Operation: Let's have a real-life Knabstrupper! Current Stage: BABY IS HERE

[Silverine]

This topic is closed.
The baby is here and this topic has served its purpose.
I will continue documenting Freya and Mojo's adventures for everyone, but in a new topic.
The new topic is here.

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BABY IS HERE!
And she is absolutely perfect. Mojo's filly was born just before 9AM EDT on March 15th, 2022.
Introduction post is here.


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Foal prediction contest is openCLOSED!
Winners have been announced.
Go here for details.


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Where are we now?
BABY IS HERE!


What's up next?
The rest of baby's life.

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This is a follow-up thread to my topic here. I wanted to post a new thread to keep everything nice and clean. You can find a list of all previous updates to this topic here.

Once again, please do not quote this whole post. It is another super long one. There's also no need to ping me unless you really feel like it as I'm subscribed to the topic. But I digress.

I'm not sure how many people know this (everyone? no one? just BlackOak? ) but I breed Knabstruppers here on HWO. I've loved the spotty warmbloods since I first discovered the breed as a wee middle-schooler. I dreamed of one day owning one but never thought it would happen. Well, after my first disappointment in the above thread, that's exactly what's going to happen.

Take this journey with me.
Operation: Let's have a real-life Knabstrupper!

Introduction
"So what exactly is going on here?", you may ask. Well here's the scoop: I'm breeding my mare, Mojo, this year. My first-pick stallion fell through (age-related issues) and that was a huge let-down. At first I wasn't sure if I would continue forward with breeding Mojo. Then I found another stud that I thought looked nice, but a critical eye from BlackOak and one of my in-person friends determined that he wasn't as nice as I had thought. But I was already knee-deep in stud ads so I kept looking.

And then I found Pax, a gorgeous fewspot Knabstrupper. I was wary at first. He's a very young stallion, still growing with only a few foals on the ground. But his pedigree is stacked with great producers, and his half-brother - who is a few years older - has quite a few very nice foals. He's also been accepted to training at a very prestigious eventing barn, which is a very high endorsement of his potential. With all factors considered I decided he was at least worth looking into.

Here is Pax as a 2-year-old:


And a more recent picture (4 years, just starting under saddle):


And here is Mojo:


And a photo under saddle:


I spoke with Pax's owner, sent her some pics of Mojo, and just generally chatted. After that talk I was pretty sure Pax was the boy for Mojo. I looked over the breeding contract, spoke with my vet - who it turns out had worked with Pax already this year! - and did some cost calculations. Yesterday, June 4th, I signed the breeding contract.


What will the baby be like?

A foal from Pax and Mojo will only be half Knabstrupper. Mojo is, unfortunately, not registered (at least as far as I know) but there is the possibility of registering her with some organizations which might allow for the foal to be registered with KNN to some degree. But that's not my main focus.

For conformation, I personally am looking for a larger horse (as I'm a larger person) with a medium to slightly shorter back and good conformation for dressage. Mojo is 16.2 and Pax is 16.3 at last measure and still growing, so this baby should be a big one! Both parents are also decently leggy with good length of their backs and should throw that to their offspring.

Color-wise there is no chance of a chestnut as Mojo is homozygous black at extension (EE). She is heterozygous at agouti (Aa) whereas Pax is full black at agouti (aa) so there is a 50% chance of a bay/brown and a 50% chance of a black foal. I was incorrect! Pax is also heterozygous at agouti (Aa), so there is the 75% chance of a bay/brown foal and a 25% chance of a black foal. Neither horse carries cream or any other dilutions.

As far as patterning, Pax is homozygous for Lp and PATN1 meaning that the baby will be a full or near-full leopard regardless of what Mojo throws. From Mojo's side the baby has a 50% chance of receiving a tobiano gene and therefore being a pintaloosa.

[Silverine]

Updates

03/15/2022 - Baby is here! She was born just before 9 AM EDT.

02/27/2022 - The milk test strips have indicated that birth will be soon. So I have started Foal Watch. Probably no baby tonight, but soon.

02/15/2022 - I got my first drop of milk from Mojo this morning! It was only one drop in the AM but by the evening there were substantial changes to her udder and I got quite a bit more milk.

02/14/2022 - Mojo received her pre-foaling shots today. She's still doing awesome. She has started exhibiting some signs that indicate we are getting close to meeting her mini-me.

01/14/2022 - Finally got the vet out today. All of my worry was unneeded. Everything is perfect and going great. Baby is healthy and active. There is a short new video of baby and its heartbeat in the gallery.

01/09/2022 - Prediction contest is open. In other news, the vet couldn't come out last Monday because of a snow storm so they're coming out this Thursday, the 13th. Mojo is really filling up in her right teat and it's freaking me out a little.

12/27/2021 - Mojo had some swelling at the top of her udder yesterday and today so we scheduled to have the vet come out and check her and give her her last pneumabort next Monday, January 3rd.

12/16/2021 - Mojo got moved to her new paddock on Tuesday so that she can get her special fescue-free hay.

12/07/2021 - Mojo got her second pneumabort vaccine back in November and is doing well. There's less than 100 days until the due date!

09/18/2021 - Everything is still going well. Mojo got her first pneumabort vaccine on the 7th and went to her first licensed show on the 11th.

08/16/2021 - Mojo and baby are doing well. Mojo got her first foal vaccines today (flu/rhino and potomac horse fever).

06/10/2021 - Baby is still cooking! We are at 61 days gestation and officially past the "danger zone" of the first part of the pregnancy.

05/10/2021 - We have a heartbeat!! At 30 days gestation, everything is looking good. I have posted a video of the fetal heartbeat in the photo gallery.

04/27/2021 - Mojo is home! Now just 13 days until we check for a heartbeat.

04/24/2021 - Pregnancy confirmed! Mojo had a positive 14-day check and will be coming home on Monday! <3 I've also put a photo gallery at the end of the post after this one which will hold all ultrasound photos and other important pictures of Mojo and baby.

04/09/2021 - Breeding time today! Word at the repro barn is that Mojo is a pleasure to work with. I miss her like crazy.

03/16/2021 - Got Mojo up to the repro barn yesterday. She settled in nicely while I was there. It should be about a week before I hear anything but will let everyone know once I do.

03/11/2021 - Ugh. I forgot to post here with the most recent updates. Bad Silverine! Anyway, had the vet out to look at Mojo and they said she looks great! She'll be heading up to the repro barn on Monday (the 15th). She's not due to cycle until a week (or more) after she gets up there, but I'm bringing her up early in the hopes that her first cycle will be good after she's had a chance to settle in.

01/26/2021 - Starting to ramp again, but slowly. Mojo will be heading to Maryland on March 15th to spend some time with Pax. We'll have a better idea of timeline at that point.

08/06/2020 - Well, 2020 strikes again. Mojo is not pregnant. It's quite late in the season so we've decided to try again next year. But don't worry, we're not giving up!

07/27/2020 - Mojo is home! The vet texted me on the 24th to let me know she ovulated exactly as predicted and that she was good to come home. The repro barn gave her a bath this morning and my friend and I picked her up and brought her to her new home. I scheduled a pregnancy check with the usual vet for Thursday, August 6th at 1:30PM PDT.

07/23/2020 - Mojo was bred today! Vet said the timing looked good but he will check her again in the AM to make sure everything lined up as it should. If I get the go-ahead Mojo will be coming home on Monday!

07/22/2020 - Stallion's second box is in the mail! Keeping my fingers crossed!

07/07/2020 - FedEx lost the package. So of course we missed Mojo's cycle. We'll try again. She should be ready to go around the 21st.

07/06/2020 - Stallion's box is in the mail! Should hear more from the vet once it's picked up tomorrow.

06/19/2020 - So Mojo didn't develop edema like she should have with this cycle. Vet is short-cycling her for another try.

06/15/2020 - Mojo has arrived at the repro barn! Breeding should take place in the next few days. I'm keeping an eye on my phone and will let everyone know as soon as I know more!

06/05/2020 - Created topic. Wrote up schedule of events.

[Silverine]

Schedule of Events
Dates that are tentative are preceded by a ~.
AB stands for After Breeding

Original Schedule
April 13, 2020
Breeding soundness exam.

May 4, 2020
Uterine flush and antibiotics.

May 28, 2020
Second uterine culture.

June 15, 2020
Arrive at repro barn.

July 23, 2020
Breeding time with the vet.

July 27, 2020
Come home.

August 6th @ 1:30PM PDT
First ultrasound to confirm conception. Any twin pinching will occur here.
Unfortunately Mojo is not pregnant. It's pretty late in the year so we've decided to wait until next year to try again.

Current Schedule (2021)

February 19th, 2021
Breeding soundness exam.

March 15th, 2021
Arrive at repro barn.

Sometime after March 15th...
Breeding time with vet.
Date was April 9th.

April 24th (Day 14 AB)
First ultrasound to confirm conception. Any twin pinching will occur here.
Pregnancy confirmed!

April 27th
Mojo comes home.

May 10th @ 10AM EDT (Day 30 AB)
Second ultrasound to confirm heartbeat.
Heartbeat confirmed!

June 10th @ 10:30 AM EDT (Day 60 AB)
Second pregnancy verification as required by breeder.

August 16th @ 1:00 PM EDT (Day 128 AB)
Vet appointment for palpation and vaccines.

September 7th, 2021 @ 9:00 AM EDT
First pneumabort vaccine.

November 9th
Second pneumabort vaccine.

December 16th, 2021
Only 90 days left until due date! Also trailering cut-off (no more trips for Moji-mare) and switch to fescue-free forage.

January 3rd, 2022 @ 10:30 AM EST
We missed this vet check due to a snow storm.

January 14th, 2022 @ 1:00 PM EST
Vet checkup and third pneumabort vaccine.

February 10th-12th
Pre-foaling shots.
Baby is still cooking!


Foal Watch Has Started IS OVER
The milk test strips indicate that the baby should be arriving any day now. From now (02/27/2022) on I will be testing AM & PM as well as keeping an even closer eye on the camera. If she seems particularly close I will remain at the barn over night. "Last call" evening check is done between 10-11PM to determine whether or not I should bundle up and camp in my trailer.


Up next!
Baby!
The schedule right now is up to baby Mojo! As the saying goes, "the foal decides the day and the mare decides the hour." So we'll just have to see when the little one decides it's time for its big debut!


February 24th, 2022 - Day 320
Earliest safe foaling date.

March 16th, 2022 - Day 340
Average foaling date, considered Mojo's "due date."

March 18th, 2022 - Day 342
The first of my personal predicted due dates.

March 30th, 2022 - Day 354
The second of my personal predicted due dates.

April 25th, 2022 - Day 380
Generally considered the latest safe foaling date.


BABY IS HERE!
She was born just before 9AM on March 15th, 2022 (day 339).




Baby Photo Gallery

Baby's first picture (day 14 ultrasound, 04/24/2021):


Baby's first video (fetal heartbeat ultrasound, 30 days gestation, 05/10/2021):


Baby's second picture (day 61 ultrasound, 06/10/2021):


Aliens! (cross section of umbilicus at day 128 - 08/16/2021 - with a hoof underneath)


Short video of baby's heartbeat at day 280 - 01/14/2022

[spottedleaf10]

OMG CONGRATS! Good luck with the foal, I'm sure it will be beautiful! REMEMBER THOSE PICTURES!

[BlackOak2]

*claps hands in excitement*
Okay HWO (really me!) get ready to live through Silverine's mare MOJO!

HWO live-mare birth (not actually videoed for live view on here, that might be too much for our younger players), but definietly pics and picse... anc pics...

Hah! can't even type straight.

[Mlloftus]

Lol, I may be more excited than you are.

[Silverine]

OMG CONGRATS! Good luck with the foal, I'm sure it will be beautiful! REMEMBER THOSE PICTURES!

Thanks! There will definitely be SO MANY pics. Including ultrasounds and pics of momma being momma.

*claps hands in excitement*
Okay HWO (really me!) get ready to live through Silverine's mare MOJO!

HWO live-mare birth (not actually videoed for live view on here, that might be too much for our younger players), but definietly pics and picse... anc pics...

Hah! can't even type straight.

I'm definitely videoing the whole thing for myself. And probably sleeping at the barn for three weeks straight like I did with the mare that wasn't even mine. But there's no way I'm risking not being there! I won't post a birthing video here, but I'll post baby taking its first steps!

And that's okay, neither can I! Only ten days until the first "milestone" of going to the repro barn!

Lol, I may be more excited than you are.

I doubt that. I was texting back and forth with my vet, the breeder, and my barn all at the same time for about three hours yesterday. At the end of it my hands were visibly shaking and I felt like I was chewing on my heart I was so excited. And then last night I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about BABIES. I never thought I'd get to a point in my life where I actually owned and bred my own mare but it's actually happening!

[BlackOak2]

Don't forget to breath!

Don't hyperventilate on us, that happens we won't get updates!

[Silverine]

Today Mojo and I went on our last off-site trail ride for at least the next few months. I'm super paranoid about trailering pregnant mares, so we're gonna be sticking around home after she comes back from the repro barn. I thought you guys might enjoy seeing some pics from our ride.

[Silverine]

So the vet came out on Tuesday and pulled a new Coggins test as well as a fecal on miss Moji-mare. (I swear I should have named her something to do with emojis since I was always call her "Moji-mo". ) The new barn she's going to after breeding required both (she had a Coggins back in December but need one within six months) so I had an excuse to slack off of work and hang with my horse for a bit. Mojo enjoyed it:



I got the fecal results back yesterday and she had an egg count of 0. I didn't even know that was an option. I just thought all horses shed at least a little bit all the time. Now I know different.

She goes up to the repro barn on Monday! That's only four days away! I'm having a hard time believing it.