- Distended Udder: During the final month of pregnancy, your mare's udder will probably enlarge, which is most noticeable at night when your horse is resting. The udder may shrink during the day, but this is entirely natural.
- Filling Teats: When the udder grows, the upper portion of your mare's teat will stretch in a way that makes it hard to tell apart from the udder. The lower portion of your horse's teat may stay small right up until your horse is ready to give birth.
- Waxing: Often, your mare will leak beads of a waxy substance from her teat, which will appear anywhere between 12 hours and two weeks before your horse is ready to give birth. However, sometimes, these beads don't always appear, so don't be too alarmed if you don't notice anything.
- Sunken back end: When your mare gets closer to foaling, hormones are released that cause the muscles around the birthing channel to relax. This is most visible around the tail. When you touch the muscles either side of the tail, inside of feeling firm muscle tissue, you will feel squishy jelly-like tissue. It literally jiggles like jelly and is one of the best indicators that your mare is ready to foal.
Why You Should Buy a Foaling Alert System for Sale for Your Mare
Taking care of horses is a rewarding yet challenging endeavour. As almost all horse owners will tell you, the bond between a mare and its keeper is undeniable, and if you can gain the trust of your animal, you can enjoy a genuine friendship that could last for decades. However, horses are large animals, meaning they need plenty of exercise, lots of food and water, and just as much love and attention. Even though looking after horses can be time-consuming, most people think the payoff is more than worthwhile, but things can become even more challenging when your mares become pregnant. Mares can go into heat several times a year, though generally only in the breeding seasons of spring and summer. Your horses may show that they're ready to breed by lifting their tail in front of stallions or putting on a little weight, and they may even secrete urine to attract the attention of potential mates. Because a mare's gestation period lasts around 11 months, it's not always easy to spot the signs of pregnancy in the early stages. However, it can be even more challenging to identify when your mare is about to give birth, but a foaling alert system can lend a helping hand. At Smart Foal, we spent two years working in the research and development industry before launching our new, revolutionary foaling alert system for sale just over a year ago. Our alert system links to an intuitive app so that you can monitor your mares' activity without having to keep your eye on the constantly, and we've installed a range of safeguards to ensure nothing can interfere with or hamper the effectiveness of your system. In addition to being one of the most comprehensive solutions available, it's also one of the most cost-effective to buy. Below, we detail some of the signs that suggest your mare is nearing labour before explaining how our new app can help. Signs Your Mare Might Be Near Foaling When your horse is ready to give birth, you'll likely become overrun with a mix of emotions, from fear and anxiety to joy and excitement. However, if you want adequate time to prepare, you need to know how to identify the signs that your mare is ready to foal: