HELP, need help with early labour signs in a mare who is having her 1st foal!

[llloyds12]

HES ARRIVED!!!!!!! my friend put her mare in last night ast about 7ish pm and although she was leaking milk she was showing no other signs of foaling but at 10pm when she went up to check her she rung to say get your bum up here quick cause we got a little coloured colt. shot up there and watched him get up, feed , poo and everything seems to have gone really well. mum is well chuffed with her baby and thier owner is just soooo wexcited. thanks to all of you for advice during the last few weeks of her pregnancy. pics soon. xxxx hi, my friend has a mare who is comeing up for 3yo and brought from a gypsy and was told that there wasnt not a chance she could be in foal, 2 1/2 months later we have had a vet scan her and she is soon to foal, vet said 2 - weeks as she has been bagged up for 3 weeks today, 2 weeks ago 2 people said they thought they saw something move in her tummy and then for the last week her owner has been watching her at any moment she can and has seen nothing so had a scan yday to make sure it was alive as even the vet couldnt get it to respond yday, and then this morning her owner noticed her vulva had started to open and the foal looks like it is running a marathon in her tummy to day so it defo alive and she has been breathing funny and tensing and releasing today and kicking at her belly but as this is the first foal for horse and owner we are worried that she may be about to foal down and we are not prepared so would be SSSOOOOO grateful for any hints or tips to look out for in the early stages on labour and also her bag looked to have gone down until thismorning. many thanks

[CityLights]

very early stages just looks like colic, some show little to none, mine just got a bit sloppy poops, check the muscle tone around her vulva and tail and also the colour inside her vulva it usually becomes very pink near foaling, and check her teats she may 'wax' up some dont, also if you can milk a tiny drop of milk off, it should be milky coloured or a little yellowish but not clear if its clear she isnt gonna foal usually

if you have or can get hold of some water hardness testing kits they can be handy and the calcium level in the milk gets much much higher near foaling so a drop or two of milk will tell you if she is near or not

also any change in how she is carrying the foal the foal turns nearer the end of pregnancy so if she suddenly looks a different shape it could be the foal has moved, my boss says usually their first colic will be due to the foal and then they foal a week later, my mare certainly did

If she gets down she will probably lie falt and look really uncomfortable, you can tell she is having contractions as her legs will become stiff and its looks really odd and then it will stop again then they go stiff again, its hard to explain but you can tell what i mean

you will see the bag come out and her water break, the horse has two kind of placentas and inner and an outed the waters breaking does not mean the foal is out of the sack its just the first one breaking, then the mare cannot stop foaling once the water has broken

then you have to decide to leave her to it or go help her, cheakc the foal is coming out correctly one foot should come first usually followed by the oter a little further back and then the nose, any other way and get a vet, dont panic too soon though as poor presnetations are rare,

if you pull two people grad round its pasterns and when she pushes you pull, pull towards the front of the mare if you get stuck then try swapping legs it helps, once the chest and sternum is out so just the back legs are in there is no worry anymore, break the bag and leave the mare and foal to it, leave the back legs in but try sit it up on its sternum and clear its nostrils just place your fingers on the squishy bit and run them down to clear any fluid out of them, sitting it up will also help them drain

if you dont want to pull it out, most mares foal fine by themselves and some are put off by human presnce so watch quietly and out of the way if possible

once the foal is out, leave the mare and foal alone, she should cleanse the after birth soon after foaling, if the mare gets up and the foal is still attached by the umbillical usually it will break when the mare gets up or moves around if it doesnt and the after birth comes out all in one, break the umbllical do not cut it, they have a natrual breaking point and the snapping action helps close capillaries, i have only ever had to pull one its not easy to do and usually it just snaps its self

tie the after birth up using sting or around its self so that the mare doesnt tread on it, DO NOT PULL if you rip or any is left inside her then it can make them very ill, such as lami and blood posioning, if she doesnt cleanse your fine til about 24 hours then get the vet out,

the mare should clean the foal feed and take care of it, if she is being hardowkr feeding it tie her up give her a feed or anything to make her stand still the first drin kis imporatna as it contains all the anti bodies the foal has to get this, restrain the mare if necessary, my mare was being a cow and got doped

when the mare has dropped all her afterbirth collect it and check it is complete if should make an 'F' shape reatin it for a few days so that if the mare or foal becomes ill the vet may want to look at it, then burry it or do whatever you like with it

May of gotten carried away there lol

[llloyds12]

thats great thankyou so much :-)

[Lesley_78]

Wow what a great reply, you have just answered all my questions as I still think my new mare is pregnant there is definate movement :eek:

[My Crazy Clan]

:lol: go S&W! x