>>>> And people like Karen, who recently kept diligent track of her >>>> pregnant mares for foaling, are admonished in certain circles for being >>>> silly as that practice is unnecessary because hey -- all the foaling >>>> problems have been "bred out" of the breed long ago, since no one >>>> watched or watches pregnant mares in Iceland. I heard this myth >>>> years ago too when we decided to breed our own, imported mare. She'd >>>> had one foal already in Iceland and we wanted the experience of raising >>>> our own. All of the folks I knew who were breeding at the time simply >>>> went to bed and woke up in the morning to see if there was a new foal >>>> in the pasture. Imagine my own surprise, horror, and shock when our >>>> Rose's foal was stillborn and we nearly lost her too. (Thank God we >>>> were in attendance, and called the vet immediately so he could stop her >>>> contractions before she prolapsed her uterus.)
In 2006, not quite two years ago, I was admonished on another list by a traditional type breeder who told the list that the owner shouldn't check on their about-to-deliver mares more often than every 8 hours. Note that she didn't say that you should check AT LEAST every 8 hours...no, she said that you shouldn't check MORE OFTEN than every eight hours. Why? She said that if you check more often, the mares are nervous, and they will delay birth indefinitely. I don't believe the woman has ever been in labor. For those of us that have, we KNOW that when it's time, there's only so much we can do to delay the process. It seems that mares may be able to delay the process SLIGHTLY better than humans can, but you will never convince me that they will be able to delay the process for more than minutes, maybe a couple of hours. The saying I've heard from vets educated on this topic, that makes sense for me is that "the foal determines the day, but the mare determines the hour." Anyway, such advice is downright barbaric to me. Our mares deserve the best care and attention that we can give them. I'm very lucky that Anneliese mentored me once I decided to breed. Anneliese is, in my mind, the official midwife of the American Icelandic horse. She'd been breeding over 20 years when I met her and unfortunately, she lost one of her favorite mares early on, and I don't think she ever forgave herself. BUT...she just didn't know then. After that, she made it her business to know as much as she could about foaling. She gave me one piece of advice that still stands out above the other gems of wisdom: if you know your mares, they will tell you when it's time...and if they trust you, they will allow you to attend their births. She's right. (Now, if you get a mare who has had many unattended foalings and who has years of distrusting humans, probably it would be more difficult to get that relationship going...but I have two examples of where it happened...) Anyway, because I trusted Anneliese, and because she was SO confident in what she said, I believed it possible, and because I believed, I saw the signs for all three of my first mares, and I've seen it for all the mares since. Many thanks to Anneliese for being so confident, and for conveying that confidence to me. It may not be possible to predict EVERY birth, but we can certainly see the signs for MOST, if we are dilligent. And thanks to her for conveying how important it is for our pregnant mares to trust us... Karen Thomas, NC
