This message is from: Lori Albrough <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cheryl Beillard wrote: > My mare has still not foaled (day 14 past her due date) .. and I'm heading > off for Nairobi on business for nearly a month, next Friday. The question I > have for the List is whether any of you breeders out there ever induce your > horses?
There is a section on inducing labor in The Complete Book of Foaling by Karen Hayes DVM. According to this book there are two factors that must be in place before a decision to induce can be made: Foal Readiness & Mare Readiness. The author says "Never forget that the mare gives birth in response to foal readiness rather than the numbers on a calendar." Foal readiness refers to a number of things, including the foal's completed physical development. The foal may be one that requires, say, 355 days to reach maximum survivability. Foal readiness also relates to his position in the uterus, and his stage of preparation for the positional changes he will have to make in order to get through the birth canal correctly. During the two or three weeks prior to birth the foal is exercising the muscles of his neck and forelimbs to practice and strengthen his ability to extend his head and forelimbs into the birth canal so that they will be in that position when the mare rotates him onto his side. If labor is induced before the foal has had enough practice at these exercises, he will surely be in the wrong position when the induced labor contractions begin. Mare readiness is judged by the state of her udder, the character of the liquid it contains and the state of the cervix. Much of the hormonal recipe that goes into preparing the mare's body for birth is actually little understood by science - so you have to wait until the milk and the cervix are in delivery mode before trying to induce the next step. I keep hoping that she'll foal before you have to leave - but if she doesn't maybe you could take her to your friends to foal out when you are gone? Lori
