Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Foaling

From: Randy

Dear Dr. Jahiel,

My wife's 9 year old mare will be foaling for the first time in 7 1/2 weeks. My wife is concerned because her bag (udder) is swelling up and getting very firm (50% swollen). We live in Michigan and the temperature has been up and down. She is turned out daily and is eating and drinking normally. Should my wife be concerned at this point? I am concerned because my wife is traveling to Arizona in 3 weeks for a one week visit and I do not have any experience with foaling. Thank You.

Bonnie & Randy (Bo Ran Farm)

Hi Randy! Some mares bag up very early, some don't do it until they are actually foaling. That in itself isn't necessarily a problem, although this is quite early for her to be that large, and I would consult the vet if I were you. The temperature isn't a big factor either -- horses actually prefer, and are more comfortable in, much colder temperatures than humans like. We start to shiver at 50 degrees and below, whereas horses are quite happy even at 32 degrees!

I think it's time to talk to your vet -- he's been seeing the mare throughout her pregnancy (remember when he came out for all those rhino shots?) and he'll be able to advise you. As long as the mare has had her shots, is eating and drinking normally, is turned out as much as possible, and hasn't been exposed to anything that might cause abortion, your vet will probably tell you not to worry (if she'd gotten loose and you'd found her in someone's infested fescue pasture, that would be another story). But it's always better to be safe, and you and your wife will both sleep better at night if you know that the vet has seen the mare and found nothing wrong.

Is there any chance that the foaling date might have been miscalculated, or that the mare might have conceived from an earlier breeding than you thought? Sometimes the foal is right on time, and we're the ones whose calculations are "off." If you can give your vet the mare's breeding date, he should be able to tell you a likely foaling date, plus the margin on either side (early foal, late foal) that can still result in a normal, healthy foal. It's always difficult when you're dealing with a first foal -- the mare has no "foaling history" that you can refer back to.

In case your mare really does continue to bag up at this rate, and starts dripping milk several weeks before foaling, you'll want to get in touch with your vet again. He might want you get some frozen colostrum to have on hand. Even if you never have to use that particular item, it can be a good addition to your "foaling kit."

Good luck with the foal -- I wish I could promise that the mare wouldn't foal while your wife is out of town, but mares do like to foal when nobody's around. However, if this is a typical foaling, it's far more likely that you will both be there, watching her for hours and days, and then when you go into the house to make coffee, you'll come back to find a mare and foal in the stall! Ask your vet.... he's probably got many, many stories about mares who foaled in a flash while their owners were away from the stall for five minutes, answering the telephone...

I'll cross my fingers for you that everything is actually normal and it's just the foaling date that's wrong. Good luck!

- Jessica

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