# Temperature as foaling prediction



## Myself57 (26 July 2009)

I read in a couple of articles about how you can predict when your foal is imminent (within next 36 hours) by taking the mare's temperature using a digital beeping thermometer, at the same time every morning and every night. e.g. 6 am and 6 pm. If you commence this for a couple of weeks before the foal is due to set the levels, then you will notice a drop in the mare's temperature at one of the readings (greater than 0.6); Apparently this drop occurs when the oxytocin that makes early labour commence kicks in. I followed this for my mare and it was spot on. Her temperature was normall 37.8 in a morning at 6 am. On the morning when she foaled at 9.30 that evening, it had dropped to 37.1. It did not stay there and went back up again by the evening at 6pm but by then she was dripping wax and milk and her waters went at 09.05pm Does anyone else use this method and how reliable is it? I have another mare expecting a late foal and she runs at 37.4-8 at 6am and 38.1 in the evening sometimes 38.0 and sometimes 38.2. She has also dropped once to 37.8 in the evening on four occasions in the evening, but that drop is obviously not enough as we are still waiting. What does anyone else think?


----------



## AndyPandy (26 July 2009)

Although core temperature does drop in mares before foaling, research has shown that temperature monitoring is an unreliable predictor for foaling. So, it may work for some mares, but will not work for others... and when you really need something that is a reliable indicator, temperature monitoring just isn't good enough


----------



## Myself57 (27 July 2009)

Thank you for replying.


----------



## Maggie2 (28 July 2009)

I tried it once and it did work, and no I didn't rely on it but just experimented.  Funnily enough I have wondered about doing it again, purely out of interest as the first time was about 20 years ago!


----------



## Louida (23 July 2010)

I have used it for dogs whelping and it's worked every single time.... always wondered whether the same thing happened in horses.....


----------



## GinnieRedwings (24 July 2010)

Experimented with temperature, pH & Calcium levels in milk this year. Temperature stayed within the range it had been for the previous 2 weeks, so no help. pH dropped dramatically in 24 hours previous to foaling, so I would do it again, definitely. Calcium levels rose a bit, but was not quite so easy to read, I think I need better water hardness test strips and use a combination of pH & Calcium levels readings, but temperature I found unreliable.


----------

