How to Care for a Pregnant Mare
Make sure that you have a large paddock for the mare to graze and exercise, in the coming months before birth., Realize that the coming months are important for the growth of the foal., Look into the correct vaccination schedule for pregnant mares...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make sure that you have a large paddock for the mare to graze and exercise
This bigger paddock will be the mare's home for the first 8 and a half months.
This paddock should have 24/7 access to water, shelter and adequate fencing. -
Step 2: in the coming months before birth.
If the mare has inadequate feed, nutrients and water, the foal may be aborted due to dehydration or any other natural cause.
Conversely, a fat mare is more likely to produce a foal with angular leg deformities and she will be much more prone to difficulty foaling.
Light regular exercise is good for a pregnant mare! , The mare needs pneumabort at 5, 7 and 9 months to prevent abortion from rhino.
Rhino is brought in by new horse's, lives in the ground and can be In the water.
One month prior to foaling she should be wormed and have a five way spring vaccines, rabies and West Nile.
She should also have Potomac fever and botulism, depending on where you live.
This will ensure she passes on the right immune cells to the foal. , The mare needs not be watched 24 hours a day.
But she should be checked daily to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Her feeding program should consist of forage or bulk and foods rich in protein, energy, minerals and vitamins.
For a mare of 15 hands a diet would consist of approximately: 7kg per day of high quality roughage (GOOD quality hay).
If she is grazing plentiful high quality pasture this can be reduced.
A balanced concentrate mash containing chaff, a good quality mineral supplement and a high energy/protein feed.
Many feed suppliers offer a balanced 'mare mix' that only needs to be mixed with chaff.
Follow the directions with feeding rates
- some feeds are more concentrated than others, so just 'giving her a bucketful' is not the right approach.
Her needs will change as the pregnancy progresses, follow the advice on the product packaging. , Have adequate roughage (hay or pasture) so the mare can eat as she pleases
- horses are 'trickle feeders'
and should have access to roughage AT ALL TIMES.
Avoid feeding your mare in the morning and evening and her having nothing in between
- if she does not have access to pasture, feed hay in a small-weave hay net to extend the feeding time as much as possible.
This applies to all horses, particularly in stables, and reduces the incidence of gut ulcers and colic. , If she is a riding horse, you can ride her lightly up to basically when she foals, but it's totally up to you.
Alternatively you can lunge her, and groom her to get the blood circulating.
If the mare is used to affection and attention, she will be less likely to be aggressive or nasty when the foal is born.
Handling her teats and underneath her belly is a very good idea
- mares unaccustomed to this kind of contact may kick at the foal when it tries to nurse! , At this time, increase her feed slightly, but do not add anything new, as this may upset her system and cause colic, etc. , About 2 weeks before foaling, you will see her pregnant belly move from a hanging position to a position that fills out her flank area.
When she has about 1 week to go, you will notice her udder increasing, some mares you won't depending on how many foals they have had.
About 4 days before, the foal would have moved back into the position to be born.
About 24 to 48 hours before birthing, the mare's teats will become waxy.
This precedes the first milk, or 'colostrum' which contains the immune cells vital to your foals health.
Foals are not born with immune cells present in the blood
- they receive them from the mare's colostrum.
If you follow the correct vaccination routine for the mare in the months leading up to the birth, she will pass on all the immunity your foal needs.
As the mare gets closer, the 'caps' might fall off and milk may trickle out
- you may see it as a gummy coating on her legs.
If your mare runs a great deal of milk before she foals, she may pass all of her colostrum and deprive the foal of it's essential immunity.
This leaves the foal weak and highly susceptible to infection.
Your vet can easily check your foals immunity levels with a blood test at 24 hours of age.
If you suspect that your mare has passed all her colostrum before foaling, ask your vet for a serum glutaraldehyde test (IgG test), it is cheap and easy to do, and can make a great deal of difference to the early health of your foal. , But if you're lucky enough to see it, keep in the background as you may cause her to stop pushing and alter the natural process.
Do not startle her with camera flashes or a crowd of people watching.
She will become restless as she is preparing to foal and may pace the fence, paw at the ground and roll repeatedly.
Eventually she will lie down and begin pushing in earnest.
The first thing visible should be some of the bluish white membrane, then the front hooves of the foal with its nose resting on top.
From this point it should take a maximum of around 20 minutes for the delivery to take place.
Any longer than this, or anything other than front feet and nose presented, and you should call your vet.
If the membrane is bright red the mare is having a 'red bag' delivery, meaning the placenta has separated from the uterus early.
This means the foal is no longer receiving oxygen from the mare through the placenta, and can be severely compromised. (see Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome or 'dummy foal') It is important that the foal is delivered as quickly as possible in this case.
Call the vet. , Any pieces missing my be retained inside the mare causing severe infection and blood poisoning.
Your mare will display colic symptoms and a rapid rise in temperature in the next few days if this is the case.
The membrane should be a healthy pink colour, a green or yellow cast can indicate placentitis, and brown muck means that the foal has passed some meconium during the birthing process, usually a sign of a protracted or difficult labour.
If the membranes are turned inside out a red bag delivery is very likely.
Sometimes it can take a while for the mare to pass the membrane
- never pull the membrane from the mare as this can tear it or cause her to hemorrhage.
If it is dragging on the ground or tangling her legs it can be tied up into a ball with twine. , Your foal should begin trying to stand quite soon after foaling, and should be nursing within two hours at the most.
Check its reactions and look around the paddock for sticky black manure (called Meconium), which is the first manure the foal passes just after birth.
This can be difficult to pass, particularly for colts as their pelvis is narrower.
If the foal displays signs of a retained meconium (repeated straining, flagging or agitated switching of the tail) administer an enema or call your vet to do so. , If it doesn't, watch for the next 24 hours and if nothing happens, call a vet to look at the foal. ,, If your foal has lax tendons ('down on its bumpers'
- the foal will walk on its heels or even pasterns or fetlocks, and the hooves will tip upward with toes off the ground) box or yard rest is advisable to stop it running about and damaging its legs.
This condition will resolve itself as the foal strengthens.
Contracted tendons, where the foal is 'knuckled over' and walks on its toes, may require splinting to reduce the risk of pulling tendons and ligaments from their attachments. -
Step 3: Realize that the coming months are important for the growth of the foal.
-
Step 4: Look into the correct vaccination schedule for pregnant mares.
-
Step 5: Pay attention to safety and nutrition.
-
Step 6: When the mare eats
-
Step 7: only feed enough so that she'll eat it then walk away.
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Step 8: Exercise your mare.
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Step 9: When the mare is about a month to foaling
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Step 10: move her to a smaller yard where she can run around
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Step 11: but that is more sheltered and is fenced in to protect from wild dogs etc.
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Step 12: Recognize the signs of late-stage pregnancy.
-
Step 13: You will probably miss the birth of the foal as they usually foal in the early hours of the morning between 12 and 5.
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Step 14: If you find that the mare has foaled
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Step 15: ensure that the placental membrane is entire - spread the membrane out on the ground
-
Step 16: there should be one large tear where the foal emerged.
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Step 17: Ensure the foal is alive and walking.
-
Step 18: Make sure the foal drinks and urinates.
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Step 19: At first you may want to keep the foal and mare in a small yard
-
Step 20: but after about 3 days
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Step 21: move the foal to a bigger paddock and let the foal exercise.
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Step 22: Leg deformities are common in young foals and some are much helped by extending the confinement time.
Detailed Guide
This bigger paddock will be the mare's home for the first 8 and a half months.
This paddock should have 24/7 access to water, shelter and adequate fencing.
If the mare has inadequate feed, nutrients and water, the foal may be aborted due to dehydration or any other natural cause.
Conversely, a fat mare is more likely to produce a foal with angular leg deformities and she will be much more prone to difficulty foaling.
Light regular exercise is good for a pregnant mare! , The mare needs pneumabort at 5, 7 and 9 months to prevent abortion from rhino.
Rhino is brought in by new horse's, lives in the ground and can be In the water.
One month prior to foaling she should be wormed and have a five way spring vaccines, rabies and West Nile.
She should also have Potomac fever and botulism, depending on where you live.
This will ensure she passes on the right immune cells to the foal. , The mare needs not be watched 24 hours a day.
But she should be checked daily to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Her feeding program should consist of forage or bulk and foods rich in protein, energy, minerals and vitamins.
For a mare of 15 hands a diet would consist of approximately: 7kg per day of high quality roughage (GOOD quality hay).
If she is grazing plentiful high quality pasture this can be reduced.
A balanced concentrate mash containing chaff, a good quality mineral supplement and a high energy/protein feed.
Many feed suppliers offer a balanced 'mare mix' that only needs to be mixed with chaff.
Follow the directions with feeding rates
- some feeds are more concentrated than others, so just 'giving her a bucketful' is not the right approach.
Her needs will change as the pregnancy progresses, follow the advice on the product packaging. , Have adequate roughage (hay or pasture) so the mare can eat as she pleases
- horses are 'trickle feeders'
and should have access to roughage AT ALL TIMES.
Avoid feeding your mare in the morning and evening and her having nothing in between
- if she does not have access to pasture, feed hay in a small-weave hay net to extend the feeding time as much as possible.
This applies to all horses, particularly in stables, and reduces the incidence of gut ulcers and colic. , If she is a riding horse, you can ride her lightly up to basically when she foals, but it's totally up to you.
Alternatively you can lunge her, and groom her to get the blood circulating.
If the mare is used to affection and attention, she will be less likely to be aggressive or nasty when the foal is born.
Handling her teats and underneath her belly is a very good idea
- mares unaccustomed to this kind of contact may kick at the foal when it tries to nurse! , At this time, increase her feed slightly, but do not add anything new, as this may upset her system and cause colic, etc. , About 2 weeks before foaling, you will see her pregnant belly move from a hanging position to a position that fills out her flank area.
When she has about 1 week to go, you will notice her udder increasing, some mares you won't depending on how many foals they have had.
About 4 days before, the foal would have moved back into the position to be born.
About 24 to 48 hours before birthing, the mare's teats will become waxy.
This precedes the first milk, or 'colostrum' which contains the immune cells vital to your foals health.
Foals are not born with immune cells present in the blood
- they receive them from the mare's colostrum.
If you follow the correct vaccination routine for the mare in the months leading up to the birth, she will pass on all the immunity your foal needs.
As the mare gets closer, the 'caps' might fall off and milk may trickle out
- you may see it as a gummy coating on her legs.
If your mare runs a great deal of milk before she foals, she may pass all of her colostrum and deprive the foal of it's essential immunity.
This leaves the foal weak and highly susceptible to infection.
Your vet can easily check your foals immunity levels with a blood test at 24 hours of age.
If you suspect that your mare has passed all her colostrum before foaling, ask your vet for a serum glutaraldehyde test (IgG test), it is cheap and easy to do, and can make a great deal of difference to the early health of your foal. , But if you're lucky enough to see it, keep in the background as you may cause her to stop pushing and alter the natural process.
Do not startle her with camera flashes or a crowd of people watching.
She will become restless as she is preparing to foal and may pace the fence, paw at the ground and roll repeatedly.
Eventually she will lie down and begin pushing in earnest.
The first thing visible should be some of the bluish white membrane, then the front hooves of the foal with its nose resting on top.
From this point it should take a maximum of around 20 minutes for the delivery to take place.
Any longer than this, or anything other than front feet and nose presented, and you should call your vet.
If the membrane is bright red the mare is having a 'red bag' delivery, meaning the placenta has separated from the uterus early.
This means the foal is no longer receiving oxygen from the mare through the placenta, and can be severely compromised. (see Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome or 'dummy foal') It is important that the foal is delivered as quickly as possible in this case.
Call the vet. , Any pieces missing my be retained inside the mare causing severe infection and blood poisoning.
Your mare will display colic symptoms and a rapid rise in temperature in the next few days if this is the case.
The membrane should be a healthy pink colour, a green or yellow cast can indicate placentitis, and brown muck means that the foal has passed some meconium during the birthing process, usually a sign of a protracted or difficult labour.
If the membranes are turned inside out a red bag delivery is very likely.
Sometimes it can take a while for the mare to pass the membrane
- never pull the membrane from the mare as this can tear it or cause her to hemorrhage.
If it is dragging on the ground or tangling her legs it can be tied up into a ball with twine. , Your foal should begin trying to stand quite soon after foaling, and should be nursing within two hours at the most.
Check its reactions and look around the paddock for sticky black manure (called Meconium), which is the first manure the foal passes just after birth.
This can be difficult to pass, particularly for colts as their pelvis is narrower.
If the foal displays signs of a retained meconium (repeated straining, flagging or agitated switching of the tail) administer an enema or call your vet to do so. , If it doesn't, watch for the next 24 hours and if nothing happens, call a vet to look at the foal. ,, If your foal has lax tendons ('down on its bumpers'
- the foal will walk on its heels or even pasterns or fetlocks, and the hooves will tip upward with toes off the ground) box or yard rest is advisable to stop it running about and damaging its legs.
This condition will resolve itself as the foal strengthens.
Contracted tendons, where the foal is 'knuckled over' and walks on its toes, may require splinting to reduce the risk of pulling tendons and ligaments from their attachments.
About the Author
Lori Kelly
Experienced content creator specializing in crafts guides and tutorials.
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