Mares foaling without normal signs

[CaroleSue]

Are you having mares foal this year without all the normal warnings you normally get being present?

 

[Magic]

So far, yes. One mare, she's had six other foals, but this one was born quite early and without a full bag, much relaxation in the vulva, etc. At least I had her in a foaling stall, whew! Now a mare has been waxed up for days, but won't foal. The rest of my due-to-foal mares are going to be held under deep suspicion, lol!

 

[SSMFarm]

Same here in SC. I have had a mare in the barn that should have foaled last week. No such luck then yesterday morning mare in the pasture with NO bag foaled a filly. It took 45 minutes for her to drop milk. Filly is fine and mare in the barn is still DRIVING me crazy! I am trying to figure out posting pix and will put some pix of filly on the board!

 

[Becky]

I've had two maiden mares foal within the last few months with virtually no udder development. A first here, that's for sure! The first one produced a live filly out in the pasture in September and the second one in January was a dystocia that I just didn't catch in time. Lost that filly.

 

[Tami]

I have had 2 mares foal so far and both didn't have the normal signs. One I have had for years and she is so predictable. Every year I know when she is going to foal, but not this year. I would have guess a couple weeks yet based on her udder. The other mare was the same deal only this was my first foaling with her but still didn't have the bag I thought she should. They weren't tiny bags but they sure weren't full either.

 

[Allure Ranch]

[SIZE=12pt]Must be something in the water because I've had five of our seven that have foaled out so far that their dams went completely off the norm.[/SIZE]

 

[albahurst]

Yikes! These replies make me nervous

!!! I had better be watching my two girls like a hawk! Both have started working on small bags, but overnight one of them grew quite a bit more bag, although the bags are not full-sized yet. I did do a belly clip now today, but maybe I had better be putting on the alarms!

Peggy

Update- Clear liquid now squirts from one of the mares teets (day 303)! She is on the alarm tonight. Phewwwwww.....

 

[shelly]

OMG...I don't like the sound of these posts!!!!! I have my new mare that is just 300 days Monday, she has had a small udder for 2 weeks and has a pretty low belly. I just might do her belly clip tomorrow and separate her from the other mare she is stalled with too! My foal buzzer is ordered but who knows when it will arrive? Cameras are up but not connected to marestare yet! OMG!!!!

 

[LC Farm]

I am glad I read this post. I have a Percheron mare that is due to foal on the 23rd. She is 343 days today. Two years ago she went a week early and last year she went a day early. She has no bag what so ever and she normally is our milk cow. So I better be watching her closer now. Thank you for starting this post, I just assumed that she was not ready.

 

[weerunner]

My mare that usually waxes and gets the whitish milk before she goes foaled without waxing and her milk was still not white even after she had foaled. She turned out to have plenty of milk shortly after the birth, but I didn't believe she was going to foal for a few days yet. I had my eye on her anyways though, that's something this board teaches me. A mare will do anything possible to fool you into thinking they are not ready.

 

[Firefall]

Glad to see this post also, no one is bagging like they normally do here. I have 3 due anytime and no bags to speak of, I thought maybe they just didn't take when I thought they did. 2 are maidens and the first one (due 2 days ago) only has a bit of edema. My other mare that has foaled many times and always works on her bag for a good month, due next week has a pitiful, tiny, saggy bag. No other signs from any of the due mares either.

I was rather paranoid and quizzed my hay guy the other day about fescue but nothing has been changed there and have never had a fescue problem before.

I have one mare that foaled, she also went over her due date but had a bag, just not huge like I normally see.

What a weird year, huh????????? I figure its going to be a sneak attack so I'm watching them all closely..........

 

[Joanne]

Several years ago we started describing our mares udders using bra cup sizes.

Hey, it works for us.

I have two mares in the barn now that are at or over 330 days. They have usually foaled by now. One I noted had "A" cups when she foaled and she has thin colostrum that I can easily express, but soft udders !

The second mare has foaled everywhere from 318-363, twice with NO UDDERS. She bagged up after foaling. Twice during the day, once an hour after letting her out of her stall (fortunately my husband was there to catch her foal).

Predictable and mares are two words that do not go together here.