I now have a mare at 12 months and 6 days. What is the longest you’ve had a mare go?
Longest I’ve ever been around was 369 days, maiden quarterhorse mare, totally normal small to average size colt was delivered with no problems.
Does she look like she is super close? Is she bagging up/waxing?
Oh I would just DIE waiting!!
I had one that went 365 on the button every year. Once I figured out her pattern it was ok but drove me nuts in the meantime.
My mare last year went 365 days. The year before that a different mare went over 400. I would have to count again. I think she was due in September and foaled in November. They like to make me crazy.
[QUOTE=Derby Lyn Farms;7466449]
My mare last year went 365 days. The year before that a different mare went over 400. I would have to count again. I think she was due in September and foaled in November. They like to make me crazy.[/QUOTE]
Were these mares related? Does anyone know if there is any heritability with long gestation/gestation length in general?
According to one study: Gestation length shortens as the season progresses, length decreases as the mare gets old with shortest lengths being when the mares were 10-12 years old then increases again and is shortest for the 4th or 5th birth as well, then gets longer. And it is heritable, at least in this study. --however in TB mares, gestation length was shorter for foals born in January, longer for those born in April, but the study agrees with the first, in their case, boys take 4 days longer to mature. The colt thing shows up in other studies as well, but somewhere, that I can’t find, had printed data that said the stallion can also affect the length of gestation.
Let me add: I would be way past sanity by the time she hit 400 days, no WAY could I stand that!
My one mare last year went to 434 days.
Ugh. He was her 6th foal and she was always bang on 345 before.
Oh dear God!
My maiden is at 293 days and has a slight bag, so I am freaking out and wondering if it will be early. I would freak out more if I had one go 434 days!!!
428 days here for my mare last year. Maiden mare, never bagged up at all.
Strip tests kept telling me at least two weeks to go…this was well past the 12 month mark 365 days. I tried one last time, again showing at least two weeks to go…delivered the next morning.
Turned out the mare had little to no colostrum (hence the false strip tests) but otherwise textbook foaling. The resulting colt is strong and perfect. Even my experienced Vet was getting a little concerned but as they say…nature has a way of determining these things. Not up to us to get all anxious about a “late” foaling date if everything else seems normal.
[QUOTE=cherham;7466543]
428 days here for my mare last year. Maiden mare, never bagged up at all.
Strip tests kept telling me at least two weeks to go…this was well past the 12 month mark 365 days. I tried one last time, again showing at least two weeks to go…delivered the next morning.
Turned out the mare had little to no colostrum (hence the false strip tests) but otherwise textbook foaling. The resulting colt is strong and perfect. Even my experienced Vet was getting a little concerned but as they say…nature has a way of determining these things. Not up to us to get all anxious about a “late” foaling date if everything else seems normal.[/QUOTE]
Was she on fescue? Lack of bagging up and delayed gestation length sound like classic symptoms of that.
Wow that’s prob the longest gestation I’ve heard.
Well I guess I don’t feel so bad. My mare went 366 days last time and she’s at 351 right now. Just looked at her before coming in and she doesn’t appear to be all that inspired to go yet miserably huge all the same.
[QUOTE=MuskokaLakesConnemaras;7466522]
My one mare last year went to 434 days.
Ugh. He was her 6th foal and she was always bang on 345 before.[/QUOTE]
OH. MY. GOD!!!
OK, I feel a tad bit better. I took her up to a repro center to foal out, she was palpated, baby OK. I have never, ever had a mare go this long but apparently they can go even longer! :eek:
My foal is more visibly active now (300ish days)then when it was 7/8/9 months! Isn’t there supposed to be less move to bump n grind in there now? I wonder if that is a sign that we are going to be waiting awhile?
In answer to the question about my mare…nope no fescue. We are in southern Ontario…no sign of that around here. I might add this was a very late conceived foal bred in September foaled early November so perhaps that was it. We don’t know but it all worked out other then my nerves during that time period 
