'Tis
the season for the foaling! It's April, (or it will be anyway) so many
mares have already had their babies and proud owners are shooting roll
after roll of film so they'll have plenty of photographs to brag on.
Your own mare is entering her nineteenth month of pregnancy (you and
your vet may disagree on this point, but who has to live with her?) and
you anticipate appearance of the new arrival almost any time. Whether
this is your first or you haven't had a foal in a while, hopefully this
article will help you get keep yourself together.
When you bred your mare last spring (or the spring before -
whenever) foaling seemed too far in the future to even think about. You
knew your mare was pregnant so you treated her like an expectant
mother. Then you began to wonder if you needed to have the vet check her
because she just didn't "look" pregnant. You waited. Finally you began
to notice she was getting a little fuller in the middle, and lying down
to sleep more. She laid her ears back when you tightened the girth. She
developed a taste for Krispy Kreme doughnuts and frozen enchiladas. Now
she threatens to call her lawyer at the sight of a saddle. She's
definitely pregnant and you're absolutely certain she's going to foal
sometime in this decade. Where has the time gone?
As the time draws closer, preparing a foaling kit is a very
good idea. Besides having all the necessities organized and in one
place when needed, it gives the owner something to do while waiting. A
foaling kit can be as simple as a bottle of iodine in a bucket, or as
elaborate as your imagination can make it. If this is your first attempt
at putting together a foaling kit, I'd like to offer a few suggestions.
For the first-time expectant human, I recommend taking a
day off work to prepare your foaling kit. Plan a nice outing, and ask a
friend to go along. You'll have several stops to make, and you'll enjoy
the company. You can treat yourselves to a nice lunch, and think up baby
names. Make a careful list of what you'll need the night before - write
very clearly because you're likely to be overcome by excitement and you
don't want to have to decipher your own handwriting when shopping for
something vital.
The first thing you need is something to organize and store
your foaling kit in. Experienced "parents" have had success with items
such as a Hefty Bag, or one of those nice five-gallon buckets with lids
like some brands of vitamins come in. If this is your first, don't try
to cram everything you need in one of those type containers. Buy one of
those nice new plastic tack trunks. They're big enough to hold
everything you'll need, plus you can use them afterward for other
things. Anticipating this, be sure and drive the truck when you go
"foaling kit shopping".
With your container ready, it's time to start putting in
the necessities. I recommend starting with the following: 2 large bags
Chips Ahoy cookies, 2 2lb. bags M&Ms, 1 large bag potato chips (your
favorite), a bag of large marshmallows, your local Domino's Pizza phone
number, portable phone (for calling Domino's), five- and ten-dollar
bills and loose change (for paying Domino's) and several 3 liter bottles
of Diet Coke (you have to watch your sugar intake at a time like
this)*. It's perfectly all right to store all these items in your
container; your mare will foal during an unexpected blizzard so it will
be cold enough to keep these items without fear of spoilage. "But I live
in Florida!" you say. Doesn't matter. Expect a crowd of surly citrus
growers at your barn on the night of the blessed event. All of Florida
will be under six inches of snow and they'll hold you responsible.
Now that the important items have been packed away, let's
get to the things your mare will need. First, a tail wrap. Vetrap or a
plain track bandage will do nicely. Some people will tell you the
purpose of wrapping a mare's tail is to keep it out of the way during
foaling, and to help keep it a little cleaner. I suppose there's some
validity to that. Mostly the purpose of wrapping her tail is to give the
owner something to do. Wrapping tails is a particularly good
distraction for owners, because you can check them every thirty seconds.
One note of warning: after you've checked the wrap the first 100 times,
it's a good idea to start standing pretty far to the side when checking
it. You mare may feel the need to give you what she may feel is a
well-deserved kick. Please understand how she feels. Mares do not
realize they cannot foal on their own, that they must have your help.
Back to the items that should be in your foaling kit.
Several towels are a good idea. Clean ones, please. In fact, some
"expectant parents" find it's best to just buy four or five new ones.
That way, the newborn has his own towels and won't ever have to share
with anyone else. And no one else will ever have to share with him. Some
people take a certain comfort in knowing that. The famous (or infamous)
bottle of iodine cannot be left out. A large bottle of iodine can be
purchased at your local tack shop. As for the wide-mouthed jar, like a
baby food jar, to dip the navel stump: forget it. If you think for one
moment you are going to get iodine on that baby's belly and not get any
on yourself, you are living in a dream world! Besides, it's such fun
when people say, " My gosh, what happened to your hand? And your arm?
And your FACE!", to be able to grin and reply, "Oh, nothing. My mare had
a foal the other night and I spilled a little iodine.". They'll be
interested, so you'll launch into a dissertation on foaling which will
make them faint after about two hours. A flashlight is a must. You don't
want to turn on the barn lights and cause the baby to jump back in if
he's been peeking out and considering making an appearance. Besides,
without a flashlight you might stumble in the dark barn and fall and
knock yourself unconscious and miss everything. Buy extra batteries.
Your local tack shop will probably have foaling
announcements. They usually come in packages of twelve, with envelopes.
Buy two. You can spend the waiting time addressing the envelopes and
filling in all the information except the date and whether it is a colt
or filly. If you cannot find foaling announcements, just pick up a
couple of packs of baby announcements at your local Hallmark shop. Be
sure and cross out "boy" and "girl", and write in "colt" or "filly".
Otherwise, it startles a recipient to find out you've had a 95 lb. baby.
Be sure to get a big pink or blue bow for your mailbox. (What's really
fun is if you have two mares that foal within a month or two of each
other, and you get a colt and a filly. It startles passing motorists to
see a pink bow on your mailbox only a short time after seeing a blue
one.) Be careful with "It's A Boy" or "It's A Girl" balloons in the
barn. Some mares are firmly convinced balloons are aliens that have come
to earth to round up all the mares and take them to some strange planet
where they'll become school horses for spoiled six-year- olds.
Don't forget a baby halter. They come in pink and blue, and
have a little strap hanging from the bottom, theoretically for ease of
catching the newborn. Don't be misled by this strap. Its actual purpose
is so the newborn can drag you around the pasture. Which color should
you buy? That's easy; buy one of each. Keep the color you need, and give
the other one to a friend who may not be as well prepared as you when
their mare foals.
Write down your vet's phone number in a conspicuous place -
such as on the inside wall of your barn with a can of Day-Glo spray
paint. I don't care how long you've had his or her number memorized, you
will forget it. It's important to be able to reach your vet in case of
emergency, such as getting up and down repeatedly after contractions
begin, and nothing happening, or obvious abdominal distress unrelated to
foaling. If you experience either of these symptoms, call your vet
immediately. Your farrier's number is not really necessary - few mares
feel the sudden need for shoes right after foaling. Of course, if she
feels very strongly about shoes, I would certainly recommend giving her
whatever she wants.
It is always helpful to know the signs that foaling is
imminent. Any good book on horse care will include this information, or
your vet will be more than happy to discuss it with you. Basically, when
you see a hoof emerge from under the mare's tail, you can be pretty
sure foaling is very close. There are other signs, such as the worst
rainstorm in fifty years blowing up at 8 pm, or an unexpected visit from
relatives you haven't seen in twenty years, but the hoof test is really
the only 100% reliable one I've found. The "waxing over" thing is okay -
if your mare's udder is a little waxy, you can assume she will foal
sometime in the next month or so. That should narrow it down a bit for
you, anyway. Your mare's personality is a good indicator of how easy or
difficult the birth will be. If she is a timid, nervous mare who shys at
everything, she will foal quickly and easily with no problems. If she's
a sturdy, no-nonsense honest mare who'll take you through a mine field
and never blink at the explosions, the foal will be born upside down and
sideways.
Please resist the urge to grab the foal's front legs and
yank it out to find out what it is. Also, resist the impulse to shove it
back in and ask the mare to work on it a little longer. Foals in the
process of being born may not look like your mental picture of a
brand-new baby, especially if you've never seen one. Their ears are wet
and folded back against their heads, and they have an expression on
their faces which seems to say "I have absolutely no idea what is
happening to me, but when I get myself together, I'm sure I won't like
it." When the foal is completely out, try to refrain from gathering it
in your arms and running to the house with it to raise it yourself. It's
a major temptation, I know, but pretty soon it's going to realize how
hungry it is and it's going to want a meal. Then what are you going to
do? Better to leave it with its mother, at least for six months or so.
Then it's yours forever.
Friends and family are going to want to come over to see
the new arrival. If you can get them to wait a day or so, your mare will
really appreciate it. Having a baby is strenuous business, and she
needs a little time to get herself together. Besides, the baby needs
some time to get his eyes working. He may not recognize someone he's
already met if he didn't see them well. Waiting a day or two before
allowing visitors also gives you time to clean up the gruesome remains
of the event. Empty pizza boxes, cookie and M&M bags and cola
bottles scattered throughout the barn detract from the professional
image you work so hard to maintain.
So your long-awaited baby is on the ground (or standing
up). Congratulations! What are you going to do with it? Do you remember
saying nineteen months ago when you first bred your mare, "I can always
sell the baby and get my stud fee back, at least."? Okay, so write the
ad. What are you waiting for? Write it now, and maybe you can sell it by
weaning time.
Oh, what the heck. You can always decide about selling it
later. In fact, it's such a nice baby! Did you remember to call the
stallion owners and tell them it had been born? No? Then take a good
long look at it so you can describe it exactly. Be sure and look closely
at its perfect head, and shoulder angle. That stallion sure did cross
well with your mare, didn't he? In fact, maybe the stallion owner would
be willing to make you a deal on a repeat breeding! Why not! After all,
you've got your foaling kit container and you survived foaling once! Go
for it!
* One word of warning: When Domino's arrives with your
pizza, don't take your eyes off the mare for a minute while paying for
it. Many unsuspecting owners have blithely tripped outside to get their
pizza and returned to the barn five minutes later to find the mare
smirking and the foal standing and enjoying his first meal. Besides
being disappointed that you missed the whole thing, you'll forget about
your pizza and the dogs will get it. Then you'll have to call Domino's
again and wait another thirty minutes!
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