And Now Maiden Mares..

[stoicfish]

My maiden mare is 330 today. She started bagging up a month ago, no milk, just a swollen udder. Baby used to do somersaults in there when I talked to her, haven’t felt her in the last 10 days, she is probably running out of room. Mare has more square footage than my house these days. She has had yellow clear, thicker fluid in her bag for the last 8 days. Her belly is still round, and her backside should be more lose, I would think. I am not sure if I should be sleeping in the barn with her or if this could go on for another month? The question for all of you who have done this a million times, what are some examples/stories of your maidens foaling. As one helpful poster put it “all bets are off with a maiden” but I thought if I heard some stories it might help or I might see a pattern. Thanks in advance!

[Waterwitch]

If you can get even 1/2 cc out of her udder, I would test calcium and pH. Check the sticky at the top of the page for directions.

[stoicfish]

If you can get even 1/2 cc out of her udder, I would test calcium and pH. Check the sticky at the top of the page for directions.

Read the post and bought the stuff, but we are at the
This is often preceded by a very thick, sticky, clear stuff. Dunno what that is. Won't test, don't bother wasting a strip unless you are *reeeeealy* anxious. I know you're tempted since this is the first sign of 'change' and is sticky... o.k., go ahead, try it. I'm right.
phase.

How about your maidens, what did they do?

[stripes]

My maiden mare just foaled on thurs. with absolutely NO signs of foaling whatsoever! She had no milk to speak of and quite frankly didn't even look like she was due. I put her into the foaling stall on wed. just to get her used to a new stall. I also turned the camera on so that could see her normal nightly activity. I was up until 2:30 am working, so that was the last time I checked in on her and at 6:30 am the stall cleaner wanted to know what to do with the new baby! She was up, dry & nursing. Momma didn't have a sweat mark on her and looked great and the placenta was complete and dropped in the corner. All is well - but maidens can be extremely sneaky ;).

[Dunamis]

I was finally able to express milk from my maiden on day 329. I tested it twice daily until she foaled and it always read calcium 250-300 and pH 6.2. She didn't foal until day 332. Needless to say, I had a couple of sleepless nights. She was nice enough to foal at 8 p.m. at least. Amen for cameras!

[Home Again Farm]

I have found testing milk to be invaluable, especially with maidens. I'd start testing now, since you have the strips. It will give some idea of where you are.

I have had a maiden test nothing for days, then jump to 175 on Chemetrics and foal that night. If I had not been testing and seen the jump, I would have missed her, as the sample that tested 175 did NOT look promising.

[stoicfish]

I have found testing milk to be invaluable, especially with maidens. I'd start testing now, since you have the strips. It will give some idea of where you are.

I have had a maiden test nothing for days, then jump to 175 on Chemetrics and foal that night. If I had not been testing and seen the jump, I would have missed her, as the sample that tested 175 did NOT look promising.

So does that mean the calcium can be detected effectively when the "milk" is still the clear yellow sticky stuff? I milk out a little bit everyday anyway just to see if there is a change so it would be no problem.

Dunamis, was there any kind of signs whatsoever?

Oh and my poor girl’s bag is so itchy, every time I am with her she backs up to me and lifts her leg till I scratch her bag/teats. She drools. I need to grab a picture because it is just too funny. And weird.

[Waterwitch]

So does that mean the calcium can be detected effectively when the "milk" is still the clear yellow sticky stuff?

My non-maiden (but first time foaling for me) mare foaled with sticky, only slightly turbid (no big flakes/crystals), yellow mammary secretions this year. If I'd been going on color alone I would have missed her.

Luckily I was monitoring calcium and pH, and her pH dropped below 6.2 the night she foaled (calcium had been >400 for several days). I was also monitoring taste, and she foaled 48 hours after mammary secretions first tasted "sweet" (obviously I was also watching other physical signs and behavior).

I agree with HAF, I would start now and look for changes. If nothing else it is one more data set to help you next year. If in doubt, stay up and watch her.

[stoicfish]

Thank-you. I went out and tested my mare. pH is around 7, and calcium is 250 but I didn't get the dilution right, as it is very syrup like. So I think it is actually lower. So WW your sneaky mare foaled while still in the almost clear, yellow phase? Glad you told me that.

[Waterwitch]

Thank-you. I went out and tested my mare. pH is around 7, and calcium is 250 but I didn't get the dilution right, as it is very syrup like. So I think it is actually lower. So WW your sneaky mare foaled while still in the almost clear, yellow phase? Glad you told me that.

It wasn't totally clear...but very thick and honey like and a bit cloudy. Good luck!!

[pintopiaffe]

Oh and my poor girl’s bag is so itchy, every time I am with her she backs up to me and lifts her leg till I scratch her bag/teats. She drools. I need to grab a picture because it is just too funny. And weird.

HAD to say, my new-to-me mare is doing the same thing. The first time I thought she was going to kick... nope, lifting that leg up as high as she could to give me better access. And SHEER BLISSED OUT face and half-closed eyes, tip of the nose just as pointed out as can be.... :uhoh: :lol:

A couple of useful clues for me beyond the milk, (and I'm at 346 without a drop in sight to TEST Yet! :eek: )

THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM 7 YEARS OF ALL FAT MARE TV:

-If a mare lays flat out to sleep, complete with snoring/REM sleep movements, she's not going that night. Maybe very early morning, but I can set the alarm for at LEAST 4-6 hrs.

-"Pushing" the back end and leaning against things, a very, very slow rubbing of the vulva while really LEEEAAANNNIING back onto that haunch. I *think* they are actually helping to stretch the vulva, but probably also relieving some of the pressure. This means 24-48 hrs for me.

-Yawning. This is more likely to happen during the day before foaling. Espeically while outside. No one else is yawning, and mare will yawn A LOT. When I see yawning, I know tonight or tomorrow night.

-'Squirrelling' the tail. This is different from bugs, and you won't know it until you see it, but WHEN you see it, you'll know. They go straight up and down with the tail, like a squirrell. This can start a couple days out, but once you start seeing it,things are getting into position.

I had ONE yawn and a bit of squirrelling on my first day off. Got pretty excited. I think she was getting up from a nap and had a horsefly on her udder. :uhoh: :lol:

[stoicfish]

Thank-you Pintopiaffe,
Those are things I will watch for. In fact she has a scratch on her vulva, and just under her tail, just a surface mark. But her milk is still salty today and same ph and Ca. So I have seen several posters suggest a plunger.....:D

[Dunamis]

Sorry to get back to this so late. All the signs were there for my mare as soon as I was able to express milk. Her butt was so loose that you could actually see dimples on each side. Her vulva was very relaxed and elongated. She was "squirrelling her tail" (very good way to put it) constantly. She was yawning continuously as well. She rarely ever laid down, and, when she did, she was back up within ten minutes. Of course, I fed her dinner around 6:30 p.m. the night before she foaled, and she gobbled it right up. I think she was holding out until she couldn't possibly hold out any longer. When her "water" broke, she was down and had the baby out in under ten minutes. She was a champ:) Any changes yet???

[stoicfish]

No big changes so far, maybe the milk is a little less salty.
I am becoming quite the mare milk connoisseur! Wonder if I am improving my immune system, I should be good for West Nile this summer? Hmmm, I did notice that I'm enjoying carrot salads and oatmeal cookies more than usual…

But if anyone else has any maiden mare stories, please add them. I did a search on this site and there is information everywhere, but in different threads and under many different thread titles. So it would be good to have a bunch of stories in one thread for first time maiden mare owners. Or just advice. Maybe it will even make it to Sticky section.

[pintopiaffe]

Hmmm, I did notice that I'm enjoying carrot salads and oatmeal cookies more than usual…


:lol:

Still holding out on you, 'eh?

At least you've got something to TEST. Of course, the problem being the maidens don't read the book, so can have colostrum never actually come in until POST foaling...

Still, the pragmatist scientist in me absolutely loves the empiracal evidence. When there is any... :uhoh: ;)

[stoicfish]

Thanks everyone that gave advice!
She foaled on the 7th! Her milk did turn very quickly (hours before foaling) and it did spike Ca++, pH dropped a day before. The yawning and "squirreling" was there too. Actually she foaled at 5pm and I had spent the day with her, as it was fairly obvious. She is a wonderful mom, and I couldn't be happier.

[CrossWinds81]

I am waiting for my maiden to foal very soon...her tentative "due date" is July 27th, so we're a little ways off still, but she is HUGE and has had a bit of an udder for the past 4 weeks...she's been checked for placentitis and all looks fine. Her "milk" is already opaque, but salty still and watery. Though, I did notice when it started to dry, it got rather sticky...is this a sign of change, or have I just not noticed the stickiness factor before? She still needs to relax a good bit more behind before I am really suspicious, but I do think it will be sooner rather than later. She too, likes having her udder scratched. :)

[stoicfish]

CrossWinds,
Good luck!!
Pintopiaffe wrote a great (sticky) post and has way more knowledge than me on the subject, but I did the pH and calcium and it was dead on even though the appearance changed only slightly. I would recommend it.
My mare bagged up a while before and it scared me too. Turned out great. I should have mentioned in my original post that this is my first foal too. So it was a bit scary. As it turned out it was very noticeable, and I only stayed up a couple of nites, just to be sure.
Oh and even though she was a house before she foaled, the little guy was very skinny. I thought he would be a bit bigger for all the room he took up, but he was a great size for her. Post here when your baby is born and tell how it went!!

[CrossWinds81]

Stoicfish, Thank you!!! This is actually the first foal of my very own...I have helped with several foalings, and have done the critical care of not so healthy foals, as well as handled healthy foals...but they have never been mine. So I am exceedingly excited :) I just got back home from doing a late night check on my girls...I have 2 due this year. Poppy, my maiden, had been rubbing her tail...she did it right in front of me (and come to think of it Annie also had the tell tale signs of rubbing her hiney on the fence as well), so we could be a little closer than I originally thought? Maybe a week? They were munching away at the grass and looked plenty comfortable, so I left and went home.

Annie has had 2 foals already, and I am trying to get more info from her previous owner as to how long she normally goes...she has gotten pretty soft around her tail, still a bit of tone though, but her udder is significantly bigger today than it was the last several days. She is 4+ weeks out yet so hopefully she'll keep it cooking a while. I will definitely keep you updated!

[Iron Horse Farm]

I have had several maidens that have had no symptoms at all. One of them (after watching her on the camera all night) went out in the morning and laid down in her hay and foaled............the foal was up before she was and she ran screaming from it tearing around the field like a mad woman snorting. :lol::lol: We had to sedate her to bring her into the barn and introduce the foal. When she came out of her stupor she accepted the foal and has had two more since with much better warning signs.

[CrossWinds81]

Well, I did the Chemetrics test today, and we we're at 150-170ish. Also, I noticed her attitude changed significantly today...very cranky a little aloof, and she's usually in my pockets...so definitely coming on faster than I originally thought. I used a friend's kit, so I'm getting a Ca/pH test kit tomorrow. I'll be living at the barn starting tomorrow as well.

[stoicfish]

Crosswind,
The tests made me feel better about sleeping. I did check her every 2-3 hrs for the last 3 nites and I was soo tired that the day she foaled I was almost a mess. Help would have been great. Good thing my mare had had some sleep for the big day :)

Wasn't Iron Horse's story funny!

[CrossWinds81]

Funny!?? Scary too!! My mare is just chillin out looking cool as a cucumber...I tested her milk on my way back for picking up the water hardness kit, and now it looks like her milk is at 250 ppm??!! I need to make certain I did the test right though....but if it is true, it could be in the next 24-48 hours...pH was still in the 7's though. I'll be testing every few hours, and we'll spend the whole day together getting groomed and primped. She loves being the Diva. I'll update later. :)

[Iron Horse Farm]

Crosswind,
The tests made me feel better about sleeping. I did check her every 2-3 hrs for the last 3 nites and I was soo tired that the day she foaled I was almost a mess. Help would have been great. Good thing my mare had had some sleep for the big day :)

Wasn't Iron Horse's story funny!

It is funny NOW. At the time I thought that I was going to have a maiden mare rejecting a foal. Looking back, it was a really good decision to just tranq the mare and let the foal nurse to his heart's content. As I said, when the sedation wore off she was very lovely dovey.

But..........you could almost put words in her mouth in the field...."my stomach hurts this morning, maybe if I eat something. I think that I'll just roll in this hay, oooh, I really have to poop. Oooh, that hurt....ooooh that's better. What did she feed me? OMG, my poop! It's alive! AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa! It's chasing me, it's going to get me! Aaaaaaaaaaa!":lol::lol::lol:

[leslie645]

It is funny NOW. At the time I thought that I was going to have a maiden mare rejecting a foal. Looking back, it was a really good decision to just tranq the mare and let the foal nurse to his heart's content. As I said, when the sedation wore off she was very lovely dovey.

But..........you could almost put words in her mouth in the field...."my stomach hurts this morning, maybe if I eat something. I think that I'll just roll in this hay, oooh, I really have to poop. Oooh, that hurt....ooooh that's better. What did she feed me? OMG, my poop! It's alive! AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa! It's chasing me, it's going to get me! Aaaaaaaaaaa!":lol::lol::lol:


You are TOOO funny
LOL ooooh, ooooh? Laughing so hard at that!