We take in your mare for the last days of her pregnancy, watch over the birth day and night, and step in during the minutes that matter.
Most mares foal without help. When a foaling goes wrong, however, everything is often decided in less than half an hour.
Foaling at home? See the signs that foaling is near and when to call your own vet.
Before you come
Mares arrive around day 320 of pregnancy. The form works out the date from the last covering.
How does foaling work at the Giguellerie?
Your mare arrives a few weeks before term. We watch over her day and night until the birth, then look after her and her foal during the first days.
Your mare's stay
- Around day 320Arrival. Earlier if the end of pregnancy looks difficult. The mare settles into her box and builds antibodies in her colostrum against the germs of our yard. An ultrasound scan checks the foal's vitality, its presentation and the thickness of the placenta, to detect placentitis from the outset.
- Every eveningMonitoring. As soon as the udder develops, we measure the pH and calcium of the mammary secretion with precision instruments. Their trend, recorded day after day, tells us which nights call for closer watch.
- On the dayThe birth. A small transmitter fixed to the vulva calls us as soon as the foal enters the birth canal. We live across the garden and are with the mare within minutes, day or night. If all goes normally, we let her foal in peace.
- The first hoursCare. We examine the foal, disinfect its navel, check that it stands and suckles in time, and inspect the placenta. If it struggles to breathe, we can intubate it on site. A few hours after birth, a blood test checks that it has absorbed the antibodies from the colostrum.
If you would like another foal next year, your mare is already here. We follow her from the foal heat, which occurs about ten days after birth, and decide with you whether to breed her on that heat or wait for the next one, depending on the uterine examination. See gynaecological monitoring.
Colostrum and the foal's antibodies
The foal is born without antibodies. The mare's placenta is described as epitheliochorial. Several layers of cells separate the mother's blood from the foetus's, and antibodies cannot cross them. All of the foal's protection therefore comes from colostrum, which its gut can absorb only during the first hours of life.
We check colostrum quality with a Brix refractometer. Good colostrum reaches at least 23% Brix, which corresponds to about 60 grams of antibodies per litre. We then monitor how much the foal actually drinks.
A few hours after birth, a blood sample checks that the foal has absorbed the antibodies, the immunoglobulins G or IgG. A clinical refractometer, which measures serum proteins, gives a first estimate, and a rapid test confirms the IgG level. If the level is insufficient, we supplement with stored colostrum or a plasma transfusion.
Book your mare's place a few weeks before term.
Book a foaling boxHow long does a pregnancy last?
A mare carries her foal for 340 days on average. Yet the average says little about any individual mare. A foal can be viable from 320 days, and many mares go past eleven months without the slightest problem. Our record is 402 days.
It is the foal's maturity that triggers birth. When its adrenal glands are ready, the foetus releases cortisol, and this hormonal signal starts foaling. A mare that goes past her due date is therefore not late. Her foal is simply not ready yet, and inducing birth would risk bringing an immature foal into the world.
How can you tell that foaling is near?
In the last weeks, the udder fills, first at night, then permanently. The muscles on either side of the tail relax, the croup looks more hollow, and the vulva lengthens and softens. In the last days, drops of colostrum dry on the ends of the teats. This is known as waxing.
None of these signs gives a date. Some mares wax a week before birth, others never do. Testing the mammary secretion is far more reliable.
Measuring milk pH and calcium before foaling
In the days before birth, the composition of the mammary secretion changes. Calcium rises and pH falls. Both measurements can be made at home with inexpensive equipment, and they are the most reliable indicators available to the breeder.
- Start about ten days before the due date, or as soon as the udder fills. Measure every evening at the same time, straight after sampling, and record the values.
- As long as the pH stays above 7.0, the night will very probably be quiet.
- When it drops below 6.4, foaling is near, often within 24 to 48 hours. Switch to two measurements a day.
- If calcium rises above 200 ppm in the diluted secretion at the same time, the mare will very probably foal within 48 hours.
The protocol in detail
Above 200 ppm of calcium, just over half of mares foal within 24 hours, and more than eight in ten within 48 hours. Below this threshold, foaling within the day is unlikely. These figures come from work at Colorado State University.
They apply to a normal pregnancy. Placentitis, or treatment with domperidone, which stimulates lactation, makes calcium rise and milk run several days before term. A mare that loses milk too early also loses her colostrum, and her vet should be informed.
In maiden mares, foaling for the first time, the changes are often slower and less clear. When in doubt, the vet can also measure sodium and potassium, whose ratio reverses as birth approaches. This requires an ion analyser and cannot be done with strips.
How does a normal foaling unfold?
The three stages of foaling
- 1 to 4 hoursPreparation. The cervix dilates. The foal, lying on its back during pregnancy, rotates to present with its back uppermost, forelegs and head first. The mare is restless, looks at her flanks, sweats, lies down and gets up again. This stage ends with the breaking of the waters, a rush of yellowish fluid.
- About twenty minutesDelivery. It rarely lasts more than half an hour. A white, translucent membrane appears at the vulva, the amnion. Inside it you can make out the two front feet, one slightly ahead of the other, soles down, then the nose resting on the knees.
- Less than 3 hoursPassing the placenta. The placenta is expelled. Beyond three hours, it is called a retained placenta.
What can go wrong?
The vast majority of foalings need no help. Accidents remain rare, but they are unpredictable and play out within minutes.
The most feared is dystocia, a foaling blocked by an abnormal presentation of the foal. Once the placenta has separated, the foal has only a few minutes of oxygen reserve. Straining against a badly positioned foal, the mare can tear her perineum or bleed internally. She can also push her uterus out through the vulva, which is called a uterine prolapse.
The foal can suffer from the birth itself. A rib fractures as it passes through the pelvis, or the bladder ruptures without anything showing for a day or two. Other foals, short of oxygen during birth, develop neonatal maladjustment syndrome. They seem absent, do not seek the udder and do not recognise their mother.
Finally, a placenta retained for more than three hours exposes the mare to infection of the uterus, metritis, which can lead to laminitis, a serious inflammation of the feet.
Monitoring does not prevent these accidents. It shortens the time between the accident and intervention, and that time most often decides the outcome. When a dystocia goes beyond what can be done in the stable, we assess the situation with you, and the mare is most often referred to a clinic.
What is a red bag?
Normally, a white, translucent membrane appears at the vulva. Sometimes it is a red, velvety sac instead, known as a « red bag ». This is the chorioallantois, the outer membrane of the placenta, which has separated from the uterus instead of rupturing. The foal is no longer receiving oxygen from its mother, and every minute counts.
Call your own vet immediately, then deliver the foal as quickly as possible without waiting for them to arrive. Open the sac with scissors or by hand, and help the foal out by pulling on its forelegs in time with the mare's contractions. A foal born from a red bag has often been short of oxygen and may need resuscitation. At the Giguellerie, we can intubate it and support its breathing from birth.
Red bags are more frequent in mares with placentitis and after an induced foaling. This is one of the reasons for the ultrasound scan we perform when the mare arrives.
See the delivery of the foal
When should you call your own vet straight away?
If any of these times is exceeded, call your own vet. Call them without delay as well if
- a red, velvety sac appears instead of the white membrane; it is a red bag, open it immediately;
- the mare has been straining for more than twenty minutes after her waters broke without the foal making progress;
- only one foot appears, or the head without the feet, or soles pointing upwards;
- the placenta has not come out after three hours; never pull on it;
- the mare shows violent colic after the birth.
Prices
The package covers monitoring, assistance at foaling and routine care of the newborn foal. The mare's board is charged per day, before and after the birth. Medicines, the IgG test, colostrum and plasma are added according to what was needed.
| Foaling surveillance package | 515,52 € | Surveillance, foaling assistance and routine care of the newborn foal. Medication, IgG tests, colostrum and any plasma are charged extra. |
Frequently asked questions
When should I bring my mare?
Around day 320 of pregnancy. Earlier if the end of gestation looks delicate, for example with placentitis or premature milk loss.
How long does a mare wax before foaling?
Usually one to four days, but some mares wax a week before, others never. Waxing shows that term is near, it does not give a date. Milk pH is far more reliable.
Does the mare's temperature announce foaling?
Very little. It drops slightly in the two or three hours before birth, but the change is small, it appears only at the last moment and it misleads about one time in five. Milk pH gives an answer much earlier and much more reliably.
How is the transmitter removed?
At foaling, we cut the two threads and take it off. It takes a moment and is painless.
Can I attend the birth?
If you wish, we call you as soon as the transmitter goes off. The birth is quick, however, about twenty minutes, and most owners arrive when the foal is already born.
My mare is past her due date, should I worry?
Not in itself. It is the foal's maturity that triggers birth, and many mares go past eleven months. We monitor the foal's vitality by ultrasound.
How long does foaling last?
Delivery of the foal takes about twenty minutes. The preparation before it takes one to four hours, and the placenta follows within three hours.
My mare has had a difficult foaling before. Will it happen again?
Not necessarily. Most dystocias depend on the foal's position, which differs from one pregnancy to the next. Mares with a history of dystocia nevertheless seem slightly more at risk, which is one more reason to have them foal under supervision.
Which vaccinations before foaling?
The mare must be up to date for influenza, tetanus and rhinopneumonitis. The latter is caused by equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), which can cause abortion, and is prevented by vaccination in the fifth, seventh and ninth months of pregnancy. A booster four to six weeks before term loads the colostrum with antibodies that will protect the foal during its first weeks.
How long does the mare stay after the birth?
At least three days if all goes well. Some complications in the foal only show after a day or two, such as a ruptured bladder or meconium retention, the foal's first droppings. We watch for them before letting mare and foal leave.
Can she be bred again here?
Yes, from the foal heat if the uterine examination allows, or on the following heat. See gynaecological monitoring.
And if the foaling becomes too difficult to manage in the stable?
We assess the situation with you. Most often, the mare is referred to a clinic.
Is your mare due to foal this season?
Let us talk a few weeks before term, to plan her arrival.
