Mare ready to foal?

[cassie]

ok I milk tested... was heaps easier tonight I think her teats are filling!!

she is back at 6.8 but it was SO much easier to test so I am ok with that...

what ideas did you have Anna?? I have cut her right back on feed...

n she gets alot of hay at night...

I definitley think if Penny is preggers she isn't due for quite a while yet... thinking maybe January...

um, to answer your question Lindi it was VERY windy this arvo,

a cold change has come through n it has dropped 20 degrees!! n clouds are coming over, so ponies have rain rugs on

I'm going to try someting with Penny tomorrow to help calm her down... I will let you know later how she goes...

off to youth group now... I WILL HAVE MY PHONE ON ME!!!!!!

just so you know...

also I'm sorry bout my attitude I am just so stressed about this whole thing, I was really hoping she would foa before I left... now I'm kinda hoping she waits till I get back, heck I don't know what I want...

sorry for the rant, hectic day at work I'm exhausted. will be back prob bout 10pm I am 5 minutes away if anyone needs me!

 

[anyssapark]

Nice to see your girl is progressing Cass. Many of my mares foal at 6.8pH, so you may just be in luck. I think she will be foaling DARN close to when you leave, i sure hope its before.

Im sure she will look after you.

What colour is her milk Cassie?

 

[AnnaC]

LOL!! Cassie. WE are getting stressed so I can just imagine how you must be feeling!

Regarding her food, I was just worried that whoever will be feeding her might just be tempted to give her another handful or so of her 'filler' stuff, and knowing how Suzie loves to chomp on her grub, I just felt that she needs several SMALL feeds rather than take the chance with someone being able to 'add' a bit more or something. I know she has paused when feeding before, but if she has to pause it is because her tummy feels too full and that is something to avoid at this stage. With her hay, she will only browse at it, not over eat and she needs to have enough so she is still browsing/able to browse at 7am, not left with nothing to eat by 5am.

Had you been home on the run up to Suzie's foaling (of course she may still foal before you go.

) then as far as her 'routine' for her hay feeds was concerned, my suggestions were going to be that you spread her hay out through the night - feed and hay when she came in (6.30pm?), hay again at 9.30pm when you pick up the droppings, hay again at 1.30am plus droppings, again at 3.30am plus droppings, and breakfast at 7.30am.

Hope you are not looking too horrified right now LOL!! But this is what I would be doing with my girls at a minimum at this stage of pregnancy - but not suggesting you try it because I'm sure Suzie's carer would NOT be happy to have that routine demanded of them!!

Remember that human Mothers with new babies are feeding the new borns throughout the night and being lucky if they manage to get 3 hours snooze between feeds, so to be up and down at night to our beloved mares should not be a difficulty for just a few weeks. Also I always found that feeding half a section of hay to my girls every time I did night visits, gave me a good idea how close they were to foaling - not having had cameras except for the last two years, I had to rely on myself to keep an eye on them - I would stay and watch them eating for around 10 minutes. Those that were likely to foal that night would tuck into their hay for a few minutes and then leave it to go and stand elsewhere in their stables, everyone else would carry on eating! This 'watching' meant that over the years I very very rarely missed a foaling, but I admit I also got very very tired, but then that's the responsibility of breeding for you.

 

[Eagle]

My internet is down so I can't watch Suzie ggrrrr

 

[lucky lodge]

hi all,, well if suzie doesnt foal before you go away,,, she will have to wait till you get home

:yes

 

[MeganH]

Really hoping she either foals in the next 3 days before you leave or holds out for you to come home! She is looking really good. Really just about there! Anytime now! She is so pretty. Love seeing her pictures!

And Penny is a pretty girl too! Can't wait to see if she has a foal in that belly!

 

[cassie]

Really hoping she either foals in the next 3 days before you leave or holds out for you to come home! She is looking really good. Really just about there! Anytime now! She is so pretty. Love seeing her pictures!

And Penny is a pretty girl too! Can't wait to see if she has a foal in that belly!

Thanks Megan

I have to try take better pics of her without her muddy LONG curly coat LOL but she is a pretty girl!!

n thanks for the wished for Suzie too...

"Regarding her food, I was just worried that whoever will be feeding her might just be tempted to give her another handful or so of her 'filler' stuff, and knowing how Suzie loves to chomp on her grub,"

Hi Anna

I do up the feeds before I go... put them in bags n in a big box (rat free of course) with their initials... tho it might be SU (suzie) SM (smartie ) hehe takes me ages, n I go through heaps of feed

LOL but at least I know they are getting what they need n its for the right ponies

I hope you approve of this it has worked for me everytime I have gone away...

tomorrow I will right the message on page one again, right now my head isn't awake enough to do so LOL

also going to try put mesh around the bottom of the paddock so little baby can't escape

well I will be awake during the night to check on my girl

thankyou Renee

thats very helpful to know what your girls do! I will keep a close eye on her, she definitley has more milk in her teats...

with one of her teats I just put the test strip to the bottom n I got a dab of milk...

haven't checked the colour sorry, still scared what will happen if I get to much hehe

but I will put some in my hand tomorrow n tell you consistency... colour and such

night all. and don't worry about the weekend, I will set my alarm for every hour or so to check on her... thats what weeekends are for anyways!! LOL

Don't stress Renee

all is well

good night!

 

[Lindi-loo]

Good night Cassie sleep well hopefully in a few hours someone will be calling you about Suzie ..fingers crossed

 

[cassie]

just did my devotions tonight, thought I would share it with you!! God definitley wanted me to read this tonight!! hope you don't mind me sharing

Pray about everything:

The earnest prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power availabe"

James 5:16

this is one the lady, Joyce Meyer wrote after...

"Driving down the rod one day, pondering an upcoming change in my life, I found that I was afraid. It really wasn't a major thing, but it felt like it to me " (remind you all of someone you know?!! i.e ME)

"God spoke to me that day and simply said "Pray about everything. Fear nothing. He showed me He couldn't work through my fear but if I would give Him my faith, He would help me in my situation.I neededit that day for something seemingly minor, but I have used it many times since for all typres of situations.

Isn't it good to know that God cares about everything that concerns you- even the little things you're afraid of? Your part is to pray and have faith and God's part is to provide the power to meet you need. What do you need to pray about tonight?"

Amen to that!!

and goodnight all!

 

[MeganH]

Great Devotion! Goodnight, Cassie!

 

[Lindi-loo]

Suzie laying flat out one eye open

 

[Eagle]

I am in hospital bc Matteo fell off his bike, he has had x rays we are just waiting to find out if he has broken anything. Aggghhhhh

 

[Lindi-loo]

Oh NO poor you and poor Matteo..I hope all is ok..theyr such a worry

 

[moonwray]

Oh no, please let us know how Matteo is doing.....

 

[LittleBittyBritches]

Great devotion, thank you for sharing.

I hope Matteo is ok

Suzie is doing some tail swishing, and eating her bedding, silly Suzie

 

[AnnaC]

Golly, poor Matteo. Please let us know the results Renee.

 

[cassie]

Poor Matteo hope he is ok!!! Thinking of all of you!!

 

[MeganH]

Oh I hope he is ok, Renee!

The end of a metal handle bar whipped up and hit my son in the forehead last year. There was so much blood. An ambulance took him to the ER and he got stitches. It was pretty scary. The staff was so good with him.

I really hope he is doing ok and they are taking good care of him there!

 

[Eagle]

Ok so we are home and nothing is broken.

but he was wearing shorts and a T shirt so he is skinned on one side bless him. Life will be hard for a few days bc he is a real wimp

Thanks for all your concerns

 

[AnnaC]

Thank goodness! He will be pretty sore for several days, bless him.