3 posts tagged “expected foal”
Annie had a little surprise for me when I went out to the barn this morning: a nice little filly foal on the ground. Nevermind that she was a good 2 weeks earlier than even her supposedly usual 2 weeks early, or that, while bagging up nicely, she hadn't shown any sign that foaling was immanent. ::sigh:: Mares. What can you do?
I now have to call my boss and see if it's okay to push my scheduled PTO up a week (or at least part of it). And then the vet to get her out to look at mom and baby before she goes on vacation. I will post pictures later.
Just had to share a couple of pics of one of my barn cats (Owen) on his quest to rid the barn of birds...
In other news, it's damp and cold here (my least favourite combination). We did need the rain, though, so I try not to complain too much. Myf has finally lost all but the last little bit of her winter hair & is much darker now than in the last set of pictures. Annie continues to expand. How she is going to carry that baby another month is beyond me. I have visions of her getting stuck in her stalldoor a la Winnie the Pooh, she's gettting so big. (She won't, of course, but it's hard not to have the thought when seeing her lumbering up to the door to say hi.)
Still no real preferences on what to name Annie's baby if it's a filly. I'm debating whether I should go Arthurian (my current inclination) or other fantasy character name. My theme, if you will, for naming is fairytale/myth/fantasy/scifi characters. This gives me a large pool, though can make decision making difficult.
It is nasty-cold out today, aided by a strong North-West wind. I'd been downright warm the last few weeks (30 and occasional 40 degree days), and this plunge into the single digits and lower teens is particularly shocking because of it.
The downturn in the weather was just in time for my farrier appointment this morning. I froze my fingers standing in the 3 degree barn holding five horses whilst they got their toes trimmed. Merry & Zahr didn't need much, Myf and Gimli were long, but still shapely, Annie's hooves were both long and ugly. They weren't the nicest shape when I got her (though recently trimmed, so there was no point in having my farrier do her the time he came out right after I brought her home), and the additional length didn't do them any favours. They look lovely now. Brian (my farrier) always does a lovely job of trimming to produce neat, shapely little hooves.
Seeing her everyday as I do, I couldn't decide if Annie was really looking pregnant or if it was just hair (which she's shedding already) and not being skinny anymore that was making me think she was. When I brought her out for her trim, though, Brian asked if she was bred and when she was due, commenting that he would have guessed she was due sooner than July, so it's not just me thinking she's looking gravid. From what I've been told of her breeding history, she tends to have large foals, so I'm thinking this one's not going to be any different on that score.
I have no capability of deciding if I'd rather it were a colt or a filly, both options have their positives and negatives. I suppose it's just as well -- either result will be equally as pleasing. Of course, I have a colt name all picked out (Peregrin -- Pippin -- to go with Merry), and no real favourites for a filly. Something to think about (along with getting more paddocks fenced in) whilst I wait, I suppose.
I should call my vet soon to set up an appointment for everybody's spring check-ups, though I dread having her visit fall on another bad weather dip like today. You just know it would.
