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Discussion on Questions on upcoming delivery in maiden mare.
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Posted on Monday, May 22, 2000 - 12:52 pm:
My 6 year-old DWB mare and I are both maidens (she's the first of my pregnant girls to be due to give birth). She was last bred August 1, which puts her at at approximately 295 days. I'm concerned because her udders have already started to fill (though no waxing up), and she looks closer to being due than another mare on our property that is at 330 days. How much variability is there in the signs? Anything else I should look for? Anything I should be doing to help her? I ran into the daughter of her breeder yesterday, who told me that her sister and mother commonly delivered "3 to 4 weeks early" but that all the babies save one did fine. That one had some joint problems and "required some bone scraping."
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Posted on Friday, May 26, 2000 - 6:42 pm:
Gay, every mare is different and will exhibit different signs for varied lengths of time. The best advice I can give is to keep a close watch. Though, she may be showing more signs than the other who is further along may mean nothing at all. Some mares will show little to no signs until hours before they foal - others will start exhibiting signs more than a month in advance.
The best example of signs to look for within a day or two of foaling are these:
waxing
milk dripping from the udder
teats are distended and pointing outward
bag is tight and shiny (does not go down during the day with exercise)
mare becomes aggitated, kicking at belly, pacing, etc.
Keep in mind that some mares may exhibit only one sign, others may exhibit all! Usually when that milk is dripping on the back legs - you shouldn't go far.
There are some excellent books available on foaling. I recommend every person who considers breeding their mare to have one on hand and be familiar with every aspect from breeding to raising the foal.
Hope this helps, let us know what happens!
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