Agriculture 24
Near the end of the birth the mare takes an
odd little rest. But any impulse to help should be resisted as the ‘rest’ is actually maternal instinct, a pause to allow the foal some final sustenance via the umbilical cord. Though since the reason the foal is about to need all strength and stamina is that when the mare does eventually stand up, breaking the cord, before the foal can transition to mother’s milk it has to complete the gruelling steeplechase of getting to its own feet, even more instinct might have been shown by the mare lying down again.
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