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Conference noted::equitation

Title:	Equine Notes Conference
Notice:	Topics List=4, Horses 4Sale/Wanted=150, Equip 4Sale/Wanted=151
Moderator:	MTADMS::COBURNIO

Created:	Tue Feb 11 1986
Last Modified:	Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	2080
Total number of notes:	22383

1152.0. "Maiden mares foal earlier?" by AHAB::NANCY () Tue Jan 09 1990 20:05

    Hi,
    
    	I have a maiden mare due to foal this spring. What is the typical
    	rule of thumb for expecting her to foal...do I expect her to
    	foal sooner? What's your experience say? 
    
    		Thank you, Nancy
    
    	P.S. I want to try not to be caught off-guard with her...this
             is an important foal for me.

T.R	Title	User	Date	Lines
1152.1	Experience talks.....	BOOVX2::MANDILE	`Wed Jan 10 1990 09:56`	13
	I called my Trainer/Breeder in Texas to get his educated opinion on this subject. Gestation for horses is 11 months. If you know when she was bred, count 11 months from then, and then add a day for each year of the mares age. (i.e. if she's 7, then it would be 11 months,7 days for foaling) This may sound kind of strange, but as he has been breeding for 50+ years (he's 78 yrs old) he's learned and passed along to me all kinds of tidbits like this one, and what he tells me does work! Let me know what she has, I love foals, send me a picture! Lynne
1152.2		NIKKII::TRESEDER	`Thu Jan 11 1990 19:03`	16
	Hi Nancy, I don't know if this is normal or not, but when my mare had her first foal, she went a year and two weeks, her next was right at a year and her next was at 11 months and 2 weeks. I always knew when she was about to foal (within a couple days) because she would start dripping milk -- I mean her legs would be covered with dripped milk. We've had other mares foal, and almost all of them would drip milk too. My vet says that normal gestation is 11 months and fourteen days. So, if you start watching at 11 months, you should be fine! Lori
1152.3	somewhere...	DNEAST::BUTTERMAN_HO	`Fri Jan 12 1990 10:47`	15
	Nancy... I think that somewhere there is a pretty information filled note regarding this subject... but, for the moment, there is no indication that maiden mares foal any differently than the old pros. Most literature/vets/mare owners and farmers concur that the gestation period is 345 +/- days... The 'formula' I use is 11 months and 10 days from the last day that the mare was covered. Blessed are the Broodmares/Blessed are the Foals are two excellent books for folks new at the business of raising babies.