I have so enjoyed my vacation from work and went to the $5000 Grand Prix class on April 25, 2008. Such fun. Brentina was spectacular and I especially enjoyed watching Rafalca. Here are the riders in that class:
After a miserable week of waiting and Predict-a-Foal saying she should have been born 4/7or8, we have a healthy, strong, TALL, leggy filly. She is BEAUTIFUL and will shed out to the color of dad. Not a hair of white. I am so pleased with this baby.
What was not so much fun was the delivery. However, I am amazed looking back at how much control a mare has of the birth. Mare was ready for about a week and labor would start and stop the couple days before birth. I was going nuts. Turns out she could just not get baby into position. Then Tuesday morn as I was working from home and watching, I saw Allie go down in full sow pushing position with legs straight out and push for about 20 minutes. That was weird because I was sure I could not have missed water breaking. I checked and just cervical plug but no evidence of water. I called my “best vet in the world”, Dr. Paget. She came in 20 minutes. It took a while to get her bearings on this baby. First she thought breach but went deeper and found an eye. It turned out to be a “point of shoulder” presentation with cervix pushed and clamped beneath pelvic rim with uterus pushing into vaginal canal. Baby’s beautiful flexible neck was turned as if sniffing her ribcage. C-section, attempt to deliver or wait to see if mare could reposition, split second decisions. We decided to go for it. Dr. P broke placental sack and pulled legs and head into correct birthing position. Mare’s uterus was just not helping much. With much work we got to knees twice only to have filly pull neck back and put head under pelvic rim. Mare was standing whole time, so after much work we would push everything back in and reposition. Then with one person on each leg and vet holding head in position (poor mare, ow!) we had a successful delivery of a GORGEOUS and strong little girl. She stood in 10 minutes, strongly nursing in 50 minutes and next day IgG was off the charts excellent. WHEW, I am still sore shouldered today. BUT what a prize. Sorry pictures are not that great but more soon. (Angela: no way can I top your awesome action shots of your colt!)The moral of the story is, if you know your mare well and things do not feel right, call for help. You know, like Predict-a-Foal telling you “all systems go” for 8 or 9 days along with pH strips. I am so happy I called in time and avoided the stress and trauma of transporting for C-section not to mention probably death and expense. I think we may have had an hour or two max to come out with this happy ending.I learned a lot.
People suggested oxytocin but luckily with vet hospital background I knew better. Vet did not use because she said it would have made repositioning very difficult and possible injury to arms with powerful contractions. Allie’s contractions were not great and in the end it was a good thing and NO she will never be bred again. She has contributed 8 or 9 beautiful foals to the world and now coming 21 is done with having babies and she is now retired.
Allie, my awesome mare and friend, never complained (even with quite a bit of blood loss) and you would have thought a normal birth by her actions and composure afterward. Glad it is over.
I am so tired. According to my foaling test strips this mare should have had baby on 4/7 or 4/8. I am so excited but mare must be waiting for foal to position itself for the big event. Most people say these strips are “to the day”! I guess there are always exceptions!
I have been thrilled lately to watch husband, Gary, working the yearling and two year old mares daily. He has taken his natural horse savvy to the next level. He took a couple of lessons and now practices with the young mares every day. Even one day makes a big difference and now D’Lyte and Fortune are really enjoying their learning sessions. Today he requested a surcingle which did not surprise me as he has been working girls with saddle pads. Now they ground tie to an amazing degree along with other respectful interactions. I must capture on video soon!
Farrah really has not done much in the way of jumping but this week a hunter trainer/rider showed up at Creek Hollow Ranch and took her for a spin. I must say, she looked great. Cool and calm. I don’t want to rush things and want to make sure she is suitably fit so I nixed her going to Thermal for the HITS Thermal Desert Circuit show. There is plenty of time to do it right. Below is a clip of two rides James Fox did with her this week:
What should you feed a horse? Let’s think about it. In the wild a horse has the ability to eat many possibly hundreds of types of plants in a day while grazing and roaming. So when did it become OK thinking to feed a horse one type of plant for 100% of the daily diet as is most often the case.
Where I live (Southern California) many or most feed Bermuda hay in my area or perhaps only alfalfa or mix of the two. Bermuda scares the heck out of me as I see so many colics and colic surgery attributed to this type of hay balling up. It has something to do with long, thin hard to digest stems.
I am often asked for advice on feeding horses. My girls do look amazingly healthy and (knock on wood) never a colic in my life. I know, I know…..sometimes an easy keeper mare (sorry, Finesse) may have to be isolated from herd at prime feeding time so as not to hog all the good stuff. But then I cut back on the “yum mush” that I make and more small feedings throughout the day. I like the gut to have a constant processing line of nutrients.
What do I feed? Orchard Hay, 4way (2 kinds of oat grass, barley grass and small amount of alfalfa). Then maybe 5 days a week I give the “yum mush” which consists of wheat bran, beet pulp, rice bran, corn oil, lots of hot water, cut up carrots and supplements.
I just switched supplements from years of Platinum Performance (product plus shipping just became too much, good product, though) and am evaluating the Adeptus products because I can pick up locally. I adjust the mix according to body condition, training, stage of pregnancy, age, etc.
Oh, don’t forget lots of carrots, some apples and Australian soft black licorice. The licorice is the only not quite natural sin on the farm.
Also, grass permitting (almost a desert here) we try to get our girls out to graze for 30 minutes or so if we can find grass growing somewhere on the 10 acres.
I never thought I would share my precious Royal Blenheim Apricots when in season, but some of the mares like those as well and the mulberries. I do share, really!
So there you have it! The secret to our healthy, happy herd at On Q Hanoverians!
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