Maiden mare

[Nicole-DownUnder]

Hi ALL,

I have a maiden mare due to foal on Christmas day, although i'm not sure she'll last quite that long.

With all my mares, they have pretty much followed the book with milk production, sometimes they wax up, and others times they don't, but i've always been able to express milk to test for texture if not for anything else.

My question is...........has anyone ever had a mare, maiden or not, foal that has had an udder, yet they haven't been able to express milk to check? Angel is very tender, which is to be expected, but I am finding it extremely hard to even get a single drop.

Just curious, and I was hoping that she would wait until Christmas Eve or Day (early morning), so that she would surprise Tiffani with her first foal, as she is her horse. Like I said, i'm not sure she'll wait that long, but I can be hopeful, right???

Thanks

Nicole

 

[kaykay]

my maiden this year did that. couldnt express even a drop of milk but she foaled ok and had plenty of milk

 

[Nicole-DownUnder]

Thanks Kay.

I actually forgot to ask one other question. How long did she have a 'full' udder before she foaled. She is sooooo tight tonight.

Nicole

 

[kaykay]

mine started 3 weeks before she foaled but when it gets hot and tight has been when i have found they foal within 24 hrs.

I cant wait to see your new foal! sending good thoughts that it all goes easy and you have a healthy bouncing baby

 

[Nicole-DownUnder]

hmmmmm, well the udder's quite warm and tight, and to be honest, in all my years of breeding, i've never even taken notice of how hot the udder gets!! She is showing exactly how unpredictable a maiden can be!!!!! This morning when I checked her, it was full, not full, full, but large enough to say, ok, we're getting close now. Tonight it is very full, very tight and very warm, lol.

Thanks again Kay, and thanks for your good thoughts. I'll be sure to post when he/she arrives

.

Nicole

 

[Dorrie & Frank]

We've seen that and they usually get some waxing or milk dripping on its own as it is closer to foaling. One of our maiden mare went long on her pregnancy - had a big bag for two to three weeks, hard, tender and couldn't get milk. She finally began to drip for about a week before she foaled. The bag was so big and tender that the mare wouldn't let the filly nurse for first four or five hours. We got her to let us express and give it to the filly by syringe - It was a rough foaling but the worst was that she had dripped out most of her colostrum so the filly had to immediately go to the vet - not the next day - not the next morning - immediately so she wouldn't die from infection also known as "joint ill" - I'd watch for that in your mare. Our filly is fine now - the first vet tried to tube her to give her colostrum but the vet was inept - we got her to our vet 24 hours after birth and she was already running fever - the vet turned sheet white and told us he may not save her - he gave her gamma globulin and antibiotics by IV for 24 hours and sent her home - She had her first foal in 2004! Just keep that in mind when the time comes.