When will my mare drop her fo?

I would say anytime between 1:00 and 3:00AM, probably during the coldest night of the year and in the middle of a snowstorm. ;)

At least that's what our broodies at school always seemed to do.

We have had a lot of foals born at our place and in my opinion they rarely come early, you usually wait and wait and check and check. and when you decide the foal wornt come for a few days then that is when they have it.

I have found the best way to tell when they are really close, if you take your finger tips and and kind of tap tap down around the top of the hips near the tail head, If it just feels soft and real fluidy that is where it will start to soften, The last few mares that I have kept close watch on the day before they foaled if you tap on either side of the vulva and down about a foot or so on the inside of the thighs you will feel real looseness and softness of the muscle.

Also the bottom of the udder will flatten out and not have the crease inbetween the teats. and the teats will wax up.

I would not put a mare in a foaling stall even a week before you think she will foal because there is no way you can keep the stall dry and clean.

I move them into a dry clean stall when I know the mare will foal real soon.

With pasture bred horses you can never pinpoint a date, 2 weeks either way, and with a first foal it could be quicker, I would start looking about the first week of March, when you see a waxy looking substance on her nipples look for a foal in 36 hours.

When my mares were due to foal they would develop little wax-like drops on the ends of the teats. These drops are stuck to the teat. |The foals were born about a day or so later. Not all mares will foal in 24hrs after the appearance of the wax but mine did.

It can be so tricky to judge, and sometimes even harder to be there when horses give birth. They often want their privacy, as a way of offering protection to the foal from predators. Even though they really aren't at risk in a stable, it is still an instinct they carry.

I think you're right to move her to a larger stall, as you want her to have more room to be comfortable and move around.

Does she also get turned out at all?

good luck, I hope the birth goes well! what an exciting adventure for you and your mare in the coming weeks and months!

Lisa

http://www.tender-loving-horse-care.com/

If she was having contractions yesterday, you need to move her to a larger stall before this weekend.

I'd say she could have the foal anytime from now to a couple of weeks from now.

Hmm... I'm not sure when she'll drop her fo! :D

Anyways, if she has started to have contractions, it will be soon. Even if it is a few weeks early, it is still ok. My coach had a horse who always gave birth a month before she was due, and the foals were always fine.

A mare should be put in her foaling box 6 weeks before she is due to foal.

She will wax up anything to a week before she foals. some mares drip milk in the hours before,some days and some don't produce milk before at all.

don't try to milk her, if it's there you will see it.

Hard to say my mare held her first foal for 13 months. And the milk wont come till after the foal is born the clear stuff is colostrum so stop squeezing her teets.