do I need to start foal watch tonight?

mynutmeg

mynutmeg

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Maidan mare who has consistently milk tested at ph 8. Tonight shes dropped to 7, calcium is about 300 and has steadily climbed over the last 3-4 days.
Shes got a decent bag but not conpletely full.

Im thinking that we need to start foal watch tonight but wanted a few more experienced opinions. We're on a livery yard so not the simplest :D
 
mynutmeg said:
Maidan mare who has consistently milk tested at ph 8. Tonight shes dropped to 7, calcium is about 300 and has steadily climbed over the last 3-4 days.
Shes got a decent bag but not conpletely full.

Im thinking that we need to start foal watch tonight but wanted a few more experienced opinions. We're on a livery yard so not the simplest :D
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If she were one of my mares I personally wouldn't be on foal watch tonight and I wouldn't expect her to foal for another 2 or 3 days as her calcium is still not high enough for me to be convinced she'd foal so soon as tonight. They have to be at 6.2ph or lower and to be in the 500-800 calcium range (depending on the mare) before you can slot them into the 'will foal within 24 hours' bracket. I have foaled my mares numerous times so I have history with them (which is so valuable!). If a maiden mare of mine was reading these numbers I would check ALL other signs and then decide whether or not to. I would also check readings this evening and again later on before going to bed just to see what speed she is changing at.

However she is not mine, therefore you should do what you feel comfortable doing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going on foal watch too soon ... too many people go on it too late lol!
 
Yes please :) I'm in and out though so may be a bit slow at getting back to you and I can't see the piccies on my phone very well so if you post I'll zip off back up to the house and check them out on my laptop :)
 
mynutmeg said:
Im thinking that we need to start foal watch tonight but wanted a few more experienced opinions.
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Now I'm an absolute expert!! Yesterday, I got a couple of my new week-end staff in and showed them - in detail - all the signs they needed to be looking for to check if a mare was imminent! And told them that THIS mare had at LEAST 48 hours to go.

Guess what? i was at LEAST 36 hours out! :rolleyes:

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Go with your gut feeling!
 
JG - that is just cute :-)

This is her on April 29th
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This is tonight
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April 29th
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Tonight
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April 21st
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Tonight
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Liquid coming out has gone pale/cloudy coloured and she is so dopey / chilled out and appetite is off a bit, she's eating but much more slowly than normal. Poop is pretty loose and she's all swollen up in her vulva as well as it being really floppy.

My current plan is to head back up in a couple of hours and re-test and see what she's like then. If ph hasn't changed then am planning to come back home but if ph or calcium have changed at all then will stay up and keep watch. I don't honestly think it will be tonight but within the next few days :D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Have been back tonight and ph hasnt changed. Calcium has jumped to about 400 or so. Milk doesnt really taste of anything. She is completely chilled and calm. No sweating or anything so dont think its going to be tonight. Guessing tomorrow but will retest in the morning.
 
Oh don't you just love those maidens who won't play by the rules lol. If it weren't for you milk testing your mare and you were just going by all her other signs, she looks like she still has weeks to go before foaling.

My two mares that are due before end of play tomorrow are more than ready to drop. My farm has been quite busy today with lots of people coming up to look at the new additions so I think they've been putting these two mares off a little. It's quiet now though so hopefully they'll both go before dark. It'll be light here for another 2-3 hours. One is a maiden and her bag is the size of a house! :D
 
Mm, although looking at her tonight she looks like she's dropped a bit but nowhere near as much as I'd expect.
Going from milk I expect tomorrow, maybe the day after

She was way to chilled out when we were up about 10:30-11 this evening. But shes def got less appetite. Has eaten all her dinner but took ages to do it and normally she is very greedy.

Good luck with yours and shall let you know tomorrow mornings results :-)
 
My 'daytime-foaler' mare foaled tonight at 8pm while it was still sunny and bright :) She's such a funny mare; she never foals in the dark lol! The other one due to foal tonight/tomorrow is a maiden so I don't know whether she will foal in the middle of the night or not. None of mine have ever foaled through the night before so will be interesting to see when she goes. It would be nice if she foaled before I toddle on upstairs.

Looking forward to hearing your readings tomorrow :) Are you starting to get excited? :)
 
I agree with s feather looking at the latest udder pic she doesnt look close, my shetland mare is about 310 at the most and her udder is a little bigger than your girl. Having said that the last mare i foaled was a maiden and she didnt fill properly until 2 days before she foaled. She fully bagged up, waxed,dripped and foaled in 48 hours, we were on day 359 though. I didnt milk test right at the end as all those other signs were there as well as change in behaviour so i was watching closely. She foaled at midnight. As your milk test is suggesting she is getting near, just keep doing as your are doing, as my girl proved changes can happen very quickly in maidens. I plan to start milk tests this weekend, i am very excited about this foal , ad it will be my last, and i am determined not to miss its birth. Camera is on, milk strips ready, cant wait!!!!
 
This is my girl this morning approx 310 days





I will get some more later when i have more time. All signs are there exept for bursting bag. She has a puffy vulva at times and is bum pressing a lot as well as licking and yawning. Fluid is still thin and pale yellow. You can really see how relaxed her bottom is in that pic, it feels like jelly too. I am hoping she will foal before the end of this month as i have lots of time off work, but best plans and all that!!!
 
This is my little Maddie she is By Wells Torr (Wells Vijay, Wells Tara) out of Tallwrynisaff Black Beauty (Pickering Gors Tobias, Talwrn Tammy) Maddie is in foal to Hose Millet. This will be her second foal, but first with me. She had a colt first time round.
 
mynutmeg said:
Ph is still 7. Calcium is about 400 this morning
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Seems like she's getting there slowly :) Do you have a piccy of her vulva?

My maiden foaled very early this morning and that's all of my girls done for this season. I'm very pleased with my 2013 foals and I'm thankful all went well with no hiccups :)
 
We're going to stay at the yard tonight as her ph has dropped below 7, its jot quite at 6 yet but is def paler than 7. Also her milk has gone kinda cloudy and was quite sticky. Not proper colostrum yet I dont think tho. Calciums around 400 still hut loads more milk there tonight ans her vulva has slackened off more.

Not sure if shes going to go tonight or if us being here might disturb her a bit but if nothing else it lets her get used to us being on the yard
 
She may not go tonight (mine wouldn't on those readings) but better to be there than not just in case. I can be much more relaxed about it as mine go on foalcam and my house is just a matter of steps away from their foaling boxes. Looking forward to seeing the foal in the end though :)
 
We've got a camera set up and are camped out in the next door stable. Sister and I are taking turns as being awake to watch her - if figure even 30 min checks she'll pop it out inbetween. Its amazing how comfy you can make a horses bed with some rugs and a sleeping bag :D
If nothing we're able to become aqauinted with her night time habits
 
Mynutmeg... I have nothing useful to say other than if she doesn't get a move on give me your address and ill come squeeze the bloody foal out for you... I'm very good with squeezing a tube of toothpaste ;)

Janet George... Can I come play with your foal? Absolutely adorable! Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against human babies, but foals, puppies and kittens... They are what get me clucking like a broody hen! Lovely little foal JG
 
Queenbee said:
Mynutmeg... I have nothing useful to say other than if she doesn't get a move on give me your address and ill come squeeze the bloody foal out for you... I'm very good with squeezing a tube of toothpaste ;)
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Please do - we've been discussing what bribes would work, we came up with either mints hung off tail to encourage foal (mare loves mints) or whether to bribe mare with a years supply of apples and mints in one go (with vet on standby for resulting colic:p:p)

Technically she isn't acutally due till next week but we milk tested again this morning (as no sprog was apparent) and the ph paper didn't really change colour at all and calcium is around 400 odd still.
The milk coming out is cloudy and sticky!. Doesn't taste sweet tho, not yet.
Her back legs have started filling and her udder is huge although there is still a crease in the middle, really easy to milk now.

She can just hurry up and pop tonight as am too knackered to do this for long - am so glad I'm off work!
 
We're on foal watch too :) camera in stable which is 60m from house. I'm thinking sleep on sofa checking camera every hour so as not to drive OH round the bend!! We're day 340 today, full bag, foal dropped, clear liquid from teats, mare very quiet....soo excited!:D
 
Well still no foal grrrr. Queenbee - fancy a trip to cumbria? Pursuade the little monster to come out :p

On a good (I think note
 
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On a good (I think) note her behaviour last night was totally different from previous night. First night she lay down loads, slept loads etc. Last night the first half she was really restless to the point we thought she might be in the first stage then she settled down and simply stood at the stable door for the second half of the night
Milk test this morning is prob 500 or calcium ( my strips dont seem terribly accruate at higher levels) and the litmus paper didnt really change colour at all for ph so def below 7.
 
Queenbee said:
Janet George... Can I come play with your foal? Absolutely adorable! Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against human babies, but foals, puppies and kittens... They are what get me clucking like a broody hen! Lovely little foal JG
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You like living dangerously, do you Queenbee??:D She may LOOK adorable but she is an 'orribly opinionated little MONSTER! Leading her to turnout is back-breaking - she bucks all the way there (and all the way back!) And to avoid being caught, he'll shoot past you and present both barrells! She's running Mum ragged too!
 
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