# Magic Marker 2014



## Magic Marker Minis (Jan 6, 2014)

It's been a year and many changes have happened for us. We are still in a holding pattern to move and are still in AZ.

We have sold all our 2013 foals(2 fillies & 2 colts) and several mares.

Freckles and Miss Te (both had fillies 2013) were traded. Freckles (in foal to Wesco Farms Rohan Echo ET for 2014) for a 6 year old sorrel Arabian/Welsh cross(registered in both registries). Miss Te (aborted her 2014 foal) is a down payment for a registered bay Arabian filly with sabino and splash. Both Miniatures went to Jessica at CheyAut Ranch. Lace (bred back to Casper for 2014) and her buckskin colt were sold as Christmas presents since we were unable to get them hard shipped into AMHA before the end of the year. We sold the other three 2013 foals, plus two of our stallions (cart trained) to a gentlemen for therapy horses. We are down to 12 Miniatures.

We are only expecting three foals for 2014. We had two mares not take or slip and one abort at 5 months.

Magic Marker Fancy Feather (maiden and daughter of Freckles) is in foal to Wisteria GMB Dreams Come True (cremello-Casper) for June 2014

HMM Designed for Destiny (had silver pinto colt 2013) is in foal to Casper for September 2014.

Thorny Rose Rocks Ann (red bagged a tiny sorrel pinto filly last year) is in foal to Wesco Farms Rohan Echo ET (silver smoky black) for July 2014. Annie is blind in one eye (pasture accident) and starting to have issues with her other. She is low on the totem pole but refuses to be pushed away from food. Has anyone bred a blind or partially blind horse and did you have any issues? We would like at least one live foal from her, hopefully a filly.

We have had 5 sets of goat twins (4 sets of Nigerian Dwarf and 1 set of Alpine/La Mancha.). Still waiting for 2 Alpines to kid (in the next week). The first doe (Nigerian) had a blue-eyed doeling (red & white) and buckling (black, brown, & white) on Nov 30th. The buckling is sold. The second doe (Nigerian) had a blue-eyed doeling (brown, black, & white) and a brown eyed doeling (brown, black, & grey) on Dec 17th. The brown eyed doeling is for sale. The third doe had a brown-eyed doeling (cream and white) and buckling (brown & white) on Dec 25th. The buckling is being traded for a doe and the doeling is sold. They are going to the same farm. The fourth doe (Alpine/La Mancha bred to Alpine) had a doeling (tan) and a buckling (black) on Dec 27th. Buckling will be wethered and staying on the farm. Doeling is a keeper. The fifth doe (Nigerian-was her first kidding and she didn't disappoint) had a blue eyed doeling (light cream and white) and a buckling (black and white) on Jan 4th. Both are staying. Buckling is our future buck.

Will get pictures of mares when closer to their due dates.


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 19, 2014)

Sorry for the length of time between postings. Our landlord told us she needed her place the first of March, end of Jan. Found a place, but then she told us that we could stay. Came back a week before March 1st to say they needed the place. In a week, we had to check on the place we had found (still available), clean it out (last tenants evicted and left behind a lot of stuff), put fencing up, clean old place, move our stuff and all animals (4 big horses, 12 Miniatures, 14 goats, 3 peacocks, 2 geese (sadly the goose was laying on a clutch of 8 eggs-abandoned them when moved-thankfully starting a new nest), 1 rabbit, approx. 30 chicks, 4 dogs, and many cats. Went from 5 acres to 1 acre.

Since moving, of the previous four Miniatures thought to be in foal, looks like only two are expecting.

Here's the question, with the pictures I present to you, do you think either is pregnant?

First up, is Thorny Rose Rocks Ann aka Annie (31" Smoky Black Homozygous Tobiano with blue eyes). She is bred to Wesco Farms Rohans Echo ET (30 1/4" silver smoky black). She had a red bag filly last year. She also shows signs of heat and will let a stallion cover her, while pregnant. She has done this a couple times this possible pregnancy, therefore I'll give you the two possible timeframes she is due. The same stallion. If she took the first time, she will be 249 days and 330 days on 6/8/14. If took on the second time, she is 224 days and 330 days on 7/3/14.

Second up, is LTD Fashionique aka Nicki (28" Bay maiden). She is bred to Wisteria GMB Dream Come True (30 1/4" cremello). If pregnant, she is 220 days and will be 330 days on July 7, 2014. She is the one we are most concerned about. She was kicked in the stifle back in Nov 2012. It caused her stifle to lock up for a day and be stiff for 2-3 days. No more issues until Nov 2013, when she locked up again. The problem now is she locks up 1-2 times a month, sometimes more. Is it the pregnancy causing the lock ups? Her genetics are awesome and the locked up stifle does not come from that. It is related to being kicked a year and half ago. Is there something we can give her to get her through this pregnancy, as easy as possible? We will have her checked out before breeding her again. She is an LTD Man In Command daughter and has LTD Magic Man on top and bottom.

Sorry for the rough coats. We don't have clipper blades to clip the horses, so they are rubbing their winter coats off (in between their brushings).

The two bottom pics are of the two stallions...


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 20, 2014)

Nobody has looked or answered my resent post, feeling unseen!!


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## AnnaC (Mar 20, 2014)

Hey good to have you back - no need to feel 'unseen' as a lot of us are pretty busy just now and although we may have the time to do a quick read through to keep ourselves updated, there is not always the time to actually post.

Sorry you have been having such an up and down time recently, hopefully things will now settle down. The girls look good and the expected foals should be super - love the two expectant Dads!! They both look in foal to me - Nicki's stifle problem could well be due to being pregnant as the added weight of carrying a foal can make a mare move/walk in a different way and lead to a 'catch' with a weakened/injured stifle. I had a mare that this used to happen to, but not until the last couple of weeks of her pregnancy when she got really wide in her tummy and 'waddled' LOL!!

Keep the pictures coming so we can watch their progress - oh and more pics of those gorgeous little goatlings too please!


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##  (Mar 20, 2014)

Sorry. It's been crazy for me too....running between my house and my mom's since my sister died.

But we're so glad you're here, and I'll try to post more when I'm not at work.


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 20, 2014)

Castle Rock... So sorry to hear your sister died... We must have missed that posting. Our hearts are with you...

Anna... Did you do anything special for your mare and her stifle issue? We've been debating on giving Nikki a joint supplement... Everyone gets alfalfa here (it's all you can find in the Tucson area...) We also started giving Nikki, as well as two other mares who are a little underweight, soaked beet pulp at noon. My theory is, because Nikki is so tiny, she hardly has room for a foal and to get a big belly from eating a lot of hay... So also thinking about giving her soaked alfalfa pellets... She would still get 'long stemmed fiber' but wanted to replace some of it with a more 'concentrated' feed... (But, not grain... she's got plenty of weight on her.)

Kari and Toni


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## AnnaC (Mar 20, 2014)

No Kari we didn't do anything as it only happened for the last couple of weeks before she foaled, probably, as I said, due to her strange way of having to walk because of her huge tummy. Also she had never had problem with her stifle at any other time. Your little one's problem is a bit different and I dont suppose that offering a joint supplement would hurt as long as it is ok for pregnant mares. Cant help you with the feeding side of things as everything is different here in the UK, but if she is carrying a good weight herself then a gro and win/balancer type of additive would give her what she needs without adding and extra weight.


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##  (Mar 20, 2014)

Kari,

Giving her Alfalfa pellets should be just fine. Many times here the Alfalfa hay was hard to find, and sometimes the feed store ran out of the good cubes, so I used pellets, and never had a problem with any 'roughage' issues.


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## Ryan Johnson (Mar 20, 2014)

Hey Kari,

Your mares are lovely. Annies markings are wonderful


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## eagles ring farm (Mar 20, 2014)

Hey Kari

Welcome back, it sure sounds as though you've been busy

and hope your getting settled in your new place

Love both your stallions

as far as your mares I'll let the experts comment on wether they think they are in foal


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## MountainWoman (Mar 21, 2014)

Hi Kari, I haven't been on the board for a few days and it's good to see you. Annie looks pregnant to me but not sure about Nicki. They are both beautiful!


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##  (Mar 22, 2014)

Annie looks pregnant to me, and doing nicely. Nicki, appears pregnant to me also, but time should tell!


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 22, 2014)

Annie was the one last year that we had bred before leaving MO, then showed signs of being in heat later. Bred her again, but she was already preggo. She's a little hussy. She loves my APHA stallion and would always go over to his pen and tease him. We are treating her as pregnant because of last year.

Nicki is stocky but shows a little more pooch in her belly. She has not come back into heat. Also, Nicki is a maiden and the picture of her milk bar shows a little looseness. Her nipples were very tightly tucked up a few months ago. I thought I saw light fluttering in front of the milk bar area a few days ago, but not sure. Harder to tell this early.

It would be cool if both are pregnant because they are the best of buds. Annie is blind in one eye and sometimes has trouble with sight in the other. She is very close to Nicki. They are almost always together. I can go out, catch Annie and lead her away. Nicki waddles behind.

Hoping they are pregnant. We bred 9 mares last year. Two aborted (sold one of them), sold two others (one came up open, don't know about the other), and the rest are coming into heat right now. We also sold all our babies (two were going to mature 34-36", one didn't have the best conformation, and the other we couldn't get his dam hardshipped before the end of the year).

Toni


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 24, 2014)

Looks like Nikki IS NOT pg... She's in full blown heat right now... darnit!

Anna C... here are pics of our 'baby' goats... They sure are growing up fast! The pics aren't the best. It's hard to take pics by yourself... They're either in your face or won't come near you... We'll have more babies in July!


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## AnnaC (Mar 25, 2014)

Goodness they have grown fast! Thanks for the pics - I just love goats in general, but the little ones are sooooooooooooooo cute!


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##  (Mar 25, 2014)

Sorry, she's not pregnant, but she was 'iffy' to me, but looked like she could have been.

The goats are cool, and I can't wait to see their little ones!!


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 28, 2014)

This is in regards to Annie.... Yesterday, for giggles and grins, Toni examined Annie's udder and found it to be 'hard.' She had been standing in a small pen for the day to be fed separately from the rest of the herd... I also examined Annie's udder and found it to be hard... The outer skin is still slack and/or soft, but the inner mammary glands were very firm...

Today, we checked her again, but she's been out for 24 hours... The hardness has gone away. We took pics of her on March 19th and then today... We are attaching pics of her from LAST YEAR (dated April 4, 2013 at 317 days +/-) to compare with the current pics. We can see noticeable changes in her bag from 8 days ago... Now we are gobsmacked!

She was bred to Navajo last year on May 11th and 12th... We thought she had settled, but she showed signs of heat in June. By this time, we felt Navajo was sterile because he had been bred to 4 of our mares and they ALL came back into heat. So, we decided to breed Annie to Rohan (45 days later) on July 12 and 13th...

Based on our calculations (for Rohan), Annie shouldn't be due until end of June, beginning of July. BUT, if she did take with Navajo, she would be 330 days on 4/7... and 342 days on 4/19... LAST YEAR, she went approximately 341 days... If she took with Navajo, today she would be 320 days... which is within the same ballpark as the pics from last year... If she settled with Rohan, she should only be 257 days...

She is fuzzier this year than last, but not as heavy as last year... (She's in with the herd this year; last year the last few months of her pregnancy, she was by herself.) If she is further along than we thought she was, we will separate her...

Based on the attached comparison photos (dated)... what do you all think??? Has anyone ever had a mare bag up 3 months in advance? Last year she bagged up in 3 weeks!

Kari (and Toni)


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##  (Mar 28, 2014)

From the profile picture, she's looking pretty trim and up high -- not dropped. But in the 'rear' pictures she was definitely lopsided on the 19th, but seems slab-sided in today's picture. There have definitely been changes in her udder from the 19th, so she bears watching for sure.

She seems too wide for 257 days, but not wide enough for 320. Quite confusing! Certainly one to watch!


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 28, 2014)

Definitely confusing...











We went back and checked the calendar from last year... Toni is VERY GOOD at keeping records of when we breed and how many times... We're positive she is somewhere between 258 and 320.

I created an Excel spreadsheet that has columns of first time bred, last time bred, next possible heat cycle, how many days along they are based on last date bred, columns that show 330 days possible foaling, then on either side of that column, columns that show plus or minus 12 days... I have it down to an absolute 'science.' (Or, either that, I'm extremely anal!)

We hand bred every mare last year... Since it is so crucial to know exactly when the mare will foal, we will not pasture breed... ever. The stallions and mares were not next to each other... Did not share a common fence... so no hanky-panky through the fence (as far as we know... unless the stallion developed wings...  Rohan is very good at that, from previous owner's experience... 

Kari (and Toni)


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## MountainWoman (Mar 29, 2014)

Kari, that is weird that her udder would have changed so much. Could she have miscarried?


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 29, 2014)

We didn't find any evidence of it. We're on an acre now and the area the Minis are in is very small, so I'm sure we would have noticed... Also, there isn't any fluids on her rear...

Time will tell... Today we went out to look at her and now we're just not sure... We'll just have to keep a close eye on her.

Living in AZ has been heck and the Minis are just not reacting like they did in Missouri or Oklahoma...

Kari


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## MountainWoman (Mar 29, 2014)

It must be very different living on all sand and desert instead of grass. Just never seen where a mare had such a big bag and then it went down so much but I only have very limited experience. Hope all is well with her.


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 29, 2014)

This mare is our little hussy. She will tease and let a stallion cover her while pregnant. Found that out last year. Bred her in May 2012 before we moved to AZ. She acted like she was back in heat in July 2012. Bred her to another stallion. When she showed signs of bagging up the first of April 2013, we were confused. Everyone on here said she was close. She ended up having a filly on April 29th, 25 days later. Sadly, the foal didn't make it out of the sac and we lost her. She was full term, so Annie was pregnant when she allowed the other stallion to cover her. She has teased to our stallions this year on and off, especially my APHA stallion. She LOVES him!!! She would even allow them to cover her, if we allowed it.

We will just wait and see. She is the only possible foal this year. The rest either came up open, aborted (two), or we sold.

Toni


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## happy appy (Mar 29, 2014)

I don't see a huge difference from her udder on Mar 19 to mar 28, to me it looks a little bigger on mar 28. I don't see any big drop in size really. Can someone point out the difference to me?


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## Magic Marker Minis (Mar 29, 2014)

The concern for the size of her bag is because she is not due for another 3 months... If she's bagging up early, it may be because the first stallion we bred her to wasn't sterile like we thought. When we thought she wasn't settled, we bred her to another stallion a couple of months later when she came into heat...

Kari (and Toni)


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##  (Mar 29, 2014)

I would just watch her. She doesn't seem quite 'big' or dropped enough to be at the 320 range, but she certainly seems bigger than the 257 range. So, I think I'd just wait and watch a bit.


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## Magic Marker Minis (Apr 3, 2014)

Okay, we have decided Annie is not due until late June, early July. If you look past her winter coat, she is not as big as she looks. There have been no changes to her milk bar.

We are feeding her in a pen by herself at night and turning her out with the other horses during the day.

Will keep an eye on her, but not expecting anything until summer. Hopefully, not right when we are ready to move.

Here's pictures from yesterday. She was 263 days.


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##  (Apr 3, 2014)

Sounds like a good plan. She's very pretty -- that white is soooooo white !


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## Magic Marker Minis (Apr 10, 2014)

OKAY, I've decided Annie is NOT pregnant. She has come into heat and this heat is lasting the normal length. When I look at her from behind, I don't see any uneven bulging. she looks like our open mare (know she is open because she aborted at 5 months). Annie would be due end of June, first of July. Her winter coat hides her true size in pictures.

On the other hand, Nikki (28" maiden mare) looks pregnant. She has a very big "hay" belly, but she is not overweight. All her size is in her belly and she looks uneven at times. She even looks bigger than she did a couple weeks ago.

Annie (smoky black pinto) would be between 246 and 271 days, depending on whether she took on July 13, 2013 or 8/7/2013 (Kari's BD!).

Nikki (bay) would be about 242 days. She was bred 8/9 through 8/11, 2013.

Here are pics of them: side view, back view, from above (Nikki only-pic of Annie was off center-can't see one side) and udder.

Kari and Toni


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## MountainWoman (Apr 12, 2014)

Just wanted to say what pretty mares!


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