Rural Heritage August/September 2025

squeamish to do it. Foaling is NOT for the faint of heart. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly, but if it doesn’t you need to have confidence in your ability or have a close neighbor or friend who does. Time will be your nemesis. Horses are not like cows. They are more fragile. The same can be said of foals over calves. You will be watching the clock from the moment the foal starts to come, until it is up nursing, pooping and mom has passed her placenta. All these things are critical for the survival of both mare and foal. You should know the mare’s breeding date, or close if she was pasture bred. Using a mare calculator will help a bit for knowing when to be on “foal watch.” These are merely a guide that calculates the 330 days of gestation. The average

by Ralph J Rice W atching a newly born foal run around the pasture under the watchful eye of its mother is a beautiful sight. It makes us all feel the promise of God’s creation and the newness of life. Seeing the baby nurse, sleep and play makes us all feel a bit younger, as the sun beams dance on a shiny new coat. Spring babies of any kind are a farmer’s reward for the work he/she does. It is easy to dwell on the positive things that new births bring. The happy times, sights and sounds, when everything goes well. You walk out into the field and there is a newborn animal … success. I caution the reader, as much fun as the babies bring, are you ready if things go bad? Sadly, where there is livestock, there is deadstock. Despite a farmer’s best efforts and care, things can and do take a turn for the worse. Thankfully, these times are relatively few, but be ready when it happens to you. You will second guess everything that you do, did and know. You will be heart shaken and sad, even mad at yourself, but the lifeless body before you says it all. The days of large animal, country veterinarians are gone. In fact, finding a large animal vet is getting tougher and tougher. We have been using the same veterinarian service for over 25 years. They are good, but it takes a lot of patience and planning on our part to get a vet to the farm. They will schedule an appointment about a month out. This works ok for check-ups, blood draws and mostly anything that can be scheduled, but if it’s an emergency, you are most likely out of luck. You will be referred to an “emergency clinic,” especially if it’s after hours. This might work for a dog that has been hit by a car or having seizures, but getting a mare with a stuck foal there is all but impossible. So, you will look around the stall and realize that her only hope relies on you alone. Are you ready for that responsibility? You can read all about foal positions and possible problems like “red bag” or the need for a Madigan’s squeeze. Perhaps you will only need to cut the umbilical cord or tie it off, but if you need to reach into the mare and reposition a foal, cut through the “red bag” or trim a cord, you can’t wait until she needs you most to discover that you are too

Waxing on the end of the mare's teats indicates foaling time is approaching.

August/September 2025

9