Bagging up question

[CILLA]

As title for experienced breeders. Have a maiden mare not due until 31st May and has started bagging up today swollen and hard. According to my text book ! this is early. Should i be concerned that she will be early or is this normal and fretting over nothing.

 

[Enfys]

Hi,

I wouldn't include myself in the 'proper' breeder bracket as I only have one or two babies a year.

I wouldn't be too worried unless she is distressed and in pain. My mare foaled April 5th, and started bagging up (scrabbles for notebook) - March 10th. She was very hard and got progressively bigger until the day she foaled, she didn't wax up until April 4th and didn't start running milk until a few hours before she foaled. I am sure that all mares are a little bit different so it is hard to say, you know her best so just keep an eye on her.

I expect you are already doing this, but if not, with Maidens especially, I find it worth while to handle their udders as much as you can to de-sensitise them for when they foal. Foals are NOT gentle creatures when it comes to suckling and I sympathise with mares who don't want them to feed at first.

Good Luck, I expect she'll be fine, you know her best of all and will be able to tell if she isn't right.

 

[CILLA]

Thank you Enfys for replying it is worrying being a first timer she does not seem any different in herself and doesn't mind being handled. Will keep a close eye on her and ring my vet if i am not sure and cannot rest just to check dates etc as she was AI'd three times.

 

[whirlwindhorses]

When you say her bag is swollen and hard, does it look flat from the back or still two seperate looking bags? Some will bag up weeks before, others won't do anything until a couple of days before they foal, they are all different. I have 3 mares due on 14th and 15th of May. The 2 due on the 14th have tiny little bags just starting to appear, one of those is a maiden, the one due on the 15th has quite a large bag but its still 2 seperate looking bags, she foaled early with her first foal last year (325 days) so i am expecting her foal anytime from 25th April. It could be that your mare will foal early , 320 days is quite normal, just keep an eye on her. Hope this is some help to you!

 

[Enfys]

Hi,

To give you a comparison. This was taken on March 17, so 10 days after I noticed her first start bagging up, and 18 days before she foaled (April 5)
She foaled on Day 341 according to her last service date.

 

[CILLA]

Thank you both, checked this morning same size as yesterday two seperate bags not as swollen as the one in Enfys photo though. Foal was moving around a lot this morning but has been all along perhaps she will foal early ,have got date right checked scan dates etc.
Will be monitoring closely. Very helpful to have this forum when in doubt.

 

[Enfys]

Another photo for you.
This was taken about 4 hours before she foaled. The bag was still rock hard at that time, I'd squeezed this out, 12 hours before it had been cloudy and watery, you can see by her clean legs that it hadn't started running at that time.

 

[AJBliss]

Hi, CILLA, I too have a rising 5-year old maiden who began showing changes around day 240 (she's 268 days today). When she is running about in the field, most of the swelling disperses, but if she stands in for 24 hours, it does get fairly swollen and hard. As far as I can tell, it started when the grass started growing, and seems to just be a bit of oedema, though if she is stabled for an unusually long time, it looks/feels alarming. I would be worried if the development hadn't been occurring for several weeks, or if there was suddenly milk or obvious filling that didn't go down when she moves about. Her stablemate (6 year old maiden) has done exactly the same thing, started getting a bit puffy around day 240, is 324 days today, and doesn't look on the verge of foaling, she just built gradually up for the last 11 weeks or so, which is a bit beyond the 6-8 weeks you are usually told to expect! I don't think we have to worry about either of ours foaling without a bag...