My maiden mare is 2 1/2 weeks overdue. Should I be concerned? How long is too long? My friend says maybe she's not going into labor bacause the foal is dead, could that be?
Sandy (64.158.241.214)
Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 06:33 pm:
Megan, my mare is 3 weeks overdue today. There is no reason to think the foal is dead because they are overdue. A mare can still safely have a healthy foal up to 400 days. I had a mare go to 370 days last year and she delivered a healthy foal without complications. You should still be able to see the foal moving around quite a bit in your mare. He should be at approximately pre-stage 1. That is when the foal begins doing his "exercises" that he needs to do to prepare himself for entering the birth canal and delivery. The foal will usually have flurries of movement lasting for up to 15 minutes. Start paying attention to your mare's belly, and I'll bet you'll see the foal moving. When was your mare's due date? I'm just curious. Like I said,mine was due Mar. 9 and still hasn't foaled yet.
Jos (67.240.7.235)
Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 07:52 pm:
There is no such thing as a "due date" in the equine!!
The average range of foaling is 320 to 370 days. Live foals have been produced up to 417 days.
It is therefore highly unlikely that there is any problem with your mare or her foal.
Good luck!
Kelly (63.172.47.161)
Posted on Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 01:07 am:
I understand that your mare is a maiden mare, however, mares do tend to foal at about the same duration each year. Although there is no exact"due date" as such in equines, ,mares will generally have a consistant gestation period from year to year.
Therefore, after the next foal, you will have a record of her normal gestation period and may be able to establish a reliable "due date" for her in the future.
My mare is 371 days today and I have to say, I do believe there has to come a time when you should be concerned. I know "there is no such thing as a due date in the equine", but come on.... Realistically speaking, how many have experienced a mare going 417 or even 400 days? I understand the 400 day range is probably statistically speaking. But in reality, how many people have experienced this? As I say, my mare is 371 days today, and she has experienced (that I have seen) 3 episodes of what I thought for sure was her going into labor within the last 4 days. All 3 "false labors" have lasted for a period of one hour, and then she is back to normal. Her milk is at the very thick honey stage and has been for 5 days. There has to be a time when a mare is considered over due. I have my vet coming tomorrow (earliest he could see her) because of the fact that I am very concerned at this point. If anyone has experienced a mare going beyond 370 days, I'd be highly interested to hear what your experience was.
Sandy: I breed arabians, and out of the 42 foals I have personaly delivered, only 2 went beyond 365 days, and the one that went 367 days was mildly hypothyroid and recovered in 4 days, and the other went 383 days and the foal was so severely hypothyroid it had to be euthanized. Now, I have a mare is on day 368 and I'm terrified!! I sure hope that both you and I end up with healthy foals at the end of all this! Please post what the vet has to say because I know all the readers would be very interested. I will keep you up to date on my mare too.
Sandy (65.56.45.57)
Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 11:23 pm:
Robert, My vet checked my mare at 372 days (Wednesday Apr.10) and said everything was fine, foal was in correct position, very active, and the mare's uterus was also fine. He predicted the mare would foal in 2 or 3 days. My mare finally foaled at 375 days (Sat. Apr.13). She had absolutely no complications, foaled without practically any warning, luckily I was there for the foaling, the only problem I encountered was I had to rip the sack off of the foal for it to breath, but the sack was not particularly tough to break. Both mare and filly are doing wonderful. My vet said it was not uncommon to see mares go 30 days over due. But he also said that in the 15 years he's been practicing, he has only seen 3 mares go 400 days. I wish you and your mare the best of luck. Let us know when your mare finally foals.
Hey everyone, we had a filly on Day 379, she looks big and healthy! Her sack was very thick, I will be enquiring to the vet on what may have caused it, the mare's water did not break until I broke it for her, and I could feel how thick the sack was. Anyhow, the mare foaled fine, her milk had changed about 36hrs before birth and her colostrum looks good, guess I was worried (for 40 days!!!) for nothing, whew!!
I have a Clydesdale maiden mare who is 373 days today. Had her checked by the vet, foal alive and healthy. The only way I stay sane is to read everyone else's expeiences!! We have had two other Clydesdale foals born this year - both fillies.
You might also want to read this article on the web site to alleviate your concerns further (follow that link)
Anonymous
Posted From: 66.71.221.37
Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 - 08:07 pm:
I have two mares both at 387 days (both bred by AI) Mare#1is bagging and I can pull milk easily. I suspected phantom pregnancy til Jos said rarely do they go to term with the phantom. Mare#2is about the same, small bag and clear milk will pull easily. Sigh. We are going to name them "Backorder" and "About Time" if they ever arrive. TRACI
Have yall heard about Corona Star foaling at 445 days?I heard that it was a new record.The foal was small but was doing well.Deena
Amy Francis (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 203.58.17.18
Posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - 03:16 am:
Hi everyone I have never posted before and it is fantastic to read about your experiences. I am breeding my first foal this year. My mare is 24 and is at 365 days. Very worried!! The vet says both mare and foal are fine so fingers crossed!!! This will be her eight foal she probably has everything under control and finds my worrying very amusing!!
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