~Lisa~]

It can be so frustrating to wait and it just gives you more time to worry lol

It is not uncommon for their to be udder development and then have it seem to go away a couple weeks out from foaling. A great clue they are close enough to really start to watch( or in my case get neurotic) is not only when you find the udder filling and noticing changes but when it stays the same after filling for 24 hours or gets bigger rather then shrinking backdown again.

Good luck and try and get some rest now while you can

 

[fancyappy]

Try not to worry..I can't believe I am telling someone else that when I have been worried for a straight 3 weeks about my maiden mare who is way, way overdue."The baby will come when it is ready" folks tell me and that is the truth and very good advice...Hang in there ..you will have a beautiful foal before you know it..and probably when you least expect it..lol..PS my vet told me last year when the same thing happened with a different mare to "just wait it out"..easy for them to say

 

[bannerminis]

I know the dreaded waiting game, and after waiting so long and then you get to their due date and they decide to make you wait some more and also manage to drive you mad in the process

Here she is taken this evening before going in for her dinner

Udder pics - what you see on her udder are Papilomas - vet wont put anything on them as he is afraid to make them worse as its such a sensitive area.

And her bum - had a quick look just inside and she is a dark pink, she is darker then she was a week ago.

 

[Matt73]

Looks like a bit more of a wait to me. She doesn't have that "dropped" look to her yet. I also think her vulva needs to be even more relaxed.

 

[Miniv]

I agree with Matt......She looks like she's going to keep you waiting a bit longer.

 

[Charlotte]

Well, I'm going to vote for more waiting too. That udder doesn't look 'ready' to me nor does her body.

So, I figure if we all get together and say 'more waiting' she should go TONIGHT!

Charlotte

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

Yep longer - I agree longer yet - sorry to say so. LOL

She's not dropped low and no "v" shape yet to her belly.

I noticed her teats were still pointed inwards (towards eachother).

below is one of the three mares we've been watching for weeks - notice her pronounced "v" in her belly and we've thought she'd pop a week ago! LOL I had taken this picture last night to show someone else - thought it might help you see the difference (taken with camera phone so not the best lighting but I think the belly shows up enough to see):

 

[bannerminis]

I know her udder isnt anywhere near ready. It was just at the weekend it was more filled although teats still turned in. Her Vulva has been swollen now for 3 wks and cowpats for the last week.

Her belly has dropped a lot but still not 100% there. She was like a wide load and now starting to carry more underneath. Her back was so wide it was the width of a coffee table and now its less then 1/2.

No change today I would even say her udder looks a little smaller

So more waiting and then more waiting and no doubt more waiting

Your mare looks ready to explode White Tails - hope she doesnt keep you waiting too much longer (pretty mare too)

 

[barnbum]

Oh gosh--I think you have another week, at least. Her vulva is not loose at all. I'll second what Lisa said--mine always went the day their udders stayed full throughout the day. My dad checked mares while I was at work. I'd call in the morning to let him know how things looked and what time to come. He'd check udders--if they had softened, he could check ever two-three hours, if they were still hard, I'd want him to come back every hour and stay for a while. When I got home from work--I'd check udders first--if they were hard and full--the foal alawys came that night. Last year--both mares went to the skim milk stage too. It's so nice when they are consistent with their signs.