jj in foal? new mares pictures/soon jewel too!

[crisco41]

ok its been awhile since I posted pictures.

Most of them will be JJ..she is the one who was seenbred in June many times..but was running with a stallion before that. We have some softness in front of the udder..but really thats about it. She now allows me to touch her anywhere...even to check the color of her girl parts. What a good girl.

 

[crisco41]

Jewel has some udder softness..is due about the same (est end of May begining of June) time as JJ but she barely looks pregnant to me. Both have foale din the past I think. For sure jewel has.

then just a quick one of daisy the very skinny mare I got with JJ. She is gaining weight and looking good. and pf course my sweetie Misty filling her pie face in the background:>)

JJ seems to have dropped some. I wasn';t going to say anything to see if anyone else sees it....

 

[Eagle]

Wow, here is a pic from the 21st Feb and then today

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Look how her tummy has dropped

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[crisco41]

does she look like she will go to end of May first part of June. ? i wish i knew if she was breeding in june but was already bred...does that happen?

 

[countrymini]

She doesn't look like she could you hold out that long but you never know! To your second question, yes, it can happen. My mare was bred in May. After that she kept coming into season every 3 weeks like clockwork so in October I put her back with her man and then he was sold straight after. She stopped coming into season so I thought she'd taken. Here we are in March and she's massive and started shopping for an udder so she obviously took in May but is the type of mare to want some even if she's pregnant.

 

[crisco41]

It would be nice if she goes sooner, but i think the back shot may be a bit deceiving. She looks pretty big on the sides today...oh the fun of waiting

 

[crisco41]

I think I need to get pictures on here of JJ. Maybe imagination is going a bit wild..or maybe some small changes happening. She see4ms a lil sunken in where hips are? Saw her yawning 6 times in a row (anyone else stand there and count yawns) she lifted tail like 4 times , did a lil swishing as I watched her and stomped back feet a few times...I said flies..hubby said no way this early in the year..is it my imagination or is hoo hoo more elongated? Will try for pictures when I can Maybe tomorrow.....

 

[AnnaC]

Sounds exciting - pictures asap please.

 

[crisco41]

i took these of jay jay today

what do you all think? I haven't seen anymore yawning or kicking or anythimg but was awful busy today. Appetite good.

 

[crisco41]

[attachment=16358SC04852.JPG[attachment=16356:jewel.JPG

Jewel ultrasounded to be due late May early June..same time as jj,,but i am beginning to think jj bred while already pregnant>? and due earlier??what cha think?

 

[crisco41]

you are scaring me diane. How can that be.....excited to have it coming and dreading it at same time.

what would your "guess " be? I mean..how will i know it has moved forward? Did you see how her hips have sunken a bit? do you see anything else? Does her privates look like they are getting ready? does she look puffy, elongating? her milk bar? How fast do you think this might happen? I want a baby i just don't want to go thru the foaling.

I want to be there..i need to be there....soon? a week? maybe a month. panic panic..

 

[AnnaC]

Totally agree with you Diane - in fact both these girls could be 'getting down to business' before very long in my opinion!! Cant remember but have you got them stalled at nights? If not, then I woud be getting that sorted right away!

Other than that I would just be keeping a very attentive eye on them, watching for any changes - tummies moving 'forward', behaviour changes, udder changes/filling (although mares do vary with this, so dont rely on udder development alone), and watching for vulva's changing colour which will probably be your 'final' warning!!

Good luck - they are both looking great!

 

[Eagle]

I agree with you both

please don't panic. Just keep posting pics and we will help all we can. Do you have a vet you can call and ask for help? I don't remember if you said,sorry. Keep a close eye on JJ's vulva colour as Diane said and make sure you have your foaling kit ready. If you need to know what to put in it let us know.

 

[crisco41]

Just made an appointment for my puppy and found out my vet has retired. She has slowly been phasing out. The new vet is inexperienced in horses. I do have a number of a new friend that does foaling for hire...I think she would help me if t hings get rough. Not sure she could get here in time if there was a problem tho. I need to put her number on speed dial.

Jewel was ultrasounded a lil while back and her due date was estimated to be end of May beginning of JUne. Not sure how accurate they can get. I hope she is a long way from ready!

As for JJ,,,i have not been stalling..I will start tho at night. I am prepared to sleep in the barn on the hay with a sleeping bag..when it begins to look like she is ready. I have no camera..and no electricity to set one up. Unless i set her stall up in my little shed...hmmm...at least i would have electricity in there. It is large enough to foal in..but probably not for both of us to sleep in.

As for her vulva color..I have a question. Is it a gradual change or does it go from pink to a dark red quickly? Like will I see signs of darkening gradually..over a period of time?

I think I have everything in my birthing kit.

tetanus vaccines, dental floss, little pair of scissors, gloves, ky jelly, have a dog blanket on order..hope it works well, betadine, a pill bottle for the betadine, vet wrap for tail, nipples several kinds, bottle , cotton balls, think thats it. I have no colostrum ....does the powdered kind work? What would you get ads a colostrum replacement? what else have I forgotten?

I need to empty out my horse trailer..as I loaded it up for a run to the dump and need to have it ready.

ok..I am only a Little bit panicky today. She is getting ready too fast for me,. I had planned to pull her totally off fescue with in a few weeks. It would have been enough time had the pregnancy been at the stage I was told. Now I have waited too long and she will have it in her system. That is one of the major reasons I will have to be present for the birth. If I have a bag that doesn't open or a redbag and lose a foal I would feel so horrible. 18 years is a long time to have waited for a baby.

thank you for all your help guys. I appreciate the aunties more each day!

 

[Eagle]

I personally wouldn't give one of my pregnant mares fescue, period. It is just too risky, whatever anyone says believe me if you were to lose your foal or even worse foal and mare you would never forgive yourself. Unless you bred the mare by hand and therefore know the exact dates I would get her off it now. If you can't find good hay try getting some pellet hay. Just my opinion after having watched 2 mares on here that were fed fescue by mistake.

The vulva colour changes quite quickly so you will notice it when it happens

You said you don't have electricity in the barn so make sure you have your torch handy as she will probably foal at night. I would prepare the area in your shed just incase you need her where you have lights.

Foal kit: Ky gel is no good so try and get something like Vaseline oil (Diane will advice on what you use in USA) also add liquid soap (I use this with warm water for enema) plenty of towels. The American girls will have to help with advice on where to buy colostrum, normally it isn't something I buy but with the fescue issue it wouldn't hurt to find out where you could get some if needed.

Emptying the trailer is a great idea

it's sod's law that if you have it ready you won't need it so get it good and ready

I hope this helps

 

[crisco41]

Thank You. Done as of today,...alfalfa timothy cubes.....sorry old girls

Shed almost ready, think i will be moving her to the back yard after i let someone else in there to eat any of the grass. I am just assuming any thing in TN that is green right now is fescue

girl part salmon pink.

I hate to be selfish but now is a dang bad time for my vet to retire!

 

[Eagle]

very selfish of your vet

 

[crisco41]

I moved JJ and jewel to the dry lot area by the shed. Mixed up their cubes and chop....Then it started to rain/snow and I felt so bad knowing they both will not share the shed..I moved them back to the regular area..where the mixed grass (with fescue) large bale is.

That bale is just about gone...and I have found bermuda hay I will be picking up tomorrow!.I will just have to take my chances as I just cannot leave them out in the dry lot area with shelter they will not share.

I am excited to have found bermuda. It is a little costly but still cheaper then cubes and chop and so much easier for me to do.YEAH.I wish I had a better way to separate the bred from the not bred..as It would be so nice to give only the pregnant mares the expensive bermuda. A lesson learned for me...be prepared BEFORE you bring home. Sigh Oh well..we are finally heading in the right direction.

 

[sparklingjewelacres]

We are both so close to having our little mares foal. I took both horses off the field grass for fear of fescue and have them in their dry lot area(about half acre) Now that is starting to sprout up some form of grass which looks mostly like bermuda and they are nibbling at any little green that pops up so.. I am sure there is tiny little fescue sprouts budding out there. We did plant pasture grass there at one time so they are probably ok. For most of this pregnancy they have been off fescue completely .. I cant keep them from nibbling on tiny little sprouts that are emerging tho that I have no idea what is coming up out there. Soon.. very soon we will both be having foals.

 

[crisco41]

sparklingjewelsacres..do you have postings here on your mares? I would like to follow along. I am sure your girls are fine.Any little sprigs of fescue would be so diluted...

I asked new vet and he has never foaled out a mini.He's a really nice guy..just not my old vet. They are going to order colostrum just in case...guess its about 100 bucks.I won't need to pay unless I need it and hope I don't need it while they are closed. No changes in jewel. I did see a picture of a mare that is due anyday..and she is shaped an awful lot like Jewel, at least to my eyes.There's today update..nothing much to speak of.