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Isabelle is never ever ever gonna foal

Sara April 21, 2009 February 22, 2011

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I just went down to the barn to get out a horse to lunge and heard Isabelle breathing so I figured that was worth a look. She was breathing heavily and loudly, holding her tail away from her body, and pressing her nose against the wall. Then she went out into her paddock and rolled in the dirt and had quite a difficult time getting up. Her hind end looks kind of like those AQHA halter horses with the droopy butts. So either this is early labor or just one miserable mare... I'll keep you posted!

Sara Wed, 04/22/2009 - 10:14

heh, I have TWO two year olds, two yearlings, a foal on the way, the broodmares, a couple retirees, and my lesson string. :) The two year olds are actually the easiest in the bunch because they already crosstie, load, and (mostly) stand to get their feet trimmed which is all I expect of a two year old so most of the time they just chill out and eat with their buddies. The yearlings are pretty easy too... I'm just working on some tying currently and then I'll leave them alone other than for worming and trims.

Later this summer the two year olds will probably learn to wear some tack, get free jumped, and then turned back out for the winter. I'll ride them next summer which will be interesting in the case of Diana. I'll wear a body protector. :lol:

as for how do I do it? Basically I have no life! Since the blond thing left I've just thrown myself into the horses. I've become very boring but I'm happy. Glad you like the nickname, by the way. she earned that by being superficial and materialistic... she loved the things I bought for her and the pretty house we had together but had no qualms about keeping a boy on the side.

Isabelle went to sleep last night so I let myself sleep too, an hour at a time. This morning she isn't showing any signs of labor at all. She's totally following Mira's pattern. Grr! Since attending the three births after Inigo's I had thought maybe I was just inexperienced and couldn't tell the difference between false and real labor back then because my other mares have all been really obvious, but now with Isabelle I have to say that it was very convincing even after having watched the real thing several times. She showed every sign of being in early labor and had me convinced enough that I had wrapped her tail and washed her vulva and everything.

rabbitsfizz Thu, 04/23/2009 - 07:22

NaNaNaNaNaNa :booty :booty
Guess who [i]has[/i] got a foal this am?????
Bay colt born 4.30am, now at least I can get a couple of nights sleep, then I am back on Marestare again!!!

Sara Thu, 04/23/2009 - 12:27

Congratulations, Rabbit! Now pics please!

oh, and that is what I thought last year the day after Jasi foaled. I went up to the house for a nice full night's sleep since Tickle did not look anywhere near ready and came down in the morning to Peanut (halfway out)! :lol:

Isabelle is in a holding pattern. sigh.

NZ Appaloosas Thu, 04/23/2009 - 22:34

Remind her that we're not air traffic controllers, and she is not an airplane waiting to land at Chicago... :booty :laugh1

Diane

Sara Fri, 04/24/2009 - 10:56

This morning she says she's just kidding. Not pregnant after all.

Never mind that her vulva has been gaping open since Tuesday and she's been having loose stool about that long, too. Okay, so she's pregnant and I've been washing her vulva carefully, the way the vets do it before AI, because poo running into the vulva of a pregnant mare just doesn't look good to me.

@-)

I hereby declare this the mare stare smiley.

critterkeeper Fri, 04/24/2009 - 11:14

Sara - you are so right with the smiley - you can go blind staring at mares during foaling season :laugh1 You do not dare turn your head or actually take a break - they will foal while you aren't looking ... :BH

Sara Fri, 04/24/2009 - 12:41

It's funny how our minds can twist past situations. I was curious just now to see how many days in foal my other mares have been. I remembered Mira being very late, Rosalynn being somewhat late, and Tickle and Jasi each being just a little early. I pulled out the breeding and foaling dates, googled a foaling calculator, plugged them in and this is what I got.

Mira (2005) foaled on day 350.
Rosalynn (2007) foaled on day 350.
Jasi (2008) foaled on day 331.
Tickle (2008) foaled on day 331.

Weird!!

I'm on day 349 today with Isabelle.

rabbitsfizz Fri, 04/24/2009 - 15:57

Little Song is now waddling round the field humming to herself and pretending she has not got a grand piano wedged sideways in her middle....she is HUGE!!!!
I swear she has a Hippo in there!!
Flipping Princess took an hour to catch this pm, and her foal was knackered so I shut them in a stable and now Princess is furious, Song is smug and Pagan is just walking around looking nonchalant, which means she will foal next!!!
I have also found that I have at least two more foals due, two mares I was unsure of have declared pregnancy, and one maiden is highly suspect....HIGHLY suspect!!!
This is a year I really could have done without all these foals...Lipi, stop trying for one, you can, quite literally, take your pick!!!!
I am really not at all sure I shall be putting many of these mares back in foal, I think it is a year for cutting my coat to suit my cloth, and if I cannot afford to keep them all if I have to, and it may come to that, I should not be breeding them, I think.

rabbitsfizz Sat, 04/25/2009 - 10:02

No pictures yet, I am the worlds worst at taking pictures, my two year olds registrations are not completed for lack of photos (this is when it pays to be friends with the Chairperson!!! ;) ) No foals this am, well, no more foals anyway!! I am now suffering from delayed fatigue and cannot do anything at all which is frustrating to say the least.
Song is even fatter today than she was yesterday, if that is possible, but it is Pagan who is just standing around being coy, the cow, she fools me not this is exactly what she did last year!
You know what??
I am getting too old for this.

Sara Sun, 04/26/2009 - 09:57

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]I am now suffering from delayed fatigue[/quote]

I'm actually feeling pretty decent except for when I drive I get really sleepy and when I stand still I can feel myself swaying slightly back and forth. One of my clients is a personal trainer and she says balance is one of the first things to go when you're suffering from sleep deprivation. I guess the solution is to keep moving.

Paintlover Sun, 04/26/2009 - 10:32

Sara,

Does she have any sort of "milk" yet? There is a test that is very simple and has saved me some sleep the last two foals I had. You use water hardness test strips for pools. The pH levels drop and the calcium increases. Obviously there is always room for error but it does help some with an approximate time.

Monsterpony Mon, 04/27/2009 - 14:57

Last I heard from Sara (this morning), Isabelle is still holding out on her. She said that she thinks Isabelle likes being pregnant and is going in reverse.

Paintlover Mon, 04/27/2009 - 15:48

[quote="Monsterpony"]Last I heard from Sara (this morning), Isabelle is still holding out on her. She said that she thinks Isabelle likes being pregnant and is going in reverse.[/quote]

Some mares!!!! :laugh1 :rofl

Sara Mon, 04/27/2009 - 21:15

Hey Paintlover, I've used those milk tests and they're great but I can't get any milk from Isabelle so I can't use it on her. :( her udder is getting pretty full but she won't let me mess with it long enough to see if I can get anything out. I try a little bit every day because I figure she needs to get used to it anyway.

Paintlover Mon, 04/27/2009 - 22:46

[quote="Sara"]Hey Paintlover, I've used those milk tests and they're great but I can't get any milk from Isabelle so I can't use it on her. :( her udder is getting pretty full but she won't let me mess with it long enough to see if I can get anything out. I try a little bit every day because I figure she needs to get used to it anyway.[/quote]

Thought it was worth a shot, oh well. :) I agree with Rabbit about the #1 sign that foaling is near. :laugh1 My maiden last year would let me mess with her but she didn't have milk until 48-72 hours before hand. :roll: :laugh1

Andrea Tue, 04/28/2009 - 10:59

So I was told... If you do manage to get a drop of anything out of her and it's clear and tastes sweet the mare would foal within two days :o ... I told them I don't even eat fish! :laugh1
Silo had ver clear "milk" and super sticky. I'm assuming it was colostrum. Her bag was big, but it wasn't sloshing with milk.

Sara Tue, 04/28/2009 - 11:29

I've tasted mare's milk. It's interesting.

Day 353 has begun with no signs of anything in particular. Her hind end is going to sag to her hocks if it gets any looser but that's all she's showing me. Could it be that the foal is so small there is no reason to trigger the labor yet? It appears to have plenty of room in her big Oldenburg belly!