How Much Longer? (Hide n Seek Foal Watch Thread)

[MeepMeep]

Well, it's day 331 and I'm watching my mare get ready to foal soon (hopefully). I bought her already in foal, but know her dates, so that's good. She has an udder, her tail is loose and she seems to have dropped, but though her udder looks pretty full-ish, there's no milk or waxing yet. What do you guys reckon? How much longer do we have?

 

[elizabeth.conder]

You’re definitely getting close. She should make one more big udder change and you should lose that crease. Ph testing is great when and if you can get milk. It’s very hard to see wax on minis. Many never actually wax. She’s really pretty! Can’t wait to see what she has!

 

[MeepMeep]

You’re definitely getting close. She should make one more big udder change and you should lose that crease. Ph testing is great when and if you can get milk. It’s very hard to see wax on minis. Many never actually wax. She’s really pretty! Can’t wait to see what she has!

Oh that's good to know about minis and wax. She looks much of a muchness today, sort of feels like she's hit a bit of a plateau in terms of udder for the moment. We have the foaling alarm on her so that's some peace of mind. Will update with pics when something interesting happens

 

[MeepMeep]

Today's side udder view.

 

[Taz]

She's adorable and very close . Do you have a camera on her as well as an alarm? This last little bit of waiting is going to feel like forever, I'm not even going to try to guess how long you have to go but if she's been plateaued you should see a change in her udder and/or her elongation just before she finally gives in. Do you have any pictures of dad?

 

[MeepMeep]

She's adorable and very close . Do you have a camera on her as well as an alarm? This last little bit of waiting is going to feel like forever, I'm not even going to try to guess how long you have to go but if she's been plateaued you should see a change in her udder and/or her elongation just before she finally gives in. Do you have any pictures of dad?

I don't have a camera (yet) because she's in the field, but we have thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow so I will be stalling her tonight (big pen really) and that has two cameras on it. The foal alarm keeps going off for no reason which is fun, haha. I don't have pictures of dad, but he's a really cute little palamino shetland. I am hoping baby will be a cart mini one day, as both mum and dad are stocky wee beasts.

 

[Taz]

Haha. I had a foaling alarm on for my first foal 4 years ago, it was great! I went to sleep and trusted it to wake me up when she was down on her side so I could check the camera. I didn't do any of this setting an alarm to wake me up every hour or two to squint at the camera and see if maybe something was happening yet....please. When she foaled it never went off but I woke up to check and caught it luckily. I was using an app on a spare phone so not as dependable, not trying to scare you! Dad sounds great, I can't wait to see baby!!

 

[MeepMeep]

Oh wow! That's no good with the alarm. This is one of the Magic Breed Foal Plus ones, I've hired it so I hope it does work, I think we have a few days left though her udder is in stasis and she's going to be a grump about the pen I think which would probably stop her from wanting to foal. Not much change in udder etc today either. I had gathered the minis usually foal on the early side, but maybe not.

 

[MeepMeep]

Small update: slight udder change, and some clear fluid from her teat, which suggest she's still a wee ways off, no milk yet. Also, hopefully fixed the false alarm issues by putting a slightly smaller halter on her. I think the device was slipping sideways with a larger halter.

 

[Kelly]

Dang!! If she doesnt have the baby soon, you are gonna have to milk her yourself!! Have you ever had horse milk? Horse cheese??…it’s kinda like goat milk & goat cheese JK

Happy foaling & best wishes!

 

[MeepMeep]

Dang!! If she doesnt have the baby soon, you are gonna have to milk her yourself!! Have you ever had horse milk? Horse cheese??…it’s kinda like goat milk & goat cheese JK

Happy foaling & best wishes!

Is that a decent udder then? I've never foaled a mare before, but have done lots of goats. I keep thinking she barely has anything there haha.

 

[Kelly]

Oh heck IDK!!! I only have geldings so that looks HUGE to me

 

[MeepMeep]

Oh heck IDK!!! I only have geldings so that looks HUGE to me

Geldings are so much more straightforward in so many ways aren't they.

 

[elizabeth.conder]

She does have a pretty good sized udder. That change to “white milk” can change quite fast. Ph testing is amazing if you can do it. She looks like she has a tiny bit longer but that could literally change any minute. Usually that center crease and that front crease will fill in and the udder will almost “pop.”

 

[MeepMeep]

She does have a pretty good sized udder. That change to “white milk” can change quite fast. Ph testing is amazing if you can do it. She looks like she has a tiny bit longer but that could literally change any minute. Usually that center crease and that front crease will fill in and the udder will almost “pop.”

Unfortunately I don't have access to testing strips, which would help a fair bit. By the time I ordered them and they got here, she'd probably have foaled! We are about to have two days of heavy storms so I don't know if that will help or hinder matters, but she's penned now under camera.

 

[MeepMeep]

Just did my last check (10 pm) for the night, and she's much looser in the rear, and a little more full in the udder I think? Thunderstorms are scheduled to start somewhere around 1 am.

 

[Taz]

She looks any time to me. Good luck!!

 

[elizabeth.conder]

That stall and farmers upset look great! It’s hard to see if the creases have filled yet from that back pic. Can you get one from directly under again? It does look pretty full from the back. Has her milk changed yet? Another thing you can check is when she gets close, her lady parts will get much darker inside and you might even see blood veins become prominent. How’s her tail resistance? Thunderstorms may definitely push her over the edge! I’d be watching her close at this point for sure. Can’t wait to see what she is hiding!

 

[MeepMeep]

DAY 334: Well, it is morning, and the words I would choose to describe her this morning are grumpy and messy, It's hard to differentiate between first stage labor and her just being really annoyed at the pen, but with the weather and ground conditions as they are I don't think I have much choice for the safety of the foal. She's doing a lot of pacing and her back end is puffy and sort of open-ish. No wax or anything on the udder though.

 

[MeepMeep]

That stall and farmers upset look great! It’s hard to see if the creases have filled yet from that back pic. Can you get one from directly under again? It does look pretty full from the back. Has her milk changed yet? Another thing you can check is when she gets close, her lady parts will get much darker inside and you might even see blood veins become prominent. How’s her tail resistance? Thunderstorms may definitely push her over the edge! I’d be watching her close at this point for sure. Can’t wait to see what she is hiding!

Me too! I'm hoping all goes well for sure, a bit nervewracking. Now it is daytime I am guessing not much chance until late tonight.