Foal Watch with a Very Sneaky Arabian Mare

Early this morning I posted an image of a mare's udder taken when foaling is imminent. Mare's Udder I'm also posting images of two other signs of foaling for those beginners looking for such pictures.

The image above shows the mare "broken down around the tail." Look closely on the side of the tail at the line of her hip. That concave line is the area where the muscles have relaxed and flattened out, leaving an soft impression. It runs from below the tail and up at an angle toward the middle of the horse's croup. In this picture that "dent" is difficult to see but look closely at the nuances of the shading. That are is slightly sunken from the relaxation of the muscles.

The second is a picture of the relaxation that is normally evident in the vulva. Mare's Vulva Look at the amount of swelling that is evident and the opening has elongated. This mare is not very big. Most of my mares start out the size that Aana has stretched out to. First timers and others not experience with foaling show get used to how their mares look before foaling is imminent so they can see the differences.

These pictures were taken of Bey Aana yesterday afternoon. For those who haven't been keeping up with my blog, Aana is an 18 year old purebred Arabian mare by Lazer Bey (by Bey Shah) and this is her fifth pregnancy. The particulars (history, training, etc) about Bey Aana and how she fits into our family are posted on this thread on MareStare. http://maremulligan.proboards40.com/index.cgi?board=nursery&action=display&thread=1178672162&page=1 I have never been able to catch this Arabian mare foaling.
I've spent many nights sleeping in a cold barn but she's always managed to foal without me.

The reason this concerns me is foaling can go south very quickly. Every minute can mean the difference between life and death for both the mare and the foal. The older mares get, the more likely they are to have complications in foaling. At 18 Bey Aana is moving into that category of aged mares even though as an Arabian horse is life expectancy is longer than other breeds. With that knowledge and the complicated birth of the twins last year and Krugorrs Heiress's foaling this year, I was really feeling gun shy. There was no way I was going to be comfortable just letting nature takes its course and hoping for the best. I was determined this mare would not foal without help if she needed it.

This year was to be totally different. With the live webcam, I was determined to catch the mare foaling. I could now watch the mare without her knowing AND I had help. I posted on the marestare message board about my sneaky sneaky mare. I had reinforcements as determined as I was to catch Aana in the act and hopefully, guarantee her safety and that of this foal.

In preparation the mare has been up on the internet for a couple of weeks. I spent many evenings studying her behavior. Knowing how a mare normally acts when no one is around is a great tool to help identify when things change. Things changing is a big key in determining a mare is going to foal.

Aana was a great study. The Arabian mare had very definite mannerisms when the foal moved or she experienced contractions. She flipped her tail like it was a weapon and threw her feed tub in frustration. This was in addition to the normal foot stomping, side biting, head flinging, pacing, tail rubbing and getting up and down that most mares preparing to foal do.

To be continued..........

Part 3


You can see some of her previous foals on our website, Rising Rainbow Arabians .


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