# **Flicka's 2011 Foaling Thread**



## PintoTess (Aug 18, 2010)

YAya , can't wait to see the foal!


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## uppidycowgirl (Feb 6, 2011)

Can you please clarify this fillies age... I see it says 3 but find it hard to believe that she was bred as a two year old... or maybe she is going to be 4 soon? Gosh I hope so....


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## myhorsesonador (Jun 21, 2009)

uppidycowgirl said:


> Can you please clarify this fillies age... I see it says 3 but find it hard to believe that she was bred as a two year old... or maybe she is going to be 4 soon? Gosh I hope so....


I was thinking the same thing


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## Scoope (Oct 19, 2010)

uppidycowgirl said:


> Can you please clarify this fillies age... I see it says 3 but find it hard to believe that she was bred as a two year old... or maybe she is going to be 4 soon? Gosh I hope so....


I sincerely hope so - although it wouldn't be the first time somebody bred a wee baby, is alittle sick to breed a 2 year old IMHO


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## kywalkinghorse2010 (Dec 9, 2010)

I don't know what all the hype is about breeding two year olds. They're reproductive systems are all there and a lot of them are coming into heat and going through their regular cycles by the age of 2. A lot of farms that have broodmares start them as broodmares at age 2 to foal at 3 years old. I know that they're young and they are more likely to have some risks when foaling. I, personally, wouldn't breed a two year old filly, but I would breed at 3 for foaling at 4.


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

I agree with the above poster. I _personally_ wouldn't breed a two year old, but wild horses have also been known to breed as young as a year old. It's natural for them to do so, when they come into heat, they're ready (according to nature) to foal.

My little accident colt was born to a two year old mother. The stud colt matured a bit quicker then usual and managed to sire a colt before he got the snips. The dam is perfectly healthy and growing normally. If I do recall, she's turning three this year.


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## uppidycowgirl (Feb 6, 2011)

twogeldings said:


> I agree with the above poster. I _personally_ wouldn't breed a two year old, but wild horses have also been known to breed as young as a year old. It's natural for them to do so, when they come into heat, they're ready (according to nature) to foal.
> 
> My little accident colt was born to a two year old mother. The stud colt matured a bit quicker then usual and managed to sire a colt before he got the snips. The dam is perfectly healthy and growing normally. If I do recall, she's turning three this year.


From someone who has adopted and saved numerous wild horses and have been involved with mustangs for a long time, I have to say that although they breed young in the wild, the mortality rate is very high!! So why risk it, and why not wait til the filly is fully developed... Also just because she comes into heat doesn't mean she needs to be bred... hmm young girls start having a period at 11 and 12.... so does that mean they are mentally or physically ready to be a mother.... I think not...


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

uppidycowgirl said:


> Can you please clarify this fillies age... I see it says 3 but find it hard to believe that she was bred as a two year old... or maybe she is going to be 4 soon? Gosh I hope so....


I understand your concern here. Flicka is going to be 4 this spring. I never planned on even purchasing her originally. I decided on a whim to just go out and see her and the other horses the man had for sale. He had some VERY nice AQHA and APHA broodmares for sale for very cheap. But something about Flicka had me hooked. She was the worse looking of them all. She was very underweight and she had lice really bad, needed vaccinated and wormed. The man said she wasn't what he wanted so he just bred her to his stud. I am so happy I decided to take her... $300 bought a wonderful little mare. She is very shy still and fidgety but she is starting to trust me slowly but surely. I have only had her since October 2010. I am just hoping all goes well with her pregnancy and delivery


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

Hello everyone! Today marks Flicka's 325th day pregnant. I just peeked at her bags this morning under her blanket and she has a much larger bag than she has had the last week or so. Still not full by any means. I will be going out later this afternoon and take her blanket off and groom her out and get some updated pictures.

I also have a question... now Flicka was malnurished when I bought her and we went into a VERY cold fall, by end of October we were seeing some negatives at night. Flicka had a serious case of something that caused a lot of her hair to fall out, so I blanketed her. Now she is getting close to foaling and a lot of people have mentioned I need to take her blanket off, but we are still hitting the 20's and below at night and unfortunately I am not lucky enough to have a barn or a fully enclosed stall (she has a three walled stall) I took off her back leg straps for foaling so no one would get tangled up. I am just curious of everyone's opinion on what I should do. Thanks so much!


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## uppidycowgirl (Feb 6, 2011)

skipper, I am glad to hear it wasnt you who bred her... It sounds like you are giving her a great home, glad you chose her when you were looking to buy.. I personally would never leave a blanket on a mare that is about to foal... too many things can happen, but I do realize your concern about the temps and her not having any hair... is there someplace you can move her to where there is a barn....


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

uppidycowgirl said:


> skipper, I am glad to hear it wasnt you who bred her... It sounds like you are giving her a great home, glad you chose her when you were looking to buy.. I personally would never leave a blanket on a mare that is about to foal... too many things can happen, but I do realize your concern about the temps and her not having any hair... is there someplace you can move her to where there is a barn....


There are a couple people that I do know that might allow me to move her for a little while but I am not for sure. I was thinking about hooking up a couple heat lamps in her stall that way she would have a warm place to be. Her stall has a lot of straw in it right now too and I already have a liner and a regular blanket ready for the foal when it is born


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## uppidycowgirl (Feb 6, 2011)

Skipper, it sounds like you made the right choice in getting this mare... I am sure she is way better off with you then the man who use to own her... so now to you question... As you have been told, having a blanket on the mare is not wise when she is going to foal, even with the back straps off... mares tend to roll a lot when foaling and this will cause the blanket to get twisted up and could be a possible hazard for the foal.... My first choice would be to see if you can move her to someplace she can be inside... and if that is not possible, then I would just give her some extra grain at night with some hay so she can munch if she wants... horses keep their body temps up while digesting food so that will help her stay warm... Also unless your shelter is blocked in, she more then likely will NOT have the foal in there, mares like to make our lives difficult..as you will find out... ) just realized that my other post took, I thought it didnt, sorry for doubling up, but a heat lamp will be a good idea also... good luck and stay in touch!


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

uppidycowgirl said:


> From someone who has adopted and saved numerous wild horses and have been involved with mustangs for a long time, I have to say that although they breed young in the wild, the mortality rate is very high!! So why risk it, and why not wait til the filly is fully developed... Also just because she comes into heat doesn't mean she needs to be bred... hmm young girls start having a period at 11 and 12.... so does that mean they are mentally or physically ready to be a mother.... I think not...


I completely see your point. Nature obviously isn't interested in mental maturity and there is a _load_ of risks involved in breeding young. Many do make it through the pregnancy, foaling, and raising okay. In the wild, they have so many things stacked against them it's amazing how the manage to survive day by day. 

Like I said, I would never personally breed that young. I gave my colt Red an extra year just to mature mentally and physically before breaking him to ride. I could have done it when he was four, but that extra year made a world of difference. 

It's _always_ better to let a horse mature regardless if it's riding or breeding. But, if it was a true accident or if the mare was bought already pregnant. Then I don't see too much concern about it. So long as she is well cared for with a vet on-call, the whole ordeal should go over well.  Even mature, experienced mares have problem pregnancies sometimes. Some things just can't be avoided.


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

uppidycowgirl said:


> Skipper, it sounds like you made the right choice in getting this mare... I am sure she is way better off with you then the man who use to own her... so now to you question... As you have been told, having a blanket on the mare is not wise when she is going to foal, even with the back straps off... mares tend to roll a lot when foaling and this will cause the blanket to get twisted up and could be a possible hazard for the foal.... My first choice would be to see if you can move her to someplace she can be inside... and if that is not possible, then I would just give her some extra grain at night with some hay so she can munch if she wants... horses keep their body temps up while digesting food so that will help her stay warm... Also unless your shelter is blocked in, she more then likely will NOT have the foal in there, mares like to make our lives difficult..as you will find out... ) just realized that my other post took, I thought it didnt, sorry for doubling up, but a heat lamp will be a good idea also... good luck and stay in touch!


 Thanks for the tip! I am working on seeing if I can get her moved to a better facility.


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

_Good afternoon everyone! Flicka is at 326 days today and her bag has filled a lot more over night. I WILL get photos today of her and try and get them posted by this evening. Regarding the blanket issue and trying to move her to a better facility, it doesn't look like it is going to happen. The people that have the nice barn that is fully enclosed is full with mares ready to foal as well. We decided we are going to panel off her stall area ( she will have approx. 20 foot long by 13 foot wide of an area). She will be closed off during the night, we are also going to hook up two heat lamps so we can get her blanket off of her so we don't risk any injury to her or the foal. During the day though she will be turned out in her big pasture. It has been trying to hit about 50* during the days here so she wont be needing her blanket during days._

_Will make sure and get some photos up that are updated! Thanks for all who reads and follows _


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## uppidycowgirl (Feb 6, 2011)

I am sure everything will turn out fine!!! The heat lamps will help alot!! keep up updated, cant wait to see the baby!!!


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Waitin' on a baby! Maidens, it's always rough, isn't it? When Lulu was a maiden she didn't show any of the signs--no wax, no laying down, no biting at her sides, nothin'. Hope everything goes smoothly


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## Jacksmama (Jan 27, 2010)

Yep, last maiden on the farm to foal looked like she was weeks off. Went to feed one morning and we found an adorable little pink filly in the stall with her! And yes, for a while after birth she was pink! Cutest thing ever, BO was keeping mama til she foaled because the owners had no experience with it so I haven't seen her since she was a few weeks old, but I believe she ended up being a pally like her mama. I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well for you and Flicka!!!!!


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

uppidycowgirl said:


> I am sure everything will turn out fine!!! The heat lamps will help alot!! keep up updated, cant wait to see the baby!!!


 _Thank you! I am super excited to see the baby too! _


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

equiniphile said:


> Waitin' on a baby! Maidens, it's always rough, isn't it? When Lulu was a maiden she didn't show any of the signs--no wax, no laying down, no biting at her sides, nothin'. Hope everything goes smoothly


 _I know! I have been pretty good lately with not over analyzing anything she does. She does look pretty miserable today though. And she is having very loose stools too. Hopefully she decides to go while we are having such nice sunny days! _


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

Jacksmama said:


> Yep, last maiden on the farm to foal looked like she was weeks off. Went to feed one morning and we found an adorable little pink filly in the stall with her! And yes, for a while after birth she was pink! Cutest thing ever, BO was keeping mama til she foaled because the owners had no experience with it so I haven't seen her since she was a few weeks old, but I believe she ended up being a pally like her mama. I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well for you and Flicka!!!!!


 _Oh wow! I have a baby monitor set up in the stalled area and I can hear real well, and have been leaving it on all night for the last week. Thats another reason I am going to end up closing her off at night. Thanks for the good foaling vibes! _


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## momo3boys (Jul 7, 2010)

Can't wait to hear about the new baby! Good luck! and go mama!


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

I would just put a bunch of grass hay in with her at night, so she has something to do to help keep her body temperature up. Their natural instinct when they start getting cold, is to buddy up with other horses if they have them, and eat food. I could always tell when it had gotten really cold during the night, because I would go out to feed, and my mare would go crazy until she had her food, and had started warming up. She would be pacing her stall, and would bowl you over if you went in her stall to feed her, and she's definitely not a food aggressive horse. Just make sure your mare has access to food, and if the stall is fully enclosed, she should be able to stay fairly warm. I can't wait to see what the baby looks like.


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

momo3boys said:


> Can't wait to hear about the new baby! Good luck! and go mama!


 Thanks! We are so excited to finally see this little one


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

dressagebelle said:


> I would just put a bunch of grass hay in with her at night, so she has something to do to help keep her body temperature up. Their natural instinct when they start getting cold, is to buddy up with other horses if they have them, and eat food. I could always tell when it had gotten really cold during the night, because I would go out to feed, and my mare would go crazy until she had her food, and had started warming up. She would be pacing her stall, and would bowl you over if you went in her stall to feed her, and she's definitely not a food aggressive horse. Just make sure your mare has access to food, and if the stall is fully enclosed, she should be able to stay fairly warm. I can't wait to see what the baby looks like.


 _Thanks for the ideas. We did a lot of work over this weekend and decided that over night we are going to close her off in her stall. We got it lined very heavily with good quality straw. I feed her a little extra hay at night and through the baby monitor you can hear her munching throughout most of the night. The weather got up to 60* yesterday and last night it was about 35* or so... we are finally starting to warm up a bit so her not having a blanket on is much easier. I will get some photos up in a while. She hasn't changed a whole lot physically, her bags went back down yesterday but this morning they were a bit fuller. It *almost* looks like the baby might be trying to move into position, she is looking like her tummy is dropping._


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

I can't wait until she has the baby. Hopefully she does it while the weather is warmer. It sounds like she got a very good home with someone who really want to make sure she has the best life possible.


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

dressagebelle said:


> I can't wait until she has the baby. Hopefully she does it while the weather is warmer. It sounds like she got a very good home with someone who really want to make sure she has the best life possible.


  _Thank you so much for your kind words, they really mean a lot to me. She is in good hands and to be quite honest is rather spoiled rotten, but thats true of all my horses. She is still holding that baby in there away from us, but her bag is getting slightly fuller and she isn't losing as much throughout the day either... she is at 331 days today _


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

Hurry up and have your baby . Sending birthing vibes your way. Maybe they'll work lol.


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

_lol oh i sure hope they do! I am wanting the baby to come NOW! I am logging off to go make my night rounds and check on all the horseys. I will update tomorrow if we have any changes _


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

Subscribing! I love foals!


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

*So sorry I haven't been on in a little while, things have been hectic and crazy around here. "Flicka's" owner's decided they want nothing to do with her anymore so I assumed full ownership of her last week, and she got a new name, Roxanne, or Roxy. *

*Anyways, today Roxy is at day 347 and still holding that little one in there away from us. She has made a few slight changes, her bags are filled much more, they are really hard to the touch and the poor thing is very sore and uncomfortable. She looks like she MIGHT be dropping a bit lower in her belly. She has a swollen area on the underside of her stomach in front of her teets about 10 inches or so. I am assuming it has something to do with her bags filling on the baby's position.*

*I don't have any current photos right now, but I will try and get some by the weekend. And when she does finally have it I will for sure be posting away with lots of pictures.*

*I have to leave March 26 to go to New Mexico and will return April 3. I am really really hoping she doesn't hold on that long and has it while I am gone, although my fiance and dad will be here, but he isn't super knowledgable when it comes to this stuff.... ugh so stressful! *


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

oh my gosh..I don't know how you are handling it..it worries me to death..I hope she has baby soon and everything goes great!!!


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## horsesroqke (Nov 5, 2009)

Eeep! I really hope she foals soon, and kudos to you for taking her. Subscribing, I love babies!

<3 Good luck!


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

DrumRunner said:


> oh my gosh..I don't know how you are handling it..it worries me to death..I hope she has baby soon and everything goes great!!!


 * I am chuggin along. It has really been stressful on me, I just want her to have a smooth and safe delivery! I am really starting to think this little foal will be such a wonderful barrel futurity prospect! I am getting really excited to see the hip and legs on this one! Thank you so much for your support, it really means a lot *


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

*We had wax this morning! I was out feeding and I always make it a habit to check her bags and look her over every morning and she has wax! I am trying not to get super excited about it because she likes to play mean tricks on me, but I sure am hoping thats a sign from her that she is getting closer.*


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## Jacksmama (Jan 27, 2010)

That's a very good sign! Nothing is guaranteed but that normally means she will go soon! YAY baby!


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

Jacksmama said:


> That's a very good sign! Nothing is guaranteed but that normally means she will go soon! YAY baby!


 *Yay! *


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

omg..I'm like on the edge of my seat and I keep checking my phone to see if anything has happened..I'm so excited for you..


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

DrumRunner said:


> omg..I'm like on the edge of my seat and I keep checking my phone to see if anything has happened..I'm so excited for you..


 *lol me too! As soon as that baby decides to come I will have many pictures posted on here for all to see *


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## reblynne (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm so excited to see the baby.... Yay!! I'm subscribing.... Please post pictures and info as soon as you can....


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## SMCLeenie (Mar 3, 2011)

Best of luck to you and Roxy! Hope all goes well and I can't wait to see pictures!


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

reblynne said:


> I'm so excited to see the baby.... Yay!! I'm subscribing.... Please post pictures and info as soon as you can....


 *I will work on getting photos. Things have been crazy, we were expecting a week full of nasty rain storms and then around 7:30am we started getting slammed with a huge snow storm, so we are working like crazy trying to get things cleaned up in Roxy's pen and trying to keep everything as dry and clean as possible.*


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

just checking in and seeing how things are going..hope everything is good!!


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## GarlicBread (Oct 7, 2010)

I can't wait to see the foal!!  how exciting! I'll be checking for updates!


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## jess93 (Oct 14, 2010)

Hope all goes well carnt wait to see baby
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

All is well with Roxy so far, not a lot of big changes, her bags filled a bit larger last week but now they have gone down some again. She is just tricky tricky. I will be gone starting March 26 until April 3 to New Mexico, I have a feeling she will foal when I am gone. I have been running "foaling drills" with my dad and my fiance to prepare them. The officially think I have lost it lol


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## ButtInTheDirt (Jan 16, 2011)

Well, I read on page for that you said her teats were painfully full. If you can, I'd suggest you try and milk her out a little bit? I'm not sure if you are supposed to, but perhaps look into that. The first milk does have special antibodies that increase the foal's immunity, so I don't know if that would really be a good idea. (Well, with most animals the first milk has the immunity inhancing antibodies and such, so I'm just assuming it's the same with all mamals.)

But anyway, I hope you have good luck with your foaling and such. ^^


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

ButtInTheDirt said:


> Well, I read on page for that you said her teats were painfully full. If you can, I'd suggest you try and milk her out a little bit? I'm not sure if you are supposed to, but perhaps look into that. The first milk does have special antibodies that increase the foal's immunity, so I don't know if that would really be a good idea. (Well, with most animals the first milk has the immunity inhancing antibodies and such, so I'm just assuming it's the same with all mamals.)
> 
> But anyway, I hope you have good luck with your foaling and such. ^^


Thanks for the suggestion. Roxy had a large bag and then the next morning she wasn't filled quite as much. She is playing tricks on me and trying to make my life miserable! lol I was out messing with her a bit today and her belly is looking super low, from behind her sides are rather flat looking... hopefully the foal is trying to move into position and come out soon!


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## EveningShadows (May 18, 2009)

So excited for you and Roxy! Good luck, hope all goes well! 

As a note - don't milk her! They get tender but that's the most important feeding to get into baby's belly...


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## Kaibear (Mar 4, 2011)

Just came across this post...how is she doing today? Can't wait to see pics!


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## Ladybug2001 (Mar 15, 2011)

I as well just came across this foal, I feel your pain in the waiting game. My mare did the same exact thing, wait wait and more wait. I hope all goes as well for you as it did for me, being a first time grandma and all is pretty scare.  Heh, do keep everyone posted, beautiful horse and I'm sure her foal will be just as well.


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## sweetaspiexlove (Mar 10, 2011)

Oh, we need pictures soon!! I'm about as excited as you are right now!!


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## netty83 (Sep 21, 2010)

just came across this too. Just wanted to say i'm glad you didn't move her from her normal home at this time in her pregnancy. The less stress for the mare the better and obviously staying in her normal stable etc etc is always the best option if at all possible. looking forward to when the foal arrives. It could be a race to see who foals first as my mare has just started bagging but from the sounds of it could take a while if your mare is anything to go by haha


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## Tennille (Mar 20, 2011)

eakkk i am pumped to see the pictures !


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## lacyloo (Jul 1, 2008)

Subbing !


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

waiting and waiting...I can't imagine how Skipper is feeling..


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

So so sorry I haven't been on with any updates lately. Roxy hadn't shown many changes until today! She was just acting off and sure enough at 12:33am today (March 25, 2011) She had a beautiful buckskin colt! He is healthy and well! It took him quite a while to figure out how to nurse and Roxy wasn't too sure about it at first but he finally drank some before I went inside. But he passed his first poop before he even stood all the way up. He is just precious, he already has quite the little personality and he is only Three hours old right now!

Mama had blanket on during foaling and had no issues, but I decided to pull it for the night so he has an easier time nursing. I will have some photos tomorrow i am exhausted and am going to head off to bed.


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## netty83 (Sep 21, 2010)

wow congratulations!!!!!! can't wait to see foal, any names picked yet?


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

Ahhhhhhh...im so excited for you!
..I cant wait to see pitures!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Kaibear (Mar 4, 2011)

Woohoo! Congrats! Looking forward to lots of pics!!


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## HUSAngel (Apr 18, 2010)

NOOOOO! Don't milk her out! You don't want to lose that very important cholestrum! (sp)


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## SMCLeenie (Mar 3, 2011)

Yeay! Congratulations, I'm glad everything went well for you and I can't wait for pics!


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## AnnaLover (Sep 27, 2009)

Did I miss something... like maybee... PICTURES?!?!


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

I know! I got an email on my phone then and got all excited about someone posting on here and thought it was skippers and it was such a let down..lol
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

So sorry I haven't gotten photos up earlier, but I have been out of town and was supposed to return Sunday, but because of snow in Denver we got delayed and just got in today!~
Here are some pictures of Tonka, he is doing very well and so is Roxy!


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## SkippersPointPerformance (Feb 8, 2011)

SkippersPointPerformance said:


> So sorry I haven't gotten photos up earlier, but I have been out of town and was supposed to return Sunday, but because of snow in Denver we got delayed and just got in today!~
> Here are some pictures of Tonka, he is doing very well and so is Roxy!


you may not be able to see them on here but if you right click the little squares and open the image in a new tab/screen you should see them


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

Darn..still can't see them..
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Scoope (Oct 19, 2010)

me neither


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## Ladybug2001 (Mar 15, 2011)

Neither can I. D:


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

Drat...can't see em...


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