Re: [RC] Mare's gestation period - Barbara McCrary
Title: Mare's gestation period
When our mare was late foaling, I happened to be
talking to a friend that afternoon and she said she took her mare for a long
walk in hand. That precipitated the foaling the very day. I led our
mare outside of her foaling pen and took her about 75 yards up a steep
hill. She stopped, lay down, rolled (uphill!!!), got up and started eating
frantically. In a few minutes, she dragged me down the hill, took herself
into her foaling pen, and stood there, looking very suspicious. I thought,
"Hmmmmm....something's happening." I dashed into the house, put dinner on
the table and we ate. After that, I went outside to check the mare and she
was still looking suspicious. I came back into the house to load the
dishwasher, maybe 15 minutes at most, went back outside and it was all
over. I saw a wet foal on the shavings, just hatched. I went in the
pen, cleaned the placenta off her face, breathed into her nose so she could
smell a human, and went away to leave mother and baby to become
acquainted.
I recommend some exercise...a walk in hand. Our
friend had led her mare 2 miles, she said, but our mare took only
about 150 yards to precipitate some action.
Ok, what’s the record
gestation period out there that any of ya’lls endurance mares have gone? Scarlet is at 362 today and
still isn’t showing much in the way of getting
ready to foal. She did finally start a tiny bag the Wednesday before
Hog Scramble (1
½ weeks ago), but then
immediately went into a holding period. We’ve got two more days until this little sucker is a
yearling!
