Thursday, May 1, 2008

Foal Watch on the Arabian Horse Farm



With a foaling date of May 18(figured on 345 days gestation) Bint Gamaay Rose (barn name Lucy after Lucille Ball) isn't due for about three weeks but someone forgot to tell Lucy. In true Lucille Ball style she is doing this on her own terms.

The mare was currently listed on the Mare Stare site on the Rising Rainbow Live Web Cam. There is also a thread with updates

Lucy has a very bad case of edema and has been left to roam in and out of her stall during the daytime hours to help alleviate this some. Due to the wetness of our land and her closeness to foaling, we will be keeping her in from this point on. I will hand walk her throughout the day and hopefully that will help keep the edema in check.

The mare is bagged up and has white, white milk. She is also broken down around the tail head (see picture of this phenomenon here)
and her vulva is totally relaxed and sloshing when she moves. (Sorry Abraham, I know this information boggles your sensibilities but it's an important signal that a mare is closing in on foaling.)

The foal also looks to have moved into the correct position although with the bad case of edema this mare has, it is hard to tell if the foal is moved all the way up against the cervix. It is obvious from her tail carriage that she is experiencing a lot of pressure.

The mare normally carries her tail straight and when she is standing quietly the tail is down. Currently she is carrying it to either side a lot and it is "up" more than it is down, even while she is standing quietly. Sometimes she is even holding it like it is a stick in an awkward looking manner. All are signs that her behavior is changing and foaling is imminent.

This early stage of labor can actually last for days but that would not be the "norm" for Lucy. She's been pretty good at being predictable for me. Now that I have said that, she will write a new chapter in her book but that is part of the fun of this whole adventure.

So everything else on this Arabain horse farm is on hold while we wait for the newest addition to our herd. This is a very special foal we are waiting for here. I can hardly wait to see what we are going to get!
Breeding Season Finally Gets Started at Our Small Arabian Breeding Farm has the information about breeding mare and links to her story with me.

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23 comments:

  1. Awesome! I'm watching! Hope all goes well! ((HUGS!!)) to you all! :)

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  2. Hope Lucy has her baby soon and that all goes well.

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  3. We will all be waiting to see the new foal. Hope Lucy has an easy time of it and all goes well.

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  4. Oh Mikael! she looks so close to foaling! I hope I get to see it, I cant wait to find out what she foals! also, what time of day does she foal? I have heard, and maybe I am mistaken, that depending on white time of day they get bred, that determines what time mares foal.... so it makes sense to me now... if you breed her during the day, she will foal during the night... or darkness anyway. And you can also get a chicken to lay when you want... something like, if she is fed at 7, she'll always lay her egg at 7... and if you feed her at noon, she will lay at noon... lol isn't that funny?

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  5. I'm watching too! Everything crossed for Lucy!

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  6. How exciting! I'll be tuned in and hoping all goes well. :)

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  7. I am so jealous, a new baby horse!!!!! Our two mares in Iowa are the only two having babies this year but then I probably wont see them until they are old enough to transport back home with their mommas.

    I am off to marestare.

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  8. I have your cam up, but I am quite a bit disappointed. The cam keeps dropping, like every 10 minutes. Hopefully, I won't miss it. :)

    Go Lucy!

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  9. Waiting for Lucy...

    Also waiting on a mare of Curt's. Took pics today and was going to post but Blogger has locked me out of two of my blogs, saying they've been tagged as spam. Grrrr....

    Okay, done with my little personal vent here. Good luck to Lucy!

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  10. Darn...woke up this morning expecting to see a baby...but alas...none...LOL! Hopefully she gives birth while I'm watching today! :) That'd be AWESOME!

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  11. How exciting! Been watching her, she defintely is close! Good luck!

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  12. still waaaaiting!!! can you have a little chat with Lucy about getting down to business?
    :P

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  13. how cool! I will keep a watch while I'm working - hee!

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  14. PUSH LUCY PUSH!!!!!
    Waiting to see a baby

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  15. so exciting... off to an endurance ride ... but we'll be keeping the foal in our prayers

    GP in Montana and GaZi

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  16. I kept a window up all day of her web cam and flipped to it from time to time. It's amazing that I can see the foal moving around in her belly. She does look sore and I'm hoping she'll foal soon for her own sake. It's bringing back memories of hemorroids in the third trimester! LOL

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  17. Lucy was rolling at 10:45pm tonight. Is that another sign she's ready to foal and does that help her move the foal along the birth canal?

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  18. Yes, to DJ's question. She is repositioning the foal. Hopefully she's going to foal here soon.

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  19. Cute baby!! love the white markings. I saw the whole thing, it seems I have excellent timing! lol.

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  20. YES!!! A foal is born and I saw it live on the cam! My first! Lucy went down at 11:25pm and foaled at about 11:40 by my clock. So cool! Great job everyone! CONGRATS!!!

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  21. Gosh darn! I just tuned in at 2:30 AM after my daughter got home from her senior prom, and saw that I missed the birth! The foal was out and walking around with a blanket on. Congratulations! I love that huge blaze and those stockings. Mama looks exhausted, but relieved.

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  22. I missed it :(
    filly, colt name????

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