Mare ready to foal?

[Lena1]

Hi Cassie, here's my email address [email protected]

I will be in Penrith on Friday....my family all live there.

Email me your number if you like & I'll give you a call

Here is my FB page too: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/lailaiminiaturehorses

Cheers

Karen

 

[cassie]

Karen thank you so much it would be great!! I would love to meet you and for you to have a look at my Suzie munchkin

will email you now thanks.

 

[supaspot]

although your mare doesnt look that close to foaling in those pics dont get too relaxed , they can fool you , I was talking to karina and we were watching her mare slaney on camera , I said she looked uncomfortable and karina agreed and said

"I am hopful she will foal but she could keep me waiting till tomorrow" I said "she looks like she will go tonight" , we both knew she was getting close but wasnt sure how close ...... literally 5 minutes later she was in full labour !!! and 5 minutes after that her beautiful colt entered the world

:yeah

all those signs do happen and they are great indicators but mares are so sneaky and can wait until you turn your back just for a minute ....lol

 

[cassie]

thanks for the reminder

I am constantly watching her lol even tho my Dad says I don't need to lol I'm now looking for the little signs like how tonight I noticed the slight relaxation of the rear... and b4 I was watching her on the camera and she looked really restless swishing her tail (which she never does) and walking round her stall... then she lay down slowly dropped to her lying on her side... lay there for prob 2 minutes then sat back up again... and now (just looked at the cam) she is lying back down on her side again... she is definitely more restless tonight

will send some pics prob thursday of how she is going...

Thanks for all the help

 

[cassie]

what do we think? am I seeing things or has her vulva lengthened? fingers crossed... don't think she has dropped anymore in the tummy...

and some cute pics that I took of her today

 

[Eagle]

Do you have any pics of her hooha before, it would help to see her progress. I have an older mare that has a saggy hooha always (poor girl

)

This is a before pic of one of my younger mares



This is the day of foaling

 

[cassie]

this is from two days ago...

this was from the 29/4/11

have some more but can't get them on here yet... lol

 

[cassie]

haha she's spotty how cute!! lol Suzie is 7 yrs old and has had two foals before this one (none of them with me...) the pics I took today are the most relaxed I have seen... She is usually pretty tight

 

[cassie]

question... is it normal for this to happen? I looked through my pics that I had taken of Suzie from about 2 months ago... she looked bigger back then, compared to how big she looks now... is this normal? I can still feel the baby moving round but I just wanted to check... do mares do this often?

this pic was taken 1st May...

then when you look at yesterdays pic...

is this all normal?

Thanks everyone

 

[anyssapark]

Hi Cassie

Im in NSW too, in the Hunter Valley

Yes, its normal for your mare to look smaller some days and change shape. This is just the foal changing position. What you may find, (but, as with all things with mares, some signs dont show up) is she will get narrower when looking from the back (which you've said has happened) and her belly will drop giving her a V shape when the foal is in "diving position" and ready to be born.

The last weeks of pregnancy the mares are generally a bit uncomfortable, and can find it hard to sleep flat out, like your mare has been showing. I have found a bit of a trend with mine, that they rarely lay flat out the night/day they are going to foal.

A sudden big change in behaviour, udder or appearance is generally a pretty good indication that you are getting close. Can you get any photos of her udder?

 

[cassie]

Hi,

how cool I love the Hunter Valley!! beautiful piece of country

Thank you I was getting a bit worried... bout her shape but I have noticed that some days n nights she looks huge then others she hardly looks preggas at all lol. thats good to know about the lying down thing thank you

she lies down quite a bit ( I know the alarm always goes off lol)

I have some photos of her udder... she doesn't have much milk yet... but because she is soooo fluffy (my little teddy bear hehe)

the pics don't really tell anything lol

I was able to get a little bit of clear sticky liquid the other night but haven't been able to get anything since then...

Looking at the pics how long do you think she has to go? ( I keep asking this cos I don't want to miss the birth and if you read some of the above posts she HAS to have it before July 1!! lol)

Thanks for your help... I can try and put some photos of her udder on here

Cheers

Cassie

 

[anyssapark]

Its hard to tell Cassie. Id say there might be a few weeks left, but things can change VERY rapidly. Within hours of her foaling, or be slow and steadily progress toward foaling. Some mares show ALL the signs, while some will show just a few, and some none and they sneak those babies out on us!

The best advise is just hang in there, keep observing and watching and noting changes. It cant stay in there forever! You shouldnt be waiting too much longer

Do you watch marestare? Might be a good idea to watch a few mares on there to see the behaviour and looks of some of the mares, and read the posts from the owners about signs the mares are showing etc. Its a good learning place to see how much each mare varies and how a text book foaling should go.

 

[cassie]

Thanks

I'm sure I'm driving everyone crazy with me watching my mare hehe

I have watched a couple... watching Dreamer and sugar at the moment yeah its been really really good hope they foal soon

I'll keep an eye on her and let you guys know of any changes

Thanks

again

Cassie

 

[supaspot]

buy some milk testing strips , they are very accurate

 

[cassie]

I will, she doesn't have heaps of milk down yet... but I'm going to buy some anyway yesterday and today for the first time she hasn't wanted me touching her udder and usually she is fine... she has been having more milk (udder seems fuller) in the morning then less in the night so I might try and get some out

Thanks

 

[cassie]

ok more pics taken today

worked out the best way of taking them of her behind... many scratches on the back... lift the tail and click!! hehe I'm such an evil owner lol

I have taken some of her udder today... u can't see much as she is such a fluffy bear atm but I have included some I took quite a while back hopefully we can see some changes

Can't get milk strips anywhere!! grr oh well we keep on looking!

 

[cassie]

Suzie was really cranky at me last night!! (she is the sweetest mare and loves everyone) but last night and this morning she was putting her ears back... wasn't even letting me feel the baby definitley not letting me check her udder...n was trying to kick me when I did check her udder... is this normal as she gets closer? I'm just a bit worried...??

thanks for all your help everyone it has been great you all have so much knowledge to offer so thanks again!!

 

[anyssapark]

Yes, its normal for her to get a bit cranky.

She needs to do some serious udder filling before she is ready. Looks like there isnt much going on there at all. Some mares foal with a small udder, but id want quite a bit of filling before she foals. This can happen very quickly, or take its time.

 

[cassie]

ok thankyou

I guess I'm just hoping for every little sign to mean she is getting closer... would have loved her to have it this long weekend, not going to happen though I don't think...

thanks again for your help. will wait till I have some real changes to announce before I bother you all again.

you have been great help!!

 

[Eagle]

As mentioned clipping the belly and inside of the back legs makes it easier and cleaner for the foal to feed.

It is quite normal for mares to have mood swings towards the end ( I know I sure did lol)

I bought my milk testing strips online from Foal-Time and they arrived very fast. They were also easy and very accurate.

Hang in there as she will foal soon

Renee