Some foals are slow to nurse due to
foaling complications or because of some birth defect or impairment, but others are slow for no apparent reason.
National
Foaling Bank: Only pounds 20 to join and you can get all the advice in the world and help if you have need of it.
Some veterinarians recommend deworming one or two days after
foaling to reduce the foal's risk of contracting roundworms or small stomach worms.
The mare should have a tetanus boost four-six weeks before
foaling. If her vulva was stitched after the last covering, this may need to be opened one-two weeks before
foaling.
If the mare's been streaming milk two weeks prior to
foaling, chances are there won't be enough colostrum.
The winners' average
foaling date becomes gradually later in the chronological order of the contests until the Derby, whose winners record an average
foaling date two days later than St Leger scorers.
It's not unprecedented for late foals to win two-year-old races at Royal Ascot - 1997 Norfolk winner Tippitt Boy was foaled as late as May 6 - but recent runnings of the Queen Mary and Coventry suggest that a smart juvenile who has had an early
foaling date will often be able to get the better of a smart juvenile who has had a late
foaling date.
Name our foal We'd love to hear your suggestions for her pet name - email them to borntorun@racingpost.com On racingpost.com Follow Lady Rebecca's conception and Maid For Running's
foaling on RPTV.
"Covering the mare eight days after
foaling is very, very quick, especially if you imagine there has been this enormous foal come out of a relatively small place, so everything is stretched."
As with Maid For Running's
foaling, there is a complication of sorts.
ICE PEARL, dam of the outstanding chaser Florida Pearl, died on Monday night at Sweet Wall Stud, County Antrim, following a difficult
foaling. The daughter of Flatbush was 23, writes Amy Bennett.
THE
FOALING season is already half over for Nigel and Carolyn Elwes, with three of their six mares already having foals on the ground, writes Amy Bennett.