Milking a horse is possible but quite different from milking a cow or goat. Mares have a much smaller udder with only two teats, produce less milk per session, and need to be milked more frequently. Whether you’re collecting colostrum for a newborn foal, banking milk for an orphan, or milking for commercial production (common in Central Asia and parts of Europe), the basic process involves gentle preparation, a specific hand technique, and careful hygiene.
How a Mare’s Udder Differs From a Cow’s
A mare has one pair of teats tucked between her hind legs, compared to a cow’s four. Each teat has two small openings rather than one, because each side of the udder is drained by two independent ductal systems. This means the teats are smaller and the milk flows through narrower channels, so milking takes a lighter touch and more patience than you’d use with cattle.
The udder itself sits higher and tighter against the body than a cow’s pendulous bag. There’s less tissue to grip, and many mares are not accustomed to having their udder handled by a person, especially if they’ve only nursed a foal. Getting a mare comfortable with the process before you attempt a full milking session saves time and reduces the risk of being kicked.
Preparing the Mare
Start by restraining the mare safely. A handler holding her at the head, or cross-ties in a familiar stall, works for most mares. Some producers use a simple chute. If the mare has a foal at her side, separating them briefly (within sight and earshot) helps the udder fill and gives you access.
Clean the teats and surrounding skin thoroughly before milking. Wipe them with a clean, damp cloth or a teat-specific disinfectant wipe, paying extra attention to the tip of each teat where bacteria tend to collect. If you’re collecting milk for a foal or for laboratory analysis, start cleaning the teat that’s farther from you, then clean the closer one. When you begin milking, reverse the order: collect from the closer teat first. This prevents your arm from brushing across an already-cleaned teat.
Before you start collecting into your final container, massage the udder gently for a few minutes. This stimulates the mare’s natural release of oxytocin, the hormone that triggers milk letdown. Without this step, you may get very little milk. Think of it like warming up the system. You’ll feel the udder firm up slightly as milk moves into the ducts.
Hand Milking Technique
Wrap your thumb and forefinger around the base of the teat to trap milk in the teat canal, then gently close your remaining fingers in sequence (middle, ring, pinky) to push the milk downward and out through the openings. The motion is a squeeze, not a pull. This is the most common mistake people make: pulling downward on the teat instead of compressing it. Excessive pulling irritates the skin and can cause abrasions, especially with repeated sessions.
Because the teats are small, you may only be able to use two or three fingers effectively. Work in a steady rhythm, alternating between the two teats. Strip the first few squirts onto the ground or into a separate cup. This “forestripping” flushes bacteria from the teat canal and lets you visually check the milk. Normal mare’s milk is thin and slightly bluish-white. Clumps, discoloration, or a watery consistency can signal a problem.
A single milking session typically yields a modest amount. Unlike cows that store large volumes, mares produce milk more continuously in smaller quantities. Expect anywhere from a few hundred milliliters to about a liter per session depending on the mare’s stage of lactation and how recently the foal nursed or the mare was last milked.
How Much Milk Mares Produce
At peak lactation, roughly 30 to 60 days after foaling, a mare can produce 12 to 15 liters of milk per day. That’s about 3 to 4 gallons, which sounds impressive until you realize it comes in small, frequent batches. Foals nurse many times throughout the day and night, sometimes every 30 to 60 minutes in the first weeks. To collect meaningful quantities without a foal doing most of the work, commercial operations milk mares four to six times daily.
Production drops steadily after the first two months. Most foals nurse until they’re four to five months old, and the mare’s output tapers as the foal transitions to solid feed.
Collecting and Storing Colostrum
If you’re milking a mare specifically for colostrum (the antibody-rich first milk), timing matters enormously. Foals absorb antibodies through their gut lining only during a narrow window after birth. By 8 to 12 hours, antibody levels in the foal’s blood peak, and shortly after that the gut “closes” and can no longer absorb these large immune proteins.
A foal that doesn’t get enough quality colostrum risks failure of passive transfer, a condition where its immune defenses are dangerously low. About 20% of foals in one large study had antibody levels below the ideal threshold, suggesting that colostrum quality or intake was insufficient. This is why many breeding farms bank frozen colostrum from mares that produce generously. You can milk a small amount from a mare with an excellent supply, freeze it in clean containers, and thaw it for a foal in need. If a mare is leaking milk heavily before she foals, a veterinarian may recommend milking her and freezing what you collect, since that premature leaking can mean the foal misses out on the best-quality colostrum at birth.
What Makes Mare’s Milk Unique
Mare’s milk is nutritionally closer to human milk than cow’s milk is. It contains about 6.4% lactose, nearly matching human milk’s 6.7%, while cow’s milk sits much lower at 4.6%. The fat content tells the opposite story: mare’s milk has only about 1.2% fat compared to 3.6% in both cow’s and human milk. Protein falls in between, at roughly 2.1% versus 3.3% for cow’s milk and 1.4% for human milk.
The practical result is a thinner, sweeter milk with fewer calories (about 480 kcal per liter versus 674 for cow’s milk). In several European and Central Asian countries, mare’s milk is fermented into kumis, a mildly alcoholic drink. Its low fat and high lactose content also make it easier to digest for some people with cow’s milk sensitivities, though it still contains lactose and isn’t suitable for anyone who is lactose intolerant.
Recognizing Udder Problems
Mastitis, or infection of the mammary gland, is less common in mares than in dairy cows but still occurs. Signs to watch for include swelling or heat in one side of the udder, firmness that wasn’t there before, pain when the udder is touched, visible asymmetry between the two halves, and abnormal-looking milk (discolored, thick, or clumpy). Some mares develop swelling that extends down one or both hind legs. A mare with mastitis may also refuse to let her foal nurse.
Acute cases develop quickly, with noticeable symptoms appearing within a few days. Chronic mastitis lingers longer and may not resolve as readily with treatment. Subclinical mastitis is trickier because the mare shows no outward signs, but the milk quality is compromised. If you’re milking regularly and notice any changes in the milk’s appearance, temperature of the udder, or the mare’s behavior during milking, have the udder evaluated promptly.
Mechanical Milking
For anyone milking mares routinely, small mechanical milking pumps designed for equine teats exist. These use gentle, pulsating vacuum pressure to mimic the foal’s suckling action. The principles remain the same: clean the teats first, stimulate letdown with a brief massage, and keep all equipment sanitized between sessions. Mechanical milking is faster and more consistent, which matters when you’re milking several mares multiple times a day. The vacuum pressure needs to be lower than what’s used for cows, given the mare’s smaller teat size and more sensitive tissue.