Gracie's Mini Mommas' To Be Page- All done foaling! Five Healthy Foals!!

[bannerminis]

Well looking at the mare pics I would have said Fancy first as she looks to have a better "v" but then the udder pics I would have said that Lexi was in the lead. LOL these ladies sure do know how to play the mind games.

 

[Eagle]

It looks like Lexi came up fast on the inside lane and over took Fancy

 

[Sandy B]

Well looking at the mare pics I would have said Fancy first as she looks to have a better "v" but then the udder pics I would have said that Lexi was in the lead. LOL these ladies sure do know how to play the mind games.

Lexi was the one who made up early and even had milk for one day and then it went back to clear. I figured the way she was making up she was going to foal early. Now, it seems Fancy is catching up.

It looks like Lexi came up fast on the inside lane and over took Fancy

All I know is they seem to now be in a dead heat

and the winner will be anyones guess.

 

[Sandy B]

My Equipage is not working! Tonight at feeding time I realized that the pager had not gone off today and it always goes off at least a couple times with two mares wearing transmitters. So I pulled the transmitters out to test them and I would not get a page. Replaced all the batteries on the pager and transmitters, checked the main box and antenna and it still is not working. Called Equipage and left message and got called right back. A very nice guy I will say. I have only had the system a few days shy of 3 weeks. He had me try a couple things, but most my husband and I already tried. He is over-nighting a whole new system to me tomorrow but there is a chance that it might not make it until Monday

I also asked him about the re-set button not stopping the alarm when a mare lays flat out and he did say that it should stop the alarming with a push of the re-set button after the 30 second time period. I think its just a faulty pager myself. He was apologetic but that certainly will not help my upcoming sleepless night

and being a worry wart

I really think the girls are days away still but with one girl(Lexi) being a possible maiden I need to expect the unexpected.

 

[AnnaC]

Like you, I dont think the girls are ready to foal yet, but, again like you, it wouldn't stop me worrying!!

So glad that you are getting a new system - I know nothing about it as I have never used one, but from what you have been saying, yours must be faulty. Hope the new one arrives very soon and is a success.

 

[Eagle]

Oh gosh poor you. Just think about how happy Gracie is going to be when she sees her babies

It will all have been worth it.

Yesterday I was stood at the school gate waiting for Alberto to come out and I was chatting to some mum's, one asked when my foals were due so I said April is the dog and then May and June for the horses, she chuckled and said "look out everyone, here comes the zombie woman" she obviously remembers me well from last year

 

[Becky]

Oh no on the Equipage! It's extremely stressful when it isn't working!! I have two systems; one for a backup in case the other doesn't work. Not what most people need to do, but it does give me peace of mind.

I bet your mares hold off until your new system arrives. Which I hope will be this weekend.

 

[targetsmom]

Oh, Sandy, what rotten luck on the Equipage!! Hope the new one arrives quickly and that your mares hold off until it does. I have my old foal buzzer as a back-up, and I may need to use it this year. It needs a baby monitor and there is no reset, so it really isn't a very good substitute for the Equipage. I think at that point I move into the barn.

 

[Sandy B]

Oh gosh poor you. Just think about how happy Gracie is going to be when she sees her babies

It will all have been worth it.

Yesterday I was stood at the school gate waiting for Alberto to come out and I was chatting to some mum's, one asked when my foals were due so I said April is the dog and then May and June for the horses, she chuckled and said "look out everyone, here comes the zombie woman" she obviously remembers me well from last year

"Zombie Woman"

Yes, that describes me since I have been on foal patrol since the second week of February with my Quarter Horse mare. I did get a two week break before the mini mares came on foal watch but now it will be an assembly line until the last one foals and she is due the very end of May.

Well it was back to the old set the alarm every hour last night.

The girls were very quiet and Lexi did a lot of laying down. This morning there were two piles of cowpattie poops that got Gracie all excited and running in the house to tell me

Fancy appears to be the culprit as she had some staining on her bum. Fancy's left spicket is filling but her right is soft and flabby. Lexi's udder is about the same but does have a bit more fluid coming out that is clear and sticky. Both girls appear to have softened in the bums a little more. Today Lexi has joined Fancy in the 320 day club and we are moving along at a snails pace

 

[Sandy B]

You know, I was just thinking. I have been letting our girls out to graze daily for a few hours and started wondering, what is the grass in my back yard (it is not a planted grass, just natural) contains a endophite fescue that could be causing the girls' udders to slow in developing? How would I recognize if this natural grass contains an endophite fescue??

 

[AnnaC]

Oh Sandy, try not to think of more things to worry you. i would think it very unlikely that there is anything of the nasty variety lurking in your grass. Lots of other mares seem to be having bags that keep filling and then going 'backwards' again at the moment.

I'm sure your girls will be fine.

Did the new system arrive??

 

[Sandy B]

OK, I will take a very deep breath and let it out

Alrighty, I feel better now

And the new system was being over-nighted today but there was no guarantee it would be delivered on Saturday

I pray it comes

 

[LittleBittyBritches]

Seems alot of our mares udders are going up and down. I think they like to tease us!

 

[Eagle]

Sandy please chill, deep breaths and even a few

if necessary

I have no fescue here in Italy yet my girl Odette started to fill her shopping bag and then it shrunk back down again, who knows it might be the weather or the moon influence but we just sit and wait

You are not alone

 

[Sandy B]

Ladies I am not sure what I would do without you to hold my hand through this, thank you

I am breathing better today and just trying to tell myself these girls are horses and I have foaled countless of them out. I just pray that the new system arrives today.

The girls were pretty quiet last night. Lexi once again laid down a lot and slept last night and she also had quite a bit of tail swishing and foot stomping going on. This morning, Gracie reports that Fancy's udder is larger and firmer than it has been and Lexi's is a tad bigger.

 

[Sandy B]

Wooohooooooooo!!!!

The new replacement Equipage System came today and it is working

It even resets after the alarm goes off for thirty seconds, even if the mare stays flat out

, something the last one never did do. Kudos to Ken and Equipage for quickly taking care of the faulty system.

The girls had a nice long turnout today on the grass, in the sunshine. Lexi acted a little anxious off and one today, definitely not her normal self. Then tonight she did not finish all her grain. Both girls udders were more filled tonight then they were this morning which is usually the opposite. Go figure that one??? Nothing coming out of Fancy's and only a tiny bit of slightly cloudy sticky stuff out of Lexi. Again, Lexi just might be a maiden mare. Can you find out from AMHA if a mare had any registered foals? I also noticed Lexi doing a lot of bedding sniffing last night and then today when I put them back in the stall.

Tomorrow will be like today where someone will be here at all times and my hubby and I take turns taking Gracie to my parents for the annual family Easter event. Thank goodness they only live 15 minutes away. The countdown continues......

 

[targetsmom]

So glad to hear you got your replacement Equipage and that it works properly!!!

Anyone who has signed up for the AMHA Studbook online (I just realized I haven't paid for this year yet) can easily find out if the mare has registered foals by entering either the registration number or name.

On the grain thing- Toffee wasn't finishing her grain for a couple of days and then started eating it all again. They sure like to keep us guessing.

 

[Sandy B]

The girls are wearing their halter monitors now. Lexi is not eating her hay much either tonight, juts a little nibble here and there, otherwise standing pretty darn still.

 

[AnnaC]

Yes, like Diane, I got quite excited when I read that there was no reduction in their bags yesterday evening - means they are getting close!!

So glad your new system arrived safely - it sounds brilliant.

 

[Becky]

So glad your new Equipage arrived and it's working properly!!!! They are a life saver (literally!) when they are working and soooo stressful when they are not.

Sounds like your girls are getting close. Exciting!!!