Preparing for Successful Foaling

That time of year is coming! Soon you will be hearing the pitter patter of little hooves! Are you ready? Is your mare ready? Believe it or not she is probably more ready than you are. Nature has a great way of taking care of its self no matter what we do, but it’s always good to be prepared! Dr. G. Marvin Beeman, DVM of Littleton, Colorado, says that the gestation period for a mare is 320 to 365 days, with 340 days accepted as the average. So keeping proper records of breeding times is important and part of helping you to be prepared. You will have helped her along the way by seeing that she had proper nutrition, increasing her feed in the last 90 days, but still kept her weight gain to a minimum as overweight mares can have trouble foaling. You have made sure to follow the vaccination schedule prescribed by your vet, had her teeth checked, and have been getting her exercise. Moderate, consistent exercise can help avoid problems with ventral edema, the collection of edema (fluids) from the udder forward, sometimes as far as the front legs. As your mare gets closer to foaling, she will begin to have physical changes that you can use as your guide to her progress. At about 3 – 6 weeks before foaling, the mare will start to develop her udder, and 3-4 weeks before foaling the muscles and ligaments in her pelvic area will start to loosen, making way for the passage of the baby. This can be especially noted around the tail head about 12 – 24 hours prior to foaling. The vulva and vulvar opening swell and increase 2-3 times in size during this last 12 – 24 hours as well. There may also be a small straw-colored, semi-hard droplet discharge on the udder, not to be confused with waxing. What is Waxing? Waxing is the process in which a variable-sized, horn-colored waxy substance forms at the end of each teat. While not every mare waxes, most do and it most often occurs 24 to 48 hours before foaling.. The waxy substance remains for 12 to 24 hours, then softens and falls away in a viscous stringy form. Then milk (colostrum) begins to drip from the teats. If your mare starts dripping colostrum early you will need to consult your veterinarian about the possibility of supplemental colostrum at the time of foaling. Do you know the stages of foaling? 1) The preparatory phase – often looks similar to colic. Mares will be restless, nervous, uncomfortable, paw the ground, look at her side and even kick at her abdomen. She will often break into a sweat on her flanks and neck and occasionally her entire body. This stage may last from one to four hours. This is the time to wrap her tail and clean her, and separate her from other horses. 2) Actual labor – The water will break, and then you should see another sac with the front foot in it, closely followed by the second front foot, soles pointing down. If you don’t see this, call your vet. Once the foal starts coming, the mare will have three to five strong expulsive efforts, followed by 2 to 3 minutes of rest. A foal stays on its back until the actual foaling process begins. Then, during labor, the foal's body twists so that the forelegs and head turn over as the foal advances up and out of the mare's body. The back legs and rump usually stay in and upside-down position until the foal is actually being delivered. This helps the foal to maneuver up and over the pelvic bone shelf. Particular effort is required for the foal's shoulders and hips to clear. Normally, all of this should not take more than 45 minutes after the water bag breaks. If it takes longer consult your veterinarian. It is always a good idea to remind yourself of the foaling process in advance, just incase your vet can’t make it right away to your emergency. There are many step by step guides that give details as to how to pull when, but all of them have the same thing  recommendation - never pull mechanically, always use your own pulling power and pull only when the mare is straining to push. Once the foal is mostly out, everything is good and the foal is breathing well, leave the pair alone. This may be a time for the mare to catch her breath, and it is definitely time when the umbilical cord is still allowing blood to flow to the foal. Do not break the umbilical cord! The cord should break on it’s own. Only break or cut it at the direction of your veterinarian. 90% of the time it will break on it’s own. As soon as it does break you need to dip it into the naval dip. An unprotected naval is a gateway for infection from the outside surroundings. 3) Expulsion of the fetal membranes - Most of the time, a mare will "clean" (shed the afterbirth) within 30 minutes. If she hasn't done so within 3 hours, call your veterinarian. The condition of those membranes also indicates any presence of disease, infection, or edema, which will help determine if the mare should be bred back on her foal heat.  The membranes should be examined (by you or your vet) and made sure to be whole. The expelled membranes (afterbirth) will look very much like a pair of pajama bottoms with the feet in them. If you are unsure what to look for have your vet check the membrane. Do you have your foaling stall ready? Do you need a foaling stall? Whether you prefer a clean pasture or foaling stall is personal preference. Both work great, but weather can be a determining factor, and you may want to have both ready. The things both choices should have in common are that they be clean and free of obstacles that might harm the foal as it is trying to stand and walk, and preferably the mare will be by herself. If you choose to pasture foal, make sure the fencing is such that the foal is contained and the mare will not be harmed if she were to lay down close to it and inadvertently put her legs through it.  The foaling stall should be clean, draft free, dim lighting is suggested, bedded with straw to reduce dust for those little lungs. If you don’t have a way of dimming the lights, start leaving the lights on a week or so before the due date. This gives the mare time to get used to the light. Once the foal is on the ground, the mare should stand and you need to leave the stall. This is their time to get aquainted. The nuzzling and licking stimulates the foal to get up and activates the sucking reflex. When trying to get up they will stumble and fall, probably more than once. But you need to leave them alone. This is why it is so important to make sure the foaling area is clear of obstacles that can hurt the foal. Have you got your foaling kit ready? What’s a foaling kit? A foaling kit is a collection of things that you might need to help with the foaling of your mare. Placing everything in a box, bag, container of some sort to make it easier to take to the stall, and making sure it’s all together where you need it. Here are a few items for a foaling kit as suggested by Cherry Hill.  Just like most things, it can be tailored to fit your specific needs. Vet's phone  number(s) Cell phone - if no phone in barn – having a cell phone can combine a number of these items. Camera (I like my digital camera phone as it takes great pictures WITHOUT a flash so as not to disturb mare and foal and I can post them or send them out to announce the arrival!) Flashlight and fresh batteries Clock or watch to keep track of intervals Notebook and pen to take notes of events – make notes of when the stages take place so if you have to answer questions to your vet, you have the answers and don’t have to think about it in a possibly stressful time. Also they may be a good reference for next year. Book - The Complete  Book of Foaling by Dr. Karen Hayes, DVM Lots of clean towels (various sizes) – hopefully you won’t need these as it is the mom’s job (and is part of the bonding) to clean the foal, but it’s good to be prepared and with some new mom’s they don’t know their job and sometimes the weather can play a factor. If it is especially cold you may want to dry the baby faster to avoid stress. Ivory or other mild liquid soap – used to clean mares hind quarters and bag – make sure to rinse with warm water Iodine/Nolvasan (chlorhexidine) navel dip and container to dip navel in (I use a syringe case) – ask your vet their preference String/scissors/knife – enough string to use for tying the umbilical cord if necessary and to tie up the afterbirth before it is discharged and the scissors or knife to cut the string or break the placental sac Tail wrap – to be put on the mare in advance of the birth and helps to keep her clean. You may want to use a disposable wrap such as Vetwrap so you can just throw it away after the foaling. Enema – warmed if possible, even if it’s just by sticking it in your pocket. The enema ensures the passing the foal’s first feces, called the meconium Ky jelly – use on the enema applicator to ensure you don’t harm the foal’s delicate bowels Obstetrical sleeves / sterile gloves Clean buckets – good for collecting dirty towels or getting clean water in Muck bucket and/or garbage bag for the afterbirth - feed bags can work for this too, I like something disposable so you can just pitch the whole thing in the trash. Hopefully this collection of reminders about the birth process and the different stages, and the foaling kit list will help make your foaling experience a good experience and happy memory. It basically comes to like most things in life, you need to be prepared. Having a good vet, and discussing with the vet what you will do in case of an emergency will be the best way of being prepared. Knowing your limitations is probably the best way to help your mare. When in doubt call your vet.

Anne Wicke, REINS Volunteer, Sampson County