Care of New Born

The actual birth process usually takes no more than twenty minutes and sometimes as few as five. In a normal birth a balloon-like membrane will first appear. That will break and release about a half-gallon of fluid. Within a few minutes, one forefoot should appear, the front of the hoof uppermost, then the other forefoot. This sequence means that one shoulder at a time is passing through the cervix, which is much easier on the mare. Then the head appears, tucked between the forelegs. Once the head and shoulders are clear, the rest is quickly passed. The birth track is circular and down, and any assistance given the mare should be within that track. Never try to pull a foal straight out or up, and don't try to use a calf-puller or other traction device on a mare. If the mare is having difficulty, call your veterinarian! A delay, even of several hours may risk losing the foal, and the mare as well. If all has gone well, the foal will be on the ground, still attached by its umbilical cord to the placenta. The head should be free of the sac and the foal should be breathing. If so, let them alone, for the foal is still receiving blood from the placenta, and the mare is resting. If the nostrils are not clear of the sac, tear the sac open so the head is free. In five to ten minutes, the foal will begin trying to stand. Leave it alone. It will struggle and fall several times. This is normal. It will be on its feet in about fifteen minutes, probably before the mare stands. During its struggle to stand, the umbilical cord will break, and the foal will be free, but the mare will not have expelled all of the placenta, and may not do so for another half hour. Do not try to help. It the placenta is not expelled within four hours, call your vet. The foal's umbilical stump should be disinfected with an iodine solution or other prescribed disinfectant.

Normally, the foal will nurse within two hours of birth, but insure that it does. The colostrum it will get during the next twenty-four hours contains the anti-bodies necessary for the foal's immune system. For most mares, and foals alike, nature will take care of everything, but if this is your mare's first foal, she may be bewildered. Another mare may attempt to steal the foal and she may not have milk, so the mare and foal are best left in a well-bedded stall for at least the first twenty-four hours.