January 2004

Simple Foaling Predictors

Even hard-water test strips can make reliable foaling predictors.

Timing your mare’s foaling date takes a combination of science and plain, old horse sense.

Foaling watch is always stressful, even for old pros. Closed-circuit TVs and electronic monitors are great, but they have drawbacks, too, including the price. However, you can zero in on impending birth without breaking the bank.

A Cornell University study in the late 1980s recorded rectal temperatures of mares close to foaling at 7 a.m., 3 p.m., 11 p.m. and for 24 hours after foaling. Horses normally show a variation in their temperature over the day, with the lowest reading in early morning and a rise late in the day. On the day prior to foaling, however, this pattern was lost and the late-day temperature rise didn’t occur. Mares that foaled…