Here ’s the last episode of our three - part series on vulgar farm animal pregnancy and birthing offspring . Revisit what we ’ve already discuss regardingsheep and goatsandcattle . This month , we consider horse . Of the common livestock species , sawbuck have one of the longest gestations : 11 calendar month . The typical reproduction time of year for female horse is the former saltation so that , almost a twelvemonth later , foaling takes place .
Mares typically carry a single foal during pregnancy , but here ’s a crucial power point : Twins in sawhorse , although infrequent , correspond avery dangerous situation . On rare occasion twins dosurvive , but a female horse ’s uterus is not equipped to deal more than one foal . This typically leave in one of the following situations :
The number of foals a maria can carry at one time during pregnancy is n’t the only thing that make equine reproduction different from moo-cow and small ruminants . Another expression is the amphetamine with which a mare give parentage . While a heifer can be in labor for minute — as long as she ’s make slow but stiff process — a mare ’s legal transfer , once the placental membranes fall apart and birth fluid pelt along out , is comparatively rapid : roughly 20 to 30 minutes , and frequently much shorter than that . Sometimes veterinary text describe foaling as “ volatile . ” While that might be abitextreme , relative to other farm animal species , it is pretty exact .
Because a foaling happens so quick , when things go wrong , they can goreallywrong . Therefore , it ’s best — if possible — to be present for a foaling just in suit . One unique facet in a foaling to watch out for is what ’s called a “ ruby-red bag delivery . ” This is where the placental tissue layer have detached untimely and the foal ’s oxygen provision has been cut off prior to birth . While a normal placenta is supposed to be fairly translucent , slight , and a yellowish / whitish color , a red bag is just that : cerise . If , during foaling , you see a red structure being delivered without sign of a foal peek through , do not waffle to intervene and cut the placenta open to deliver the foal . This exigency is so dire , you do n’t have clock time to call and wait for your vet to arrive , as the foal will suffocate .
Another face that differentiates horses from oxen and small ruminants when it come to pregnancy is the pathology behind the placenta , ordinarily called the afterbirth . Livestock will “ drop ” their placenta after a period of prison term after birth . kine can hang up onto theirs for as long as a few days . The danger , however , is that the longer a placenta remains hanging from the animal , the more probability it has to play as a ravel for environmental bacteria . It can thus bring home the bacon infective organism a direct line to an beast ’s uterus , stimulate a disease prognosticate metritis .
hold back placentasin maria can be life - or - death office . If a mare has not choke her placenta within three hour after birth , this is reason for concern . Anything over three hour and the maria is at risk for endometritis , which in this mintage can lead to septicemia ( blood infection ) , founder ( severe and crippling fundament inflammation ) and death . If a retained placenta in a moo-cow result in a uterine infection , it ’s not typically as scary and is commonly deal with antibiotics without too much worry about complications .
Retained placentas in mares sometimes hap because of hormone imbalances and are often encountered if a female horse has experienced a dystocia , or difficult birth . Sometimes as the placenta hang from the mare , it will tear , leaving a belittled firearm still attached to the facing of her womb . Even a small piece of keep placenta can get infected . For this reason , horse owners are advised to keep the female horse ’s dropped placenta in a plastic bag and have a vet examine it . The vet will lay the placenta out and make indisputable there are no mess in it . If there are , the female horse is often started on a round of antibiotics and a hormone called oxytocin , which induce uterine contraction . Sometimes big volumes of fluid are flushed into the womb to help raise the membranes out and , depending on the condition of the mare , she might also be put on pain medication . If catch and managed early without complications , the female horse should regain with no live on hurt .
