Dr. Jennifer Morrissey goes over the details of what you need to know: how to tell that your mare might be about to foal, what happens in a normal foaling, and how to monitor your mare and foal after the birth.

Foaling season is once again approaching and many pregnant mares have been left out on pasture to eat to their heart’s content over the winter. Often pregnant mares have minimal monitoring throughout most of their pregnancy, but there is a strong case to be made for closer monitoring, especially in mid to late gestation due to the risk of placentitis.

This is the first post in a series about foaling out your mare.

Foaling season is upon us and mare owners everywhere are left guessing as to when their mares are going to foal.  Watching your mare can be frustrating and confusing, but knowing some basics and being prepared can go along way to help bring a healthy foal into the world, or to help save a sick one.  This spring we will have a series of posts about foaling – what to watch for when your mare is close to foaling, how to be prepared, what to do once the foal is on the ground, and when to breed back your mare.  This first post in the series covers information on the signs that your mare is close to foaling.