Spring is in the air! Well, apparently – the weather may tell us differently this year, but mares are ‘programmed’ to give birth in late spring/early summer if left to their own devices, so along with lambs and calves, you may be lucky enough to spot foals out in the field, or even be expecting your own equine baby!

If you do have an imminent arrival, how should you prepare?

• If this is a new venture for you, arm yourself with the most powerful weapon of all: knowledge! Learn what is normal and what is not.  There are some excellent books and websites designed for the novice breeder and, as they say, a picture tells a thousand words so find one that shows you what you need to know.
• Equip yourself with the right gear. You don’t need anything fancy but a basic foaling kit of a tail bandage, obstetric lubricant, chlorhexidine solution, pH-neutral cleanser, disposable gloves and perhaps arm-length gloves would be a good start.  You may end up not requiring most of it, if you are lucky!
• Consider the best place for the mare to foal down. If the weather is kind and a modest-sized ‘clean’ paddock is available (i.e. grass not mud/dust) this may be the best option.  If the weather is poor, indoors is better, except perhaps for particularly hardy breeds.  The area should be large enough for the mare to lie down flat out comfortably allowing plenty of room to stand up again.  A deep, clean straw bed is ideal.
• What monitoring do you plan to do? It may be easier to monitor a mare in a barn/large stable than in a field, especially overnight when most mares foal.  Remote cameras with a smartphone connection are massively advantageous, partly because you can keep an eye out from the comfort of your home, but also because the mare is not disturbed – most mares choose to foal when no-one is present.
• Will you have any help? If this is your first experience of looking after a pregnant mare, you may wish to enlist the moral and practical support of a willing friend who has ‘been there, done that and bought the T-shirt’.  In any event, should problems arise, a second pair of hands will always be useful. Farmers, who are used to calving and lambing, are often the best assistants, albeit mares can be a bit less tolerant of intervention than farm animals, both in terms of temperament and health.
• Let your vet know that you have a mare which is due to foal and keep the out of hours number in your phone. In our practice, we share this information with our team of vets so that everyone knows how to get to the property and has the right equipment/medications in the vehicle, just in case we are required. Some clients call us as soon as the mare begins to foal, while others are comfortable to observe the process themselves and phone if complications arise.  As vets, we are happy with whichever approach the client feels is right for them, unless it is a particularly high-risk pregnancy.  It’s worth noting that we hardly ever induce a foaling as the risk of a poor outcome is high.

The average gestation period is 330-340 days.  Prediction of foaling is not straightforward, but, as a rough guide:

1.Udder distension begins 2-6 weeks prior to foaling.

2.Relaxation of the muscles of the croup 7-19 days prior to foaling; relaxation around the tail head, buttocks, and lips of the vulva.

3.Teat nipples fill 4-6 days prior to foaling.

4.Waxing of the teats 2-4 days before. Waxing (or wax beads) refers to the colostrum (first milk) which appears at the end of the teats.

5.Dripping of colostrum 24-48 hours before foaling. Loss of colostrum may result in an inadequate supply for the new born foal – dripping is OK, but streaming out is not – collect this in a clean jug and refrigerate!

6.Prior to foaling, the mare’s body temperature will be equal to or drop lower than her normal morning temperature, so you may wish to take her temperature rectally, if safe to do so, twice daily as her due date approaches.

Stages of parturition (foaling):

• Stage 1 (preparation) = lasts 2-3 hours, foal moves into correct position with front feet towards the cervix and the head following (we call this the ‘superman’ position!) and waterbag breaks at end of stage 1. The mare will probably be restless.
• Stage 2 (parturition) = it usually takes less than 15 mins to expel the foal, and the mare usually lies down for the period. If the mare is ‘pressing’ for 15 minutes and no foal is emerging, call your vet immediately for advice and assistance.
• Stage 3 (passing of placenta) = usually within 1 hour. Retained foetal membranes (failure to pass the placenta) is much more risky in horses than in cattle/sheep as it can cause a serious uterine infection which can lead to toxaemia, laminitis and death.   If the mare does not ‘cleanse’ within 3 hours, this is a medical emergency – call your vet, no matter what the time.

Most mares foal without assistance or fuss, but in the small proportion of cases where things don’t run to schedule, the result can be disastrous.  We will have a look at some of the problems which can be encountered in the next article.