Stage 1

The mare was previous washed in the vulva region and the the tail wraped to keep it out of the way of the foal during birth. Be careful however not to cut off blood circulation with the tail wrap. The mare during this stage appears nervous, walking around the stall. Often a mare will exhibit a pawing or nest building behavior that is also present in many species. She will often lift her tail or turn around and look at her flank when contractions are occuring. The contractions are being caused at this point by prostaglandin (PGF_2a). The prostaglandin also causes the sweating that may be observed. The mare may often roll in an attempt to reposition the foal for delivery.

Stage 2

This stage begins with the breaking of the water. This is actually the breaking of the chorioallantois membrane. This outer membrane of the placenta is a fusion of the allantois and chorion. The fetus however is still surrounded by the amnion. While you can not see the release of the water, you can hear it on the video clip. You can also see the mare becoming more nervous, increased contractions, sweating, and rolling. When the mare stands up you can see the amnion (grey sack) protuding from the mare with a single leg visible. If you look carefully, you can see the hoof of the foal has not yet rotated. The aminion also clearly has fluid in it at this time. Additional sweating of the mare due to prostaglandins is also occuring. Also note that one leg of the foal comes out before the other leg and so do not worry if you at first only see one leg protruding from the mare. Once the foal's head moves through the cervix, large powerful contractions of the uterus are stimulated by the release of oxytocin from the mothers posterior pituitary gland. Be sure to observe how force of contractions are increasing by both the noise the mare makes and the intensity of adominal contractions. The foal breaks the amnion itself during the final part of delivery and begins moving around shortly after the hips clear the pelvis of the mare. It is important to not disturb the mare and foal as the placenta is still attached and delivering blood to the foal. Allowing time for the placenta to separate on its own is benificial.

Stage 3

This stage begins after the foal is delivered. Note the mare has been laying down and we have not disturbed her. When the mare stands up, the placenta falls out onto the floor. She then spends time licking the foal to both stimulate his respiration, encourage the foal to get up and nurse, and to enhance the maternal-foal bonding. We then cautiously enter the stall to remove the placenta before she attempts to eat it.