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

[Silverine]

Let me know when you're around and I can give you the rest through chat

[BlackOak2]

Ooh!!!

So Exciting!

[Silverine]

02/27/2022 AM Update

Foal watch tonight? We'll see.

Some exciting news from this morning. The test strips are finally showing a significant change in Mojo's milk pH.
The green is somewhere between the non-foaling and foaling range and the yellow is solidly in the 40% (non-foaling) box. Based on these I definitely won't be skipping any tests, but based on milk color and taste we should still have at least 12 hours until baby hits the ground.



As you can see, Mojo's milk is still definitely amber. But it's also definitely not clear anymore. This indicates things are happening but we're not at the "end stage" yet. It's also still salty to the taste. When birth is imminent the milk will be a lot closer to white and will taste sweet. Still, these changes can come on very quickly - especially in maiden mares.

At this point I'm not sure if I'll be sleeping at the barn tonight or not. I'm going to test again around 6PM (those that have camera access can feel free to tune in) and I'll make my decision then. As of right this moment I don't think she'll have the baby tonight. I do think it'll come soon. Sometime this week, possibly. But I've said that before so we'll see what actually happens.

And here's a picture of Mojo on the 23rd. Definitely ready to kick this kid out.

[Silverine]

02/27/2022 Early PM Update

Foal Watch Tonight
Night 1

Firstly - I am not convinced the baby will come tonight. The test strips, however, say "maybe" so I'm going to be safe and keep an extra close eye on things. I think baby is more likely to show up tomorrow, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Though I'll feel kind of bad if it's after midnight tomorrow night because then Jet will have to share his birthday.

Anyway, I'm at home right now but will be going back out to the barn between 10 and 11 PM to do another milk test. As of right now the strips indicate soon, but the color is still off and the taste is not yet sweet. It's also not as salty as this morning, so things are definitely changing, but I personally don't think we're there yet.

[Silverine]

02/28/2022 AM Update

Foal Watch
Interlude 1

At AM check today we are at basically exactly the same state as late evening check yesterday. The main difference is that Mojo has started getting the tiniest little bit of wax on her left teat. And I mean tiny. Like a single drop at both openings. But still, that's more than we had before. And some mares don't wax at all, so...

[Toadally]

...

That's exciting! I bet Mojo's ready to get the little one out already!

I know I always say this but seriously, how has time gone by so fast?!

[Silverine]

03/01/2022 PM Update

Foal Watch
Night 3 (& belated Night 2)

So Mojo has definitely entered the "zeppelin" phase of pregnancy.



She looks sooo done. Poor girl. I give her lots of love and scratches to try and make up for the discomfort.

Last night was uneventful. She wandered around a little bit but just kept to her usual routine. Wander around, eat, sleep, walk over to the camera and poop in front of it ( ), then wander around some more. She was the same this morning, though definitely seems more tired than usual.

This evening she was clearly uncomfortable. I watched her on the camera for a bit in the afternoon and she was obviously sore in her back legs, shifting from one to the other every minute or so. I checked her legs and hooves when I got out to be sure there wasn't anything suspect going on but there's no heat or swelling anywhere so I'm confident that she's just feeling baby's extra weight back there. She also actually pinned her ears when I first went back toward her stomach. That's the first time she has ever pinned her ears at me.

After looking her over I asked her to move around a bit just because she's mostly been standing still and the movement helps get everything where it's supposed to be going. She was a little "head flippy" which with her usually means discomfort somewhere. When I was done "chasing" her I stood with her for a bit and just held one hand on her belly and I actually felt the baby kick! It was so crazy! I thought for a brief moment that Mojo had had a really strange gas bubble but then my brain kicked in and realized what it was. I'm wondering if part of Mojo's discomfort today was the baby moving around more than usual and making her cranky.

Anyway, the milk test shows progress toward the foaling range but isn't quite there yet. With that and how her belly and hind end looked today I don't think we'll see baby tonight. Still, her milk was much more chalky than before and her belly is definitely expanding faster than it was. I'm keeping an eye on the camera tonight and will see how things look in the morning.

[KingstonDressage]

How should I join the camera?

[FantasyRanch3]

After Mojo has her foal you'll have to keep us updated on how the foal comes along and later on when it starts training

[Silverine]

After Mojo has her foal you'll have to keep us updated on how the foal comes along and later on when it starts training

This little one will be in training from the second it hits the ground, basically. Nothing overwhelming, but we're doing basic desensitization (plastic bags, rags, etc) as soon as it hits the ground. Then halter and leg handling, etc from day 1.

I'm also planning to train it for driven dressage once it's old enough. I've never done that before so that'll be an adventure.