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Is it likely for horses/ponies to be born on a full moon2007-11-24 21:17:59

I have a pregnant pony and she could foal any day know. We were talking to the lady we got her from (she has foaled 3 times before) and she said she has always had the baby at night. Since tonight is a full moon I figured she might have it tonight. So, Is it likely for her to have it tonight?

Answers:

She certainly could- I once knew a stallion who was born under a full moon. There are better indicators than the moon being full, however. Some of them have been mentioned by the writers above me- and chief among them is the color of your mare's colostrum. If it's white, sticky to the touch, and she has little beads of it around her udder and nipples, then she's probably getting close. Another thing to look at is her sides- as she gets close to delivery, her muscles will relax so that there is a hollow in front of her hips, and the baby will appear to have really dropped down into her belly. Her ribs may even show a little bit- my former coach, who has been breeding horses for 40 years, used call this the "starving dog look". If you see any of these signs, you need to put the mare in foaling stall or paddock, and keep a close watch on her.

Almost ALL horses foal at night- this is a carryover from the time when they were wild and lived in herds. There was less danger from predators, such as wolves, bears, and mountain lions at night, because these predators were usually not as active. Your mare is NOT unusual because she foals at night or in the early morning ( pre-dawn) hours. I would look for the obvious physical signs of impending birth before I decided to stay with the mare tonight. If you do not see these signs, then no, I don't think it's likely your mare will foal tonight or tomorrow morning. Hope this helps.

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she might!! GOOD LUCK!

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I've never heard of any increased probability of birth at or near a full moon, but then again I'm not sure anyone has ever looked into it from a scientific approach. It is true that horses are more likely to drop foals at night, but more importantly they tend to foal when nobody is watching.

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It's probably not scientifically proven, but my mom swears that all baby animals are born under a full moon. The one foal we've raised was indeed born this way, but I'm not sure that's the rule. Old wive's tale, I guess =).

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