Baby Basics for Horses-What You Should Expect of your Birthing Horse

Articles on Horses | Topics: horses, horse, equestrian

by Feodora Fischer

When your mare gives birth to a new life, it can be produces high anxiety and anticipation. With so much time and money, not to mention the emotional investment put into your expecting mare and the little foal she preparing to bring into the world, this wonderful event can easily be to stressful for you to enjoy the moment. By fully understanding all of the stages of parturition, you can relieve some of that rising anxiety and be able to find the answers to some questions that you may have.

It is most important to understand the onset of parturition before it takes place. While some mares appear very obvious, others may simply just lie down and give birth with no other indication. The first indication of parturition is the distension of the udder that appears around 2 to 6 weeks before giving birth. The second indicator will be appear around 7 to 10 days before birthing when the shrinking muscles in the hindquarters become evident as the ligaments and the pelvic muscles relax. Then 4 to 6 days prior to birth, the nipples will fill with milk. A waxy secretion will build up on the nipple and will stay until the last 24 hours before birthing, when the waxy secretion falls off and milk is allowed to drip.

The first stage of parturition is the preparation, when the mare appears restless and nervous. She may constantly get up and lie down. This might also include sweating, switching her tail, frequent urination and showing many mild signs of colic. This preparation normally lasts about two to three hours when the uterine contractions begin. However, this may also be short-lived. The end of stage two is distinguished by the ejection of up to five gallons of chorioallantoic fluid, or rather when her water breaks. This first stage usually begins at night.

The second stage of birth is activation. This is when the uterine contractions begin to increase and the cervix becomes dilated. In this stage, the mare may lie down to roll and get up several times. At this time the feet of the foal will come out, with the bottoms of its hooves facing down and the nose just behind them. This activation stage will only take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Bit of History

For all symbols are fluxional; all language is vehicular and transitive, and is good, as ferries and horses are, for conveyance, not as farms and houses are, for homestead.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

The third stage involves the expulsion of the foal. This is when the mare will lie down and begin her labor. The increase in uterine contractions will force out the foal in about 15 minutes. Normally, the mare will lie down and allow herself about ten minutes of rest while the foal orients itself to its new surroundings. Sometimes the umbilical cord will not break immediately following birth, but that's okay, then cord will most likely break when the foal stands up for the first time. After the umbilical cord breaks, the stump should be treated with a solution of iodine.

The forth and final stage of parturition is the ejection of the membranes. The mare will experience some abdominal pains, similar to colic, as the placenta passes and may even continue a few hours afterwards. This final stage normally happens within 15 to 60 minutes, sometimes longer. Call you veterinarian immediately if the placenta has not been passed after six hours. Retaining the placenta can cause many serious problems including infertility, laminitis and metritis.

Very rarely do mares have difficulty during parturition and develop dystocia. The best way for the mare to give birth is by allowing her privacy. She does not need you in her stall coaching her and she will not "feel better" if she can see you are there. If you are concerned about the health and safety of the mare and her foal, then you can watch the process through a window or by using a monitor. This way you will not be intruding upon her private moment and you will avoid disturbing her. While the parturition process normally begins at night, the special delivery normally occurs in the early morning hours and happens fairly quickly. If problems do develop, it would happen during stage two, the activation stage and they can normally be corrected. You never want to rush a mare into giving birth. Her foal will come naturally when they are both ready for it to happen and not a moment sooner.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Baby Basics for Horses-What You Should Expect of your Birthing Horse" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by DogsPetsCats.com.

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