due to foal

Question
QUESTION: hi, i have a 3yr old mare that is due to have her first foal sometime this month (may 2008) her udder is filling up but it is hard and quite warm to touch, She does not like me touching it, Is this normal?
if this is normal when do you think she will foal, soon or later on in the month, please help me this is my first foal that i have breed and i am so excited.

ANSWER: Hi Karen,
         When a mare's udder is hard and hot, she is close to foaling. If a mare has not been handled in the udder area, then she may not want to be touched there. If you can clean it with warm water and a face cloth without getting kicked, then you might want to do that. There is a good chance that she Other signs that you can look for are, her abdomen will drop. Her teats fill with a clear, watery fluid, that will turn white and sticky as she gets close. Her vulva will become very red and loose. The muscles of the pelvic area will become loose. She may get wax beads at the end of her teats.

Good luck with your foaling.

Lisa

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi, thanks for the reply, she had a lovely fillie foal this morning, although now the foal wont suckle!
The mare was in a field on her own and in the field next to her was 5 horses, my mare foaled by the fence and the foal ended up in the other field with the other horses and has been kicked in the head, she has a swollen eye and a bloody nose i had the vet out to check on both mum and baby and they gave the foal some anitbiotic injections and a tetnus,and said that she should be OK, i have been bottle feeding the foal with the mares milk and she is drinking this but it can not latch on to the mare, What can i do?

Answer
The first thing you will want to do is have your Vet take some blood from the filly abd run an IGG test. An IGG test tells if the foal received enough colostrum or not. If it did not then she could use a plasma transfusion. There are several reasons that a foal may not be able to latch onto a mare to nurse. One reason is that the foal may have neonatal maladjustment syndrome, which is also known as being a "dummy" foal. Some of the other symptoms are aimless wandering, hyperactivity , they may hang their tongue out the side of the mouth, have difficulty swallowing, not learn to nurse. If your foal does not have any of those symptoms then check her mouth for any deformities that could be causing her to have problems nursing. Also check for deformities in her legs and neck that could be casing her problems with nursing. You should also check the mare's nipples and make sure that they are not too small for the foal to latch onto.

You do not say if the mare is staying still while the filly is trying to nurse. If she is not then you will have to tie the mare or have someone hold her while the foal nurses. If for some reason you are unable to get the foal to nurse, then you want to teach the foal to drink from a bucket which will be much easier on you.


Lisa