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| I have just two mares that are due to foal in the next couple weeks. One is a 14 year old maiden and the other is a 20 yo that I just bought last year. I have no history on either of them and I'm anxious about them foaling unassisted. I have a camera system and a living area in my barn where I can watch them closely at night with the camera. However, with no history I could spend many sleepless nights watching the monitor and I have a regular day job that I need to be functional at.
How well does the halter system work? The foal alert system is probably not financially feasible for just two mares.
I have a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into both of these mares (in addition to the money) so I want to be prepared.
The other issue is my vet is an hour away if something goes wrong. This just adds to my anxiety level.
Edited by darchick 2014-04-01 3:37 PM
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 Midget Lover
  
Location: Kentucky | bump. |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | Look into mare stare.com
i am not sure if it costs money. I would imagine it does. Might be an option for you? |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| There are several obvious signs that foaling is emminent. A mare may skip some, but there will be one or more that holds.
Bagging up with heavy waxing. Sometimes a mare will wax a little, then back off. Even to the point of not waxing again until labor and delivery.
Belly drop. This can happen a week out, or hours out. This happens from the foal turning into foaling position.
Butt drop. The muscles on either side from the top through the hamstrings will soften. This can happen gradually or all at once, but you will all of a sudden notice that the mares tail head is prominent and her butt is all wrong shaped.
Tail looseness. The mare will still be able to swish it and lift it, but if you pull on it she won't be able to take it from you or tuck it tight.
Vulva drop. I've never had a mare that the vulva didn't drop radically by evening feed the night of (or feed before) foaling. Like 2-4" drop.
I've had mares 'practice' labor many times. One year I had one go to the point where I was up until 5-5:30 night before a show. At 5:30 she stopped all the pacing and pawing and rolling and went to sleep. It was another few days after that when she foaled. She had all the signs the night before EXCEPT the dropped vulva. On the day before actual foaling, the vulva dropped.
Have fun! The anticipation is so much of the fun - and yet it is exhausting! If I were you, I would wait until one or more of the signs were very obvious and then start doing random checks. Can you get the camera to show in your house? That's what I do. I have my spy cam set up to my computer in the kitchen. I will get up however often and go check the cam. If the mare is acting suspiciously I will sit down and watch for a bit. If the intensity of activity increases I stay up. If she settles I go back to bed. It IS tiring, but it's doable. |
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| bumping this up since everyone has been glued to the Latte thread.....LOL |
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Veteran
Posts: 155
| I have had great success testing the "milk" with pool testing strips. Get strips that go to 6.2 ph and distiller water. Make sure to rinse any containers with distiller water. Mix 3 cc distiller water with .5 of milk test--when she is below 7 --I hang close 6.2 is the magic number. Of course looking at other signs as above poster mentioned. I use to use Foal Predictor test but feel ph is much more accurate.
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 Always Off Topic
Posts: 6382
Location: ND | turn off the camera and check for a baby each day.....or each week.... |
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| texan painter - 2014-03-28 3:03 PM I have had great success testing the "milk" with pool testing strips. Get strips that go to 6.2 ph and distiller water. Make sure to rinse any containers with distiller water. Mix 3 cc distiller water with .5 of milk test--when she is below 7 --I hang close 6.2 is the magic number. Of course looking at other signs as above poster mentioned. I use to use Foal Predictor test but feel ph is much more accurate.
The strips I have only go down to 6.4, but also test water hardness. You think 6.4 will get me close? |
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Veteran
Posts: 155
| Yes--and the hardness is the calcium-it rises as ph falls. I had a mare I tested at 10 the other night and she was about 6.8-- I checked my foal ceta every half hour all night and she foaled at 4:30 am--I saw her acting a little strange at 4 and went to the barn. The ph falls fast after 7 |
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Expert
Posts: 1218
Location: Too far from home | We use the Foalalert system and it works great. It is, however, expensive and was intensive for use to install (no landline phone line). Also, you have to sew the monitor into the mare. We have friends that use some sort of test strips that predict foaling, but I don't know anything about those. |
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| My maiden mare had thin milk last night but I tested it and it showed off the charts on the calcium (high, 800-1000 ppm) and pH around 6.4. I'm using the pool test strips that have both total hardness (calcium) and pH on one strip. Her due date is supposed to be 4/11. Her tailhead is a noodle, her vulva is elongated, and she's being awfully sweet.....but acts normal otherwise 
We camped out in our barn apartment last night watching her on the camera and NOTHING!!! She just scratched her rear all night long on the wall!!
I tested my other mare too (she's due on 4/17) and her calcium was low and pH was high.
I know maidens break all the rules, but dang.....I think she's gonna sneak it in on me 
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Folks on-line