This time of year sees the first newborn foals of the season begin landing on the ground. It's a great opportunity to refresh our knowledge on the foaling process.

The mare’s mammary glands will enlarge about 2 to 4 weeks prior to foaling and 7 days out the external genitalia will swell and relax. At 24-48 hours prior to foaling wax plugs will appear on the end of the teats.

The foaling process usually occurs at night and is very fast compared to many other domestic animals like dogs and cattle. It can be divided into three important stages:

• In stage 1 of foaling the mare will seem restless. This stage may last up to an hour as the foal becomes positioned. At this time the mare’s ‘water breaks’. If the bag fails to break and a red bag is visible it must be manually opened immediately and the birth assisted.

• Stage 2 involves abdominal contractions pushing the foal and the mare usually lies down. Both the foal's front legs should appear, followed by the head, then body and hind legs. If stage 2 labour is taking more than 20 minutes, call us immediately.

• In the final stage of birth the foetal membranes are naturally expelled by the mare within 6 hours of birth. Retained membranes can be a serious medical problem in mares if not addressed promptly.

The most common reason mares have trouble foaling is incorrect positioning of the foal. Care must be taken to ensure the foal is in the correct position prior to applying gentle traction to the front legs.

Foals should stand and nurse within two hours after birth. Occasionally mares can have problems after foaling including bleeding, colic and infections. Both mare and foal should be watched closely.

We are here to help around foaling time - please call us for advice or assistance.

Although spring joining in most herds is still a few months off, preparation is key if you are going to use synchrony to manage your breeding. So if you are thinking about syncing, here are our 7 top tips:

1. Synchrony is a tool, not a solution
Synchrony helps you better manage your cows' breeding, it doesn’t make infertile cows fertile, and it doesn’t make up for poorly conditioned and underfed cows.

2. Factor in your facilities
Large AI groups require good set up, good planning and good helpers. Synchronising oestrus should help workload, not create a headache. We can help match the program to suit your needs.

3. Know your budget
Obviously there are drug costs, semen costs and the labour costs. Weigh these up against the benefits of tight calving patterns, better genetics from AI and reduced bull costs to see if synchrony is for you.

4. Feed your cows well
Cattle are always more fertile on a rising plane of nutrition.

5. Get heifers to their target mating weights
Forget age - puberty is all about weight. If your heifers are just reaching puberty at joining, they will struggle to get in calf. Aim for 65% of their mature weight at joining, with a minimum of 55%.

6. Remember the other end – managing calving
Experience has shown that a maximum of 30% of cows which conceived on the one day will calve on their due date. The spread we see is +/- 10 days of their due date (283 days after AI).

7. Manage animal health & diseases
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV) is a major cause of reproductive loss in Australia. You need to have a plan in place to manage it. Leptospirosis should also be vaccinated against in breeding cows. 

When we think of broken bones in horses we often think the worst - but there are many types of fractures that can now be treated surgically or by other methods.

Horse fractures have traditionally been very difficult to treat as horses are very heavy, and spend almost all their life standing. They also suffer laminitis if their weight is distributed away from a seriously injured limb. Horses have such a strong flight response that after serious injury they can continue to panic and move around, exacerbating the damage.

Advances in technology have greatly improved survival rates for horses with certain types of fractures. Portable digital radiography now allows fast and accurate diagnosis of fractures. Sending images electronically to an equine surgical specialist can provide immediate advice. Modern anaesthetic techniques, antibiotics and surgical equipment make fracture repair possible where once it wasn’t.

There are 21 bones in the front leg. Fractures in each bone carry a different prognosis, and are treated in different ways. For an example a fracture of a splint bone may require confinement and anti-inflammatory therapy whereas an open fracture of a radius is not generally treatable.

Any suspected fracture must be treated by a vet immediately as correct first aid is extremely important. Fracture repair is performed in equine specialist centres.

Call us if you have any questions about your horse's health.