How do you know when your mare is in labor?

Answer 1

When the mare is about ready to foal, she gets really stringy "wax" coming out of her teats. This is called waxing. You have to be really careful though because sometimes it can be hard to see the wax because it is in little beads. Most of the time however, it is really stringy and easily seen. Also just before they foal they start sweating and wil pace around their stall or where ever they are. They may start to dig to. When you see a horse start to do this immediatelly stay where you are and if you aren't experienced get someone who is out there as soon as possible in case of complications.

Answer 2

At 30 days after breeding you can have her ultrasound examined to look for a fetus. You may have to repeat this at 3 months as well. After 6 months until delivery you can have her manually palpated by the vet. In fat-bodied mares it's very hard to tell until the baby is on the ground. But on many mares in the later stages (last 2 months) you can feel baby kicking around the flanks and beneath the flanks, and a normal bodied mare will get a heavy belly that looks like a grass or worm belly and is heavier towards the flanks. About a month to a week before she delivers the muscles on either side of the tail head will sink in giving her a bit of a "goat butt" look. And you'll know for sure when you find 2 faces in the pasture or stall instead of one.

Answer 3

She would be out of breath quite easily, and her eyes would be all shiny and she'd eat a lot, her belly would be huge and hard.

In the last 10 days of her pregnancy, her teats will swell up and become a more leathery texture, and she will start lactating with a water substance will progress into milk.

They tend to be very protective about their back legs, and theres the obvious sign of her vulva swelling.

They also have a spot which becomes a lot softer on the bum area which is to let the foal be birthed with ease.

Answer 4

Well, that depends on the individual mare. If you bought her from somebody else and had offspring with them before, you could ask them if they kept notes on what she did around the time she foaled.

If you don't have any notes/records, or the mare has never had a foal, watch her milk bag (udder) and vulva. As she gets within a month or so of foaling, her udder will fill up with milk and get a bit harder, and her nipples will fill out more. Some mares have wax or even drip milk within a week of foaling. Her vulva should loosen or tighten, depends on the mare's attitude that day. Feeling around her baby bump or vulva and seeing how she reacts should tell you a bit as well. If she is tender, she may be close, or simply sore.

Answer 5

A couple of days weeks even her utters will start to bag up and she will be soft in the hip area.

Answer 6

They will start breathing fast they will neih loudly and paw at the ground and some time lay down sideways after all that.

Answer 7

Constant whinnying and if she is getting up and down a lot.She will be uncomfortable.You may be able to feel the contractions by putting your hand on her belly.

Answer 8

Get you vet to do a test or wait for her to pop out her baby

Answer 9

usually you can tell, when the horse starts to pace around, sweat, whinny and neigh, lye down and roll around and get back up and just overall seem to be frantic and in pain