December photos/Equine Affaire: On Target Miniature 2012 foals

[AnnaC]

Awe Mira is such a pretty girl and I agree that she will most probably be the first to foal!

She's snoozing quietly at the moment, Toffee has just gone down sternal.

 

[Eagle]

3.30am both girls are down sternal

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Well it's 4:20 here and I need to get some sleep before that alarm goes off in a couple of hours and the workday calls. All is well, not much activity it seemed to me tonight. So, again we wait. These mares sure have their own agendas this year. Seems like across the board, there are a lot that seem ready for ages and we just have to wait for them. Prop our eyes open with toothpicks I guess!lol

 

[Eagle]

6.40am Toffee is quiet and Mira is rubbing her booty

 

[targetsmom]

Amazing how the perspective changes when the pager is next to the bed!! These girls were anything but quiet last night as far as we were concerned! The pager kept going off - first for one and then for the other. I wish they could have been better coordinated. Not much sleep for us at all until around 4 AM.

And this morning Toffee is not interested in her grain. I need to check the manure gain but it looked like one pile was a bit softer....Keeping the pager close by and wishing I didn't have an important client conference call in a few hours.

 

[Eagle]

3.40am and all is quiet. I have to go out now so please be good girls

 

[AnnaC]

3.15am and all quiet. Toffee standing snoozing and Mira down sternal. Hope you are managing to get some sleep Mary!

 

[Eagle]

4.40am and Mira is acting a bit strange, she just reversed across the stall and then did some strange stretchy thing. HHmmmmmmm

 

[targetsmom]

Mira acted normal at feeding time but I will definitely keep an eye on her after her "strange stretchy thing". i gather it was not a normal morning stretch??? Thanks for noting that!

I am now so tired I can't sleep, feel like I have a sinus infection, and we have a 4-H meeting here this afternoon. With my luck, someone (or two) will foal today.

 

[Eagle]

Sorry to hear that you are feeling rough today, I hope you get well soon. Mira's stretchy thing was weird, not like a normal stretch and her reversing up even more so, how is her udder looking today?

 

[targetsmom]

The udder looks the "same" - pretty full (and warm), but it could get fuller, as you still can't see the teats from the side. And the teats don't hang straight down and are not full, plus the pH hasn't dropped (I just checked). There is some "stickiness" to the milk, but not what I would call "sticky". Manure was all normal and she certainly acts normal now, as in she is filling her face with hay! I am not sure if she ate all her grain or not. The empty dish was outside the stall, so someone else might have finished it. The black and white gelding (w/black tail) is her best buddy and she might have let him "share". He eats right outside her stall. He might also have had something to do with her strange behavior too - I would not put anything past him!

 

[Eagle]

In that case I would imagine that baby maybe turned or was sitting in an uncomfy position for Mira.

 

[targetsmom]

It IS a nice day here, but the mares are staying pretty close to the stall. Actually, Sox is in it now and Toffee is lying down (without setting off the alarm) right outside. We have a 4-H meeting this afternoon but most of the action will likely be outside the stalls. We will be worming all the minis except the pregnant mares, testing milk, testing the foal buzzer in case it is needed, discussing feeds, and either working the show horses or turning them out to watch them prance around the pasture. Oh, and discussing our Community Service Project. Busy afternoon planned.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Sounds like a wonderful afternoon Mary. Of course, if you weren't so sleep deprived it would be much better! Hang in there my dear!

 

[targetsmom]

Yes, it was a wonderful afternoon 4-H meeting. First the members were given charts that included the heart girth and estimated weight of each mini (needed for worming), plus other information they would need for their record books. Everyone got a chance to worm a mini after I demonstrated on our stallion Buckshot. Since 4-Hers (in CT anyway) are not allowed to have stallions as 4-H projects, they see very little of Buckshot and I think were impressed with how easily he was caught (coming right up to me in the pasture) and took the wormer. Then we had an impromptu jumping demonstration using our experienced show mare Princess and our new girl Dancer. They were jumping about the same height that some of the members jump in their riding lessons - 1 1/2 feet or so. Then we compared udders on Mira (full, tight and warm) and Sox (starting to develop), and tested the foal buzzer and found it works fine. Of course the drawback is that it doesn't shut off as long as the mare lays flat. Our discussion of feeds was pretty brief, but I did show them where hay and grain are kept in the barn and how I set up the feed in labeled containers before each meal. And how they also get daily wormer.

Then we let the mares into the backyard, where very pregnant Toffee put on quite a show of her wonderful trot - even while 11 months pregnant . That was so we could let the others into the pasture where THEY put on a show. Lots of cameras going as they raced around, and Taffy (Toffee's 2 year old filly) entertained with a tail-flagging, jaw-dropping, trot that was even new to us! So the minis obviously had a good time too.

The afternoon also made me realize that even though the mares are driving us nuts right now, I wouldn't trade OUR three pregnant mares for anyone else's. They are very special, and so is the sire of the foals they are carrying.

 

[Becky]

What a great day and it sounds like everybody had a wonderful time!

 

[MeganH]

That sounded like a great day. I am sure the 4Hers really enjoyed it!

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Sounds like it was a great afternoon. Those kids are never going to forget these experiences!

 

[Charlotte]

Awww, that just sounds wonderful. I could 'see' everything you were describing. How fortunate those 4-H ers are to have the opprotunity you gave them today.

 

[Sandy B]

Thank you for giving these kids something they will always remember!!