I'mmmmmm baaaack!

I'm sorry to say the time to depart for the Morgan show snuck up on my before I was able to get time to schedule posts while I was gone. I did manage to plunk up the one Wordless Wednesday post but that was it before I headed down the road to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe.

Having not recuperated from my sleep deprived state achieved during foaling and showing, managing a horse show for six days did nothing but beat me down further. I arrived home a couple of hours ago and absolutely exhausted. Details about the show will have to wait until tomorrow night's post. I just wanted to check in and let you all know that I didn't fall off the face of the earth........just got side tracked a bit.

Details to follow.......... (Now that's better than "to be continued......." isn't it?)

As you can see from this pic, life at Angie and Richard's went on without me while I was gone.

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Wordless Wednesday

Visit Blog Village and vote daily for this blog Here They are now measuring the rankings by votes out, so if you find my blog on the site, please click that link too to improve my rankings. TY

Foaling and Showing Rolled into One - Finally The End

Before I left my farm I checked in with Richard to see what the schedule was for our barn at the horse show. I'd been so preoccupied with Dare that I really didn't have a clue. All I knew for sure was there would be championships for Rachel, Mel and me. I had no idea when they were except for mine which I knew was in the afternoon session.



Because of my problems with Legs in the ring I really wanted to school the horse at the lunch break in that arena. I certainly didn't want to be riding another class without the horse having an opportunity to work his issues out beforehand. I'd set him up once and didn't want to be doing it again.

When I talked with Richard he told me that Rachel's class would be heading into the ring in about an hour and a half. That would be cutting it close to take a quick shower to shake off some of my fog and get to the fairgrounds in time to see her ride. If I flew I might just make it.

So that's exactly what I did. I arrived at our stalls and there wasn't a soul around. Not only that but Dandy was only partially braided. I wasn't sure what was going on so I headed to the arena. Imagine my surprise to find they were still doing reining. When I checked in to see how many rides were left, I knew there was probably no chance I was going to get to school Legs. There was little chance there would be any kind of lunch break at all with thirty more go's in reining left.

Those thirty reining gos hung on and hung on. I watched for a while but I was too rummy to even figure out the patterns. I spoke to a few of my friends and told them all about my new filly. It would have been usual horse show fare but my fanny was really dragging and I just couldn't keep myself focused. I was functioning in a fog.

I did watch Richard work with Rachel and Goldie. They had scratched their class because neither one of them was comfortable in the ring. Instead they were doing lots of riding in the warm-up arenas getting the two of them used to the show ring scene as a team.

I thought about schooling Legs in the beef barn arena but the footing wasn't great and there were some out of control kids riding into people. Neither one of those would help the problems I was having with Legs. I was going to have to hope he remembered the schooling session we'd had the day before after our class.

The reining classes just kept dragging on. It was after 1 before the rest of the morning classes even began. I watched Rachel ride Dandy into the ring then I zoned out. I swear I stood there on the rail watching the horses go by and I couldn't even pick out the one I owned.



Dandy is always the biggest horse in any class at 16 hands. And with those four white feet of his, I've never had any trouble finding him in the ring........well, until now that is. I was staring at horse bums moving away from me and next thing I knew they were all stopped. My poor brain did a double take trying to figure out what in the heck was going on. Then it dawned on me, the judge had called for a halt so she could as them to back in unison. After that the next thing I noticed was the horses were lining up. Not my finest hour as a coach on the rail. I can't even tell you how they placed.

Then we headed back to the stalls for lots more sitting around. Mel and I were in the same championship class and it was five classes from the end of the session. At the rate things were moving along we'd be lucky if we got out of there by dark.

We loaded everything we didn't need into the horse trailer. I saddled my horse up and put all the rest of his stuff in there too. After the class I would unsaddle him at the trailer and we'd be good to go once I changed clothes. My bed was calling me............I had no intention of spending one more minute at the fairgrounds than I needed. Foaling and showing in the same weekend just isn't my thing.

When it was finally time to ride, I headed off to the warm-up arena wondering what I was going to have for a horse. Would he remember his spook of the day before? Or would he be good? I just didn't know what to expect.



There weren't very many riders actually warming up in the arena. Legs started off more relaxed than I expected. We actually had a pretty relaxed ride warming up for the class, I was hopeful things would go smoother than the day before.

Those hopes were dashed as I got into position on the runway. My horse got pushy and wasn't really responsive. The drape we'd been riding with warming up probably wasn't going to hit the ring.

I remember thinking as I was riding through the in gate that I really should have scratched this class. I guess if I hadn't been sleep deprived I might have had to good sense to do that. But I was sleep deprived and I had NO sense. My horse was on the muscle and it was clear he was looking for trolls.

That far end of the arena is where all the trolls lurk. Not just for my horse but pretty much most of them don't really like that end. Most amateur riders don't even try to use the rail across that far end. On this day, with beams of light bouncing between the tarps, it was especially scary to Legs.

We almost made it around the far corner through all the scary stuff when Legs bolted. Unlike the previous shows, when he hit the bridle he pretty much came back down. Although he had jumped with such force he threw me off balance so sharply I had to grab the horn to stay astride.

My neck hurt and so did my lower back. This was NOT the relaxing let down after foaling I was hoping for. Instead my horse exploded two more times before the class was over. I was really mad at myself for riding the class without schooling in the arena first. I was also thinking I'd probably taken a huge step backwards with this horse. It was really a disappointing ride.

Then to top off my day, I had a couple of the kids from the barn follow me home to see the new filly. What's wrong with that, you might wonder. Well, as I'm looking at the face of this foal it dawns on me that it's got to be a colt. The look of the head just screams "Colt!" to me. Upon closer inspection I discover that's because the foal is a COLT! (Some much for Dave's predictions and all that talk about smary fillies and dumb colts! HA!)

What a way to end of complicated and stressful weekend of showing and foaling all rolled into one. If I ever think I'm going to do this again, will someone please shoot me! I think it'll be easier..............

NOTE: I'll post more pics and videos of the horse show when/if I get them.

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Foaling and Showing Rolled into One - Day 3 cont

The first thing I did when I awoke was head to the computer to check my mare. Even though our near freezing temperatures over night bought us a little time I didn't want to push this issue with Dare retaining her placenta. It always makes me nervous when we're getting anywhere near the six hour mark.

The only problem with checking the computer was the cam was again down. Frustrated with this whole scenario of the cam not being available when I needed it most I was beginning to wonder if this cam thing had even been worth it this pregnancy. About then I glanced over at my cable modem only to realize that this time IT was the culprit, not the wireless cam.

It wasn't just my modem that was down, cable for the tv was down as well. That meant it wasn't going to be anytime soon that the cam would be up and running again. So I grabbed the oxytocin and headed to the barn to do a visual inspection on my mare.



When I arrived Dare was standing there looking at me just like she had been when foaling. This time the foal was nursing on her off side and that towel was still hanging at the same height it had been two hours before. There was no getting around it the mare would have to have the oxytocin to shed the placenta.

My horses have been trained to stand still for just about anything. I do all blanketing, lots of grooming, even clipping, worming and picking their feet without the use of a halter. I hate trying to give injections by myself with a rope dangling over my shoulder anyway, but now I had a foal to get tangled too so I decided to try giving Dare her oxytocin without the aid of a halter.

The mare did look at me a bit funny when I swabbed the area with alcohol but she didn't move a muscle when I put the needle into her neck. Dare just stood there quietly as I pushed down the plunger. She did move a leg right at the very end but when I told her "Whoa!" she went back to standing. Times like this is when I really appreciate this mare. I feel guilty enough poking needles into my horses without having to deal with a horse that fights them.



Now I'd just have to wait and see if the hormone would work. If it didn't kick right into action, it would probably require a larger dose to bring about enough contractions to expel her placenta.

Oxytocin given in this manner is only good for about twenty minutes. If the desired result has not been accomplished by then, it's necessary to give another dose and it's actually more effective to give the second dose before the first has totally worn off. I think I had a total of 4 doses to administer before I would need to call my vet. I was hoping for Dare's sake only one dose would be needed.

It didn't take but a couple of minutes and the mare began showing signs of discomfort. I felt sad as I watched her lifting up her hind legs and stomping, knowing the mare was already exhausted yet now she had to endure more contractions. I guess it's that memory of my own birthing experiences that make me feel so empathetic to my mares. As I watched Dare struggling with each contraction, I'm pretty sure I winced in sympathy.

I was relieved to see that soon the towel tied to the umbilical cord - was beginning to lower. Inside of five minutes I had to adjust the knot to a higher elevation so it didn't touch the ground. I wanted to keep that weight in play in this process and get that darn placenta out as soon as possible.

As I worked on raising the towel, tying it in the now emerging placenta, I could see that about half of it was now outside the mare's body. We were making good progress. If it continued like this, Dare wouldn't need another dose of oxytocin.

Another five minutes and the other half was out. The slimy thing hit the ground. with a plop. I immediately picked it up taking it outside for inspection. If there was any evidence it hadn't all been dispelled, I'd need to call the vet as soon as possible. Since the temperatures were beginning to rise along with the sun, the risk of my mare experiencing complications from retained tissue were escalating.

I always lay the placenta flat pulling each horn out so I can see the correct shape of the uterus. That way I can distinguish it's all there. Then I like to turn it inside out and lay it out again so I can check the side that was connected to the uterine wall. I inspect for any abnormal patches that tell tissue might have been left behind.

I also check to see the tissue is still firm. A healthy placenta tells me about the breeding health of my mare. Weak spots can indicate bruising caused by the foal. Mares with bruises in their uterus have difficulty settling a pregnancy. They can also develop scar tissue from the bruising that can cause permanent issues. The sooner I know there might be a problem, the less likely I am to spend money trying to breed unbreedable mares. This is something I learned the year Scandalous foaled Legs.

My close up inspection revealed that everything was just fine. The foal was up and nursing just fine. For the first time in a week, I could quit worrying about Dare and really think about the horse show. I might actually get to watch a class or two before it was time to ride my championship class. It was time to head for the horse show.

To be continued..........

The End

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Foaling and Showing Rolled into One - Day 3

Because Dare is a maiden mare the bonding experience is really important. I have always expected she would be a great mother because her mother, Solidare, has always been a terrific mom.

Dare didn't disappoint me, she immediately turned to the foal and began sniffing. From there she moved on to licking. I had Jessica stay out of the stall and Dave and I backed off as well letting Dare spend some one on one time with her baby.

I stayed in the stall just to be safe, monitoring her behavior. I know from experience that things can turn quickly with horses. They can look one minute like all is fine and the next the sh*t hits the fan. I wasn't taking any chances with this new foal.

Jessica went outside and began taking pictures with her cell phone. That reminded me that my camera was in the house so I sent Dave to retrieve it. Then when Jessica asked what she could do to help, I turned my cam over to her. You can thank her for the pictures, she took a zillion of them I swear.

I set about cleaning the stall while Dare continued to lick and nuzzle her foal. I grabbed the foal's legs to move it around so I could get all of the wet straw out. Dare was fine as long as she could keep her eyes peeled on the foal. She didn't seem to mind my presence at all, or my handling of her foal.

Dave and Jessica were bugging me wanting to know the gender of this foal. It was still in the sack and I hadn't looked because I didn't want to disturb the mare. Finally I got tired of them badgering me to know and I tore the sack and lifted up the tail.



It was too dark in the stall to really see what was underneath that tail. There really wasn't much light anywhere else in the stall so I felt with my fingers. I hit the edge of what I thought was the vulva and I said "It's a filly." Then I went back to work cleaning the soggy stall listening to Dave tell me how he always knew it was a filly and all the usual banter that follows along with that.

Anyone who knows me knows I always check my foals about three times to determine their sex. If it's a filly, I check multiple times because I can't believe it. If it's a colt, I check multiple times because I don't want to believe it. That's just the way it is, I am a multiple bum checker for sure. I would check again later, or as least that's what I kept saying.

After the stall was cleaned, I got the iodine out and dunked the foal's navel. The burn of the iodine caused a major reaction, the first signs of the foal wanting to rise. Dare wasn't sure if she was ready for her foal to stand, she began talking frantically but her foal could have cared less.

Once the foal got the idea to rise it wasn't long before the foal was standing. I couldn't get over the strength of this little creature. In less than 30 minutes, this baby was standing up pretty darn solid on all four feet. There were no attempts to take a step, just standing there processing what it felt like to be on those long legs.



We made jokes about fillies being smarter than colts. Fillies always seem to be the early risers here. The colts sometimes can take hours to figure out how to work their legs. Then they tend to suck on walls and people long before they get anywhere near the milk bar. As we laughed about all the usual colt antics, this foal began looking for a snack and was actually headed in the right direction.

All this time Jessica was snapping pictures. Each time the foal would reach for the udder, the flash would go off and the foal would retreat. I had to tell Jess she needed to hold up on the nursing shots until this baby horse figured out how to do it. I didn't want the camera's flash teaching the foal to stay away from that location.

Once the camera issue was settled it didn't take long until the foal had figured out how to nurse. Dare was so good through all of this. Unlike many maiden mares she was ok with the foal getting behind her. She stood quietly instead of turning around tracking every move. That make it much easier for the foal to figure out how to nurse.

Once the foal had a full tummy, Dare laid down for the first time since the foaling. I knew she must be exhausted. She'd had a dreadful week with very little sleep yet she didn't lay down until her baby laid down to take a brief nap.

I took this as a cue to go back to the house. I got the cam back up and fixed the mare a nice hot bran mash. I also went into the chat to get ideas on how to deal with the placenta. By this time there was no progress in the mare passing the darn thing. I knew I needed weight but hadn't a clue how to go about attaching that weight. Methods I'd tried in the past hadn't worked well.

The people in the chat room were most helpful. Someone suggest using a wet dish towel. Another suggested using baling twine to tie that towel to the umbilical cord.

As it turns out this method to add weight worked very well. Once I tied the towel to the umbilical cord I had no problems with it slipping off. It seemed to be just the right amount of weight, about the same as the sack would have been. The only question at this point was Dare having enough contractions to shed the placenta.

I had oxytocin on hand but I didn't want to give it to the mare if I didn't have to. I hate to cause mares to have anymore contractions than necessary. They're already so worn out after giving birth, I feel bad making them have even more cramping. So I decided to give Dare a couple more hours to pass the placenta on her own. I went back to bed setting my alarm to check on Dare and her foal in exactly two hours.

To be continued..............

Day 3 cont

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