Robin's Pregnancy Thread MAIDEN :) *Filly! 1-7-13* *New Photos #831*

Well, Robin was supposedly "sterile" due to undersized ovaries, but it looks like they grew up, lol. While this pregnancy is unexpected, it is not surprising, nor is it unwanted. I just wanted to state that We are willing to do everything necessary to make sure that mom and baby are both safe through out this whole thing.

Here is my delima...

My Sis in Law is a vet (equine reproduction, to be exact)...we had a feeling that Robin might be pregnant since she was looking a little larger than her normal tubby self. She had also started to develop a slight bag, so my SIL palpated her while she was up here visiting this week. She felt a baby for sure. Said that the length of the "ball" (baby's head and neck were curled around) was approximately 12-14 inches and the legs were about and inch in diameter.

There are two possible sires in this situation. One would be Batman, whom left around September 17, 2011. The next would be Papa, a small pony stallion whom Robin was pastured with around January 17, 2012. Robin is looking very round. She is still very wide, so, it would appear that the baby has not moved into position as of yet.

Soooooo, my question is...do you think that she could still have 4 months to go if the baby is already that size? Or could she be in foal to Batman, and just be carrying a little longer?

Here are a few pics of the Momma from this morning:

Thanks for the warm welcome!! I am with you on all of it! Robin is indeed a maiden mare, so yeah, she is probably going to break every rule in the book, lol. Her are a few pics of Batman He was a Q-T!

Goodness, BABY ALERT!! LOL!! I think there is going to be a new baby in your life very soon!!

Oh sorry - WELCOME to the Nutty Nursery. I will ditto all that Diane said above in her welcome, so as not to waste any more of your time in case you get too involved reading here and Robin pops out that foal while you are not paying attention!! LOL!

She is such a pretty girl (a bit wide at the moment I agree!) and Batman looks to be really cute too, so I'm thinking that you are due to be having a good looking foal. Yes she may have a little while to go yet, but with a maiden mare it is pretty difficult to give a 'how soon' answer - she could move suddenly and suprise you in a few days or go another week to 10 days, but I dont think it will be long.

Do you have somewhere to put her inside at night so you can keep a close eye on her, no need to make life difficult by having to march all over a paddock to find her several times during the night in the pitch dark! Plus she should really be in a paddock on her own during the day - dont want other horses interferring with the foaling should she decide to do it during the day or upsetting her by being too nosey when she first has her new baby to look after.

For now I would be keeping a very close eye on her at all times, especially during the night, as the most important thing you can do for her and her expected foal is to be there right beside her when she foals.

Again, great to have you and Robin here. Please feel free to ask any questions about anything that might be worrying you - our aim is to get you and Robin a perfect little baby to love and care for!

Good luck!

Thanks, AnnaC! I am going to be putting her into a corral that is not far from my bedroom window. If not in there, she will be in my backyard which is directly outside my bedroom window, lol. Once in there, she will be there all of the time. I just have to pick up some hay that I can throw to her. All I have right now is pasture and a giant round bale that is in the pasture with my Clydesdale

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I cannot wait for this baby and I really hope that I don't miss the birth. That is the part that makes me the most nervous..

Hi and welcome!

I feel fairly certian you'll see something sooner rather then later. As an example I hope you don't mind me showing a few pics

This is my mare Fantasy who is known for her wideload look This is her 2 months before foaling



And now from the week she foaled



I think Robin is much closer to Fantasy's second pic I also think they make a lovely pair of beach balls :rofl Have to love these BIG mare guts!

Wings said:

Hi and welcome!

I feel fairly certian you'll see something sooner rather then later. As an example I hope you don't mind me showing a few pics

This is my mare Fantasy who is known for her wideload look

This is her 2 months before foaling

View attachment 10798

And now from the week she foaled

View attachment 10799

I think Robin is much closer to Fantasy's second pic

I also think they make a lovely pair of beach balls

:rofl Have to love these BIG mare guts!

Click to expand...

:-O Yeah...definitely pretty close to the second pic, lol. Beach balls on toothpicks

Fantasy was resting her belly on hay bales by the end of it

Not sure how they don't just roll over and get stuck when they are that top heavy!

I am so excited about this baby I think that I am gonna go get a bale of hay tomorrow...I want her closer to the house, like now, lol.

Hi and welcome to the nursery

what a beautiful mini you have! just gorgeous! and HUGE! talk about a wide load!! WOW lol.

I think she will be foaling very soon for you! have you got things ready? oh wait thats right your SIL is a equine vet! thats fantastic! well good luck with everything so very very exciting! keep us updated with how she goes! sure to be one gorgeous baby!

Cassie

May I just add another thought that springs to mind from reading one of your recent posts. Now is not a good time to change anything in a mare's diet, especially a reduction in the grass that her system is used to.

Also is there a lot of difference in the size of your coral compared with the size of the paddock that she usually uses? When grazing normally she would be moving around continuously over quite a large area - important for foaling girls - to help with this in a 'small' coral you can put small piles of hay spread around, so she doesn't just stand in one spot eating, plus taking her out for walks several times during the day to give her the extra exercise.

Can you include some good grazing somewhere during her daily walks to keep the familiar grass going through her system, plus make sure that any hay you get for her is soft and leafy which will help. Also, remembering how much grass she is consuming during a normal 24 hours, I think she is going to need around 1/3 rd of a normal sized hay bale at least to replace the grass, so you will need quite a few bales depending upon how long it will be before it is safe to return her and her baby to her normal pasture. Remember too that a good mineral and vitamin 'lick/block' is also a good idea to make sure she is getting all the vitamins and minerals she needs to provide quality milk for her new baby.

A lot of us worm our mares with an Ivermectin wormer within 12 hours of foaling - it seems that this often helps to prevent the foal from getting the scours when the mare has her foaling season (5 - 10 days after foaling usually), no-one is sure why this seems to help but it does seem to! It has to be a wormer 'containing' Ivermectin - remember never to give Equest/Quest wormer to minis and I would steer away from Zimectin Gold as well myself.

So, if possible, plenty of grass, plenty of steady exercise and, if you wish, a wormer within 12 hours of foaling and you are all systems go to welcome your new baby!

phoebeq said:

I am so excited about this baby I think that I am gonna go get a bale of hay tomorrow...I want her closer to the house, like now, lol.

Click to expand...

LOL! Hopefully she works out how to use it like Fantasy did

I feed a lot of hay to my girls in a big loose pile and often found her asleep in it. I think the way it has plenty of give in it makes it more comfortable then the ground, bit like a deep straw bed in a stall.

They never seem to have any trouble with the weight, Fantasy is in foal again this year, due in November and already looking big... doesn't stop her from hooning around with my yearling filly!

The corral that Robin is in right now does not have any grass in it. I plan to let her out into our yard for a while each day so that she can graze and walk a bit. I buy large bales of hay. I try to keep hay in there through out the day. She is doing well. Still cranky with her boobies, lol.

Sounds as though you have everything covered - well done! Now all that is needed is a foal!

So true...ready for a baaaaby!

so exciting!!! can't wait to see what she gives you!! come on Robin!

Pics from this evening

she is soo pretty! about another few days to a week I think... she should fill that udder some more

Udder looks like Painted Lady's and I'm guessing a foal by the end of the week (or within the next 10 days) for me

Yep - baby within a week I would say!

Thanks guys! I hope you are right! It has actually started to get chilly at night already! Thinking that I may take a trip to the ranch store and pick up a little doggie coat, lol. I think that I will get some foal milk replacer as well...just in case. Thanks for all of the help guys! I really appreciate it!

On a side note, I really do love this forum. Everyone is so friendly...not like other "large" horse forums where if someone tells them that they are having an unexpected foal, they are automatically looked down on and treated like an irresponsible and terrible owner. Things happen...and I appreciate being in a place where everyone understands that and still is willing to give advice and be excited along with me