Hope did not have a filly as I had originally said. She had a colt. I checked on the belly and even felt around and when I didn't feel anything I said filly. I should have lifted the tail. I took pictures Monday night and while looking through them some pics showed the little buckskin to have something extra!! Turns out it was a weenie. LOL We had his IgG tested because he took a while to nurse. It was the minimum so we also had a CBC blood test done. That was great so we do not have to do a plasma transfusion. Thank goodness!

I put Hope outside in the paddock because it was a nice day and the stall seemed stuffy. She still had some time left and her milk test yesterday at 6pm was high pH so it didn't indicate that she was going to foal soon. I probably should have tested this morning! lol At 3:30 I woke up from a brief snooze and saw her pushing. Ran outside and the foal was still in the bag, but not all the way out yet. Opened the sack to find a pretty buckskin filly. She's tall and extremely leggy. Mom and baby are now back in the stall under camera. I'm done foaling for the year and now can concentrate on playing with the foals and teaching them to love their humans!

I'm watching her on the cam right now and she is lying down then sitting up then lying down then sitting up. She just rolled. Hmmm....what's up, Hope? Are you getting close? Have you seen her profile lately? Sometimes when she's standing there her side sticks out and it looks extremely unnatural!! Kinda freaky! lol Anyway, let's all watch her together!

Hope's body is changing-- she's getting lower and lower. She's had a bag for a while and we've been testing her milk regularly. She's still at the highest pH so we're not concerned that she is going to foal right away. I even took time on Sunday to go to a local show with some of my other horses! Yes!! I got out! And away from the computer!

I'm not sure if you readers are aware, but a lot of people watch my cam here and on MareStare.com. I appreciate the extra eyes in helping me watch-- that's the main reason I do it! Afterall, I can't be awake 24 hours a day.

In past years I've had callers tell me the mare has foaled-- and YUP-- there's a baby in there! (That's what I get for snoozing for a couple minutes!!) This year has been no different. I've received numerous calls and emails from people concerned about the welfare of the horse. I got a call at 4:30 in the morning last week because the two mares had switched stalls (magically opening the door!) and the colt was separated from his mother and the caller was concerned that the other mare would hurt him. I jumped right up and switched them back!! About 5 minutes before Savannah foaled, someone called to say it looked like she was imminent. I'd been watching and was on my way out the door...but what if I hadn't been? So those kinds of calls I DO appreciate. Believe me. I am sincere. And I realize that most people watching are concerned for the welfare of the horses.

But what I'd like you to realize is that for the most part we are watching all the time. We've been successful with testing the pH of the milk and able to predict the foalings. I hand breed so I have a good idea of when to expect a foal. I DO clean the stall twice a day unless there are some extenuating circumstances and then it might get cleaned only once a day. Oh, and by the way, if I don't want you to see me in my pajamas, I'll turn off the cams and clean! lol I also cycle the cameras sometimes because I'm looking at something in particular. If it bothers you, then by all means, email me. But know that if I don't change it there may be a reason. I will tell you what it is-- I always respond to emails.

And remember that we can hear what is going on in the stall. I had someone email me that she thought a mare was in pain because she was clenching her body. My guess is that she was actually snorting and the viewers just had no way of knowing that. But I did watch the mare more closely after that.

So while you watch remember that we're doing our absolute best that we can. We love our horses very much and want the best for them. We're not perfect and if we were, we'd be boring and probably wouldn't own horses! lol Thanks for joining us in this trying time. The many days and nights of staring at backsides and checking the condition and frequency of poo piles. The testing of milk, the checking of bags, the lifting of tails. (Oh, by the way, I've lost most of my measuring cups because my daughter uses them for catching the milk to test-- sigh!!)

I'm looking forward to the time when I can stop watching pregnant mares and start playing with my babies!

Savannah had her foal at day 344. She had a beautiful medicine hat colt. Well, he does have a bit more red down one side of his face, so maybe he's not really a medicine hat. He was strong and active right from the start. I'm very happy with him.

Just as the ring test predicted, Jersey had a colt. She was at day 350 (yikes!!) so it was a good thing she went! He is a solid sorrel with a star. Cute face! More later.

She tested 6.8-7.0 on the pH scale so it appears it won't be long. I hope that means she'll blow within 24 hours. Too bad I can't guanrantee she'll go this weekend. I hate going to work when a mare is about to foal. There is plenty of good help here (my daughter is better than I am) but it is nerve-wracking. And I can't concentrate on anything like BORING work! lol

Jersey is acting ready but we did a milk test on her this afternoon and the pH is high so she probably won't foal too soon. Which is just sad! lol I'm tired but caught up on some sleep today. Watching is hard, but I'm not sure what I did with all my time before this...
I expect to move Jazz to the barn tomorrow and make room for Hope and Savannah inside. It's easier to watch them inside.

She started pacing and getting up and down about 11:30. I went out at 11:40. At 11:58 her water broke and an ETERNITY later she foaled a pretty black minimal pinto colt. I say "eternity" because I was worried that she couldn't push it out-- seemed like a lot of discomfort at the beginning. But as soon as the water broke it went like clockwork. Personally, I think she's just a drama queen. She shows all her emotions! (Try giving Jersey grain FIRST and she'll start stomping!! lol)
The little(big) guy is doing well. He stood up quickly and pooped early. His nursing was an hour and a half later, but he didn't seem to need it earlier than that. He's a strong boy! (Can you say driving dynamo??)
Jersey is not ashamed of her still-pregnant status. I tried to make her feel bad but she didn't care. At her age she's secure in her "decisions" and will foal when she darn well feels like it! lol

Both Jersey and Jazz have developed a nice bag but neither is huge. I thought that the way Jersey was progressing last week that we'd have her foal this past weekend. But her progression slowed down and we didn't get a baby. :-( The ring test says she's carrying a colt and "they" say that if a mare is overdue then it's because she's growing a stem on that foal! lol So maybe what "they" say is true!! Jazz is also getting close. Her bag was bigger yesterday than Jersey's but they're kind of equal today. I say that Jazz will go first and Sarah says that Jersey will be the winner. Since Jersey is at day 346 today, I wouldn't be surprised if she did foal first.
Hope and Savannah are still lagging behind. I can see Savannah going in the next 10 days, but Hope looks like it will be longer than that. We shall see!

I finally took come pictures of the latest litter of puppies and the kittens. You can see them at Puppies & Kittens
We're getting ready to register for the AMHR show in NH on Saturday of Memorial weekend. Trying to figure out who to bring and what they'll be doing. Meanwhile the mares are plenty comfortable being very pregnant and don't seem to be too terribly excited about changing that status. Which is too bad because I won't be going to the show if I've got even one more mare left. Sarah will have to show by herself and get back-up help from her father.
Savannah is at day 321 and she has what looks like a V in her belly, but no bag. She tested at a very high pH the other day when we thought she might be exhibiting prelabor signs, but was in fact just too hot! Thank goodness for the pool test strips.* Jersey is at day 339 and is slowly developing a soft bag. Hope is still way back at day 291 and has a small bag that is a little hard. Jazz, the only one I'm not sure of breeding dates, still has a small bag that's got some substance to it.
*Have I described the pool test strips? Well they are a great tool in predicting when a mare is likely to foal. About 12 hours before foaling a mare's milk will be very, very low in pH. You can test it using a pool test strip that you can get from a pool supply store. It worked very well in predicting when Bria would foal.Just milk the mare into a cup-- not your hand that has its own pH-- and then dip the stick that has the test pads on it. Some people say to add distilled water but we get the same results when we test the milk straight.

We didn't have a foal this week but we did have a litter of puppies early, early Tueday morning. It was the full moon, so I'm not surprised! We have 6 new mini dachshund puppies and Faye is a great mom. The following day (or was it the day after?) we had a small litter of two kittens to Jinxy. So we have 9 puppies, 6 kittens, 4 dogs, 4 cats, and a bunch of horses, 4 of which still need to foal.
We moved all the momma and baby horses to the other barn and have just ladies in waiting here under camera. Hope and Savannah are outside in the paddock and Jersey and Jazz are inside. We're expecting a good stretch of weather so this set-up will work for a while. I'm looking forward to this weekend because I hope that Jersey will foal. She's got a growing, soft bag.

Grace foaled a small black colt-- just what we wanted! He is 18.25" tall with a 5" canon bone. She foaled in the corner of the stall where the cam couldn't see the outcome. At 11:40pm I looked at her lying down and thought she was awful dirty for a stall I'd cleaned thoroughly that morning. She was lying there and munching on some hay. Then I saw a tiny movement that could have been her tail, but it was kinda far away from the base so the movement was weird. While I was still watching, thinking I'd see a mouse or a goat, she stood up and the rest of the birthing sack fell out. I jumped up, started yelling, "Grace had her baby" and ran to the door. It was pouring rain outside but I didn't bother looking for shoes or a coat. I was careful not to fall so I wouldn't re-injure my tail bone that is now finally getting better.
I got out there and lying half still in the sac was a solid black foal. Grace continued to munch. She's a maiden so she didn't really know what happened and wasn't all that interested in that wet thing lying there. I swiped his nose clear and let him lie there for a few more minutes before I succumbed to curiosity and looked under his tail. :-) He found the faucets after a while. Grace's bag was pretty hard so I tried to milk a little so it would be easier for him.
While I was out there watching him to make sure he nursed, Jazz started acting funny and extremely uncomfortable. I checked her bag and it hadn't grown or changed so I think we are safe for tonight. Her shape has changed so I don't think we have too much longer to wait.

I got out of work early on Friday and caught up on some sleep. Friday morning started out with Jazz producing cow patties. Not sure what is up with her. She didn't want to eat her hay either. Since she liked her grain, and was producing poo, I was hoping she wasn't going to colic. Today her poo has some form to them so I think she is improving. She was up, down, rolling and generally uncomfortable for a good part of yesterday, but it didn't seem to be labor. We watched her closely and this morning she is eating her grain and hay as normal. Perhaps the foal was getting into position. I was pretty worried about a dystocia yesterday. PHEW!
For bags, the mares are still about the same. Jersey has a soft one, but since she's an older, experienced mare, it could be her normal condition. Grace's bag is hard but it isn't growing. She's had some bag development since before her due date of April 13 (pasture bred by previous owners). Jazz has a small bag-- if you stretch your imagination, I guess. It is smaller than Jersey's but seems to be present. She was pasture bred too so we're not sure of her due date. Savannah and Hope are due later in May and have no bags to really speak of. We will be putting them under cam some time this weekend I would think.

We've got a pretty sorrel filly with an almost completely bald face and two blue eyes. She is 21.25" tall and has a 5.5" canon bone. I'm tired tonight so I can't think of much else say. On Sunday we had a foal, on Monday my mini dachshund had to have an emergency c-section and we brought her home at 2:00a.m. We have 3 healthy puppies now. Last night we were up all night watching Bria who foaled at 6:15. Yawn!!
Under camera we now have Jersey, Grace and Jazz, our rescue mare who is here just for foaling. Grace has a bag with some hardness, but the others are kind of flabby! lol We will bring up Savannah and maybe Hope once the weather gets a little better. We're expecting that big rain system to go through tomorrow.

Little baby girl, still nameless, is just like her mom-- she's got a 'tude about everything! Mostly she's got a zest for life. Tonight I'm watching her on the cam and she is relentlessly licking mom's grain dish and playing in mom's hay. She seems eager to get life started and learn it ALL right away. The way she acts makes me forget she's only a day old!
I took some belly pictures of the mares tonight but my computer is complaining and crashes when I try to do too much while the cams are streaming. Photoshop is just too much to run with everything else happening. No one looks imminent. Everyone seems uncomfortable. It was 86* here today. I don't dare clip yet because the cold is not gone for the season.
The ring test is an old wive's tale. I remember doing this on myself at my first baby shower in my grandmother's living room. It's supposed to predict the sex of the foal and to confirm pregnancy.
Directions:
1) Tie a ring to a string and hold it over the horse's rump. A stoneless wedding band is best, although some people will use a nail. You need a string like the one that is sewn in along the top of some grain bags. Baling twine is too thick and inhibits the natural movement of the ring.
2) Hold the ring as still as you can, hanging over the horse's back. It should stop moving and then start to move again.
3) If it moves in a circle, it is a filly.
4) If it moves in a line back and forth, it is a colt.
5) If it doesn't start moving again after stopping, your mare is probably open.
Last year we were about 50% accurate-- a pretty poor performance. I've had much better success in previous years. I record the test results ahead of time and report my findings in a totally scientific manner! lol I'm not sure what the premise is behind this test... electromagnetic fields? Witchcraft? Wishcraft ("I wanna filly")? It's just for fun and we do it during the long wait for the baby.

At about 11:15 this morning, at 333 days into her pregnancy, Venus went into labor. It was very quick and a textbook foaling. We are thrilled that we didn't have a repeat of the distoxia that Venus had last year. Out popped a filly with a lot of life and energy. She did everything she was supposed to do quickly-- stood, nursed, pooped, napped, got back up... She's a little down on her pasterns but that doesn't stop her from running around her momma! We're not worried and expect her to straighten up very soon.
We don't have a name for her yet. Her color was unexpected-- she is a black pinto. I looked up the color calculations and the chances of a solid bay and a sorrel pinto having a black pinto are only 6.25%!! That's pretty amazing!
We'll keep the baby and mom in the foaling stall until tomorrow when they'll go to the regular barn with the rest of the horses. We need the room for the other mares and their foals. I'll post pictures soon.
The bets are on that Bria is next-- but have you seen the belly on Jersey??? lol

Bria has finally developed a bag! It's still small and soft, but it is there. Kelsie woke me up at 3:45 this morning to say that it looked like Bria was pushing. Turned out to be a false alarm, but I was grateful that she'd been watching!
Venus still remains in the lead because her bag is slightly larger and harder.
We're having doubts that Grace is bred... her bag disappeared earlier this week but it seems to be there a little now. She is so small! The stallion she's bred to is small and she is a maiden so it is still possible she's got a bun in the oven.
We're expecting temperatures in the 50s and actual *sunshine* for the next several days! The girls are shedding so badly that maybe they'll get a clipping this weekend to make them feel better.

This is Sarah. When I TRIED to let the horses out after what seemed like days and days of rain, all heck broke loose all due to my forgetfulness!!! Well, I had put a halter on Venus, and I had left the 2 stall doors open because I was just going to take Venus out and come back for Grace. I figured that Grace will try to get through the divider board and maybe hurt herself, so I decided to take it down. I lifted it up and brought it up and over Venus.

Well, dummy me! That made a clear way for Grace to run out! So I have Venus on a halter and I was like running after Grace while dragging Venus. I got Venus in the paddock and then I went to get Grace. She didn't have a halter on so I just grabbed her mane. She didn't like that one bit! I was on her passenger side, back by her butt, and she tried to run away. I'm in sneakers by the way, and she's dragging me through the mud. Then she put her head down while she was dragging me, putting me over her back. So here I am trying to stop a horse from running away and she just pulls me over her back. I was just waiting for her to buck me, Sheeesh! After she decided rodeo wasn't for her she wanted to go back with Venus.

So I get Grace in the pen, and out walks Bria from the stall! I think, oh god! I start running to get grain from the barn and I remembered there wasn't any. So mid-run I turn around and almost trip over a bucket. I call for dad, and he comes out and herds her my way and I just open the door and she runs in, I THINK, YAY!!

But THEN less then 3 minutes later while I'm fixing the door, Bria decides to *look* at Venus and Venus just takes off running through the barn door!!!! Well Venus is known to run off. so I yell for my dad again who had gone back in after getting Bria. Venus is walking down the driveway, and I tell dad to stop going toward her, because she thinks he's chasing her. He didn't listen to me so instead of yelling at him, I throw something. It hits the ground and unfortunately scares Venus! So off she went!! I got in the van, put my hazard lights on and followed her down the road to the barn where the other horses are. Luckily she just runs right through the barn door! I put a halter on her and walk her back up to the house where the foaling stall is!!

Not what I would call a fun time... although I did say I wanted to go for a walk. lol!

I was hoping that the big low pressure system would induce labor on some of the mares that are close. But nope. All we got was tons of rain. It's supposed to keep up most of the week. What that means for the horses is that they won't be able to go out except for short periods because of the deep mud.
No one seems to be progressing. It's kind of depressing. Bria's baby is extremely active and poor Venus is standing in a funny way nowadays. With Bria at 331 and Venus at 327 days it should be any time. Grace's breeding dates are less precise and she is supposedly at 338 days. She looks less likely to foal than Venus or Bria. So the watch continues...

Sorry I haven't written all week. Nothing much has changed with the mares so let's talk about the weather. April in Maine is usually pretty decent. However this year has been totally bizarre. Seems like we've had one snow storm after another. Today we woke up to 8 inches of very heavy snow. Last week we had 12 inches. Sunday night into Monday we are expecting a northeaster, which is our version of a hurricane. It is making our paddocks a mess and making us pretty grouchy!
I was answering a friend yesterday who had asked for an update on the mares. I thought I'd reprint it here because it kind of shows what happens to the mind during mare stare.
nothing new
Sarah went out and poked Venus to get her to foal
but it didn't work
Bria looked funny when she pooped
which made me think i was a little nuts
until a friend that's watching said the same thing
don't know what that means
except that it is weird
no change on Grace
the other mares are normal

Both Grace and Venus have very hard bags, but they aren't any bigger. Sarah says Venus is quite stand-offish, even towards her. Sometimes when mares get close to foaling they will tend to stand off by themselves away from the rest of the herd. Maybe that's what she's doing. Maybe we're just desperate for signs! lol Bria, the one that is the most active with discomfort signs, has no bag at all. Go figure! lol
We've got some more repairs to do to the paddock before we can bring the other two mares back here to watch them under camera. They should be back tomorrow.

Sarah had said they were loose and now they're in my house! :-) She just turned 3. I've never actually retrieved them from a horse-- it was cool!
No one seems to have advanced since yesterday. Although I think Bria's behavior means she's getting closer. She is yawning and stretching funny. She's still biting the wall but hopefully we can put her outside soon and she will be happier.
Jodi saw Grace cricketing-- rubbing her back legs together like a cricket. She says that's a good sign that she's getting closer. I certainly hope so!!!
I think I figured out why my computer was shutting down between 2 and 3 a.m. every night and I hope I've stopped it. Windows Update/Windows Defender was trying to look for and download updates and it was using too much CPU. With the two video capture devices running, it was too much and my computer would shut down. MsMpENG.exe was the offending process. It's still there but hopefully it won't be used by anything because I've disabled automatic updates. It's a relief to see progress in fixing this!
The shelter is fixed and I hope to bring back Jersey and Jazz to watch under camera.

This morning at 4:30 Bria opened her stall door and decided to kick the crap out of Venus. Venus tried to get away, but wasn't very successful. So I threw on some boots and hobbled outside as fast as I could. The goats were in the barn too and made it difficult for me to open the first door without letting them into the stalls. The littlest one, Mister, who is about the size of a tissue box, got through and ended up in Venus' stall. Of course, Venus got mad and stomped on him a couple times before I coud rescue him. But he is alright!
The latch between Venus and Bria's stalls is one of those that you have to lift and pull back. When she rubs on it, she does just the right combination of motions to open it. And she has to somehow open it *into* her stall-- not push it. We tried to put a lock of some kind on there-- without using an actual padlock. I was afraid that she would hurt her eye or something while rubbing. So my latest brainstorm is that we need to put a rope across the door on Venus' side so that if Bria does open the door, she can't get through to beat on Venus. That seems the safest for all and allows us to get in there in a hurry in case an emergency happens.

And it looks like it will be around for a while. High temps are forecast to be in the 35-40 degree range for over a week. They say Easter might be precipitation-free, but it won't be sunny and it won't be warm. I am glad that my flowers haven't had a chance to break through yet.
The mares remain about the same. Venus is wearing a foaling buzzer that is designed to go off if she lays her head flat. Since that is the foaling position, it is usually a good indication that she's in labor. Unfortunately it also goes off if she shakes her head, rubs her head against something, or decides to lay out flat just to take a nap. On my computer beside my bed I am able to hear everything that goes on in the stalls and therefore my sleep is constantly getting interrupted with this buzzing/beeping sound. As irritating as that is, I don't dare turn down the sound for fear that I will miss something that I need to hear.
Sarah thinks that Venus will go this weekend. Since the two of them are bonded and Sarah does know what she's talking about, I tend to believe her.
Our little shelter did not survive the snow. So we will be doing some rebuilding today and hopefully Jazz and Jersey will be able to come back under camera. Right now they are safe and warm in stalls that don't have cameras.

Can you believe it?!!! Horrible and disgusting, plus a few other adjectives, is how I describe it. Well I can't leave two mares outside in that-- especially since it is going to be a messy mix of rain and snow. Two will have to go back to the barn for the next 24 hours. But which two??? Sarah and I are debating that right now.
Miss Venus has developed a bag quickly. Her body shape has not changed a lot, but Sarah feels she will go first. I'm worried about Grace because she does have a bag and she is a maiden. The breeders feel pretty confident about the April 13 date, which is less than 10 days away. Bria is still very cranky and biting the stall walls. Her shape is quite promising, but her bag is still pretty soft. Jersey may be due in May, but her belly is big and low and she's got a soft bag. She was interesting last night because she went poo quite a bit. However, this was probably a result of the free-choice hay we were giving her because she was one that we kept outside. Jazz is a rescue, and I feel more pressure with her-- I want a healthy foal and cannot accept failure! No mistakes with her!! Supposedly she wasn't put in with the stallion until last June, so that means her due date is May. Fine, except that her signs are pointing to April. sigh
Who knew that they would all catch for the same month? Last year only half were in foal, it seems.

Lest anyone think that I regret doing this, let me say that nothing can be further from the truth! I love my horses and love foaling. But like everything else in life that is "worth it" it creates stress and worry.

Everyone that is close to foaling is under camera. And by "close" I mean within 30 days. I still have 2 mares due this year but they are due for late May. All the mares under camera now are due in April, except for Jazz who is supposed to be due in May but looks closer than that. I'll try to get some pictures of Jazz up on her own page so you can get to know her better.
Speaking of Jazz, she is the sweetest thing. She doesn't pick on anybody or get in anybody's face. Venus was trying to intimidate her by lunging at her toward the wall, but Jazz didn't instigate anything. One of the goats, Melvin, was walking along the top of the stall dividers tonight. It was hilarious to see this little black thing walking around as if it was normal! Surprised me at first! Well Melvin, who is about 6 weeks old, fell into Jazz's stall. I heard him bleating and calling out for his buddies on the other side of the wall. He was scared. But Jazz was very nice to him and didn't try to get rid of him. She just stood there in a non-threatening posture and seemed to say, "Okay, you can stay, but quit that noise!" Lucky for Melvin he fell into the right stall! Not sure his welcome would have been the same had he fallen into the stall with Venus or Bria or Jersey!
Oh, Jersey is the dunskin pinto that is sharing space with Bria. And if you are confused, Grace looks like an Oreo cookie and Jazz is the other black pinto. :-)

Yesterday we picked up a bred mare and will foal her out here. Her name is Jazz and she is part of a rescue. She's a sweetie and in pretty good shape, compared to the others. She was pasture bred and we're not sure of the exact due date, but the thought is sometime in May. However when I picked her up I noticed that her hips look pretty sunken in and she has started a bag so I think she may be further along than they thought. She is going under camera, just to be sure.
This has created a dilemma: I only have camera space for 3 mares. I've been worried about another one of my mares getting close so we'll be putting her under camera too. We have created a shelter outside in the paddock and have added lights. We can keep two horses out there and three inside. Since Bria is mean to just about everybody, we'll put her in with Jersey, her ol' buddy. We're supposed to have snow, sleet, and freezing rain tomorrow so we'll bring them up after that.

Venus has moved ahead in the race because her bag has developed to be bigger and harder than the others. Sarah says she will go first.
And Miss Bria has started to act a little weird! She'll stand with her right side to the external stall wall-- a new position-- and will turn and BITE the wall!! She's really mad at that dang wall for something!! Poor thing! The baby must be kicking on that side, or making her uncomfortable, and she's responding by striking out at anything on that side. I feel sorry for her and memories of the later days of my pregnancies come back!

We're still watching and waiting. Seems like forever. But we know it can still be a while. Bria is usually the most interesting-- she's always stomping her feet and kicking her belly and swishing her tail and rolling and lying down. Grace is the closest at this point and her bag (udder) is the most promising. But being a maiden we can't be sure what she'll do before foaling. At least she has a bag-- some maidens (mares that haven't been pregnant before) don't bag up until the last minute. And Venus... well we're not sure of her due date because she stood the month following the first time we bred her. She could have caught at the first breeding or the second. Then on top of that, we're not sure of her normal gestation period. Her first foal was 306 days and the second was 336+.
So we're watching the signs and we're making the sighs... It's too bad we can't predict the future and know for sure when they will foal. It's so important to be there for the foaling that we worry ourselves to death.

At the very top of the page is a list of how far along each of my mares is. It automatically changes each day. It helps me get a better picture in my mind than trying to remember when they are due and how far away that is.

More FAQs
Signs of foaling: a mare's shape will change constantly during pregnancy. Near the end, her body works at getting the foal in position. One thing you notice might look alarming-- as if the poor thing hasn't been fed enough. Her hips begin to sink in and if you look down at her body, her hips look pointy and she looks underfed. This is normal progression. At the same time you may also notice that her belly is lower and is not as wide when viewed from the back or front. Toward the end you may even see a point at the bottom of her belly-- I imagine this as the foal's butt in position as its feet and head are toward the back and inching into the birth canal.
Meanwhile, her muscles are beginning to soften in preparation for pushing the foal out. Her back above her hips gets very squishy and soft. Her tail is very loose and you can lift it high without resistance. Her cervix is beginning to soften and open. A mare's vulva will also change-- it will look elongated and relaxed with fewer wrinkles. Also the color just inside will get much darker. That's why you might ocassionally see someone looking under her tail.
Hopefully this will explain some of our behavior when you see us in there!

I've got two video capture devices working off the same computer and sometimes my computer crashes. (I capture the same video feed and upload it two different ways: streaming video through www.marestare.com and refreshing video which I display on this site.) I've got tons of RAM, and a fast processor, but when I try to do other stuff with my computer while the two devices are working, my computer shuts down. sigh PLUS for some unknown reason, my computer shuts down between 2 and 3AM every morning. Apparently I have something scheduled for that time and it conflicts with my video capture and upload. Aren't computers wonderful??

Sarah slept with the mares last night because my cameras were down. Venus loves her to pieces so Sarah lay half in her stall and half in Grace's area. When I woke up this morning they were all lying down and asleep. It was cute. I DO NOT recommend sleeping in a horse's stall. There are lots of things that can happen, even if your horse never did anything dangerous before.

But it's not! LOL I don't know where the time goes! There is really no change with the mares, I guess. So now might be a good time to explain a couple things to anyone new to foaling. So here is my attempt at answering "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs)

Why did you shave her belly?
Basically, it is necessary for the health of the foal. A nursing foal will tend to search around for the nipple and may take in some of mom's hair, expecially if mom is shedding. Since horses cannot throw-up, the swallowed hair has to go through the digestive tract. Just like with a sink's pipes, the hair can cause a "clog" and create big problems. A clogged digestive tract means colic and sometimes death. So having mom look really silly for a little while is worth it in exchange for a healthy foal.

What are some signs of impending foaling?
A mare will lie down to foal. She may go up and down a couple times, trying to get comfortable. If she lies out flat, you should not take your eyes off her. Watch her movements. If her legs to go out straight, look stiff and are shaking a little, she is probably having contractions.
Restlessness can be a sign. She may pace. Up. Down. Circle this way. Circle that way. Flicking her tail. Looking at her belly. Biting at her sides. Kicking at her belly. Stomping her feet.
...more tomorrow...

It was a very sunny day today and most of our snow is quickly melting away. Finally feels like spring! Unfortunately they are forecasting an inch of snow tonight for our area!! Good thing it's only an inch or I think we'd start a revolt against mother nature! LOL

Grace has a sticky bag (udder) and that means...ummm... almost nothing with a maiden! lol Well it is further proof that she is actually bred! She is so normal looking that it's hard to believe there is a baby in there. We're hoping for a small black-based colt to use as a future herd sire.

There are times when you may see goats on the camera. My daughters are bottle feeding 3 kids that would have otherwise died because they were born too weak. We started out helping a friend with all the bottle feeding, but it turns out that we have fallen in love with goats and will be keeping these boys. They'll be whethers as we have no desire to start breeding goats. One is a Nigerian dwarf, one is a pygmy and one is a boer-cross of some kind.

Ah, well, they were kittens! :-) Polly finally decided it was time even though we had her calculated at being almost a week overdue. At the time I'm writing this, she had 4. I'll post pictures some time soon.

Meanwhile, Bria was kind of interesting here. She was pretty dang uncomfortable tonight. She was kicking her belly and stomping and whipping her tail around. At one point she was lying down and she was crying out and moving funny. I thought maybe I'd better watch her more closely. She was entertaining, but eventually decided she wanted to pig out. Then she was boring again. LOL Jodi from Maine Pride Miniatures was helping me watch and she was getting me all wound up. I complained a little because I probably still have a month watching these ladies. sigh :-)

Then Grace started acting weird and had a loose poo (which is a possible sign of early labor). So I guess we have a long night ahead of us watching the ladies!

Woke up to 12 degrees! Yuck. First day of spring is way too cold! lol

Bria was funny early this morning. She was VERY cranky and mad at the horse on the other side of the wall. I don’t think it mattered who that horse was. Poor Grace was just standing there. Bria couldn’t reach her so she kept biting the wall. Boy, I bet that wall will learn not to annoy Bria in the future!! lol

I hurt myself when I fell down the stairs last Thursday so I am not very mobile. It is my… let’s see, how can I say this?… my upper thigh and lower back area. LOL So the path to the paddock has not been cleared and it is too crusty to let the horses do it. So they are inside again. Husband comes home Friday night and we should be all set by Saturday. He’s been gone for a two week business trip.

Sarah (18 year old daughter and partner in crime when it comes to horses) has been burdened with a lot of extra work with the horses. On top of bottle feeding 3 baby goats, she’s got a ton of stuff to do. Kelsie (16 year old daughter) is helping, but she’s got a job and driver’s ed going on and is already maxed out.

Venus, the bay, is due between March 30 and April 24. Grace, the oreo black pinto, is due April 13. Bria, sorrel with white face/feet, is due April 22.

I also have another mare, Jersey, that is due about the same time. But she’s not as big and we don’t have room for her in the foaling stalls right now. We’re watching her closely and will do some switching if she seems to be getting closer than someone else.

It is about 40* today but the wind is cold. We had snow this past weekend and got about 8? (on top of about a foot of old snow) with a very thick crust. We can walk on it so it’s not safe for the horses. The kids went sliding and all came back with scrapes and cuts from the ice!