Advise please on older broodmare

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Taz, as frustrating as this whole process is for you, your experience is giving me some comfort! My little girl seemed like she was starting to get puffy in front of her teats about a month ago, so I took that to possibly be the beginnings of an udder and have been monitoring it. But since then there has been barely any change at all! I’ve even doubted if she’s even in foal lol
While I’m sure you’re pulling your hair out, it is reassuring to know other owners are being driven crazy by their mares :confused::)
Here’s a pic of the above mentioned crazy lady creator! Excuse the dodgy clip :oops:
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Jodie, what a cutie!!!!
I'm glad it's helping you! It's very frustrating for all of us that don't have any history on them or even due dates but it really is worth it in the end. It helps me a lot to be able to whine and vent here and hear other people having the same thing going on. You're little one will get there and you won't believe how wonderful the foal is. Do you have a camera up?

I think we're all very jealous of Holly.....but she might be going through it again with her donkey, hahaha, poor Holly.
 
I don’t have a camera up yet, I was going to sort that “closer to the time” but I will likely sort it soon as with her being a maiden mare, she could trick me as to how ready she actually is! I got her on September 20th so she has to be coming up to 9 months at minimum as I know she did not get bred here! She was in a pen with a mini stud at auction so for all I know it could have happened at/on the way to the auction. The vet gave her an external ultrasound on March 10th as she is too small to palpate and she didn’t have a small enough probe to do an internal ultrasound. It was hard for her to see clearly but she said “ok there’s a big black blob in there that shouldn’t usually be there” with a bit of a chuckle, then she put the probe on her again, looked around for a bit and said “yeah I’m pretty certain that’s a head I’m looking at right now”. She is VERY knowledgeable when it comes to horses (though at her own admission, not so used to dating mini pregnancies) so I’m sure her diagnosis was correct. Plus I haven’t seen any signs of heat from Rosie while my other mares have shown very obvious signs a few times this year already, though I know that doesn’t necessarily mean much as some mares are more discreet so to speak.
She is not overly wide at the moment, but a very odd shape when looking at her from above and when feeling down her sides. I’ll post a few pictures, you will likely get a good laugh at the clip job - this little one had the thickest coat I had ever seen and even the “good” clippers struggled terribly on her. It will get touched up eventually.
Anyway, I hope your mare has a happy and healthy foal very soon for you!
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That's a better clip job than I've ever been able to do! I did one mini two years ago and it was awful but did the job, she had a winter coat in the summer and a summer coat in the winter. From what I knew of her life before I got her she probably didn't get out of the barn much. This is the first year she's not messed up with it.

The picture from above does look odd and different on both sides. The little one I had to clip was not a maiden and didn't have any more belly then that until about 3 weeks before foaling. Not trying to panic you, she could have lots of time left especially if you're not seeing signs of her getting ready. Mine 'worked on' an udder for 10 weeks before foaling without much of any other signs. They must have talked.....get her tired enough and she'll give us the big horses grain buckets instead of ours.

Please keep us posted? She looks tiny, how tall is she?
 
Well, not to make it worse for y'all but, Mom and I went to our local mini farm Monday and they had had a foal born the night before....from the SMALLEST mare!! (Pic attached) They had one mare, Maybelle who was huge, I swear her belly was probably 28" in diameter.
 

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And we got to see the mare that we are definitely getting, Squirt. (She is currently pregnant) She is so sweet and friendly, I just love her so much!!!! She was checking out the camera in the last pic.
 

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Squirt is so cute!! When is she due? How can you stand not bringing her home NOW? Is she silver dapple? I'm not good with mini colours...

And ohhh, what a cute baby!
 
Taz: Aww poor little soul, I’m glad she’s all fixed up now! A friend of mine did the clipping and it took a good while to even get it to the stage it’s at! She’s not a show pony or anything so it was more for her comfort than anything given that the weather was warming up faster than her winter woollies were shedding out.
She’s about 30 inches tall, though she thinks she and my 15.2 mare are the same size lol
Thank you for your advice, it definitely makes me feel more at ease! And yes I will definitely keep you updated! If she starts getting more obviously close I will maybe do a foal watch thread for her.

MerMaeve: Your mare is beautiful! I bet you can’t wait to bring her home!
 
Hi


1) First off, sounds like you are very prepared.

2) breathe and relax

3) chances are everything will go fine with this mare and foal. If not, you have everything you need to know in your head to create the best outcome possible :)
4) over the years of breeding (wow, 18yrs I guess) I’ve learned this lesson above all else: be knowledgeable and prepared, BUT aside from things that you cannot prevent or control, the most likely cause for problems is a well intended human overreacting and creating a problem that nature has already solved. “Sometimes less is more”. You are well prepared for the exceptions to this rule eg redbag, dystocia, etc. you have a vet phone number handy.... now, prepare yourself also and primarily for everything to go well, with minimal intervention on your part. Let the mare do what she already knows how to do and what nature has planned. Only, when the emergency truly presents should you get worried and take action.
Enjoy!!! Often, we get so caught up in what goes wrong that we forget to appreciate the beauty and joy of birth, especially when we have lost a LOT of sleep and our patience :)
 
Hi


1) First off, sounds like you are very prepared.

2) breathe and relax

3) chances are everything will go fine with this mare and foal. If not, you have everything you need to know in your head to create the best outcome possible :)
4) over the years of breeding (wow, 18yrs I guess) I’ve learned this lesson above all else: be knowledgeable and prepared, BUT aside from things that you cannot prevent or control, the most likely cause for problems is a well intended human overreacting and creating a problem that nature has already solved. “Sometimes less is more”. You are well prepared for the exceptions to this rule eg redbag, dystocia, etc. you have a vet phone number handy.... now, prepare yourself also and primarily for everything to go well, with minimal intervention on your part. Let the mare do what she already knows how to do and what nature has planned. Only, when the emergency truly presents should you get worried and take action.
Enjoy!!! Often, we get so caught up in what goes wrong that we forget to appreciate the beauty and joy of birth, especially when we have lost a LOT of sleep and our patience :)
Well said!!
 
Squirt is so cute!! When is she due? How can you stand not bringing her home NOW? Is she silver dapple? I'm not good with mini colours...

And ohhh, what a cute baby!
Well, they don't know when she was breed because they just run the stallion with the mares for a month or so. I don't think they would let us bring her home now, they want the foal. And besides, we don't have the barn started yet and no fencing....LOL And yes, they said she is a silver bay dapple.
MerMaeve: Your mare is beautiful! I bet you can’t wait to bring her home!
Thank you!! yes, Mom and I can't wait! It'll probably be Nov. (depending on when she has her baby) before she can come home. Technically she'll be Mom's horse but...........;) I already steal her clothes...
 
Hi


1) First off, sounds like you are very prepared.

2) breathe and relax

3) chances are everything will go fine with this mare and foal. If not, you have everything you need to know in your head to create the best outcome possible :)
4) over the years of breeding (wow, 18yrs I guess) I’ve learned this lesson above all else: be knowledgeable and prepared, BUT aside from things that you cannot prevent or control, the most likely cause for problems is a well intended human overreacting and creating a problem that nature has already solved. “Sometimes less is more”. You are well prepared for the exceptions to this rule eg redbag, dystocia, etc. you have a vet phone number handy.... now, prepare yourself also and primarily for everything to go well, with minimal intervention on your part. Let the mare do what she already knows how to do and what nature has planned. Only, when the emergency truly presents should you get worried and take action.
Enjoy!!! Often, we get so caught up in what goes wrong that we forget to appreciate the beauty and joy of birth, especially when we have lost a LOT of sleep and our patience :)

Yes, that's perfect!
I'm wanting to be there but not planning on doing anything but watching unless it looks like there's a problem. Thank you so much :)
 
Such beautiful girls! Jodie don't worry about clip jobs--oh my goodness, I try to rid my poor llamas of wool. NOTHING ruins a good clipper blade faster! My llamas end up looking a whole lot worse! AND I usually end up wearing a lovely hue of green llama spit because they love that process SO much! No baby for Tilley yet? I was just out with my minis after work and a root canal so not feeling up to playing. Wow, is Snickers ever cranky tonight! She tried to kick me a couple of times so I'm guessing she's probably tired and uncomfortable. She's only talking to the stallion and being sweet with him (NOT normal). I got some photos but nothing that looks real close. Again I will make an attempt to post some photos. What do you all think? Only a very small change in udder. Her sides don't stick out so much. Her belly has changed shape so often. Last month it looked like baby was in position then it went away,now it's kind of looking like it's in position again. She is very thick at both flanks. I know better than to borrow trouble, but I am hoping baby isn't thinking about being breech. This is my first time watching a mare give birth. Foaling kit ready to go!20200603_190843.jpg 20200603_190843.jpg 20200603_190706.jpg 20200602_185148 (1).jpg 20200602_185122 (1).jpg
 
No baby for Tilly yet.
Poor you, you go to bed or at least relax in front of the tv I hope.
Looks like Snickers udder is changing a bit. Yay!
Don't even worry about the baby being in the wrong position, he/she is still moving around. She will be working on getting the little one into the right position and has done this at least twice before. Besides, a breech is only a bad problem if you have to find a leg I think. I read it's only about a 3% chance of not having the right presentation. As Attwoode said so well, you're prepared, relax and get some sleep tonight.
 
It's 9 weeks today and counting.....
She's been about back to where she was since Wed and is holding there for now, no changes morning to night but that's not new unfortunately.

How's everyone else doing? Any changes?
 
It's 9 weeks today and counting.....
She's been about back to where she was since Wed and is holding there for now, no changes morning to night but that's not new unfortunately.

How's everyone else doing? Any changes?
Ugh. Squirt hasn't had her baby yet either.
 

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