2025 Foal Watch

[ParkedOut1]

Thank you everyone, it was quite unexpected and I keep thinking about every moment of her life wondering if I missed something that should have alerted me sooner that would have allowed us to get her to the Hospital in time. I had such high hopes for this cross.

@4horses thank you for asking I am doing okay today, yesterday was hard but I was at work and at least distracted. Tomorrow will be better and if it’s not I’ll say it again. I’m just glad we got the chance to love her while she was here… Crossing out the weanling futurity in my calendar was hard and I know this fall when I get to that page it’ll be hard all over again.

Luckily momma mare is doing okay. She does occasionally call out for her baby but she was reintroduced to her pasture mates without a fuss for some turnout.

[JBCool]

More hugs, @ParkedOut1. Enough that you can tuck away extras for those tough days if you want.

[Knubbsy]

From my understanding, the most annoying part of introducing a TB foal into APHA is the DNA typing of both parents because foals have to be parentage verified, and you have to do it all on paper if the foal doesn’t have paint parents. If the DNA is on file with JC you might get that waived though that part is less clear.
(personally, I hate dealing with the APHA online portals, for some reason there’s multiple and they just feel dated)

[Arzny]

So sorry for you and for mum

[ASBJumper]

Careful - don’t wait too long to check Arielle or she may sneakily come into heat a lot faster than you anticipated!! LOL I micro-dosed mine on Sun/Mon last year and she was in heat and ready to breed within 48 hrs!

Good luck - keep us posted! Sounds very positive for a pregnancy for Sydney!!

Carina looks fantastic for her age, wow!

[Montanas_Girl]

Thank you!

Arielle is notorious for jumping the gun on us. Thankfully, she and Sydney are at a repro facility right now, so she’s getting checked every day. So much less stressful for me!

[ASBJumper]

Ahh, PERFECT!! You’re pulling out all the stops this year, love it!!

Fingers crossed for a beautiful healthy foal and 2 pregnancies for you this year!!

[weixiao]

Congratulations on your foals! Lucky to get a filly too! Have you picked out any names yet?

Thinking of all the mares still waiting and sending good luck!

[Kyrabee]

{{{ParkedOut1}}}

[4horses]

My mare is at day 336 today. Her udder is really starting to fill up but she has no milk letdown yet. Last time she foaled without having a well developed udder so I’m really not sure when to start foal watch with her. I have her under cameras and am trying to check her often but she could do this for another week or longer or she could foal tomorrow. Who knows?

Her foal is very active and was definitely moving around in there. Last time the only warning that she was going to foal was that she walked away from her hay.

[ASBJumper]

What do you mean “she has no milk letdown yet”? Do you mean she doesn’t have actual thick white milk yet, or do you mean you literally can’t express anything from either teat…?

Because you can start testing pH as soon as there’s something to express. I don’t usually test when it’s still salty and clear, but once it starts to become more bland and cloudy, i start testing. That gives you a better idea of when she’s close - once she’s at 6.2 or very close, you start foalwatch (assuming all other signs are there, croup laxity, dropped belly, slight change in eating habits, etc…

[Montanas_Girl]

After some technical and logistical issues over the winter, my photographer friend finally finished her fine-tuning of the photos she took for me in November. Here are some images of Carina that are much more accurate and flattering than the ones I take on my phone. She was also a lot trimmer five months ago!

[4horses]

The last time she foaled, she had a small bag and no drop in pH. She totally fooled me, as I thought she would wait another week. I think she may be a sneaky one.

I can get some fluid from her udder but it doesn’t look like milk yet. Then again, last time she skipped a bunch of steps. Sneaky, sneaky mares.

[ASBJumper]

What is the appearance/taste of the “milk” right now? Salty and clear? Cloudy and sort of bland…? Any tinge of amber/yellow colour?

[Montanas_Girl]

@4horses, was she a maiden the last time she foaled?

[4horses]

Yes she was. I’m hoping this time she actually goes by the book.

[fermecinqsens]

Question for everyone:

I bought a broodmare in December. She has had four foals and the last one was three years ago. She’s 19 this year.
She came into heat for the first time this spring April 1. My other mare was in heat at the same time.
I had planned to bring her to the stallion (in hand breeding) on her second heat but she still hasn’t come into heat again. The other mare came into heat April 25th and she’s finished now. But the older mare has shown nothing. I have a 3 year old colt that I tease her with every day.

Should I be worried? Or is it common for older mares to have longer ir irregular cycles ?

[QuestionMark]

Is this the mare you posted upthread? If so, when you bought her she was supposed to be in foal. Assuming you have reason to think she slipped the foal, maybe she actually didn’t and what looked like her first heat in April was false?

[fermecinqsens]

No it’s another mare.
My mare in foal is starting to look round and is due in early July

[Montanas_Girl]

Not all mares tease well, especially to a younger colt/stallion. Have you tracked a cycle via ultrasound to ensure she is no longer transitional?