Seeing a lot of changes from Arielle this week. After last year, I don’t trust her enough to make any predictions just yet, but she’s moving along at a good clip for the moment.
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I hope Arielle is nice and prompt! Has the camera crew come yet?
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323 days today. I’m almost afraid to say anything after last year’s debacle. Lol. Maybe she’s trying to get her average gestation length back closer to normal. 
The camera crew comes Wednesday at 2 pm. She could foal by then, but I don’t think it’s super likely unless she really goes into overdrive in the next couple of days. Who knows with this mare, really? All I know for sure (thanks to my former-academic obsessive record keeping) is that she has more udder filling and a longer/more relaxed vulva now than she did when I dropped her off at the vet school five days before she foaled last year.
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4 pm yesterday:
6 am today:
She’s been doing the tiny dots of milk on the teats thing off and on since weaning last year’s foal, so I’m not excited about that. But she is definitely full steam ahead now! Milk test is still nothing exciting - 100 ppm Ca and around 8.4 pH. Last year, her Ca didn’t top 200 ppm until two days before foaling, and (thanks to an old Facebook post I dug up) her pH was in the mid-7s 36 hours before having her 2018 filly. So when her milk chemistry starts shifting, it’s GO time. I’m guessing the second half of this week, if she holds her current pace, but we’ll see. I think I’m still traumatized from last year’s drama.
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Best of luck with your mare @Montanas_Girl!
Here’s the wrap-up on our two from this year. (Both TBs, one filly, one colt.)
Scribble, 4 months old, feeling like Fabio.
Vex at 2 1/2 weeks, finally captured standing still.
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My foal arrived last night at a nice time just after 11pm and was born in 15 minutes! A big bay colt with 2 hind socks, a star and a snip. Huge long legs and had some difficulties standing and nursing so they called the vet out and he was diagnosed as a dummy foal. The vet used a lunge line to do the Madigan foal squeeze and it worked like magic! He was born at 351 days, so a bit overdue. She cooked him extra special for me.
He’s now up on his own and figured out how to turn his head to nurse. Its the mares 3rd foal (she’s just 14h) but her previous 2 have been smaller and could walk under her and had no issues nursing. He is by a warmblood stallion (Sir Wanabi) and of course is much larger so had some issues with his long stilts and had to learn to turn his head to nurse. The vet also did an enema on him and all seems to be good so far. I’m not near them so just have a few pictures from the mare’s owners. I go up later this week and I just can’t wait to meet him! I called them around 3am to get the low down and I heard him over the phone take his first few nickers.
Vet will be back out in a few hours to check on him and his IgG levels. His name will be Morton’s Wanabi Top Dog (mare is Morton’s Glamour Puss by Rosedale Top Cat) or Mayer (as in Oscar Mayer Weiner lol!). So far I’m in love <3 He is everything that I wanted and asked the foaling Gods for
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Congratulations, @DiamondJubilee! I’m glad your little guy is doing better after some good, prompt intervention. I’m looking forward to seeing photos of him when he’s dry and unfolded.
Arielle is at 326 days this morning. It’s hard to believe it after the last photo I posted, but her belly dropped even further down and back yesterday. Poor little thing; she looks miserable and is just nibbling at her alfalfa at this point (though she’s still enthusiastically eating her grain - pony mare priorities). She’s also at 100% “Jello booty” status now. Her udder and milk say we’re still not quite ready to go, but she’s moving right along for sure.
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Raven was 3 weeks old as of Sunday (pics were taken Saturday). 
Had to start her on Buckeye Foal Starter pellets cuz she was shoving mom out of the way and eating her grain… 
She’s in for a rude awakening when her n mom are reintroduced to mom’s friend group (2 other mares) in a couple of weeks, lol. Mom has been letting her run the show. That’s not gonna fly with her aunties. 
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Congratulations @DiamondJubilee! He’s adorable. I’m so glad the vets were on top of things and it all worked just the way it was supposed to.
@ASBJumper, Raven is gorgeous! I love the pics.
@diamondJubilee and @ASBJumper, both of those are simply adorable.
This is my first baby that I’m “hands-on” with, so need to ask you more knowledgeable a question: What do I need to know about foal halters and leaving them on in turnout? I’ve been told about a way of teaching give to pressure, in which they are in turnout with a halter on with a short rope. Occasionally, they will be sure to step on the rope, and feel it’s resistance, but can’t blame a human, because it’s just her and the halter rope. Any thoughts?
Also, there’s a gal at my barn who is totally against anything on the head in turnout, because she saw an accident once years ago where the foal was lost because he got caught up in it.
So, I’m being told to do it and put the little rope on it, but not do it, “because it will die”!!! But I’m seeing all these photos of babies in fields with halters on.
All help appreciated! 
@Sparrowette - theres always 2 opinions, well 3 (or more) usually lol! I sent the mare owner a leather foal halter with a come along strap that can be remove if needed. I like a come along strap as its not too long and can be used if a foal is a bit shy and hard to catch. Once they are easy to catch/handle, I remove the strap, but keep a halter on for turnout for a bit. Mine come in every night.
I like a halter on my young guys so they are used to it and like to lead them to and from a paddock when they are youngish. I do remove my halters on my grown boys for turn out as I can’t keep a halter on them! Boys!! They rip them off or chew right through them.
This is what I do and I now you will have lots of different opinions and ideas, all which are great. I would do what is best for you and your turnout situation.
Sounds like she is getting ready!! Hopefully the wait isnt much longer for you
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What a stunning girl!!!
Personally, I do not like the short rope method. Foals are too fragile.
What I’ve always done (and am doing again with my surprise foal) is introduce the halter without any sort of lead or catch rope right away. I even turn them out in a breakable halter right from the beginning. If the foal halter comes with a short catch strap, I take it off. We work on yielding to pressure in the stall in short, informal sessions right from the get go. They tend to figure it out pretty quickly. Give a little tug and release here and there.
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Beautiful!!!
My limited experience is that foals are too fragile. We let them be little hooligans for quite some time before even putting a halter on at all. Only when they won’t follow mom at all do we start with it. They’re still small enough to muscle around if needed, but big enough that it’s not so scary anymore.
That said, we’ve only had one or two babies at any given time. If you have a gaggle of them, I’m sure you don’t want to herd them around like cats like we do for the first 3 months.
Update on Mayer. IgG was perfect and they put a bandage on his hind left leg as it was a tad crooked. Not too bad and they will remove it tomorrow and think he just needs to unfold and it will straighten on its own. Has a very slight monkey mouth but again said once his teeth come in, they don’t think it will be a problem. He’s super friendly and in your face! Some pics of him at 12 hrs. I’m off to see him on Saturday and can’t wait!
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100% agree. I halter them on day 2 with a thin leather halter. They wear it to go outside and during their (supervised) turnout. We lead foals right away, I do not like the whole “just follow mom around” method. Foals do dumb things and get into trouble, and they’re better off learning to walk next to a human when they are smaller and easy to manage. That said, we don’t snap a lead rope to the halter until they are several weeks old; we lead them with a rope around the chest/butt, and mostly with our right arm around the shoulders. NO PULLING ON THE HEAD. After a week to 10 days, the foals know how to “lead”, and I will slip a leather strap end through the halter ring and guide them by the head (still always with right arm over the withers to push the shoulders). If the foal has a panic moment and does pull on the head, it’s easy to let go of the leather strap and it will slip harmlessly off the halter.
Most commonly, we lead mares with a leather shank snapped to their halter, and the tail end of the shank is on the foal (either around the front of the chest, or tail end through the foal’s halter). We guide/lead the foal with left hand on the shank, right arm over the withers, keeping the mare to the foal’s right, somewhere behind us. The foal learns to go ahead of mom, bravely leading the way, and mom’s presence behind him gives a little push if needed. When foals are easy to catch and halter (could be 1 week, or 1 month depending on the individual) they are turned out without halters.
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Mayer is so handsome!
It’s incredible what the Madigan foal squeeze has done for so many foals.
@ASBJumper Raven is a stunner! My girl is a feed hog also. I tried (and am still trying) to get her to eat Foal Starter, but no dice. I’ve also had no luck keeping her out of mom’s food. At this point it is what it is. 
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Congrats DiamondJubilee!
Raven is a knockout! I’m sure she will love having some new friends, even if she gets bossed around a bit. Haha My girl is out with two other fillies now and the littlest filly out there is definitely the boss, which is great because mine needs someone to boss her around a bit. She went to the vet clinic leading, picking up her feet, and handling really well and came back doing none of those things. Wasn’t happy with the condition of either mare or foal when they came back either. I don’t think I’ll breed again next year and will bring my mare back to work, or I’ll use a different vet clinic.
Either way, I’m thrilled that my mare checked in foal with a fetal heartbeat yesterday! Should hopefully have a great foal by Dominator Z next year!
Super happy with this years’ filly still though. Sorry about the bad photoshop in this picture. Of course the only good photo I grabbed of her had someone bending over right in the background and I didn’t want to share it online and my photo shop skills couldn’t successfully remove the person without ruining the picture any other way lol. One day I’ll get some better photos! She seems like she is going to grey out really quickly, under her fluffy baby hair is all grey!
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