Mare's udder is firm, no milk, how long yet?
Horseman
My pregnant mare suddenly got a firm udder. A few days ago, she was
getting a bigger udder, but almost overnight, it got real firm. Yet,
she is not dripping milk, and even if I try to "milk her", all I get
is a very slight amount of what appears to be water. Because she was
foaled by accident, (before I owned her) no one knows exactly when she
is supposed to foal. Because I want to be there, when she does foal,
I am trying to figure out when she will foal. I you have had foals,
could you please give me some sort of idea, if you can!!!!
PS. Please email me, I am spending nearly all my spare time in the
barn now, and there is no computer in there.......
Thanks
Jessica Snyder
Horseman wrote:
>
> My pregnant mare suddenly got a firm udder. A few days ago, she was
> getting a bigger udder, but almost overnight, it got real firm. Yet,
> she is not dripping milk, and even if I try to "milk her", all I get
> is a very slight amount of what appears to be water.
She's not ready to foal yet. Of course, that doesn't mean that
she won't suddenly be ready tomorrow, but odds are against it.
The key is watching the teats, not the udder; the teats usually swell
up and engorge a few days to a week before foaling. And, of course,
watch for wax; waxing means foaling is imminent (although some mares
think 3 days counts as "imminent")
>Because she was foaled by accident, (before I owned her) no one knows exactly > when she is supposed to foal.
Um, you mean "bred by accident", right? :)
> I am trying to figure out when she will foal. I you have had foals,
> could you please give me some sort of idea, if you can!!!!
If you can, go buy yourself a copy of "Blessed are the Broodmares".
Lots
of good foaling info in there. But in general, mares won't foal until:
teats are distended, teats are waxed, muscles around croup and vagina
are very loose and soft. In addition, you can generally see that the
foal has "shifted" positions; the mare's flank will be very filled out
and tight.
All these things, or some of these things, will happen before foaling,
but one of the joys (sic) of having broodmares is that nothing will
accurately predict the night. Patience and lack of sleep are hallmarks
of the expecting mare owner :) :)
Good luck
Jessica
SusMcGrath
Hi Horseman,
I bought a mare in 94 that was bred and I didn't have a date or month. I
had my own vet here checking on her. In March of 95 she told me I had
only 1 month to go. By late April I was checking on her through the night
(staying at a friends house to be close to the barn) sneaking to the barn
with a flashlight - set up baby monitor so I could hear her in the night.
By mid-May her udder was quite hard (huge One day smaller the next). By
early June, I thought I was going to go nuts waiting - I was sleeping in
the barn (out of her sight) any night she acted funny. By the 2nd week of
June there was yellow wax dripping (I'm not sure but I would be very
cautious about trying to milk your mare). The third week in June we had a
night (full moon) when would could see contractions every 3 minutes -
after 2 hours it stopped. I filled the stall with straw and she pretended
she was Big Bird - grabbing the straw in her mouth and pushing it to the
floor. After that I wouldn't leave the barn area unless someone took my
watch. By July 4th, I was totally bananas - there was a parade that day
and fireworks so we figured that would sent her into labor - no such luck.
July 5th, I could see very small spots of milk on her udder. July 6th -I
resanitized her stall for the third time and cleaned entire barn - she
didn't help. July 7th - cleaned entire stable yard - she watched. July
8th - late afternoon she was losing small droplets of milk - called vets,
told me to catch the milk in something if she starting dripping. July
8th, 1:00PM purchased her a new halter - very pretty- thought it might
bribe her into foaling for me. July 8th, 9:00 PM - now dripping milk -
grabbed baby bottles to try and catch the milk. 9:15 PM- spraying milk in
baby bottles. 9:20 she went down as her water broke while I was perched
under her catching milk.
Needless to say - my vets prediction was a long way off - but I would go
through the same thing all over again tomorrow because it started off that
I wanted to be there in case she needed help and everyone told me I was
crazy to worry and that horses foal by themselves all the time and that I
would actually cause more harm than good by hanging around waiting. It
ended up that she had a difficult delivery ultimately due to a tumor along
side the birth canal, but if I hadn’t been there she could not have
delivered the foal because only the head an 1 leg were presented. One leg
had crossed under the other and the shoulder couldn’t pass through. I had
to very carefully ease the foal backwards so I could straighten his leg.
He was born in my arms. My mare suffer severe internal lacerations from
the mis-aligned leg along the birth canal and required surgery to remove
the tumor. But fortunately she received immediate medical attention and
came out of it fine.
My advice to you is to buy a baby monitor and set it up as close to or in
her stall (so you can hear her louder than other horses) and have one in
your house - I use to carry mine around from room to room - you can even
find one that allow you to carry the receiver around outside with you.
(Now my mare is home in my own barn and I have installed video cameras /w
audio inside the barn and outside in the turnout areas). That way you
won’t starve from malnutrition, keel over from lack of sleep, or scratch
to death from bug bites lurking around the barn in the middle of the
night. Try to stay out of sight of your mare as you keep your eye on her,
most mares are highly excitable at foaling time and you don’t want to make
her restless or nervous. Make up a call list - the vet, experienced horse
friends, close relatives to help out. I spoke into our monitor to my
friend up at the house who promptly called the vet, my parents, and an
experienced (foaling) horseman. The experienced horseman got there in
time to see that my mare was in trouble and told me when to get in there
and help (It was my first foaling too). I had read everything I could
find found "Blessed are the Broodmares" to any veterinary books that I
could find - so I would know mentally how to handle any problems.
I wish you the very best of luck - and I hope you won’t have to wait as
long as I did.
JettAppy
Nancy DeMarco
SusMcGrath wrote:
(snipped really entertaining story of waiting...)
> I wanted to be there in case she needed help and everyone told me I
> was crazy to worry and that horses foal by themselves all the time and
> that I would actually cause more harm than good by hanging around
> waiting. It ended up that she had a difficult delivery ultimately due
> to a tumor along side the birth canal, but if I hadn’t been there she
> could not have delivered the foal because only the head an 1 leg were
I had a similar experience with my first foaling. In her case, we had
one foot through the rectum, and the other foot, plus head and neck,
presented normally. I had to get the foal stuffed back inside, with the
mare in *heavy* labor, and rearrange things. The poor mare was slamming
herself against the walls and came close to smashing me on a couple
occasions. Did I feel qualified to do this? Nope. But with the vet
nearly 40 minutes away, driving as fast as he could, I didn't have a
whole lot of choice.
Then, with everything finally presented normally, the mare just gave up,
and the foal's tongue was turning blue, so I applied a little traction -
had no idea if I was doing the right thing. The mare jumped to her feet
and delivered standing - had to catch the foal and hold it up as long as
I could because _Blessed Are the Broodmares_ said it still had to
receive a pint and a half of oxygenated blood from the mare, and the
world might end if the cord broke too soon.
But we got a great foal, which the mare promptly picked up by the neck
and threw across the stall. The vet found and stitched a 2" tear at the
floor of the rectum and the foof of the vagina, and miraculously, it
held. :) He came out several times a day and manually removed her
manure, 'cause she was way to sore to poop on her own. Three days later
the mare was feeling a heck of a lot better, and finally accepted her
foal.
(snipped excellent advice on baby monitors)
> Make up a call list - the vet, experienced horse
> friends, close relatives to help out. I spoke into our monitor to my
> friend up at the house who promptly called the vet, my parents, and an
> experienced (foaling) horseman. The experienced horseman got there in
> time to see that my mare was in trouble and told me when to get in
> there and help (It was my first foaling too).
Wish I'd had one of those on call. :)
> I had read everything I could
> find found "Blessed are the Broodmares" to any veterinary books that I
> could find - so I would know mentally how to handle any problems.
Me too, and it sure helped. It really was a shock, though, to reach
inside that mare and appreciate the *size* of that cavern. I couldn't
believe how much room there was to work in, and how easy it was, between
contractions, to move the foal back. Wow.
I'm glad things worked out for your mare (and foal). :)
Nancy (who won't be on foal watch until *next* May)
Topsfield, MA USA
na...@guesswork.com
Tim Shurtleff
On Thu, 10 Jul 1997 08:42:33 GMT, hors...@execpc.com (Horseman) wrote:
>My pregnant mare suddenly got a firm udder. A few days ago, she was
>getting a bigger udder, but almost overnight, it got real firm. Yet,
>she is not dripping milk, and even if I try to "milk her", all I get
>is a very slight amount of what appears to be water. Because she was
>foaled by accident, (before I owned her) no one knows exactly when she
>is supposed to foal. Because I want to be there, when she does foal,
>I am trying to figure out when she will foal. I you have had foals,
>could you please give me some sort of idea, if you can!!!!
>
>
>PS. Please email me, I am spending nearly all my spare time in the
>barn now, and there is no computer in there.......
>
>Thanks
>
>hors...@execpc.com
>
She is getting close. Watch for a waxy buildup on the teats. That is a sign
she is really close.
Don't try to milk her, that watery stuff is her first milk, called colostrum.
If you get the milk flowing you will lose the colostrum which gives the foal all
of her antibodies in its first few days to protect it until it can make its own.
We almost lost a foal a few years ago because her dam started to leak a few days
prior to the birth and the foal didn't have any protection. She got sick and
was very sick. She came thru, but the Vet thought she wouldn't make it because
of the massive systemic infection evidenced in the blood work.
Tim.
Tim Shurtleff
Business Website: http://www.usmo.com/~tshrtlef/
Horsey website: http://www.usmo.com/~tshrtlef/timhorse.html for horse/farm stuff and some PARALYMPICS EQUESTRIAN GAMES pictures and memories.
Sylvana Smith
In response to Horseman George, whose mare has a firm, full udder but no
dripping milk...
I don't have gobs of experience with mares and foaling (just three foals
of my own and a passel of foals among my friends), but my own mare
progressed just as you describe--full, firm udder with no dripping milk,
up to and including the point of delivery. With each foaling, her milk
would "come down" shortly after delivery.
My understanding is that the first milk contains the valuable colostrum
vital to your foal's health, so milking out that colostrum or having it
stream out voluntarily before baby arrives is not a helpful thing. In
fact, I knew of one mare whose milk positively *streamed* out in the
days before foaling, her foal was not given substitute colostrum from
another source, developed an impaction (which the owners tried to
address by New Age spiritualism, soft music in the barn, and Rolfing),
and the foal died at age Five Days.
On knowing when foaling is imminent... Mares all have their own styles,
and not all will follow classic textbook symptoms of impending delivery
either. In her pregnancies, my placid QH mare showed NONE of the
classic signs that foaling was near--such as small amounts of dripping
milk, waxy deposits on the teats, "softening of the bones" (sort of like
droopy haunches), visible dilation, or looking around anxiously at the
sides. None of 'em.
And she was a *crafty* one, very good at foaling unsupervised. With
Baby #1, the mare wasn't even quite due, showed absolutely NO signs of
impending delivery, so I turned her out in the pasture for the night.
At 5:00am, I heard a few raindrops on the tin roof of my cabin, and ran
into the back field in my pajamas to bring my mare in before she would
get rained on. Guess what I found!!! A brand new gorgeous chestnut
colt with a star!!! I named him "Chance of Rain", of course, but his
registered name is Zakarij Reed.
Determined not to miss Baby #2, I slept in the barn with Lady for three
weeks (two weeks before her due date, one week after). She appeared
bored and relaxed at the 3:00am check one May morning, and--exhausted
from three weeks sleeping in a sleeping bag on the hay--I gave myself
three delicious hours of sleep in my own real bed. Guess what I found
at 6:00 am!!! A gorgeous bay colt, standing and nursing already!!! I
named him "Second Chance," of course!
My friends who breed many, many, many more foals than I do tell stories
about crafty mares whose instincts to foal away from the prying eyes of
predators are so strong that they've missed deliveries in spite of
diligent efforts to be there. I've heard several stories of mares,
being watched all night by shifts of sleepless barn managers, finally
foaling in the 15 minutes when everyone goes into the house for 8:00 am
coffee.
Good luck with yours. How lovely to have a foal on the way! Mine are
6, 7, and 8 years old now, so it's been a long time since I've had a
baby around the house! I'll plan on creating another one in a few
years, to have a replacement ready when Zakarij (8) and Prima (10) are
retired from eventing. In fact, the next baby in the household is
likely to be Prima's!
--Thinking Foals Are All a Blessing, Whenever They Arrive--Sylvana
PS--Taking recommendations on potential Daddies for a gorgeous, talented
TB mare, to produce an event prospect for a rider who prefers smallish
(15.3-16hh), catty, agile horses with tough feet and a relatively light
build.
Hideaway's Erin Go Bragh? Epic Win? An Akhal-Teke? Endurance Arabian
stallion?
Nancy DeMarco
Sylvana Smith wrote:
(snip)
> PS--Taking recommendations on potential Daddies for a gorgeous,
> talented TB mare, to produce an event prospect for a rider who prefers
> smallish (15.3-16hh), catty, agile horses with tough feet and a
> relatively light build.
> Hideaway's Erin Go Bragh? Epic Win? An Akhal-Teke? Endurance
> Arabian stallion?
My *personal* *limited* experience with Akhal-Tekes has not been great.
The ones I have known have been very sound, tough, quite athletic and,
yes, catty. But they have been difficult horses who really need a darn
good horseman on their backs, and they have been resistant, and
inflexible (mentally and physically). Bear in mind, I have only known
two, and they belonged to the same person, and she wasn't the most
sympathetic of trainers. If I knew a nice Akhal-Teke, I would feel
differently.
Epic Win looks like a very nice horse, and he already has some decent
event horses on the ground. But isn't he a bit bigger than you're
looking for? It seems to me he's well over 16 hands, but I could be
mistaken.
Do you have an endurance arabian in mind? Anglo arabs make nice
low-level event horses - generally tough and sound and long-lived, with
very nice movement and athleticism. My friend has one now in his 20's,
who went Prelim for many years, and is and still sound and very
healthy.
Is your friend interested in low levels, or is she hoping for something
along International lines? :) If she has higher aspirations, I'd breed
to a stallion within the sport, and of international calibre, rather
than going outside the sport, and just hoping the arab cross will get
her the best parts of both horses.
Erin Go Bragh, well, I have loved that little stallion for a long time.
He has a fabulous disposition and does tend to pass it along to his
get. My vet, who is usually in the vet box at Ledyard, says he *always*
has the lowest heart rate and the shortest recovery time of any horse
there. He does cross well with thoroughbreds, and he does already have
some nice 1/2 tb event horses on the ground. But, his movement does
leave a bit to be desired - he's not as free in his shoulder as he could
be. So that might be a consideration.
If it were me, of the above choices, I'd go with Go Bragh, especially if
I were happy with smaller horses. If I wanted more size, or if I just
*had* to have better movement for those dressage scores, I'd go with
Epic Win. (I'd take a Go Bragh brain over better movement, though.)
Have you considered Native Trade? He's a small (15.3) tb Intermediate
level event horse standing in Piffard NY. He's done well in the show
ring as well, and he looks like he might be quite a nice little horse.
Too bad Erin Smithereen (Go Bragh's dad) retired - he has lovely
movement - would have been my first choice. :)
Nancy
Topsfield, MA USA
na...@guesswork.com
Sylvana Smith
Nancy--
Thanks for the insights about some of these event stallions. And
actually, I am beginning my shopping for a stallion on my own behalf,
not another rider; it's my lovely Prima I'm thinking of breeding. Not
today or next month, or necessarily next year--but in time to have a new
prospect ready to event (about 5) when Zakarij (8) and Prima (10) are
retiring from eventing.
And if said youngster was designed with an eye toward Prelim, I would be
happy indeed.
Always drawn to the unusual, I was intrigued by Akhal-Tekes and looked
at an Advanced eventer Akhal-Teke stallion last year. Look of eagles!
Intense courage and focus through a most demanding water complex!
Incredible scope and cattiness for a little horse! Fantastic color!
But sorry to say, I wasn't charmed by the overall conformation (neck and
greyhound body especially), and since it's a family pet I'm creating as
much as a performance horse, I am willing to indulge my personal tastes
in appearance as well as capability.
And if that breed has some tendency to be tough and resistant, well, I
don't mind that now, (I have two that meet that description, and we do
well together)--but by the time the new baby is eventing, I'll be 45 or
thereabouts and will probably want life to be a little easier!
I've seen Erin Go Bragh competing at Southern Pines a few years ago and
been most impressed. But to be honest, I've only seen XC phase and
haven't seen movement in dressage. I'll trust your judgment.
A friend, Dawn Weniger of Firstview Connemaras, has some absolutely
*stunning* Connemaras that not only turn heads with their phenomenal
movement and athleticism, have also been cleaning up competitively. Of
course, I'll attribute some of that to the fact that Dawn is an
exquisite rider. That seems to help, eh! Since she lives around the
corner from me and we see each other all the time at clinics, horse
trials, and the tack shop, I must find out the sires of her "CK Emily
Gray" and "Indecent Proposal."
You're right about Epic Win being bigger than I had in mind. And I
guess so would Denny's new stallion, the gray whose name escapes me
right now. And I swore, no more grays! I have three, and I'm tired of
bathing them before every ride in public! Don't you just love the
systematic means I'm using to select a stallion!
As you might have gathered from my posts, I'm quite enamored of Arab
crosses (I have two of them, and my beloved Zakarij is Arab/QH), but I
wondered if breeding hot-to-hot would be a great idea. Zakarij's mother
was a placid, heavy-bodied QH, so outcrossing with an Arab seemed like a
great idea. Crossing sensitive, high-strung TB with Arab might be less
obvious, if a multipurpose household pet is what I'm seeking! But I do
dearly love Anglo-Arabs, so this might be my chance to finally have one,
as long as I could find an Arab who had proven robustness, not just
show-ring pizazz, and that's why I mentioned endurance Arabs.
I'll keep my eyes open for Native Trade, and thanks for the suggestions!
--Can't Believe I'm Even *Thinking* Of Another Foal!--Sylvana
Teresa Plymate
>> PS--Taking recommendations on potential Daddies for a gorgeous,
>> talented TB mare, to produce an event prospect for a rider who prefers
>> smallish (15.3-16hh), catty, agile horses with tough feet and a
>> relatively light build.
This is one that would work great, but is hard to find here: a
Lusitano bullfighting-bred stallion. They are generally small (14.2-
15.2), and CATTY hardly describes their agility, well, they have
to be able to move in any direction pronto to avoid the horns
of an angry bull. All the Iberians I've known (I have 8 myself)
have wonderful wonderful feet. Very thick horn and soles. I
only know of a few Luso stallions in the US. Another thing I've
found that I really love about the Iberians are that they seem
to have a lot of common sense, something I would think would be
a plus for eventing.
BTW, there are many Andalusian stallions available, with many
who would be good eventing type horses that are 15.2-16.2.
Teresa and the Iberian Gang, mostly Andys but two are 1/2 Luso!
Andalusians del Sol:
Arrusito, Sonrisa, Luminoso, Lisonja, Preciosa, Garboso,
Gitano, and Ninfa
John T. Klausner
Sylvana, I have several Arabian stallions available: an Ibn Kontiki
son, 15.1, chestnut, a straight Egyptian who has competed at 2nd level,
trained at 3rd, 15.1, chestnut, a Russian, also 15.1 but bay, and two
polish stallions, one by Sambor the second by Gwydion. Both are gray,
14.3. The younger one by Gwydion is presently on the race track, the
older one by Sambor is pacing as he waits. If you have any interest,
we can arrange something - semen ships! Prices will be very low as I'd
love to develop the market you're in...!
SueK
Tim Shurtleff
I can echo Teresa's recommendation to breed your TB mare to an andalusian or
Lusitano (basically the same breed, one comes from spain, the other from
portugal). The andaluisans registered in the US can be either) It is a great
cross. There is a great website about andalusians that I found last week.
check it out: http://al-andalus.com/
I have a TB mare that I bred to an Andy stallion and my 3YO baby (Lexie)has been
under saddle now for a little over a month and she is wonderful. I imprinted
her as a new foal and she had a lot of ground work before she was ever ridden
but the natural talent is really there to work with. She is naturally balanced
and naturally gets her butt under herself to carry herself lightly. Even as a
baby she is not on her forehand like a lot of TB's start out. She always stops
square. She stands like a rock to mount and dismount. She is extremely
sensitive and responsive burt not spooky and goofy. She spooks in place if
something scares her, (she doesn't spin or jump sideways like her mom does when
scared). She responds naturally to seat, leg and weight shifts. She has never
even tried to buck and is (almost always) absolutely obedient. She has great
brakes, just shift weight and she stops. I can't say enough good about her.
While she has the capability to rock back on her haunches, do a 180 and be in
the next county ( have watched her do it in the field), she has never tried it
with me on her.
About feet. Her mom is a mush footed TB. She thinks she only has three legs if
she throws a front shoe. Her backs are not quite as bad. Lexie got her daddys
feet. They are big and round and tough. She has never had a shoe on and has
never chipped a foot and we have a lot of rocks in Missouri in the pastures
where she has grown up. They wear even naturally and even in the summer, she
often goes 8-9 weeks between trims. They just don't need much attention.
I think she will be a powerful jumper too when she gets older. Her Daddy went
to a the midwest Pony club rally as a 5YO stallion when one of the older kids
horse went lame two weeks before the rally. He had never been in a big covered
arena and went in, looked around and did a clean round. He had had almost no
jumping training prior to the rally. He also did a clean cross country round
and didn't do bad in dressage.
The only thing she lacks is size. I just wish she would grow another hand and I
would keep her for myself for sure. I am still debating now, and hoping for a
couple more inches. She is almost 15.2. Her mom is 16.2 and her daddy is
15.3.
Jane H. Kilberg
In article <5q2a29$g...@newsops.execpc.com> Horseman, hors...@execpc.com
writes:
>My pregnant mare suddenly got a firm udder. A few days ago, she was
>getting a bigger udder, but almost overnight, it got real firm. Yet,
>she is not dripping milk, and even if I try to "milk her", all I get
>is a very slight amount of what appears to be water. Because she was
>foaled by accident, (before I owned her) no one knows exactly when she
>is supposed to foal. Because I want to be there, when she does foal,
>I am trying to figure out when she will foal. I you have had foals,
>could you please give me some sort of idea, if you can!!!!
Mares can foal any time, generally between 325-350 gestation days. Some
of mine have gone as early as 319 days (full term) and others more than
365 days. Since you don't know when she was serviced by the stallion, it
will be much harder on you to attempt to pin point the time.
Udders vary. They can be soft up to foaling, then become warm and hard
with the teats tilted outward. This can take place anywhere from 3 weeks
prior to a couple hours or even after birth (particularly a maiden).
Therefore, it is best to use a combination of foaling signs of which may
or may not occur or you may not notice them:
1. full udder, warm, teats outward. When milked a few drops, the liquid
begins to take substance and more of a tannish color.
2. Vagina begins to lengthen and hip bones relax.
3. Mare begins to stay by herself a lot, becomes cranky, moves more
slowly than before.
4. You will also notice the belly drop and widen as kiddo begins to turn
into birthing position and the hips "hollow" out.
5. just before the beginning of stage one labor, one sure sign I see in
my mamas is a fluttering of the flanks high up. Generally, this is the
start of stage one labor which can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes to a
couple hours. The mare will be more restless than usual, may bite at her
sides, lay down then get up again. All this cumulates in the breaking of
her water which begins stage two or the actual birth. Stage three is the
delivery of the placenta which can take place anywhere from a few minutes
to a couple hours after birth. Never feed a mare grain until she passes
her placenta.
Good luck to you and observe closely all the minute changes you see.
These changes your mare exhibits will intensify as she gets closer to
partrition.
down the sunny trails . . .
jane kilberg and her gang of 4 legged spotted critters at
timberswitch in the great nation of Tejas
member of ApHC, Sundance '500' Int'l (Appaloosa appreciation society)
Montgomery County Adult Horse Committee
Jorene Downs
Jessica Snyder <jrsn...@students.wisc.edu> wrote:
>Horseman wrote:
>>
>> My pregnant mare suddenly got a firm udder. A few days ago, she was
>> getting a bigger udder, but almost overnight, it got real firm. Yet,
>> she is not dripping milk, and even if I try to "milk her", all I get
>> is a very slight amount of what appears to be water.
>
>She's not ready to foal yet. Of course, that doesn't mean that
>she won't suddenly be ready tomorrow, but odds are against it.
>The key is watching the teats, not the udder; the teats usually swell
>up and engorge a few days to a week before foaling. And, of course,
>watch for wax; waxing means foaling is imminent (although some mares
>think 3 days counts as "imminent")
>> I am trying to figure out when she will foal. I you have had foals,
>> could you please give me some sort of idea, if you can!!!!
>
>[...] But in general, mares won't foal until:
>teats are distended, teats are waxed, muscles around croup and vagina
>are very loose and soft. In addition, you can generally see that the
>foal has "shifted" positions; the mare's flank will be very filled out
>and tight.
>
>All these things, or some of these things, will happen before foaling,
>but one of the joys (sic) of having broodmares is that nothing will
>accurately predict the night. Patience and lack of sleep are hallmarks
>of the expecting mare owner :) :)
And then there is the "unique" mare who at evening feed hasn't shown
and "imminent delivery" signs, yet has a foal on the ground by
breakfast. <sigh> But at least this kind of mare doesn't give the
owner a sleepless night, because at evening inspection you don't see
anything to make you suspicious! ;-/
- - -
Jorene
just moseyin' down the California trails ... :)
Home page: http://www.psnw.com/~jcdowns
Meet other rec.eq posters on:
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Jvkvyborny
>to a couple hours after birth. Never feed a mare grain until she passes
>her placenta.
>
>
Just out of interest, why is this? About the grain, I mean.
JRDVMDIVER
In article <19970727144...@ladder02.news.aol.com>,
jvkvy...@aol.com (Jvkvyborny) writes:
If she retains the placenta she is prone to developing laminitis and the
grain could make things worse.
Good Luck
IMHO, All Standard Disclaimers Apply
Julie A. Robinson DVM, MVSc, MS, DABVP (Equine)
JRDVM...@aol.com