discharge from vulva

[Winchester Farms]

is the the normal discharge from the vulva when foaling is near? she started this yesterday morning. sorry if i am driving you all nuts with all this!! thanks!!

 

[Margaret]

She does not look relaxed enough to be ready IMO... Is that discharge red?

 

[bluerogue]

I honestly don't know, as none of my mares have ever done that. It does not look normal to me, however. My advice would be to call your vet. That looks weird enough that if she were mine, I would be taking her to the vet really quick. Other than that, can't really tell you anything. I've never seen that before. She does not look like she's ready to foal, though. No big bag, her vulva appears very tight, and her belly doesn't look as big as my mares do when they foal. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

 

[Winchester Farms]

its like a yellowish reddish color, i only see it dried up. my mare did this before when she was pregnant, but i cant remember how long before she birthed this discharge appeared. ive been reading that it may be the mucous plug???

 

[bluerogue]

Yes, that is a possibility. Can you call your vet and ask? Mine doesn't have a problem if I call and ask questions. They are pretty cool about it. This would be one I would be calling over! That would freak me out! And then my vet would probably hang up the phone and laugh at me. But that's okay, I like them anyways. Awesome people. Anyway, maybe Dr Pam or one of the more experienced breeders can answer your question. I've never seen a mucus plug, and I've only foaled out three mares so far. So I'm not the most experienced person on here. Does she act like she's uncomfortable, or in pain at all?

 

[kaykay]

if you are concerned please call the vet. It looks like dried urine to me which can be reddish depending on what shes eating. in that case it would be no problem but its not really clear in the pic. Also on black skin it changes urine color

 

[Winchester Farms]

got this from online from the Theresa Jones: Foaling Advice:

"A normal discharge in a late term mare is expulsion of the mucous plug. The plug can expel all at once or over several days. It usually looks mucousy, whitish, and is sometimes blood tinged. A mare will usually foal within 3-4 days of expelling the plug, but it isn't abnormal or unusual for her to go another ten days or more. It's also normal for a mare to have a small amount of bloody discharge in the last few days before delivery"

like i said, ive seen this before with my mare a couple years ago, i just cant remember how soon after i saw it that she gave birth.

 

[Margaret]

Thanks Winchester!.. I truly learn something new here every day.. My dark skinned mare never got the discharge, but she sure was stretched out lots more than yours when she foaled. She must be carrying high too, so maybe she will drop a little more before it happens. Hope all goes well for you..

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

Is this a maiden jenny?

Vulva looks tight, not relaxed at all to me, but I have no clue with donkies. Could be a drip of urine.... not to be gross, touch it, is it thin? (thinking a dribble of urine( sometimes it looks reddish yellow... or red and sticky like blood?

Hard to tell, even though its a good picture.

Hey Sarah, is your foaling kit ready there?

Wishing you all the best of luck, I can't wait to see this baby!!!