swollen udder on maiden mare with very little teat for foal

[oln]

i've got a maiden mare who is well overdue, the thing worrying me is her udder is so swollen the teats are tiny, even when her udder is not so swollen after a day out they are still small. the vet says leave her out all the time. how do all you very experienced breeders cope, i am worried the foal will be unable to latch on when she does foal. many thanks.

 

[Foxfolly]

Our maiden's teats were like that, she popped the foal out when we weren't expecting her to (ie. she'd shown no signs of iminent birth) by the time we got home the foal was up and suckling.... her teats had by that point completely changed shape to how they were that morning!!

I'm sure yours will do the same!!

 

[sammylou]

Personally I'd be more worried about teats that would be too big to latch onto, than too small. There shouldn't be any problems with latching on with your mare

My maiden mare last yr had small teats and a small bag, and foaled without warning, and didn't have much milk for the first few days, till we upped her food for first week, then her milk came in

This yr's maiden has a huge bag (like her dam) and her teats are filling out.

No mare is the same when it comes to foaling. Try not to worry

 

[KarynK]

Have found with testing my mares for foaling this year that by handling the teats, gently pulling them down, that they enlarge, so it might be worth doing this prior to birth to ensure there is something for the foal to latch onto.

I always make a point of handling mares udders as you never know when you will need to milk a mare and I'd rather not be dodging kicks. It also helps desensitise maidens to the sensation of a foal nudging and suckling.