Foaling

     Alas, you’ve spent the last 11 months fretting over your oversized most-prized possession and now the time is drawing near.  Prior to those 11 months, you agonized over which stud was the perfect cross on your mare, in addition to convincing your spouse that the stud fee was really NOT going to break the bank.  Then, following the excitement of getting your mare bred and 16 days later seeing that pregnancy on an ultrasound, you’ve followed her through each trimester, carefully monitoring her nutrition, exercise, parasite control and vaccination program.

     Now, here she is, big as a house and your heart rate begins to race as you think about the actual foaling process.  Fortunately, most mares do not experience foaling difficulties and in most cases, assistance is not needed.  However, when problems do arise, they occur very quickly.  The best prefoaling preparation one can do is to have adequate knowledge of the normal birthing process and to have a preparation checklist:

      1.      Estimate the mare’s foaling date.  The average gestation is 336 days and most mares will fall within either ten days before or after this.  It is not uncommon for a mare to go 20-30 days beyond this average.  However, if a foal is born at or before 320 days of gestation, there is greater risk of health complications.
      2.      Make sure to give the mare a tetanus booster 1 month prior to foaling to help the mare’s colostrum provide protection to the newborn foal.
      3.      Notify your veterinarian of the estimated foaling date.
      4.      Remove Caslicks if the mare has been sutured, 2-3 weeks prior to foaling.
      5.      Prepare foaling kit consisting of: clean dry towels, sterile disposable sleeves, Nolvasan or Betadine, halter and lead, baby bottle, 1 bucket warm water, 1 empty bucket (to place placenta in), Banamine(to relieve colicky pain in mare after foaling), oxytocin (in event of retained placenta), foal enema (Fleet bottle and I prefer just warm water),  rectal thermometer  and camera.
      6.      Prepare your mare, especially maiden mares, by gently touching her udder in the few weeks prior to foaling.   Wash her udder with warm water to remove debris and wax build-up.  This will help a young mare become accustomed to having her udder handled prior to a foal nursing.

     The first consideration is where to foal her out.  If the foal is due in the early spring and the weather is inclement and  you are fortunate enough to have a large foaling stall (at least 16 X 16), it should be disinfected prior to foaling and have plenty of clean straw bedding. Shavings are discouraged as a new foal can breathe them in and get fine dust particles in their lungs.  I usually begin bringing the mare in at night off her pasture 3-4 weeks prior to foaling.  This way she becomes accustomed to the routine and to her stall.  I keep her on shavings until I think she’s 1-2 days from foaling and then I change her bedding to clean straw.

     As spring wears on and the temperatures begin to climb, my personal preference is to allow them to foal in a grassy pasture.  This is the cleanest option and is truly the way Mother Nature intended it as long as the fencing is safe and there are no horses that may disturb or injure the mare or foal during foaling.   Keep in mind also that water-filled ditches or small puddles, for example, may seem relatively unimportant but it only takes a few inches of water to drown a newborn foal.  If you do choose to foal her out in a pasture, make sure she is the type of mare you can catch
if things begin to go awry and you need veterinary assistance.  If I have a fragile-minded mare and/or a maiden mare, I will always choose to foal them out in a stall just so we have better control of the situation if we need to intervene.

     There are many signs of impending foaling but that being said, a few mares can completely surprise you and not exhibit any of these characteristics. There are three stages of labor; the first stage involves positioning of the foal, stage two is delivery of the foal and stage three is expulsion of the placenta.

     About three weeks prior to parturition, you will observe that the muscles in the pelvic area begin to relax.  This is a very gradual process and unless you’ve observed many mares, this can be difficult to discern.  You may notice the muscles on either side of the tail become very soft to palpation and may give a hollow appearance. The abdomen becomes very large and pendulous, especially in mares that have foaled more than once. The next change to look for is a distended udder which occurs during the last month of pregnancy.  It is common for the udder to fill up at night while she is resting and to shrink during the day while she is out on pasture and exercising.  Again, although this is common, some mares may not elicit much of a change in udder size, especially maiden mares.

      Approximately 24-48 hours prior to foaling, the mare’s vulva will become very swollen and elongated.  This along with the relaxation of the pelvic muscles, allows the foal to pass through birth canal more easily. Finally, the usual tell-tale sign of impending birth is engorgement of the teats along with a wax-like appearance on the tip of the teat.  The wax will appear to have a yellow tint to it.  It is not unusual for mares to drip milk up to 2 weeks prior to foaling.  These mares need to be watched
closely as they can surprise you any time.  Normally, once the mare has waxed, she will foal within 12-36 hours.  She may appear restless during this time, sometimes colicky and you may observe her rolling.  Don’t panic as this is nature’s way of getting the foal properly positioned in the birth canal.  If she continues to eat, drink, defecate and urinate normally, she is most likely in the first stage of labor.  Other mares may become very quiet during this time.  Typically, I find back off any grain supplementation during these last few days and feed only good quality hay.

       I also tend to feed smaller amounts more frequently throughout the day just to help avoid any digestion distress. As actual delivery of the foal nears, the mare may break into a sweat along her neck and flanks.  She will become very restless, sometimes pawing at the ground, looking at her stomach and intermittently lying on the ground and rising again.  If foaling out in the pasture, she will usually move away from other mares and try to find a hidden spot.  The end of the first stage of labor is marked by the rupture of the allantoic membrane or the “breaking water”.  This usually occurs within 1-3 hours after the onset of stage one.

     Stage two of labor is characterized by strong abdominal and uterine contractions usually goes VERY quickly and without complications.  It is best to watch quietly outside of the stall and only assist if it seems the mare is in trouble.  The first thing to appear should be a bluish-white amnion, almost a bubble-like appearance.  If the first presentation appears red, IMMEDIATELY CALL YOUR VETERINARIAN as this indicates a “red bag” delivery; that is, a premature separation of the placenta from the endometrium and this indicates that the foal is without oxygen. Your veterinarian can help guide you through this process if this is the case.

     If it is a normal presentation you will usually see a foot appear within the next few minutes after seeing the amnion.  Typically, one foot is usually positioned slightly in front of the other and is followed by the nose.  After the foal is completely out, you may need to tear the membrane and remove it from the foal’s nose and head to avoid suffocation. Usually this second stage of labor is over in about fifteen minutes but can range from 10 to 60 minutes.  If it takes any longer than this, a veterinarian should be consulted immediately.

     The final stage of labor involves expulsion of the placenta which usually takes one to three hours. This can occur in as short as ten minutes or as long as eight hours. The mare will continue to have contractions and appear uncomfortable during this time and banamine may be administered to help relieve her discomfort.  If the placenta is retained more than eight hours, contact your veterinarian and he/she will recommend administering oxytocin to help expedite the process.  After the placenta has been expelled, keep it in a bucket of cold water so your vet can look at it and make sure that no part of it was retained.  Even a small piece of it retained can lead to a potentially serious condition.

     Finally, the foal is here but your job is not over.  Briefly, here is my routine after the foal has hit the ground:
     1)      Milk the mare and give the foal at least 6-8 ounces of colostrums immediately, even before foal stands.  This gives the foal a better shot at immunity from a variety of bacteria.
     2)      Dip the umbilicus (which should break on its own as soon as mare stands) with a non-irritating antiseptic solution.  I use Nolvasan, mixed half and half with water.
     3)      Towel dry foal while imprinting at same time
     4)      Step back and let nature take over.  Observe foal standing, should occur within 1-2 hours.
     5)      Check and make sure that foal nurses, usually occurs within first few hours.  Sometimes maiden mares need to be restrained to allow foals to nurse.
     6)      Make sure foal passes meconium, usually within first two hours.  If foal appears to strain when trying to defecate, carefully administer enema.
     7)      I like to give mare a warm rice bran mash after she’s been up and nursing and appears to be comfortable.

     The mare needs to be watched carefully for the next four to five days after foaling.  The veterinarian should be consulted if any abnormal behavior occurs, such as colicking, elevated temperature (normal is 100.5), lethargy or disinterest in food.  If the vet gives the foal a clean bill of health on examination, I usually keep the mare and foal in for the first day and begin limited turnout on day 2 or 3.  Exercise helps to clean the mare’s uterus, stimulates the uterus to return to normal size, decreases any edema the mare might have had, improves the foal’s muscle tone and stimulates orthopedic and nervous system development, and prepares the mare for foal heat breeding.

      This is a general overview of the foaling process.  Again, there can be many abnormalities that occur but luckily, over 90 percent of foaling occur without complications.  Careful attention to detail and good communication with your veterinarian can contribute to a happy healthy mare and foal!