Q:After several years of pasture breeding, we are having our first experience with a stillbirth. The dam is a 5-year-old mare with her first pregnancy. The foal was right on time, as we estimated it from the last observed breeding after which we removed the stallion. Luckily, we saw her from the start of labor, and everything happened pretty fast. The stillborn filly looks to be of a good size and maturity. So we don’t know yet what went wrong. Our veterinarian is coming late today to check on the mare and to look at the foal and the afterbirth.

Anyway, we have some behavior and welfare questions that we never had to think about before. How long we should leave the foal with the mare? We bagged up and took away the afterbirth as soon as it passed. Our first instinct was to just bring the foal in out of the sun. But, when we go into the field, she moves into position to guard it, and she nickers at it. If we try to get close, she nuzzles it pretty rough as if to try to wake it up. She pawed at it as if she was trying to get it to move. The mare has been trying to take care of the foal just like it was alive. It’s been over an hour. She’s licked it clean all over. Even though the foal isn’t responding, the mare keeps standing over it and nudging it. It looks really sad to us, so we’re wondering what is better for the mare–to take it away or leave it until the vet gets here.

What do most breeders do when a foal is born dead? Do mares in this situation experience grief? If they do, what do you think is best care to provide for the mare? What would a mare do in the wild? Is it something we should worry about? What would you do? And do you have any experience to know how this situation with her first foal might affect her future maternal behavior? —Via e-mail

A: These are great questions. I’ll do my best at addressing them