The Importance of Foal Watch

 For breeders aiming for a January foaling date, your wait is almost over!  However, after eleven long months, it's important to remain vigilant as the finish line approaches.  Before becoming an Extension agent, I worked as a vet tech for an equine vet in Texas.  One of the worst calls we answered while I was working there was a weekend emergency call from a non-client.  The horse owners had purchased a pregnant mare a few months prior but had not established a relationship with any of the vets in the area.  The mare had gone into labor overnight and due to the large size of the foal and other presentation issues, the foal did not survive.  In order to save the mare, the vet and I had to remove the deceased foal from the exhausted mare, whose labor had stalled hours prior.  The worst part about the situation was knowing that if the owners had been on foal watch and conducted night checks, there was a strong possibility we could have saved both mare and foal.  

If you are a new breeder, I encourage you to take foal watch seriously, and if you are an experienced breeder, remember to never get complacent.  Horses don't read text books, so even if you think you've calculated your foaling date perfectly, there can be surprises.  While 330 days (11 months) is the average gestation length, the range can be anywhere from 320-380 days.  With such a wide range, it's important to be observant throughout the mare's pregnancy so that you can spot the signs of impending labor. 

Knowing your mares normal behavior and appearance is the first step.  If you know her baseline, you can monitor changes such as a "drop" in her belly, swelling and lengthening of the vulva, loss of appetite, agitation, etc.  These can all be signs that labor is about to begin.  Keeping a notebook with observations can be a good way to document changes, especially if more than one person is monitoring the mare. 

Most mares will "bag up" three to five weeks before foaling.  Her udder is filling with milk and the teats will become enlarged.  The closer she gets to delivery, you may see white discharge or "waxing" on the end of the teats.  There are products available that can be used to test the mares colostrum (first milk) to measure the amount of calcium present.  Calcium increases right before foaling.  While these products can be helpful aids, nothing is more valuable than consist monitoring.  

Photo: www.ranvet.com: Note "bagging up" and "waxing"

When to start foal watch and how often depends on your experience in assessing pregnancy signs, whether the mare is a maiden or an experienced broodmare, and the health status of the mare.  On my family's breeding operation, we started doing night checks for an average pregnancy a month prior to foaling on a three hour schedule. 9PM, Midnight, and 3AM.  If we saw any signs of labor at those three hour checks, we switched to hourly checks.  While this may seem exhausting, remember that it only takes 30 minutes of stalled labor to create a potentially life threatening situation for mare and foal.  There are a number of stall cameras on the market that can make night checks as easy as checking your phone.  Consider sharing the load with family members or barn staff to avoid foaling season fatigue.  

Whatever your method, whether it's a stall cam, trudging out to the barn in your pajamas, or putting a cot in the tack room, make sure you're keeping a close eye on your mare and keep the vet's phone number on speed dial.  It's always better to establish a relationship with your vet before you make the emergency call.  If you need help locating an equine vet in your area, contact your local Extension Office.  

Winter Horse Care Tips

 

With the arrival of cooler weather, it’s time to think about making winter time modifications to our horses diets, management of potential mud, shelter from the elements and possibly the age old question of “Do you blanket your horse or not?”.

Feed Modifications

The average horse needs to consume in the range of 2 to 3% of their body weight per day to maintain an ideal body condition. The bulk of the horse’s diet should consist of forage (either grass and/or hay). A number of horse operations are limited in pasture grasses during the winter months, so it is not uncommon for the bulk of the forage to be met with grass hay. An average 1100 lb horse consuming 2% of their body weight in hay means that they should consume a minimum of 22 lb of hay per day. However, during extreme cold spells that same horse might need closer to 30 lb of hay per day to stay warm.

How do horses stay warm?

Horses are warm blooded animals and therefore try to keep their core temperature as close to a constant 101 ˚F as possible. To keep their temperature constant the horse will use various methods to thermoregulate and maintain this constant internal temperature no matter the surrounding environment. In the winter this may be through one of the following:

·       Vasoconstriction which is when the capillaries under the skin contract to reduce the amount of heat lost.

·       Insulation where the horse will use fat stores to generate energy for warmth.

·       Shivering where rapid contraction of core muscles produces heat.

·      Consume ample amount of forages, which are fermented in the hindgut, which results in energy being lost as heat. This heat helps your horse to stay warm.

Water Considerations

Its not uncommon during the cooler months for horses to reduce their water intake. Add to that, increased hay consumption can easily cause impaction if your horse isn’t drinking enough. Thus, it is wise to check your horse’s water source and monitor intake daily. Horses prefer to drink water that is slightly warm in the

winter and their water consumption typically increases if water is kept ice free. Removal of any ice or if at all possible, is ideal, or add a water heater to your tank or bucket to raise the water temperature.

Mud Management

There is likely not a horse farm in North Carolina that does not have to deal with mud from time to time during the winter months. It is common for mud to develop around feeders, waterers, and gates, but so long as the horse does not have to stand in it for any length of time is ideal.

You might consider creating a sacrifice area or dry lot where you feed and water your animals to help prevent mud and erosion issues. During wet winters, having a dry lot can help prevent the destruction of your pastures. While the idea sounds simple, it does require a bit of planning to mitigate the buildup of mud and/or erosion. You need to make sure the area can support the number of horses you want to put in it and you want it to be relatively close to the barn — you will probably be moving horses in and out in some colder weather, and you’ll be feeding a lot of hay. Careful consideration should also be given to footing around heavy use areas like feeders, waterers and gates. There are several Cooperative Extension resources online on how best to construct sacrifice areas/dry lots.

Shelter

Horses need shelter from the elements. Shelter comes in a variety of forms and sizes and the type you use largely depends on your facilities and finances. Trees can act as a natural wind barrier and can also provide some protection from inclement weather. A three-sided shelter provides the best protection from winter precipitation for pastured horses. It is also important to ensure that your shelter offers adequate space for the number of animals you have; otherwise, more than one appropriate shelter should be provided to allow for their natural behavior and accommodates their natural hierarchy so that even the lowest horse in the pecking order can benefit from the shelter.

Should I blanket my horse?

A common question that many horse owners ask but is not always a cut and dry conclusion. Here are some factors which may affect this decision.

Coat -- Coat will play a big factor in the horse’s ability to retain heat, and whether a horse has a thick coat, hasn’t grown one yet or has been clipped should be considered before deciding on a blanket. Those that are clipped are going to need more help than those that have a thick coat.

Age -- Generally older and younger horses will not cope with colder temperatures as well as the average adult horse. Typically, younger horses are smaller and have less body fat and older horses may be less efficient at controlling their body temperature or may have health problems and/or have less overall body fat.

Weather -- The worst conditions for any horse, in terms of heat regulation, would be low air temperatures combined with strong winds and wet precipitation, which is quite common during North Carolina winters.

Shelter -- Horses that don’t have access to manmade shelter will often benefit from an appropriate turnout blanket during inclement weather.

Take Home Message

Feeding a diet high in forages, monitoring water intake, managing for mud, and providing appropriate shelter or blanketing against the elements are all great ways to ensure your horses’ health and wellbeing during the long winter months.