HELP LABOUR SIGNS! LOOKS LIKE SHE'S FOALING...

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Bens_Mum

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Well after spending days wondering if she is or isn't in foal it looks like we are all go.
She woke me at 4am wanting to go out banging door for England. She hasn't eaten as well as usual for last 2 days.
Turned out was fine eating then waits at gate pacing for the last 3 hours although loads of food water, banging gate not happy. Checked for flies etc nothing obvious bothering.
Wants to be with me and keeps licking my arms etc not normal unfortunately! Flanks and belly seem to be contracting so there is like a dent in flanks at the side. Belly pulsating and seems to be a bit thinner at the front than has been.
Rear end seems little elongated but not far from normal possible slight softening at back but hard to tell as keeps resting back legs, cant seem to get comfortable, no milk as yet. She wanted to really come in badly so i've brought her in and she seems a little more settled and eating a little. No waters have broken and she keeps lifting her tail from time to time. She has been pooing as normal and not noticed a huge amount of wee.
As we still haven't had this confirmed by vet I was slightly affraid of colic so wondered if anyone can re-assure me or advise whats best to do....? PLEASE!

A x
 
Hi,
My advice would be to call your vet immediately. Please don't leave anything to chance - I was unlucky and missed my mare foaling, her filly didn't make it and she's now fostering an orphan foal.
Good luck.
 
Just been out and she seems much quieter and calmer now and is eating. Do you think she knows its a Sunday call out charge?!
 
wrote in new lounge, sounds like she is in labour
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She could well be have Braxton Hicks like contractions. I knew a mare who was throwing herself on the floor because the foal was lying on a nerve. She went another 3 mths!! I have to say the first pics you posted looked like she was in foal, but the next from the front didn't.Usually the mare is quite pronounced sideways and usually a bit lopsided, if that makes sense. If you get your arm under her and put your hand flat on her tummy, you should feel the foal moving about. I'm sure you've called the vet for advice, but if your mare is in foal, I would be expecting her to be showing some signs of bagging up. Best of luck and let us all know what happens.
 
Spoken to vet finally and he says like daisy chain no milk no foal coming straight away although udder is looking a little fuller than has been. She isn't having contractions any more although pooing an awful lot and seems more settled although totally huge and bump is moving around quite a bit. She has been quite divaish demanding treats qnd banging the stable door so can't be feeling too bad and isn't looking at the bump so much. Won't be much sleep tonight I don't think but she seems happy so thats the main thing! Thanks for all the best wishes hopefuly something will happen soon....
 
I'll probably be proved wrong but when your vet came and examined her and said he thought he could feel something but it was quite far forward, this to me would suggest she isn't close to foaling if she is pregnant because if she was he should have been able to feel the foal easily, to me it would suggest you are expecting a very late foal perhaps. Obviously I am only going on what has been written on the forum, when I bought a mare that already turned out to be pregnancy the vet examined her in April and he told me to expect the foal late August and it was born first week of September (not bad for a manual exam, when you do not knowing when the conception was... lol)
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You'll probably post a she has foaled thread now lol
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I'm so excited about tihs thread! I've always wanted a surprise foalie but no mare has ever obliged me...keep us informed!
 
I've had a mare do this a few weeks before foaling, she's just kidding you on!

Ditto what everyone else said about milk, once you've got milk you'll have a foal soon. Not to be confused with wax, which you'll get before she's in milk.
 
You will probably know when foaling is imminent. she might go a bit quiet, dig around in her bed instead of eating - not really be interested in you, just in getting comfortable. They are all a little bit different but if there is no sign at all of milk you may have at least a few more days to go
 
Elderly neighbours of ours graze their sons Sec D barren mares as he has a stallion at home. One of these mares was huge last summer but he was convinced she wasn't in foal as hadn't been with the stallion for a good 12 months. Towards the end of September last year this mare spent most of the day getting up and down and looking at her flanks. I had a look at her and she had no bag and no other signs of foaling, she passed droppings fine. She settled down the next day and showed no other signs, then when they got up on the morning of October 22nd there was a filly foal in the field with the mare! The point of this slightly rambling story is that I think that mare was probably having some sort of early pains, which settle down again, and that they can pop them out with very few clues ! Not sure if that will be a comfort to you or not Bens-Mum
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not all mares have much of an udder development. My first mare to foal this year had a slightly enlarged udder, but nothing to write home about and certainly not looking like she was imminent. She did not slacken off at all, no wax, no milk but out he came anyway. Second one did everything she was meant to do.

Good luck, I would stay with her as much as you can - if it was me I would call a vet (not saying you should though) or get someone who has foaled down a lot - I myself have not and would not have a clue when things were wrong and what to do...so need someone experienced - just incase
you have had some fab advice though, definitely absorb all of those...look forward to pics
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Thank you again everyone! The patient is looking very chilled now and scoffing so I think like breeze_mum she had some early pains then settled down again. She is still extremely soppy which is nice and getting rather annoyed (as is OH) with me popping out ever ten mins and disturbing her. Vet thinks anytime, he thought I called to tell him she had had it- wish he had mentioned this when was here Thurs!! Maybe she will beat the blood test after all. I can't believe she can get much bigger its almost by the hour...! Vet was very nice and gave me mobile which I will be calling when we finally get some real action!
 
good to hear she's settled down a bit. i would be very very suprised if she doesn't have a bit of an udder and wax/milk first, the foal needs milk within a few hours of birth so that really needs to be there... but more experienced people than me might have had mares foal with no udder/wax/milk first.
don't drive yourself nuts, try to get someone to share foalwatch with you!
very best of luck to you and Blossom!
 
I never saw any movement in my mares belly. And she never went off her food or seemed to do anything like pace around. I never noticed any change in her droppings either so its very true that they are all different. One thing though that she did do was the night before foaling she started to drip milk from her enlarged udders (no waxing mind). Once this occurred my daughter and I increased our 2 hourly checks to an all night vigil outside her stable and do you know what she did, foaled in the field at 2.30 in the afternoon on the next day, and my darling husband who only ever did the day checks saw the flipping lot and myself and my daughter who had been checking every 2 hours for a fortnight missed everything except the placenta being expelled
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This morning she seems very relaxed and as normal! There is a jelly like area either side of the tail extending to about 10cm down from the top of the tail. Have taken some new pics as I think that she is smaller than yesterday...? Still no milk but doesn't like belly touched now.

http://s725.photobucket.com/albums/ww256/peanutsmum_2009/Bump/

Any ideas/opinions as ever much appreciated as I think we are slowly loosing objectivity hence the tons of pics!

A x
 
Ps. Can't seem to get a good pic as in reality she looks twice the size but thought it would give an idea of shape..
 
Well she could be like my stubborn mare who has now been dripping/running milk for 4 WEEKS!!!!!! and still no bloomin baby...she has even lost her mucus plus which we witnessed a week ago Sat....

I love it when people on here say as soon as you have milk, baby is on it's way.....where is mine then?? lol
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I know!! I just want something to happen either way its the waiting thats the killer. Mine is loving all the fuss aswell it took 30 mins to take the pics cause she keeps following me round like a lost soul!
 
Here's a pic of one of my mares a few weeks before she foaled... (I have loads of pics of this mare as she always sticks out much further one side than she does the other lol)

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I was tempted at the time I took this pic to post a joking is she pregnant thread but decided that not everyone appreciates my sense of humour!
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OMG!! Thats what Blossom looked like yesterday but my pics never seem to show it very well. Being black doesn't seem to help. We have not lost the extreme shape a little whatever that may mean. Yesterday she was totally bulging and today seems less so...
 
I only know from books but I think they look smaller as the foal moves up into birthing posittion...I'm so excited!!
 
Ooh..how exciting/frustrating for you!! I keep checking everyday to see what's happening....she certainly seems to be showing all the signs doesn't she?

My mare has had two foals....the first time no-one knew she was in foal as her owners hadn't had her all that long, so no-one really knew when to expect the baby to arrive & she showed no signs at all apart from her vulva looking quite loose & gaping the night before. She didn't wax up, bag up, run milk, slacken off or do anything out of the ordinary...they just had to wait it out!
With this one she bagged up a little but not much, didn't really slacken off too noticeably & waxed up 12 hours before delivery. She ran milk from about 12:00 to foaling at 23:00 the same day, she also once again showed quite a loose & gaping vulva though.

They're all different for sure!!

Good luck

Sue
 
Just phoned Vet, change in shape could mean she is iminent although still no milk to be seen. Been told to take away little friend incase she interferes with bonding should she foal in the field so need to go and catch the slippery little one! Maybe it won't be long now....
 
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