When a horse is giving birth, when their belly is going in & out rapidly is that contractions or pushing?

Question

When their stomach is moving in and out (sort of like a compressing motion) - is this the horse pushing or are these the contractions taking over the body?

Just interested. I've always wondered this...

Answer 1

It is mainly just them breathing very heavily. You wont really be able to see a mare with contractions. But its also them pushing.

You know how your stomach goes in and out as your breath. Well you cant really see that on humans when there giving birth. But you really see a mare breathing heavly while she is.

Answer 2

What you're describing is heavy breathing.  Like panting.

A contraction will 'appear' like the horse stiffening with a hard compressing belly, holding it's breath, and probably stiffening it's legs.  It's like when you flex your muscles really hard.  You hold your breath and stiffen.  Same with a contraction for a horse.

Answer 3

Shes breathing very heavily. Its not contractions, but some of it may be her pushing depending on the horse. You can feel contractions sometimes on the horse but usually they're so agitated its best not to try. Contractions are more like ripples running through her abdomen than her stomach going in and out. =]