UH OH! Are we prego? ---AHEM, YES!!!!

[smokygirl]

FOALING MARE’S SECRET CODE
The mare’s secret code of honor is as old as horses themselves and is ultimately the species best kept secret. No mare shall ever produce a foal before it’s time. (It’s time being determined by the following factors):

1. No foal shall be born until total chaos has been reached by all involved. The house must be a wreck, family hungry and desperate for clean clothes, and their social life nonexistent.
   Midwives must reach the babbling fool status before you foal out. Bloodshot eyes, tangled hair and the inability to form a sentence mean you’re getting close.
2. For every bell, beeper, camera or whistle they attach to you, foaling must be delayed by at least one day for each item.
   Vet check, add a day, internal add three. If you hear the words, “She’s nowhere near ready. You’ll be fine while I’m away for the weekend,” Wait 12 to 16 hours and pop that baby out!
   3.Owner stress must be at an all time high! If you are in the care of someone else, ten to fifteen phone calls a day is a sign you’re getting close. When you hear the words “I can’t take it anymore!” wait three days and produce a foal.
   You must keep this waiting game interesting. False alarms are necessary! Little teasers such as looking at your stomach, pushing your food around in the bucket and then walking away from it are always good for a rise. Be creative and find new things to do to keep the adrenaline pumping in those who wait.
3. The honor of all horses is now in your hands. Use this time to avenge all of your stable mates. Think about your friend who had to wear that silly costume in front of those people. Hang onto that baby for another day. OH, they made him do tricks too! Three more days seems fair. Late feedings, the dreaded diet, bad haircuts, those awful worming’s can also be avenged at this time.
4. If you have fulfilled all of the above and are still not sure when to have this foal, listen to the weather forecast on the radio that has been so generously provided by those who wait. Severe storm warning is what you’re waiting for. In the heart of the storm jump into action! The power could go out and you could have the last laugh. You have a good chance of those who wait missing the whole thing while searching for a flashlight that works!
   6.Make the most of your interrupted nights. Beg for food each time someone comes into the stable to check you. Your stable mates will love you as the extra goodies fall their way too.

Remember, this code of honor was designed to remind man of how truly special horses are. Do your best to reward those who wait with a beautiful filly to carry on the mare code of honor for the next generation of those who wait!

[ClassynIvansMom]

[QUOTE=smokygirl;5840268]
FOALING MARE’S SECRET CODE
The mare’s secret code of honor is as old as horses themselves and is ultimately the species best kept secret. No mare shall ever produce a foal before it’s time. (It’s time being determined by the following factors):

1. No foal shall be born until total chaos has been reached by all involved. The house must be a wreck, family hungry and desperate for clean clothes, and their social life nonexistent.
   Midwives must reach the babbling fool status before you foal out. Bloodshot eyes, tangled hair and the inability to form a sentence mean you’re getting close.
2. For every bell, beeper, camera or whistle they attach to you, foaling must be delayed by at least one day for each item.
   Vet check, add a day, internal add three. If you hear the words, “She’s nowhere near ready. You’ll be fine while I’m away for the weekend,” Wait 12 to 16 hours and pop that baby out!
   3.Owner stress must be at an all time high! If you are in the care of someone else, ten to fifteen phone calls a day is a sign you’re getting close. When you hear the words “I can’t take it anymore!” wait three days and produce a foal.
   You must keep this waiting game interesting. False alarms are necessary! Little teasers such as looking at your stomach, pushing your food around in the bucket and then walking away from it are always good for a rise. Be creative and find new things to do to keep the adrenaline pumping in those who wait.
3. The honor of all horses is now in your hands. Use this time to avenge all of your stable mates. Think about your friend who had to wear that silly costume in front of those people. Hang onto that baby for another day. OH, they made him do tricks too! Three more days seems fair. Late feedings, the dreaded diet, bad haircuts, those awful worming’s can also be avenged at this time.
4. If you have fulfilled all of the above and are still not sure when to have this foal, listen to the weather forecast on the radio that has been so generously provided by those who wait. Severe storm warning is what you’re waiting for. In the heart of the storm jump into action! The power could go out and you could have the last laugh. You have a good chance of those who wait missing the whole thing while searching for a flashlight that works!
   6.Make the most of your interrupted nights. Beg for food each time someone comes into the stable to check you. Your stable mates will love you as the extra goodies fall their way too.

Remember, this code of honor was designed to remind man of how truly special horses are. Do your best to reward those who wait with a beautiful filly to carry on the mare code of honor for the next generation of those who wait![/QUOTE]

LMAO that was awesome!

[smokygirl]

I found it years ago on the website for www.midwestarabian.com lol. I laugh every time i read it.

[camohn]

[QUOTE=ClassynIvansMom;5839992]

Our dentist’s helper who was a breeder before the horse market crashed in our area (I think QHs) says she really doesn’t look as close as I thought she was. He tells me her muscles in her hiney aren’t loose enough yet. So goodness, we might go even longer! He said that the muscles on each side of her tail will go so loose it’ll start feeling like a jiggly water balloon? Ok, because if that’s the case, she’s definitely not that loose yet. I keep hearing comparisons to jello, and I think she’s at firm, very jiggly jello state, but she’s not like a water balloon. Her vulva is darker than the soft pink it was a month ago when we first found out, but it’s not blood red or anything yet. I actually didn’t do a milk test at all yesterday or the night before because I wanted to see if she’d develop any wax plugs on the side I’ve been milking the samples out of. So far so good, so I guess we’ll keep waiting and twiddling our thumbs![/QUOTE]

rule number one: maidens often do not read the rulebook.

[Signature]

So what kind of milk testing readings are you getting now? Just curious - glad you haven’t been missing sleep yet! For the first few we bred, we didn’t have the test and didn’t have enough experience to really know what to look for, so we spent WEEKS sleep deprived and for nothing. LOL Now we miss one or two nights usually max. Thumbs up!

[ClassynIvansMom]

I haven’t done it for a couple days, but I was thinking I’ll test her tonight. I’m going to start only testing her at evening feeding. We’re supposed to have a chilly night tonight after last night’s storm. I had hoped the storm would trigger her, but no such luck. We have a forecast for another storm on Monday, so maybe this baby will decide it wants to pop out and see some rain.

I tell you what, though, she got mean to my donkey and so now she is buddy-less. My poor little donkey and every other mini out here act like they’re afraid of her right now. When we had her on the other side of the barn to do her teeth, she looked like she was going to attack my friend’s mini, so he had a “Holy bejeezus!” moment and nearly knocked us down getting out of her way.

[ClassynIvansMom]

Tested her again tonight. Her pH is nowhere near, and I’m beginning to think maybe her calcium isn’t as high as it was before or it isn’t as high as I thought it was. I think my mare is bound and determined to wear me out until I can’t take it anymore, and then some. She’s going to cook this baby until I give up, and then she’s going to squirt it out when I’m not watching. I’m now beginning to think she may end up eternally pregnant.

Incidentally, I don’t feel the little thing kick that often lately. It used to be a lot more active, and now it just bumps every once in awhile. That shouldn’t be anything to worry about, right?

[Laurierace]

The movements get smaller as they run out of room. The best time to see it is when the mare is eating or drinking in my experience. What is her pH?

[ClassynIvansMom]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;5842360]
The movements get smaller as they run out of room. The best time to see it is when the mare is eating or drinking in my experience. What is her pH?[/QUOTE]

Dunno. Still above 8. The little square colors are 7.8 and 8.4 at the highest. I think it looks around somewhere between 8 up to maybe even 8.4 still. Who knows… the little red color box indicators are so close as far as shades… At any rate, whatever shade of red it is, it’s definitely nowhere close to 7.

I’m about ready to say screw the pool strips and get some bonafide pH paper from my old lab at the pharmaceutical company where I used to work. I think my old boss would be willing to let me have some. Yeah, I understand that it doesn’t make much difference because her pH is still going to be high and that’s all I really need to know, but I don’t want to know a range. I’d like to know – is it 8.0? Is it 8.4? I want a more precise color indicator with more easily quantifiable results so I can start tracking statistical data in excel and plotting a trend chart so I’ll have it for reference if I ever do this crazy business again on purpose.

Can you tell I’m going a little nuts over this by now? It’s officially been exactly a month that I’ve had to agonize over this. Hooker Hoebag is most definitely the queen of secret keeping, because I sure as hell have no clue whatsoever as to when that crazy mare is going to drop this elusive foal…

[ClassynIvansMom]

Ok… deep breath

Great to know that the movements lessening isn’t something to worry about. I was a little concerned and wanted to be sure I didn’t have to worry about it maybe passing away before being born. I don’t know why it would, but stuff happens, right? Ok, so no worries.

I’m trying to be patient and remember that she’s not going to stick to my timetable or agenda. But the suspense is killing me! How the heck do some of you do this for a living?

[Laurierace]

I could post the link to my foal watch thread from this year, then you would have a new definition of crazy! That said, you are too far out to be going crazy yet. Put it out of your head for now.

[Christa_P]

When my mare foaled she waxed and then dripped milk for 2 weeks before foaling at around 8:20 am, at exactly 11 months.

Mares are out to drive people insane before foaling :D.

Christa

[ClassynIvansMom]

[QUOTE=Christa P;5842833]
Mares are out to drive people insane before foaling :D.
Christa[/QUOTE]

Man, you aren’t kidding. Her plan is working at this end. Still no foal this morning, and no indication that she intends to have it today, tomorrow, or the next day… Maybe this is payback for me thinking/being afraid that it might turn out ugly like Mutt Daddy… Haha, I anthropomorphize my pets a lot. I keep thinking she’s doing this just so she can have the last laugh…

[MardiGrasTimeStable]

ROFL - welcome to our world girl.

My two kept me guessing for nearly a MONTH - and I KNEW when I bred them so I KNEW about when they should foal.

Wanna bet she foals closer to your wedding just to be a pest

But yeah - if the PH is still over 8 then wait a few days between testing so as to not drive yourself any more nuts. Her hips & tail head will REALLY relax closer to foaling (but even that can happen over a week or two out), her milk will change colors closer to foaling, but not necessarily THAT close to foaling. At 8+ on the ph check every few days - once it hits closer to 7 then check daily. Below 6.8 then twice a day
That should HELP your sanity anyways.

(My WORST mare went 1 week over a YEAR from her breeding date - and since we hand breed we have a pretty good idea when they are bred )

[Kyzteke]

@ClassynIvansMom;5842381

Ok… deep breath

Great to know that the movements lessening isn’t something to worry about. I was a little concerned and wanted to be sure I didn’t have to worry about it maybe passing away before being born. I don’t know why it would, but stuff happens, right? Ok, so no worries.

I’m trying to be patient and remember that she’s not going to stick to my timetable or agenda. But the suspense is killing me! How the heck do some of you do this for a living?

Actually, most of us are waiting 11 mos. You just jumped on at the end!

Remember I told you “no earlier than mid-Sept” as a probable due date. At least you were able to narrow it down to just afew weeks, which was a big help.

You are sure there could be no further exposure to the stallion, right?

Oh – and most of this don’t do it for a living – we actually do it for fun…

[ClassynIvansMom]

[QUOTE=Kyzteke;5843428]
Remember I told you “no earlier than mid-Sept” as a probable due date. At least you were able to narrow it down to just afew weeks, which was a big help.

You are sure there could be no further exposure to the stallion, right?[/QUOTE]

Pretty sure. She got moved all the way across the place to a different paddock that was supposed to be BO-owned horses only to save BO’s fenceline after she was apparently teasing Mutt Daddy at the fenceline. From then on, they were separated by several acres and neither jumped the fencelines that I know of or I would’ve gotten another earful. From there, I moved both of my horses away to a different barn on Nov. 4th.

[Kyzteke]

@MardiGrasTimeStable;5843335

ROFL - welcome to our world girl.

My two kept me guessing for nearly a MONTH - and I KNEW when I bred them so I KNEW about when they should foal.

(My WORST mare went 1 week over a YEAR from her breeding date - and since we hand breed we have a pretty good idea when they are bred )

I also hand breed or do AI, so I am very sure of dates.

My longest mare went [B][I]385 days…

[/I][/B]But by that time I was an experienced breeder and knew that the foal would come when it was ready. Plus I had the mare checked about 4-6 wks before her “due date” (340 days) and the vet told me then the foal was small for it’s gestational age.

So it just “cooked” till it was ready!

[DawnJL]

@Christa P;5842833

When my mare foaled she waxed and then dripped milk for 2 weeks before foaling at around 8:20 am, at exactly 11 months.

Mares are out to drive people insane before foaling :D.

Christa

This!!! In endless variations!

[Fillabeana]

You are sure there could be no further exposure to the stallion, right?

Well, if stallion owner was actually trying to breed other people’s mares, (rather than the stallion getting through the fence) I wouldn’t say your mare was ‘safe’ until you moved her off the property…

I moved both of my horses away to a different barn on Nov. 4th.

So I would give you November 3rd as the last possible breeding date.

As for color, the stallion is not homozygous black, he would not be able to produce chestnut-based foals if he were homozygous black. The only question, then, is whether or not your mare carries the recessive chestnut gene. If so, you have a 25% chance of a chestnut foal (with or without Appy spots), 75% chance of black (or bay or seal brown). As for Appy spots, it looks like 50% but I’m not sure if that leopard appy spot pattern is simply a dominant/single gene thing or not. As for Paint/tobiano spots, if your mare is heterozygous, you have a 50% chance of getting them in the foal.
I have no idea what happens if the foal gets the appy and the paint spots at the same time. I do think it would be fun to get both, but I don’t know if it’s possible, we’ll have to wait on your Through-hiking Friesaloosa and find out.

[ClassynIvansMom]

Well, to give you an update, I’m kind of concerned about my mare, concerned enough to be taking her to the vet tomorrow. Didn’t feel right posting about it on FB because I’m sure most of my non-horsey friends just scratch their heads and don’t know what to say, but in a nutshell, I’m starting to get concerned about the foal. Both my friend who boards with me and I think that she’s starting to look thinner… as in not her body but her belly doesn’t look as big. I hope I’m just imagining it, but she looks like she’s not as big anymore, and her bag keeps going from more to less full, her calcium actually looks like it’s less than it was, and her hiney doesn’t feel as squishy. I tried listening with my crappy little stethoscope and couldn’t hear anything. She’s still big, she’s still bagged, and she hasn’t had any grass since we razed the pasture a month ago, but I’m concerned. Haven’t felt anything moving in there for days now, and I hope I’m just being a worry wort but we’ll see. I don’t know what to do other than take her to the vet. I thought I was just being paranoid when I couldn’t feel little kicks anymore, but when even my friend commented today that she looks smaller, I called the vet and explained what I was seeing, and so I’m hauling up there tomorrow because they said it sounds suspicious and want to check her out. Tried to call both of my vets to see if they could come out today, but one is so busy and the other’s office answered and they were in Tuscaloosa all day, so we just took an appointment for tomorrow. Wish my girl luck and cross your fingers.