On Mare Stare duty, help needed ASAP

[jcpminiaturehorses]

I purchased a pH testing kit recently and the last couple of days it has slowly been progressing lower. This morning I tested (mares bag is full) and test showed 6.2 or below (my chart only goes to 6.4) :new_shocked:. This mare is due June 14 but is consistant with foaling two weeks early. Does anyone know how approximately how many hours I got (not to get any sleep, LOL!! :bgrin ) I'm on pins and needles because last year she went two weeks early and I lost a beautiful buckskin and white paint filly with four white socks out in the pasture, it didn't get out of the sack. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Danielle_E.]

I am in the same boat you are and not the first time. My mare has been testing below now for a week!!! and I am getting VERY little sleep. For Abby these ph strips aren't accurate. What I have been told is much more accurate is taking their temperature, morning and night. I have started to do that, her regular temp is 37.2 I am told that when I see a drop of a few degrees we should have a baby within 6 hours or so. Good luck in your mare stare. I have been up till 4 a.m. for the last 4 days and sleeping perhaps 2 hours total a day and I am past the point of sanity

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[Karin - NaKar Miniatures]

Most of the time when my mares pH drops to 6.4 they foal within 24 hrs. I did have one mare that had a pH below 7.0 for about 2 weeks. I found out later that I was getting a false reading. I was using the distilled water I had from the previous year. I purchased some fresh distilled water and I haven't had that problem since. I also tried using pH strips from the following foaling year and that also gave me false readings. So... after foaling season is over throw away the pH strips and use the distilled water for someting else. When foaling season begins get all fresh stuff.