Rural Heritage August/September 2025

human birth. I hope you will arm yourself for success, prepare for the worst and stay engaged. Don’t enter the decision of foaling lightly. Be prepared for whatever the outcome may be, stay vigilant and cautiously optimistic. I like to give our mares and foals about eight to 10 hours to bond well. It gives me time to see all the actions repeated. I mean the foal nursing on both teats, getting up and down easily while mom watches over her baby intently. Once I am satisfied that all is well, I turn them out on pasture. Green grass is good for mom. The clean fresh earth makes a good bed for a baby. I worry less over things like “navel ill,” an infection of the navel caused by the closed box stall, that won’t clean itself! I still check on them regularly and feed mom grain twice daily for about a week. The mare will go through her “foal heat” about seven to nine days after foaling. The foal will almost always get a loose stool when this happens. While mom eats grain, I can play with and pet the foal. I even go so far as to halter the little one. Just for a few minutes. Once she has gone through her foal heat, I bring them into the barn in the morning, stall them in the heat of the day and return them to pasture in the evening. The foals soon learn to come into the stall and get their halters put on, just like mom. I start to tie them up as mom eats. I stay nearby and pet those ticklish spots while talking softly to them. Yes, it’s a luxury because I have the time to do it, but it pays big dividends later. They learn to lead easily. They learn to trust me. We build a good relationship. This all began by imprinting at birth. Raising foals is the easy part of foaling. Once they get here, the fun begins. It is the getting them here that can be the hard part. Breeding and foaling is not for everybody, but I am sure grateful to the folks who do it. Think it over carefully. Is foaling for you? If the answer is“yes,” then proceed slowly and wisely. Congratulations and good luck. Editor’s Note: As Ralph emphasizes in this article, foaling is not for the faint of heart. As this issue came together, another of Ralph's mares foaled, this one a maiden mare. She is less cooperative than one that has foaled before might be, and the colt is requiring extra care to get him to stand and nurse. He continues to improve, but, as Ralph points out, “he's not out of the woods yet.” We'll have the rest of the story in the next issue.

pull it. If she does not pass the placenta, call your vet immediately. (I am a horse farmer not a vet, go by her or his recommendations and treatment. I know how to do things but will not share those ideas or techniques because I am not licensed or qualified to do so.) Injectable oxytocin will most likely be given to keep the mare contracting. Banamine may be given to ease her pain a bit. Again, follow your vet’s advice and treatment. Hopefully, you will have a healthy foal up nursing and running around. Make sure it poops to pass the meconium (first poop). The meconium is a very black sticky goo that comes out in a blob about the size of a smashed apple. A Fleet enema for people can be administered to the foal just to flush things out. This poop will usually pass in the first 24 to 48 hours. I personally like to see it just after the foal nurses, signaling all is working well inside. Don’t get in a big hurry to feed the mare. Offer her a good long drink of slightly warm water. Give her a little fresh hay to nibble on if she wants it. Clean the stall well, getting rid of placenta, baby sack, bloody straw, manure and baby poop. Bed the stall with fresh straw and step out. Let mom and baby bond. Just watch closely to see the baby nurse. Make sure it is “latching on” not just making sucking noises as he sucks on mom’s udder. A good mare will stand with her leg back a bit even nudging her baby on the butt to find the dinner plate. I recommend that the prospective breeder keep a foaling kit on hand. The kit should include hand sanitizer and paper towels, iodine or “Vetericyn” spray. A few old towels, rubber gloves if you’d like, a pair of sharp scissors, a ball of cord string or twine (in case you need to tie a navel off). A length of 12 to 15 feet of soft rope kept nearby in the event you need to perform the Madigan squeeze technique on a dummy foal is a good idea too. I could write about the horrors of bad births and possibilities for many pages, but I digress. If you are considering foaling, I strongly suggest that you educate yourself to the best of your ability on the subject. I recommend finding a vet who will work with you, even at night. One who will arm you with the knowledge and medicines needed to help save equine lives when you are the only thing standing in the gap between life and death. A successful birth is truly a celebration for a horse owner. It can be very rewarding and downright satisfying. There is simply nothing like it other than a

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