tagalong
Well-Known Member
Finally.
After weeks of watching our drama queen mare Candy lay on her back for 20 - 30 minutes at a stretch... snooze flat out on her side for the same amount of time - and in between fuss and fret about the way her very active baby was galloping around her on the inside, It Happened.
The foaling pager had been rendered quite useless as it was going off all the time... and there was no Mare Stare involved - what was the point?
This is what would have happened...
Caller from Indiana: Hi - I am watching your mare on MareStare and she is upside down!! OMG!!
Me: Yeah - I know. That is normal for her.
Caller from Indiana: HUH?
Caller from North Carolina: Your mare needs help - she is upside down and there is no one there with her!!
Me: I know. That is normal for her. Thanks for calling.
Caller from NC: HUH?
I have called her Upside Down Mare (UDM) in other threads due to her fondness for that position.... so when she suddenly went right side up for the past two nights and began pacing madly around the edges of the stall, I figured Something was going to happen. There were no other sudden physical changes (on the outside, anyway) - but this mare had obviously not read the foaling manual. Please note there is no chapter entitled Upside Down in any foaling book.
This mare had only arrived in December, so I had no idea what she was like when it came to foaling - and what I was seeing was kinda worrisome. To say the least.
Anyway - after spending most of Sunday night pacing in circles that made me dizzy watching her on the monitor - she suddenly got very quiet around 5:30 a.m. Monday morning. She took a look at her left side, squatted a bit - and I heard the water break - showtime! I slipped out to the barn and peeked in the stall just as she decided that this process required a LOT more drama. As in, LOTS and LOTS.
She abruptly went upside down... with the Important End wedged in a corner. Nope.
That would not work. I got her up and she took about 3 steps and plunked down again with a flourish - immediately rolling over on her back as usual. Okay, fine. Another mini mare did the same thing to me many years ago - and all had gone well then. In next to no time I had two feet and a nose visible - and helped with some gentle pulling when Candy pushed.... as she was upside down - I had to pull UP towards her hocks - not down... the foal's tongue was hanging out the side of its mouth - I gave it a little tweak to make sure the foal was alive - it was!
First the head and neck - then the shoulders cleared - all looked good even if everything was topsy-turvy. The wet baby looked like a buckskin and had a huge star on its forehead... and then - trouble.
Because you can never have enough drama.
No more progress. A hip lock?? YES! Obviously the drama-meter was not reading high enough - as Candy suddenly lurched to her feet and started marching around the stall... I was holding the foal's head and front legs up away from her legs and the wall - and softly telling her ho.... ho..... ho.... She slowed down after we had done a few laps and stopped with her head in one corner. I managed to push the foal back where it had come from about 6 inches or so - and then it was easy to turn the foal upwards - from 6 o'clock to about 2:30... and suddenly the hips were free and I eased a wet baby into the straw. Candy looked back and immediately saw the opportunity to Make A Statement - and dropped down into the straw with great emphasis to demonstrate what a terrible day she was having...
Anyway - despite a lot of sturm und drang, he is doing well... presenting Candy's Buckskin Colt!! Yet be to named.... and still needing to unfold...
After weeks of watching our drama queen mare Candy lay on her back for 20 - 30 minutes at a stretch... snooze flat out on her side for the same amount of time - and in between fuss and fret about the way her very active baby was galloping around her on the inside, It Happened.
The foaling pager had been rendered quite useless as it was going off all the time... and there was no Mare Stare involved - what was the point?
This is what would have happened...
Caller from Indiana: Hi - I am watching your mare on MareStare and she is upside down!! OMG!!
Me: Yeah - I know. That is normal for her.
Caller from Indiana: HUH?
Caller from North Carolina: Your mare needs help - she is upside down and there is no one there with her!!
Me: I know. That is normal for her. Thanks for calling.
Caller from NC: HUH?
I have called her Upside Down Mare (UDM) in other threads due to her fondness for that position.... so when she suddenly went right side up for the past two nights and began pacing madly around the edges of the stall, I figured Something was going to happen. There were no other sudden physical changes (on the outside, anyway) - but this mare had obviously not read the foaling manual. Please note there is no chapter entitled Upside Down in any foaling book.
Anyway - after spending most of Sunday night pacing in circles that made me dizzy watching her on the monitor - she suddenly got very quiet around 5:30 a.m. Monday morning. She took a look at her left side, squatted a bit - and I heard the water break - showtime! I slipped out to the barn and peeked in the stall just as she decided that this process required a LOT more drama. As in, LOTS and LOTS.
She abruptly went upside down... with the Important End wedged in a corner. Nope.
First the head and neck - then the shoulders cleared - all looked good even if everything was topsy-turvy. The wet baby looked like a buckskin and had a huge star on its forehead... and then - trouble.
Because you can never have enough drama.
No more progress. A hip lock?? YES! Obviously the drama-meter was not reading high enough - as Candy suddenly lurched to her feet and started marching around the stall... I was holding the foal's head and front legs up away from her legs and the wall - and softly telling her ho.... ho..... ho.... She slowed down after we had done a few laps and stopped with her head in one corner. I managed to push the foal back where it had come from about 6 inches or so - and then it was easy to turn the foal upwards - from 6 o'clock to about 2:30... and suddenly the hips were free and I eased a wet baby into the straw. Candy looked back and immediately saw the opportunity to Make A Statement - and dropped down into the straw with great emphasis to demonstrate what a terrible day she was having...
Anyway - despite a lot of sturm und drang, he is doing well... presenting Candy's Buckskin Colt!! Yet be to named.... and still needing to unfold...
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