First pregnancy questions and a sad farewell

[Diamondinmypocket]

Everyday I am more and more convinced that Diamond is pregnant!

Heres why: A round shifting growing belly. She is on the dot regular on wormings, no change in diet from the day we got her.

Noticed yesterday in her daily belly hug/ udder check, a smooshy, even, not hot or painful bag forming with the smooshy area running a few inches from her bag towards her front on each side of her belly midline. (i hope you understand my description, I am unfamiliar with terms used in bred mares)

I really hope she is preggers... Just the paperwork nightmare of her papers and breeding papers, really solidified in my mind my desire NOT to breed...

So this looks like my only chance....

Her breeding dates were: ( She was taken to the stud)

STARTING AUG. 30 for 8 days straight, listed in order of each day, covers were 2,3,2,2,4,2,2,4 a day Ending SEP.6.

each number is the number of covers that day.

So my question is, when do I start sleeping in the barn with her. This is maybe her 6th foal.

I really respect those out there who like to research genetics. I wish I had the time to learn. I too love learning such things. As I know I will not ever be a breeder, I am hoping someone wouldn't mind "reading my palm" as to what I might see this baby to be? My wish is for a tri color bay gelding. A copy of the stud but neutered is what my heart is set on, minus the roaning both sire and dam have.

I wish I could upload photos but I use a tablet and sadly do not know how to. And I (sadly, but secretly) wish I owned the stud, so I can only provide names.

Is anyone interested? I wish I could do a contest with this foal... Kind of like what women do on sex and date of a baby.

I am turning a new leaf in life. I have decided to partner with a close friend on training and selling hunter jumper ponies.

While I have always loved my minis, they also have a bad past connected to them. I know some of you old timers might remember a very bad christmas for my family years back. And I love each of you who held me up during that time. I am not really leaving this family. My 3 (hope

will always be with me and I will always trust this forum for advice. I am almost done filling my barnyard of dreams, and there my brats

will share love with anyone who needs a little getaway. But most of my free time is being consumed by the future for the sport ponies I want to train and sell.

So no matter what I will be here, I just hope that in this baby my horse trauma will fade, something good will be attached, and the pain will no longer keep me back.

Seasons Greetings everyone!

INTEXAS2STAY....

 

[supaspot]

if she was only covered in August / September you wouldnt be seeing any changes in her at all yet , she probably wouldnt have even gained any weight yet and definately no milk , was she pasture bred ? she was covered an awful lot of times which probably made the chance of pregnancy less not more , (once every other day is suffice ) if she is pregnant she wont be due until July/August next summer

Id love to guess what colour and pattern the potential foal is but you need to tell us what colour the parents are first lol

 

[targetsmom]

I sure don't want to rain on your parade, but you really shouldn't be seeing any changes in a mare that was bred in August or September, which would make her about 3 months pregnant. Here are photos of our our two mares that were bred in May and confirmed in foal for April 2013 foals. So they are over 7 months pregnant and both confirmed by ultrasound and one was confirmed again with a Wee Foal test that was about to expire anyway, so why waste it?. The bay has had 5 foals and the silver dapple pinto is a maiden. Both photos are very recent,

 

[Diamondinmypocket]

Don't worry about rain, it happens in life

If I get a spare $100, I would jump all over a u/s! But it is still fun playing is she or isn't she!

As for her she is b/w pinto with a spot of roaning on her rump. Her sire is Mitasunke Huka.

The stud is Alamo Rowdy Tri Star. A bay/white/black pinto with a small patch of roaning on rump.

Hope this helps!

 

[targetsmom]

It is hard to tell color possibilities without knowing if the sire and dam are homozygous for black or not. Your possible foal colors will be black, bay, black pinto, bay pinto, and possibly chestnut and chestnut pinto if neither sire nor dam is H/Z for black. There is a good chance there will be more than one pinto pattern involved, The roaning could very well be sabino and if I recall the photos of the mare and stallion, they both carry tobiano???

 

[wildoak]

Nicole,

You might look into the Wee Foal tests and put your mind at ease one way or the other.

Otherwise, you have a long wait and won't really be able to tell by looking for months. I have several very fat little older mares (ok, way too fat) who haven't had babies in years but still appear to have a bag and will even express liquid. If you have her ultrasounded or do the Wee Foal, which you can do without a vet, you will know how to proceed with her.

Jan

 

[Diamondinmypocket]

Yes both are tobis. I did not know the roaning was important....and as far as I know neither have ever been tested.

As for the wee foal" I have heard of it but am clueless to using it. Is it easy accurate and cheap? I plan on just going with a yes and doing what she will need as time passes.

But I sure am having fun with the genetics!

 

[targetsmom]

By the time you could get a Wee Foal 120 urine test in the mail, she should be beyond 120 days and for <$40 you could find out if she is pregnant or not I have not had good luck lately with the Wee Foal 38, but would trust the 120. It really is better to know, and even if a mare is confirmed in foal early in pregnancy by U/S, they can still slip the foal and you might not know. Our first year breeding we spent $1,000 for a stud fee, several months board for the mare, travel expenses, etc and she came home U/Sed in foal. When she started bagging up we spent hundreds on a color camera, Mare Stare, milk test strips, a foaling kits, etc, then never left the property and watched her like a hawk. When her due date came and went with no more progress, we had an external U/S which determined she was NOT carrying a foal. We think she might have slipped it on the trip home, but of course we will never know. So trust me, it is MUCH better if you know whether the mare is pregnant or not.

And by the way, that year turned out to be one of the BETTER foaling outcomes we had in our first few years of breeding.

 

[Diamondinmypocket]

Another reason I am not a breeder

As for u/s our vet is great but costly. And we do not have a trailer of our own we try to reserve funds for true emergencies.

I know many might frown on doing this the old fashioned way, its my way of life. Horse breeding is risky, but it wasn't but a few years ago that just about any horse vet had an in house machine. So pregnant or not, she always gets the very best I can afford, is watched like a hawk, I have an amazing professional support system that I trust, and use regularly.

So these are my facts of life. And I am blessed. I just want to enjoy this experience, and playing the color game is a nice way to pass the time. No matter the outcome. In the spring we hope to be ready enough to rescue a pony and give it a better chance at life.

 

[eagles ring farm]

http://www.horsetest...Calculator1.asp Here is a fun and accurate foal color calculator from animal genetics. Put in as much info as you can provide and it will narrow down your color possibilities.

 

[Diamondinmypocket]

Thanks Eagle ring.

 

[Diamondinmypocket]

Oh, I also failed to explain the covers.. She was taken to the stud. This is the same breeder who is giving me a hard time about the papers for the breeding...

I was told they were hand and pasture bred and "watched very closely" so this "breeder" is not what she portrayed herself to be. She acted like she was not going to even give Diamond back... I agree about the way things were done concerning the covers. But there is nothing I can do now. At least I got her back. I doubt I will ever get the papers..so my dream of s nice show gelding are tossed. Hard lessons.....

So please do not think I did not care about this... But I can see a stressful battle to straighten it out. My heart is already broken. I just need a distraction as way of not blowing my top.

I did the calculator and my chance of a bay tobi are high!

Just now scratching my head about what the roaning could do....

Thanks guys!