Late Foal

[CricketHill]

Shanthi, I have a mare Unconditional that was supposed to foal on 4/1, based on her due date.  I know I have a couple more days before she hits the 30 day mark, when it officially becomes a bug.

My question is: what if my vet was on crack (it’s been known to happen), and guessed the wrong due date by A LOT?  Is the 30-day period still applicable?  Or could it potentially be even longer? 

e.g. Mare’s actually supposed to pop normally mid-April, but then decides to hold onto baby for an additional 4 weeks, due to whatever factors that determine a mare being overdue, putting her into mid-May before I should be concerned. 

Also, does a longer-pregnancy (i.e. a bigger foal) increase complications (i.e. Mare Death) with the birth of the foal?  Or is it a non-factor and mare death is completely random/unavoidable?

That being said, if a longer-pregnancy/bigger foal was indicative of an increased chance of mare death, hypothetically would there be anyway to avoid that situation (e.g. terminate the foal/induce labor early/not breed my 14.3hh mare to that 17.3hh stallion), or is it completely luck of the draw?

I REALLY don’t want to lose this mare.

Of course, she was due around the time of the server crash, so baby could have been born in the middle of the night and headed home with the attending vet.  Like I said, I wouldn’t be surprised if my vet was on crack.  So, anything could happen.  =)

[Shanthi]

@"CricketHill"

Shanthi, I have a mare Unconditional that was supposed to foal on 4/1, based on her due date.  I know I have a couple more days before she hits the 30 day mark, when it officially becomes a bug.

Actually, it’s 6 weeks (42-45 days) before I really care.   The only times it’s a “bug” is if any of the mare’s page claims that the mare is not in foal when she should be…or if the mare is several months overdue.

My question is: what if my vet was on crack (it’s been known to happen), and guessed the wrong due date by A LOT?  Is the 30-day period still applicable?  Or could it potentially be even longer?

It could be longer.  The vet’s due date guess is literally the date bred plus a random number of days between 330-360.  Colts tend to gestate longer, and mares can be as many as 4 weeks late (esp maiden/older mares).  So a colt will likely be more on the 360 end, and if the mare’s stubborn, could be more like 400 days (almost 13 months).

Also, does a longer-pregnancy (i.e. a bigger foal) increase complications (i.e. Mare Death) with the birth of the foal?  Or is it a non-factor and mare death is completely random/unavoidable?

Mare death is far likelier with twins.  It is also likelier with maiden/older mares.  (Only slightly, though.)  Other than that, all mares have equal chance to die in foaling.  (Larger foals do not affect death rate, though that would be cool to add.)

That being said, if a longer-pregnancy/bigger foal was indicative of an increased chance of mare death, hypothetically would there be anyway to avoid that situation (e.g. terminate the foal/induce labor early/not breed my 14.3hh mare to that 17.3hh stallion), or is it completely luck of the draw?

Termination/induced labor aren’t options, obviously breeding with height in mind is.  With that said, it’s basically luck of the draw.

[CricketHill]

Six weeks, not 30 days.  Can we put that in the FAQ?

Thanks for the breeding/gestation information.  Here’s hoping I don’t have to wait 13 months.