USE OF THE FOALWATCH
AND SOFCHEK
TESTS FOR EVALUATION OF PRE-FOALING MILK CALCIUM CONTENT
AND THE APPROACHING READINESS FOR BIRTH IN THE MARE.
William B. Ley
General Introduction
Normal pregnancy length can vary widely in the mare. Thus many nights can be spent waiting up for the mare to foal. Physical signs of the mare's approaching readiness for foaling include an appropriate gestation length of greater than 320 days, udder enlargement with the presence of colostrum (milk), in the teats, waxing on teat ends and relaxation around the tail head, buttocks and lips of the vulva. While helpful, none of these signs are extremely accurate as a means of predicting when the mare will foal. Recent studies of pre-foaling milk (mammary secretion) electrolyte changes have demonstrated an increased ability to predict foaling time. These electrolyte changes (especially with regard to calcium level) have also been shown to be related to the development of maturity of the foal in the uterus and its subsequent survivability (viability) following a normal delivery.
This kit has been developed from years of extensive research and testing. The intent is to assist you in determining when the mare is likely to foal based upon the kit's ability to detect changes in your mare's pre-foaling milk calcium level. It is a tool that, when used in an appropriate manner, will allow you to attend your mare's foaling without an excessive number of sleepless nights.
The advantages of this kit include its accuracy and repeatability compared with other test kits (or test strips) available on the market, its ease of use, its quantitative (numerical) determination of the calcium carbonate level in each sample of pre-foaling milk tested and its economy.
from the desk of:
William B. Ley, DVM, MS
have questions?
Return to Prefoaling Milk Content Testing.