Advice about maiden mare 333 days

D

danni3

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 April 2011
Messages
71
Visit site
My mare is 333 days today, she's acting a little strange. This Is my first foal so other than what I've read on the Internet I have no actual experience with foaling so I'm watching and checking her constantly, possibly being a little over the top with the watching to be honest but im so worried about something going wrong.

Anyway Freya is a very panicky TB, she can't be left alone for a min, even in a stable she gets herself so stressed and tries to come through the Walls! I have another mare who Freya is pretty much stuck to constantly, they are inseparable I have to lead them to the field together and bring both in even if I only need one of them.. Otherwise Freya will hurt herself, it's hardwork!

So I had planned to let her foal out in one of our paddocks with Anna who is a very experienced broodmares so I assume she would be ok.

She started bagging up just over a week ago it was up and down in size but it very big now, yesterday I noticed some clear ish drops on her teats I wasn't sure if it was waxing up as I expected that to be more honey coloured? I'm no good at this am I! So she's acting strange now too, I can't pick her feet up without her rearing and striking out at me, she's grazing fine but is only picking at her food when she's brought in for a couple hours every afternoon.

Now I've put them out today and Freya kept wandering off on her own so I watched her for a while, after an hour or so she was stood at the gate pawing and weaving to get into the next paddock. I've let her in and she's gone off grazing on her own!! I'm really shocked I keep standing in my kitchen watching to make sure she's ok, I've never seen her happy being alone she's never been away from another horse without hurting herself.

Is this normal? Could she be close or is it still a bit early. My fields and stables are outside my house so I'm close to her should anything happen but how often would you be checking through the night now? I have only been going out last thing at night before bed and soon as I get up at 6:30am. Should I start going out in the middle of the night too now? I don't know what to do about Anna should I leave her with my other mare or let her in with Freya overnight.. Can't wait til this is over then I can stop worrying so much!! Lol
 
I too was a foaling virgin this year!! Its very stressfull, there is lots of advise on this forum though. Before my mare foaled she became very independant and was more than happy on her own as long as she could see her friends near by (in a seperate field). I was quite lucky and didnt end up sleeping at the stables for many nights. From about 330 days my mare started getting honey coloured wax and I started doing a late night check depending on how she was that day. I know her so well so I noticed her off days.

However on the day she foaled (352 days) I had decided to sleep over as she had been running milk (running not dripping, which she had been on and off for 3/4 days). I checked her at 11.30 and she was eating her haynet absolutely fine. Then at 11.50pm just as I was falling asleep I heard a grunt on the CCTV ran out and she had had the foal by 12.02!!

Dont know if this helps, but try not to panic its an amazing experience especially if you see it! :-)
 
Thankyou! :)

Shes still on her own in the paddock, been stood still in the same place (corner of the field under some trees) all morning just holding her head low but not grazing. I've been to check on her and she's dripping milk now but her udders seem smaller today like not as full. Hopefully won't be too much longer! I'm trying to be patient but not managing it very well :D
 
It depends on the mare but many of mine will start to go off on their own a couple of weeks before they foal. That's quite normal. Some of my mares don't, and that's quite normal too.

Have you considered installing cctv in your stable so that you don't have to get out of bed to check her through the night? Milk testing is another way which saves countless nights of unnecessary foal watching.

Her bag will go up and down. I always check bags at the same time each day. That way you get a better indication of what it's doing. Can you post a photo of her bag? A lot of people think their mares bags are huge and then when we see photos, they aren't really that big. A general indication (although this does not always happen depending on the mare, and particularly with a maiden) is once the teats fill with milk you should be on the home straight. That's when I start milk testing and that gives you a really good timeline of when your foal will enter the world.
 
I have a picture yeah but I can't post it as I'm using my iPhone to get online at the moment.

I can't watch on CCTV as she isn't foaling in the stable unfortunately. My biggest stable Is only 13x13 which I assume is too small? so she will have to foal out in the paddock next to my house.

I'll try get some photos on later!
 
Danni3 I listened to alot of Spring Feather's advise! At about 320 days i was convinced my mare was ready to foal. Her bag looked full and she had honey coloured wax. A friend told me to watch her teats, a few days before she foaled they looked like bottle tops, really big for the foal to grab hold of. I has CCTV which was amazing as i didnt have to keep disturbing my mare to check her. I do wish however i had got organised earlier and done the milk testing.

My mare ran milk for a few days and then saturday morning she passed the mucus plug and then foaled STANDING UP on the sunday night!!
 
You know Danni, my mares foal in boxes that are 36ft long however I honestly don't think that for foaling, the size makes a whole lot of difference. Some mares often foal in the least favourable part of the stable regardless of size! What size is your mare? I don't think I'd be put off with foaling down in a 13x13 so long as the mare isn't an enormous 17hander. I find that my big stables are really only helpful for allowing space for the little ones to stretch his legs after birth before they have their vetcheck and are turned back out in the paddocks.

You can get waterproof cctv cameras, mine are. And you could possibly install them around your paddock depending on what posts you have and how big it is. Mine have night vision so you can still see what's going on in the dark. The foaling cameras are a scary price but you can get others (not sold specifically for the equestrian trade) which are really quite inexpensive.

If you do decide to foal out in the paddock, and that is absolutely fine to do so, then milk testing may be the way for you to go. At least then you'll have a timeline and you can check your mare every hour.

We have all of our foals for the year and not one mare has foaled through the night. Our mares have foaled in the morning or evening and one foaled in the middle of the day so don't be fooled by the old myth that mares foal through the night because a lot will depend on your individual mare and how secure and safe she feels in her environment :)

PS. Thank you Hmc. I try :)
 
i would watch carefully she seems to be taking herself off on her own to prepare to foal !!

my mare is on 334 days today and has distention of the teats which normally means it is 4 - 6 days away

mine foal in a 14 x 12 stable she is a big 16.1hh warmblood and never had a problem - my vet has said that as long as they have room to get up and down easily then thats fine
 
shes not very big, a very small built TB 15.3hh. I could get cameras up in the stable now but Im not sure I could afford the waterproof route for the paddock. Its quite big and she would probably end up hiding from it anyway!

I was wondering if I should just risk it in the stable as I think Id be much happier being able to check on CCTV but was just worried about the size. I think I might do that though, at least Ive got more chance of catching it if watching on camera then can be there should there be any problems in the stable.

I am on the laptop now but struggling to get pictures on as we dont have a great internet signal out here so they wont load! Grrr :rolleyes:
 
If I hadn't had the CCTV I would def have missed my mare I would use it again. As for the stable size I'm very lucky and have a very big box but it really made no difference as my mare stood up and just dropped the foal without lying down !!! It gave me quite a shock and I can only imagine what I looked like trying to catch the foal! Lol :-)
 
hmc said:
If I hadn't had the CCTV I would def have missed my mare I would use it again. As for the stable size I'm very lucky and have a very big box but it really made no difference as my mare stood up and just dropped the foal without lying down !!! It gave me quite a shock and I can only imagine what I looked like trying to catch the foal! Lol :-)
Click to expand...

yep that is what i was like x
 
I prefer to foal outside as it's known to be more hygenic ... but I never do. That's because it's so much easier to keep the mares in one place over night where they are visible to you. My mares live out 24/7 until they are testing to foal within 48 hours then they come in at night and during the day are locked in a foaling paddock with easy access to the foaling boxes should the mares decide to show imminent foaling signs. Once they foal then they get to go back out into the big fields. With milk testing it allows the time spent in confined quarters far less, which is what I prefer.

You do what makes sense to you but if I were you I would bring your mare into the stable at night time. 13x13 is fine for that size of mare :)

FYI my cctv cameras came from China, via ebay ;) I don't remember the exact price but each one was around about twenty pounds and they have night vision, sound and are wireless. I looked at the equestrian foalcams and they were a ludicrous price.

Good luck :)
 
Aww fingers crossed something happens for you soon, I've seen yours posts about your maiden, this waiting and wondering it hardwork isn't it!!

I had CCTV fitted in her stable last night, she stood in the same spot all night and didn't touch her haynet at all, so now I'm worried she's not eating and will lose weight, she's grazing on and off but tends to just stand still doing nothing majority of the time this last couple of days. Hope she's ok!

Her back end is really slackened now, Either side of her tail is like jelly and her tail moves loosely if I lift it. Not dripping milk now but I only need to put slight pressure and it's easily expressed, although she isn't as tolerant letting me round they area now she went to kick me last night, she's never been a nasty mare so it's definitely out of character.

Is it normal to not see foal moving at this stage? I have felt it everyday until 3 days ago, there's been no noticeable movement since.

Getting very nervous now!!
 
yes its very hardwork. CCTV you cant beat it. they did tend to go off there food prior to foaling. just watch her tonight and see if she is the same tonight before you start worrying. What is she doing now? is she out in the field?
my mare is out in the field she was eating for a couple of hours this morning then she just stood in the middle of the field for and hour. while im writing this she is stood by the fence. last night she was just walking around her stable.

Has she waxed up? not all mares wax tho.
Your horse is showing the same signs as mine.
the only time i could see the foal moving is when she was eating her hard feed. but last night i couldnt see it at all. i hope i will be corrected if im wrong but when its getting closer to foaling there will be less movement.

We Both Can Be Nervous Together.
 
She's running milk now and is rubbing her tail so hard on the side of the stable, I've tried to get near her but she's just going to bite me she's never normally like that shes so laid back normally. I've got a problem with her bed though now, she's weaving, walking round and pawing the floor so much her bed is being pushed to sides leaving concrete. I've just put another bale in it's so big her bed now but she's still trashing it, I have to keep going out to straighten it.

She's been off her food for days but couldn't get enough of her tea tonight she was looking for more when it had gone.

I've only been on foal watch for 3 days and I'm exhausted, I have a 10 week old baby too so between her and my mare I'm not getting much sleep!!

Fingers crossed it's not too much longer now!
 
Thankyou. I thought she was in labour last night, all night long she was up and down, pacing round and weaving worse than she's ever done! Rubbing her tail and sweating.. It lasted all night then just stopped about 6am so she must have just been restless not in labour. I sat all night watching her on CCTV scared to go sleep incase it all started, couldn't believe it when it stopped lol

There was milk all down her back legs and marks where she been sweating, so I've given her a nice bath and bit of a pamper today in the sun. She's all clean now, going to put a tail bandage on tonight see if something starts up again!

Keep telling myself to be patient but im not doing very well!!
 
danni3,

I suspect that you are VERY close!! It's possible, that your understandable, but constant checking, is delaying the process.

As you have the mare on camera, resist the temptation to go to her. If she's being aggressive, then she clearly wishes to be alone, and it may well be you, who's delaying the birth.

WHEN you either see the water bag, or she's down and pushing, THEN, go to her. The serious process will have started, and it'll be too late for her to put a stop to it!!

Good luck, and further reports would be appreciated!!

Alec.
 
Yeah she had colt on Sat night :) and Alec I think you was correct it was me delaying it. I completely left her alone sat, I turned the lights off in the stable which I'd been keeping on overnight, so she was in darkness and it all started and ended very quick!!

Good luck indie, hope your foalie arrives soon!! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top