# Kita's foaling thread *Updated pictures Sep 4. New clipped baby pics =)



## Watcheye (May 6, 2014)

I have been hemming and hawing for the longest time about whether to start a foaling thread for Kita or not but here we are.

I am a big fan of this mare and have wanted her for years before the opportunity came along and I was able to get her. At the last minute last summer we decided to expose her to my stallion Keegan. Keegan is bay and likely LWO positive like his sire. Currently I treat him like he is and test all of my mares. Kita, like my other two is negative.







Here are the two of them saying hello. You can also see Matt's outrageous red shorts. The lacing on Keegan's back can almost be seen here. His son Ari has gorgeous lacing on his back.






Here she is being her pretty self.






Kita was bred between August 1 and August 7. I have never had her foal here but her previous owner says she usually foals around day 325 (take this with a grain of salt I realize). I am struggling as I want to put in for some vacation time around her time of foaling. She hits day 325 on June 28 and 330 on July 3. Picking the days to request is a challenge.

My mom currently lives at my house so she will be watching her as well. I do have a monitor on a stall that I will be putting her under it at night when we are at day 300. I also hope to get the milk test strips. I think they are the Maybe Baby ones. I have to double check which ones I put on my wish list. I have been taking pictures mostly just as they eat with my phone. A few with the actual camera. I have to figure out which ones to post. I have quite a few.

I have not had her vet confirmed in foal so there is the chance that she is not but if she isnt thats one heck of a false pregnancy we have going. I have felt thunk thunking when I do the backwards hug that we do on the pregnant mares to feel the kicks. I also felt the creepy alien drag. When I say this I mean a mass pushes out and drags across her belly from the inside.

I will get some pictures together now of side shots and such and post them. I dont really know how much to do at this point for the thread. She is at day 272ish so its a little early I suppose.


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## Watcheye (May 6, 2014)

Here she is March 6






March 16






April 19






April 25. She kind of looks like shes yelling at me to get that camera out of here.






Ill get some more on the next post. I dont recall what the pic limit is per post and I dont want to hit it on this one.


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## Watcheye (May 6, 2014)

Behind her on April 27






May 4th






Today May 6. You can see I am trying to get some of the hair off of these guys. It feels like a loosing battle!


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## Ryan Johnson (May 6, 2014)

She is a lovely Mare, thanks for starting a thread on her it will be great to see how she progresses. Best of Luck for a safe foaling .


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## REO (May 6, 2014)

How old is she and how many foals has she had?


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## Watcheye (May 6, 2014)

I believe she is 12. Id have to double check her papers and she has had at least 3 that Ive heard of but I have not looked up the exact number.


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## Bonny (May 7, 2014)

She is a very pretty mare, I hope she is in foal for you... She is kind of small , but sorta has that pregnancy shape... fingers crossed!


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## Watcheye (Jun 26, 2014)

Alright so here are some updated pictures of Kita. As of today (June 25) she is at day 322. I was told by her previous owner she tends to go a little early (She said roughly 325 days or so - take it with a grain of salt I know - different place, different stud but its still something to keep in mind). She does not have much of an udder. Mostly puffiness in front.

We had a bit of a fescue scare 2 weeks ago or so. I thought I found the plant in my hay and immediately took her off of it and put her on different hay from a friend. I have been giving her alfalfa pellets also. I do have the maybe baby test strips which look to be reading at 6.8 approaching 6.4. 6.8 says foaling could happen any day and that I should test twice a day. 6 follows 6.4 and that says foaling with in 12 hours. Thoughts on the way she/the foal look?

June 19






june 22






June 25






Hips and tail head June 9






Hips and tail head June 25


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## Watcheye (Jun 26, 2014)

She inspired this sketch from my other post.


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## Watcheye (Jul 18, 2014)

Alright she is on day 345 or so today. Here are some pictures I took this month. Shes hanging on to this one it seems. Im have trouble believing she could hang on to it much longer but she keeps trucking right along.

July 10






July 12






July 14






She does have milk now. I can try to get pictures of her again later today if anyone who would like to give me their thoughts thinks it would help. Id love opinions. Thanks


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## happy appy (Jul 18, 2014)

Seems like she just needs to roll that baby into position!


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## Eagle (Jul 18, 2014)

Hi, Wow!!! What a gorgeous couple, this baby is going to be adorable for sure



I agree that it looks like the foal has to get into position yet so expect plenty of rolling (which makes for a dirty pony



) and I can see that you love to keep her nice and clean



Have you foaled before and do you have your foaling kit read? If she is on cam, can we help you watch her? I am in Italy so I often help watch during American night time.

I don't know anything about your mare's background or where you are but by looking at the pics it looks like she could do with gaining weight, pregnancy often drains the older girls so you might want to up her rations, what is she on at the moment? Whatever it is she looks great and has a lovely shiny coat so just increase what it is you are feeding her





OK enough questions for one post lol

Oh, I am the annoying Aunty in case you hadn't noticed. lol


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## Watcheye (Jul 18, 2014)

Hi and thank you guys! I noticed she could stand a little more weight. I feed her twice a day and have started upping her food a little more. She is on complete feed, oats, alfalfa pellets and a flake of hay per feeding. I dont know the weight of the hay though and would have to double check her oats and pellet ration. I do know its two cups of alfalfa twice a day and I think its 2/3 cups of oats and another 2/3 of pellets. Her bowl seems so full and it takes her quite a while to eat, I dont want to over do it all at once and make her sick. Perhaps she needs to be fed 3 times a day.

She did do some rolling today. I dont know that she looks that different though. Here is a quick image I took of her this afternoon outside in her lean to with the cell phone. I brushed her off a little bit so she didnt have quite so much dust on her side. It wasnt a lot of intense rolling. Just a little.


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## Eagle (Jul 18, 2014)

That sounds ok. I would just gradually up her hay to a couple of flakes per feed but lets see what the others that are more familiar with american food say. My preggo girls would have hay available more or less all night and grass during the day so I didn't feed grain but it really varies from country to country.


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##  (Jul 18, 2014)

At this late stage, upping her feed won't hurt her a bit, and will give her the little "extra" that she needs to do the great work ahead of her.

She is looking beautiful, and can't wait to see this little one!


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## Watcheye (Jul 18, 2014)

I am continuing to up her food. I have been testing her with maybe baby strips. She has been fluxing between 6.4 and 6.8. We need a 6 but Im told that they can flux a lot. This evening when I went to check on her she had a large poorly formed pile of manure in her stall. She is laying down a lot earlier than usual. Her tail is usually flagged but it is even more so this evening. I have a screen shot here. Maybe I am imagining things but we will be keeping an eye out.


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## Eagle (Jul 19, 2014)

Fingers crossed she will get that foal in position soon and foal safely


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##  (Jul 19, 2014)

At 6.4-6.8 she could go at any time. We've had them "drop" here from 7.8 to foaling in one day.

She needs to do a bit of rolling to get that baby lined up and in position. I hope you're giving her some outside time during the day. Normal outside time is perfect for these ladies in their final days. It gives them the freedom to exercise, but also to do the rolling she needs to do to get baby lined up.

With a score like she's showing, she may well go before I get back tomorrow night from classes. If so, I'll be praying for an uneventful foaling of a healthy new born! Best of everything, and I will be looking forward to your announcement, should she decide the time is right! After all, it's all up to them! LOL


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

Thank you guys! No foal yet +_+ She does indeed go outside every day for several hours. Ive seen her do a little rolling but not a whole lot. =/ I try to keep her coat brushed off so I can tell when shes been rolling in between checking on her.


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

These past two days I have been putting her out a bit later in the morning so she can stay in and finish her hay before joining the other ladies. She is in a large box stall while she eats and then again at night when we put her back in. I do try to get them to trot around for 3 to 5 minutes in the evening. Her udder is getting pretty hard as well.


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## Eagle (Jul 19, 2014)

can you take a pic of her udder? stand behind her, kneel down and just lift her tail. (mind your teeth in case she is skittish about her privates parts going viral) lol


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

I will do my best to get a good pic of her udder. The best camera to get that kind of picture is my husbands phone but he is at work till later on. My camera is kind of big to maneuver (under her anyway). Sadly I dont know how to get pictures off of my ipod and on to the computer. How embarrassing...


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## Eagle (Jul 19, 2014)

do you have whatsapp or facebook on you ipod?


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

Ok I went outside and got some pictures of her, her udder, and her backside. I then apologized a lot for the invasion. XD







This was right before I took her outside.






I was just about upside down under the horse for this one.











Shes not big into me pulling her tail to the side. No aggression about it but she does try to politely step away from me.











So thats what we have so far.


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## Eagle (Jul 19, 2014)

Perfect, great pics. Thanks, her udder still needs to grow and her nipples will start to point straight down when she is ready. So still a little way off yet but these changes could happen fast. How many days is she now?


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## happy appy (Jul 19, 2014)

I would guess at a couple weeks for that udder. Shooting for the first week of August maybe.


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

Today is 346. The first week of August is when she was bred. Here are some more pictures after she and her pasture mates got rinsed off and rolled. It was hot out. Her udder is rather warm and quite firm.






She really likes to hang out in her lean to.


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

her udder does look pointed in in the one previous picture but Im not sure how pointed in it is. The nipples used to seem more filled in and the upper part of the udder was more lax and now the upper part is very firm and the nipples are not as puffed. I will try to get better pics tonight.


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## Eagle (Jul 19, 2014)

Did you say she has been on fescue?


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

I found what I thought may be fescue in the hay she had a month ago and took her off of it. I am buying from my friend for her hay and feeding her that instead.


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## Watcheye (Jul 19, 2014)

I tested her around 5:30 and she was at a very light green so 6.4 again. @[email protected]


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## Watcheye (Jul 20, 2014)

Here is an image of her udder taken late last night.


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## Eagle (Jul 20, 2014)

? getting closer


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## Ryan Johnson (Jul 20, 2014)

I agree , not much longer to wait.

best of luck & wishing you a safe foaling


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## cassie (Jul 21, 2014)

if she is testing 6.4 i would be watching her very closely!

mares can foal at 6.4 though most go down to 6.0, her udder isn't huge but it could be the foaling udder for her, it looks like baby still has to get in position but it sounds as though she is well within her dates to foal anytime now, so with that PH I would be watching her very closely





Have you got everything setup for the new baby?





she is gorgeous, can't wait to see how baby turns out!


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##  (Jul 21, 2014)

From the pictures, she needs to roll that little one into position a bit more. That udder is fine for foaling -- but I think you will see some changes in the next day or so -- especially if she does some rolling to line baby up. Her udder can still grow more -- but everything should be fine if she decides it's time!

Can't wait to see this little one!! Such a pretty momma! And if she's at 6.4 -- don't take your eyes off her -- she could drop and foal any minute she decides!


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## Watcheye (Jul 21, 2014)

When it is said that she needs to move the foal into position, are we waiting for the v shape? I have two pictures I took early afternoon today when I brought her out and rinsed her off. The one in the lean to is after she rolled. She looks less pointy post roll to me. =/


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##  (Jul 21, 2014)

No, the moving into position certainly includes moving a bit "forward of center" when you see her from the side, but we are also referring to how "slab-sided" she is when viewed from the back looking forward down her sides.

Baby will line up....."spine to spine" with momma, and at that time, the momma may not even look pregnant when you see her from behind. The earlier pictures, you could still see baby "sticking out" the sides a bit. So we're watching for baby lining up and moving a bit forward of center, as well as her udder and elongation.


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## Watcheye (Jul 21, 2014)

Got it. Well it looks like the foal is kind of to the right in some odd position as of about 2 hours ago. It was a real challenge to even get this picture as the bugs were out and there was all kinds of tail swishing. @[email protected]






This mare is stubborn. Tomorrow is day 349.

Here is one that I snapped quickly just now hanging out in her stall. Last night she spent some time standing around with her back legs crossed. It was kind of funny.


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## Watcheye (Jul 24, 2014)

So the other night we had a roll and stretch a thon. She started freaking me out as she was so active and she would lay down and her back legs would stretch out funny. It went on for a while and I finally went out to check her with Matt and she was like "Hey guys! Did you bring my hay with you??" Like nothing was wrong and then all activity ceased.






This really had my attention as she would stretch her back legs goofy and just sit like that.











These were taken Tuesday night between 11 and 12:30. I will include todays pictures in the next post.


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## Watcheye (Jul 24, 2014)

Today her milk is syrup thick. Her udder is enormous and hard.







She tenses up a little when I try to take this picture. (who wouldnt @[email protected])
















So I think we are about to have it. How long does it usually take when the milk is super sticky?


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## Eagle (Jul 24, 2014)

should be any time now, keep an eye out for any changes in her habit, they often act very clinging and then try to sneak off alone to foal. If you see her at the far end of the paddock it is probable that she is up to something





Good luck and keep us updated, if you need any help just shout, one of us will be around.


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##  (Jul 24, 2014)

She looks ready to go!! Can't wait to see your announcement! We're here if you need us. Don't forget to re-read the foaling thread pinned at the top, so you're fully ready for anything!

Praying for a safe and uneventful foaling!


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## AnnaC (Jul 24, 2014)

Sorry that I'm joining in at the last minute - no internet since early on in July! Looks as though you will soon be having a baby - good luck and safe foaling!


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## little lady (Jul 25, 2014)

She is looking like she is getting ready. Praying for a great outcome. Keep us posted.


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## Eagle (Jul 25, 2014)

How is she looking today?


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## Watcheye (Jul 25, 2014)

Hello guys! Funny enough, she foaled about an hour after I took the previous pictures. Its a boy and I could not get very good pictures of him as it was kind of dark in the stall. I will get some better ones as soon as weather and my work schedule cooperate. He seems quite leggy. I dont know how she fit him up in there. He was up in no time and bouncing all over his stall. He loves to nurse and I have a feeling he will be one of those butter ball foals. He sure looks like his sire.


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##  (Jul 25, 2014)

What a handsome little boy!! Love that bald face!! I had to go back to see what daddy looked like -- and he's as handsome as his dad!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!


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## Ryan Johnson (Jul 26, 2014)

Congratulations he is a lovely boy .


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## Eagle (Jul 26, 2014)

Yippeeeee what a stunner, he was well worth the wait. ? CONGRATULATIONS ?


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## AnnaC (Jul 26, 2014)

Oh many congratulations - what a handsome lad!! Looking forward to more pics when you have the time - outside in the daylight perhaps?


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## chandab (Jul 26, 2014)

Congrats! Can't wait to see some outside, unfolded pictures when you have time. He's very nice.


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## happy appy (Jul 26, 2014)

Congrats! Love the blaze


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## Brody (Jul 26, 2014)

Congrats! Glad your wait is over and ended well with a healthy baby



.


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## cassie (Jul 30, 2014)

goodness! what a handsome handsome boy you have!! LOVEEEE that black eyeliner! he is stunning! congrats!!


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##  (Jul 30, 2014)

I'm SURE it's time for some more pictures of this handsome fella!


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## Watcheye (Jul 30, 2014)

Hey guys! Sorry I have not posted new pictures. I have some good ones and I will post them later tonight as I work today. Id so rather stay home. =(


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## Watcheye (Jul 30, 2014)

Kita snorts at the hot wire on a regular basis.


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##  (Jul 31, 2014)

FABULOUS pictures!!! So handsome!!


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## AnnaC (Aug 1, 2014)

What fantastic pictures - he's certainly a very stunning colt, you must be over the moon!


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## Ryan Johnson (Aug 2, 2014)

He is a ripper . You must be stoked ,


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## Watcheye (Aug 2, 2014)

Thank you guys! He is sassy! He wants to go his own way and doesnt worry about where his mom is. He gets so mad when I have to lead them from their stall to the pasture or back and I have to put my hands around him to guide him! He loves to run and pester the other two girls too. They have been very good with him. Ill have to get more pics later.


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## cassie (Aug 3, 2014)

beautiful colt, he is stunning!

I bet he is lots of fun!


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## Brooke S. (Aug 10, 2014)

Oh he is just gorgeous! Congratulations on such a handsome little boy!


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##  (Aug 16, 2014)

I'm laughing at your description of his personality. Those boys can be soooo independent! LOL


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## Ryan Johnson (Sep 3, 2014)

Would love to see some new pics if you have time


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## Watcheye (Sep 4, 2014)

Hello! I dont have great photos right now. I will post a few I tried to snap after his first hair cut. I named him Xander. Hes currently in everyones business constantly so getting pictures on my own is a very hard affair.
















Most of my time was spent like this


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##  (Sep 4, 2014)

How cute is that!!! He is really growing soooooo nicely! Just a really HANDSOME boy!! And I like that last picture, and think that's so cute that he's such an inquisitive little guy!


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## little lady (Sep 4, 2014)

He is looking good! That last pic is how all mine turn out also. LOL!


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## Ryan Johnson (Sep 8, 2014)

Ill third that, he is lovely , thanks for posting some new pics , Im a BIG fan


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## Kim P (Sep 8, 2014)

BeUtiful.


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## eagles ring farm (Sep 19, 2014)

Congrats on a handsome guy Im a bit late catching up on whats going on around here

love the pictures but that last one is priceless!


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## Brooke S. (Sep 27, 2014)

Wow he is so gorgeous!


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## Watcheye (Oct 2, 2014)

Thanks guys! Hes coming along with his halter training now. They grow up so fast! Ill have to post new pics soon.


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##  (Oct 3, 2014)

Can't wait!!


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