Countdown to a Foal - A practical checklist.
Talk to your vet, read books, and read articles on reputable sites like thehorse.com.
Mare was recently bred: Chances are you'll be seeing a lot of your vet when your mare is newly bred. There will be ultrasounds to make sure there is a single pregnancy and that the pregnancy is growing properly over the first 14-70 days. Your vet will tell you when the next appointment will be scheduled.
5, 7, and 9 months since conception: Your vet will probably want you to give EHV-1 vaccine at these time points to reduce the risk of abortion. We give Prodigy. Use the DreamHorse Foaling Calculator to tell you the dates for these vaccines - it lets you print a sheet with all your reminders on it. Keep watch for any udder development and call your vet immediately if udder development is seen at this early stage.
4-6 weeks before foaling: At about day 300 you will want to have your mare receiving her pre-foaling shots in order for her immunity to best pass to the foal. At this point most vets will recommend that the mare is in her foaling location so that she can build immunity to the germs. If you are foaling at home, make sure she's in the stall she will foal in. If you are moving her to the vets for foaling, see how early they recommend her arrival. If you are foaling at home, this is a good time to make sure your foaling kit is complete, and you have the vet's phone number posted in several obvious places around the barn. No matter where you are foaling, you'll want to have a soft leather foal halter and soft cotton lead rope ready (see this article for information on handling the newborn: Foal Handling).
Day 320: This is thought to be the earliest day that a foal could survive without intensive veterinary care. We consider it the official start to foal watch season. We strip the stall completely of any wood bedding, disinfect all surfaces with veterinary grade disinfectant, and then re-bed the stall with straw. Start watching the udder development. We start occasional milk testing when udder is semi-full so that we can see changes in the milk. We increase the frequency of milk testing as numbers get closer to foaling levels. Admitedly, if the mare at day 320 has no udder development and is quite piggy in her stall, we will delay bedding with straw in order to make our lives easier.
Day 340: Sometimes used as the "due" date, but it's important to realize that horses have huge windows of time for safe delivery of their foals. Read this article for more information on due date - Is my mare overdue? Keep milk testing, keep the stall bedded in clean straw, and keep patient watch of your mare. The foal will be born when it is fully developed and ready. That takes longer for some mare/foal combinations than others.
Talk to your vet, read books, and read articles on reputable sites like thehorse.com.
Mare was recently bred: Chances are you'll be seeing a lot of your vet when your mare is newly bred. There will be ultrasounds to make sure there is a single pregnancy and that the pregnancy is growing properly over the first 14-70 days. Your vet will tell you when the next appointment will be scheduled.
5, 7, and 9 months since conception: Your vet will probably want you to give EHV-1 vaccine at these time points to reduce the risk of abortion. We give Prodigy. Use the DreamHorse Foaling Calculator to tell you the dates for these vaccines - it lets you print a sheet with all your reminders on it. Keep watch for any udder development and call your vet immediately if udder development is seen at this early stage.
4-6 weeks before foaling: At about day 300 you will want to have your mare receiving her pre-foaling shots in order for her immunity to best pass to the foal. At this point most vets will recommend that the mare is in her foaling location so that she can build immunity to the germs. If you are foaling at home, make sure she's in the stall she will foal in. If you are moving her to the vets for foaling, see how early they recommend her arrival. If you are foaling at home, this is a good time to make sure your foaling kit is complete, and you have the vet's phone number posted in several obvious places around the barn. No matter where you are foaling, you'll want to have a soft leather foal halter and soft cotton lead rope ready (see this article for information on handling the newborn: Foal Handling).
Day 320: This is thought to be the earliest day that a foal could survive without intensive veterinary care. We consider it the official start to foal watch season. We strip the stall completely of any wood bedding, disinfect all surfaces with veterinary grade disinfectant, and then re-bed the stall with straw. Start watching the udder development. We start occasional milk testing when udder is semi-full so that we can see changes in the milk. We increase the frequency of milk testing as numbers get closer to foaling levels. Admitedly, if the mare at day 320 has no udder development and is quite piggy in her stall, we will delay bedding with straw in order to make our lives easier.
Day 340: Sometimes used as the "due" date, but it's important to realize that horses have huge windows of time for safe delivery of their foals. Read this article for more information on due date - Is my mare overdue? Keep milk testing, keep the stall bedded in clean straw, and keep patient watch of your mare. The foal will be born when it is fully developed and ready. That takes longer for some mare/foal combinations than others.