What is first stage labor?
During first stage labor, where the foal gets itself into the final birth position in the birth canal and the mare’s cervix relaxes, the mare will look restless and will get up and go down several times with abdominal discomfort. The mare will raise and lower her tail and produce small quantities of droppings and urine frequently. Most mares sweat but some do not. This stage may last for several minutes to several hours and ends when the mare ‘breaks water’, i.e. the placenta ruptures and allantoic fluid is released. Placental rupture can be differentiated from urination because the mare does not straddle in the urinating stance and the volume of fluid is too large in consideration of the fact that the mare has already passed small quantities of urine repeatedly. Your veterinarian should be called if your mare is excessively distressed or is in prolonged, non-productive discomfort. If the placenta does not rupture, it may appear at the vulva as a red velvety structure. This is called ‘
