You often cannot tell, and the people who do this for a living say so. First-stage labor and colic both present as abdominal pain in a broodmare, which is why the two look alike to owners and to veterinarians. There is one reliable tiebreaker and it is not a subtle observation: when the water breaks and the white amniotic sac appears at the vulva, that is labor. Until then you are guessing. The safe response to a late-pregnant mare showing colicky signs you cannot confidently explain is to call your vet, describe exactly what you are seeing, and let them decide whether to come. If it turns out to be labor, you have lost nothing. If it is colic in a mare carrying a foal, you have not lost the hours that mattered.
This piece covers what overlaps, what does not, and the rule a surgeon uses that almost no owner-facing article mentions.
Mare colic or foaling signs: why they look the same
First-stage labor is uterine contractions plus cervical dilation. The mare feels it. Merck Animal Health's broodmare labor guidance describes first stage as restlessness, mild contractions, colic, tail switching and circling, lasting one to five hours. The Horse, reporting Dr. David Freeman of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine at the 2021 British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, gives first-stage labor as 30 minutes to four hours, with the mare typically showing relatively little discomfort.
Those two published ranges do not match exactly, which is worth knowing on the night: one to five hours versus 30 minutes to four hours. Treat first stage as "somewhere between half an hour and five hours," and do not use elapsed time alone to rule labor in or out.
Here is what a mare in first-stage labor does, and what a colicking mare does:
| Sign | First-stage labor | Colic |
|---|---|---|
| Restlessness, pacing, circling | Yes | Yes |
| Getting up and down repeatedly | Yes | Yes |
| Looking or biting at the flank | Yes | Yes |
| Kicking at the belly | Yes | Yes |
| Patchy sweating on neck, shoulders and flanks | Yes | Yes |
| Tail switching | Yes | Yes |
| Frequent small urinations, posturing | Yes | Sometimes |
| Water breaks, white amnion appears | Yes | No |
| Pain resolves once the foal is out | Yes | No |
The bottom two rows are the whole article. Everything above them is shared.
The tiebreaker you can actually see
Second-stage labor begins when the membranes rupture and allantoic fluid passes, and from that point Merck gives 10 to 30 minutes to a delivered foal, with the foal presenting as two forelimbs (one slightly ahead of the other) followed by the head, inside a white amnion. If you see the white sac, you are watching a foaling and the relevant timings are foaling timings, which we set out in signs a mare is about to foal.
Two hard exceptions, both of which are calls, not observations:
- If the membrane at the vulva is red and velvety rather than white, that is a red bag delivery, the foal is not getting oxygen, and it is the one situation where an owner is expected to act before the vet arrives. Read red bag delivery in horses now, not then.
- If 30 to 45 minutes pass in second-stage labor without a delivered foal, Merck's instruction is to call your veterinarian immediately.
The rule the surgeon uses, which changes where you should be watching
This is the part missing from nearly every "colic or foaling?" article, and it comes from Dr. Freeman's BEVA presentation as reported by The Horse: the important signs are the ones that persist after parturition.
Read that again in practical terms. Pain that resolves once the foal is delivered was labor. Pain that continues after the foal is out is not labor any more, and it needs a diagnosis. The moment of greatest ambiguity is not the hour before the foal arrives, when everyone is watching. It is the hours after, when the foal is standing, the adrenaline has dropped, and a mare who is still uncomfortable gets written off as "sore" or "just passing the placenta."
Freeman's list of serious peripartum complications, per that report, includes large colon volvulus, uterine and broad ligament tears, jejunal tears associated with the foal's limb extension, small colon avulsion from its mesenteric attachments, cecal rupture or tears, diaphragmatic hernia, urinary tract injuries and uterine torsion. Large colon volvulus alone accounts for something on the order of 17 to 21% of colic surgeries in the population he described.
We are not going to teach you to tell those apart. Nobody can, from the aisle. What this changes is your attention: a mare who is still painful after the foal is delivered is an emergency call, not a wait-and-see. That is a decision an owner can make correctly without any diagnostic skill at all.
The other timing that belongs alongside it: Merck lists failure to pass the placenta within three hours as an immediate call to the veterinarian. A mare straining and uncomfortable after delivery, with the placenta still attached, is two reasons to phone in one animal.
What to tell the vet when you call
The call is more useful if you have these ready. None of it requires you to diagnose anything.
- How many days she is into gestation, and her due date.
- What exactly you are seeing, in plain words: sweating where, kicking how often, lying down and getting up how many times in the last twenty minutes.
- The time the signs started. Write it down. This is the single most useful number you will give them, and it is the one people never have.
- Whether anything has appeared at the vulva, and if so, what color it is.
- Whether she has passed manure or urine, and whether she is eating or drinking.
- Her temperature, pulse and respiration if you can take them safely and know how.
- Whether the placenta has passed, if she has already foaled, and how long ago.
Your foaling kit should already have a thermometer, a light and a clock in it. Ours is sorted by what you actually use in the mare foaling kit checklist.
The honest limitation of this page
There is no observation in this article that lets a non-veterinarian rule out colic in a late-pregnant mare. There is no list of signs that does. Horsetin is written by a hobbyist owner and breeder, not a vet, and this page deliberately stops at "here is what to notice and what to say on the phone."
The thing worth being honest about is the cost pressure sitting underneath this decision, because it is the real reason owners wait. A vet callout at 2am for what turns out to be normal labor feels like money wasted. Colic surgery in a broodmare is a different order of expense entirely, and delay makes the outcome worse and rarely makes it cheaper. If the after-hours callout is the thing making you hesitate, that is worth solving in daylight, months before foaling, rather than at 2am with a sweating mare in front of you. We covered how owners price this kind of unplanned risk in whether horse insurance is worth it.
FAQ
How can I tell if my mare is colicking or going into labor?
In first stage you often cannot, because both cause abdominal pain and the outward signs are nearly identical. The reliable tiebreaker is the appearance of the white amniotic sac at the vulva once the water breaks. Until you see that, treat an uncertain case as a reason to call your vet.
How long does first-stage labor last in a mare?
Published ranges differ. Merck Animal Health gives one to five hours; Dr. David Freeman, reported by The Horse, gives 30 minutes to four hours. Use the wide range and do not rely on elapsed time alone to decide what you are seeing.
My mare foaled and is still uncomfortable. Is that normal?
Treat it as a reason to call. Dr. Freeman's rule is that the important signs are the ones that persist after parturition: pain that resolves with delivery was labor, pain that continues needs a diagnosis. Merck also lists failure to pass the placenta within three hours as an immediate call.
Is it bad to call the vet for a false alarm?
No. An unnecessary callout costs money. A missed colic in a pregnant mare, or a foaling that has stalled, costs considerably more, and can cost the mare or the foal. Vets who do broodmare work expect these calls.
What should I never do while waiting for the vet?
Do not give any medication, including anything you have on the shelf from a previous colic, unless your veterinarian tells you to on that call: pain relief can mask the signs they need to assess. Do not perform an internal examination. Do not pull on anything presenting at the vulva. Follow the instructions given on the phone, including whether they want the mare kept walking or left quiet, because that answer depends on what they suspect.
Sources: Merck Animal Health USA's broodmare labor guidance (stages, durations and immediate-call triggers); Dr. David Freeman, MVB, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, presenting at the 2021 British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, as reported by The Horse in "Is Your Mare Foaling or Colicking?" (the persist-after-parturition rule and the peripartum complication list). Horsetin is written by a hobbyist owner and breeder, not a veterinarian. This page is about observation and when to call, not diagnosis or treatment.