Foaling questions?

[Tracey]

Some friends of mine moved last year to a different state. While they were their they had their horses boarded. To make a long story short their 5 year old bs paint is pregnant, they moved back here a couple of months ago. They don't know know when she was bred, they do know it was a buckskin bs paint that bred her. They know nothing of foaling or babies and neither do I.
The mare is huge, she had some wax on her nipples last week, but has not bagged up at all. She seems very uncomfortable, shifting weight a lot, he feet are not hot and she doesn't seem to be trying to stay off any in particular. She lays down a lot, doesn't move around much cept to eat and drink. You can see and feel the baby moving around.
Now for the questions. How far ahead of time will she bag up? She is having the farrier come out, do they just get so heavy they are uncomfortable, or is this something to worry about? They have a small stall and a windbreak. We have had freaky nice weather, but it is Feb in Iowa, could be below zero in a heartbeat. How cold can foals handle it? In case of emergency they do have a garage she can heat.
I know there are other questions, she is just hoping she holds out another month, but looking at her I don't think so.
Oh, what color do you thing the foal will be. bs paint mare, red but has some primative markings and a buckskin bs stud? I told her I didn't think it could be spotted since neither parent is, but I am not sure how that is passed?
Thanks, I am sure I will have more questions in the next few weeks!

[Carol Nelson]

That mare could easily go another month...I've had mares bag up thirty days before they delivered. Is this her first foal? If she's a maiden (first foal) she may go early. Of course, you don't know the date of breeding so that will remain to be seen. They can get beads of wax that early too. What you need to be looking for are a combination of signs...ie., they will take on a slab-sided appearance as the baby shifts into birthing position, that is, he will move parallel to the spine in order to come down the birthing canal. Instead of her belly being rounded she will almost start to look thinner and somedays look like she might have had the baby already. She will sink in in her butt above the tailhead...her tail will become very flacid...instead of locking it down when you pull it up, she won't be able to control it and you should be able to easily move it back and forth. Her vulva will become elongated and very puffy and larger. She may have a slight discharge...when delivery is imminent, she may pass a mucus plug. You may be able to express some milk from her bag...as she comes closer to delivery her bag will become tight, and her nipples will jut out, and the wax will be in large clumps...she may even drip down her legs. At that stage delivery is very close. The milk will also take on a yellower, thicker look to it...up til now it will have been thin, white and opaque.
Now to make you feel even better, I've had mares also show none of this and deliver a normal healthy foal hours later. ;-)
If the temps are cold, you can put heat lamps in the shelter for her...hung from the ceiling and cords well out of the way...I wouldn't recommend moving her to the garage unless there is an emergency situation. She would not be accustomed to that, plus the environment would be full of bacteria that she would not have developed an immunity too...and likewise the foal. They recommend moving a mare thirty days before her due date to her foaling stall for that reason...and so that she has time to "settle in". You can blanket the foal but I don't like to do that as so much can happen...they can get tangled. You would be surprised how much cold a newborn can handle...just make sure they are dry and out of the wind, and bed the shelter with a thick bed of straw for warmth.

Her discomfort is totally normal...she may get cranky too, with other horses and with humans. If she is still eating and drinking, peeing and pooping fine and no heat in her feet, she is fine.

As far as color, my dear, your guess is as good as mine! ;-) :smile:

(Take heart that 97% of all deliveries go perfectly fine with no problems...but as you and your friend start to see more sign, I would keep a close eye on her just because if something does go wrong, you will be there to remedy it).

A good book to read is Blessed Are the Broodmares...another is The Complete Book of Foaling - An Illustrated Guide for the Foaling Attendant.

[SandyMM]

I'm assuming she has a vet lined up? S/he could answer a lot of her questions, too...

[Rose Mary Axell]

It has been my experience that mares can become fairly uncomfortable the last month or so of pregnancy and they will lay down a lot more than is usual.

Here are some signs that tell you a mare is getting ready for birthing:

Check arround the mares tail head as all the muscles there will really soften up before they foal. You will almost be able to push your whole hand into the muscle it. This can happen a week or so before foaling.

The baby will usually drop and turn in preparation for being born. This will cause a hollow to appear just in front of the mares hip bones. This usually happen 4-5 days prior to foaling.

Look for the utter to fill and the nipples to fill up and stick out a lot shortly before foaling. A lot of mares have swelling in the utter and waxing early, but ususally when the teats are very full and sticking away from the utter labor is just a couple of days away. Some mare start to actually leak just before foaling.

When your mare is really close she may quit eating, be restless, getting up and down and rolling to get the foal in position. She may sweat and you may see her straining.

The thing is that all mares are different and maiden mares may not have any of these signs

Basically, when you see a hoof emerge from under the mare's tail, you can be pretty sure foaling coming. There are other signs, but the hoof test is really the only 100% reliable one I've found.

[Carol Nelson]

Yes, by all means, she should have a vet lined up and not be afraid to ask questions. The only problem is, with the majority of deliveries, a vet can't make it there in time...and it is good to know what to do in the meantime should there be a problem. That's why I recommended the above books. :smile:

[motorgypsy]

Please be sure this mare is not eating fescue hay or pasture. It can cause really bad problems including death. If she is eating fescue she needsto get her off it immediately and tell her vet. there is a drug you give a couple of weeks before foaling that prevents the problems.

She does need to read up on possible problems during and after the birth. The foal should be suckling almost immediately. If it isn't suckling within two hours get help fast.

Mares have babies really fast so you can miss it during a 10 minute coffee break. It's best to keep watching (we use a red light and binoculars because ours have a special grass paddock for foaling that is in full view of the house) once she is really showing signs because if the foal can't get out of the sac it has to be cut quickly or the foal will suffocate.

[CarolU]

You know Tracey, I've found myself in the EXACT same position as your friends...Bella is pregnant and I really have no idea of the due date. She is 8-10 months pregnant now (by palpation), so it could be anytime after another few weeks.

I borrowed a copy of Blessed are the Broodmares and have been reading and studying it. I HIGHLY recomend your friends get a copy! It not only goes through all the things to prepare for, what to look for, what a normal birth is like, but problems and things you can do to save your foal and mare. Years ago I lost a foal that tore out the mare, and if I had been there (and knew what to do) I could have saved both of them. As it is, I ended up having to put the mare down too. THAT is why I'm such a chicken poop about breeding.

It's very hard to read all the things that can go wrong...but I think it'd be worse to lose a foal if a reading a book might have saved it.

[Tracey]

Thanks guys! She is not on fescue, we don't really have that here. She is on a dry lot right now with alfalfa. She does have a vet, but I am sure this will happen at 2 am! Just wanted to get the signs to start staying up with her. She has no bag yet and her sides are sticking way out, so the baby has not dropped. Sounds a lot like dogs, I can always tell because of the 'soft' look to the whole rear end. Do their temps drop before delivery like a dogs does? I was wondering about heat lamps, I will tell her to have some on hand, I have a few here I can run over to her. I will also have her look for the book. I have had to help pups out of bags and done cpr on a few, hopefully none of that will be neccisary here.
I will tell her what to look for and check ebay for that book!
Thanks again.

[Terri]

ummm, stupid question. What do you mean "bs"?

[baileyholc]

Tracey, can you post pictures of the mare? Recent ones. Get a picture of her teats to post as well, I am sure if you can show exactly what you are trying to ask about, we could get a better perspective of what you are asking. Good luck to you and your friend. I have no experiance in foaling, but what I have learned from here, sounds like, to me, she may have another month or so to go before delivery.

bs means Breeding Stoke. :smile: Not a stupid question Terri.

[Kerry W]

ummm, stupid question. What do you mean "bs"?

:rofl

Not that I know either..it just looked funny all alone in a sentence. :lol:

[Barbwire]

"bs", in this case means breeding stock, as in solid colored Paint horse.

[Kerry W]

"bs", in this case means breeding stock, as in solid colored Paint horse.

Buzzkill! :roll:

[baileyholc]

:rofl

[appyday]

Bagging..not ready to foal yet

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/appyday/PICTURE_041.jpg

Waxing..night or few days before

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/appyday/2005_0425IMAGE0005.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/appyday/2005_0425IMAGE0007.jpg

Hind end softening..and wax turns to milk..night of foaling..

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/appyday/2005_0425IMAGE6.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/appyday/milk.jpg

[Terri]

I figured bs couldn't mean what it means in normal usage, this is after all a family horse related site :shock: , In that case the proper initials would be hs.

[ErinC]

http://www.apha.com/programs/breedingstock.html

[ErinC]

sorry :roll: