What is the LONGEST your mare

[nnadams]

I have a mare who has had a very full bag of yellow milk for well over a week now. She has been testing 500 (pool strips) in calcium and has stayed 7.2 in pH for the last 3 nights as well. 4 nights ago she tested 6.8 in pH, I watched her all night, and then she went back to 7.2 the next night. I am just wondering how long this could go on?? Any comments on your experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Joanne]

At our ranch within 24 hours of a mare being rock hard and waxed they have been dripping milk if they have not yet foaled.

We have never had them not dripping milk or had them go a week rock hard.

If they give us good signs we will have thick, viscous colostrum just before they foal; with or without wax.

I hope this is of help to you.

 

[nnadams]

Thank you Joanne for your response. My mares bag could not be any fuller, but I would say her yellow colored milk is not very thick. It is more watery in consistency. So maybe she still has some time before foaling. I will keep checking her milk every evening.

 

[CaroleSue]

Do you know how many days she is in foal? Is she a maiden?

 

[Margaret]

I had a maiden mare that had full milk bags for at least a month and a half before she foaled.

They were so full,- that they buldged out her back side.

She had me almost believing that she slipped in a breeding while I was'nt looking, a month eariler.

Since she was a maiden mare I think she was just a bit off on her initial timing,

as today she bags up normally now when she gets near foaling time. ..

 

[nnadams]

No, she is not a maiden. She is almost 14 years old and this will be her first foal for us. I do not know how many days she is in foal because I thought she got bred in August '07 when we first got her, but that one obviously did not take. I put her in a pasture with the stallion the following spring (March '08) thinking she was already several months pregnant

. When she did not foal in July when I thought she should, I did a WeeFoal preg test on her the end of July that came back positive. So, she got bred sometime this past Spring although I never saw her come back into heat and the stallion never acted interested in her after the initial breeding.

 

[Allure Ranch]

[SIZE=12pt]Last season we had a mare that went two weeks. I utilize the test strips also and she should have foaled within the 24 hour period. [/SIZE]

However, I spent two weeks watching her non-stop thinking she would foal at any minute. Needless to say then began to conclude that something was possibly wrong. But low and behold nothing was wrong she just wasn't ready yet.

She had a massive bag and typicall drips every year and last year wasn't any different aside from the fact that I had to follow her around in the stall for a two week period with a container collecting the colostrum/milk so I could give it to the foal.

Just have patience and keep a watchful eye on her NON-STOP.

 

[nnadams]

I check her milk every evening, and her pH seems to flucuate. Her calcium last night went up over the 500 but probably a little lower than 1000. Her pH was still relatively high between 6.8 & 7.2. Since she has not foaled yet, I wish I had slept more the last week and a half. I am starting to go delirious!

 

[~Lisa~]

I have had mares with very full bags for over a week. When testing I have found that pH levels 6.4 and under is the magic number. I think it is much more accurate then testing for calcium.

I know how hard the waiting is