# Recent photos of my mare!



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Hi all!

Sorry to bore you guys again, but it seems like almost every day I see little changes in my pregnant mare! So I thought I would post some photos. 

First one is a whole body shot. She actually looks a little less pregnant since she shed out nearly all of her winter coat, but the belly is still there, it's just that the hair is not making her look like a wooly mammoth. She is getting quite wide when viewed from the front and the back! 

Then there is the first vulva picture I have ever taken! Doesn't it look rather relaxed like they say pregnant mares get before they foal? It isn't always this droopy, but it is becoming more and more frequent that I see it this way. 

I *think* that she will be due sometime in July, but that is a total guess since I bought her pregnant and she was pasture bred. But I think her last foal, according to the last owner, was born in July. 

Okay, and here is another udder shot. Doesn't she have the strangest udder ever? But I guess 9 foals will do that to you! 

So does she still look on target for July? I guess I am almost wondering if she could be due sooner? I guess it depends on if she was bred on the foal heat AND if her last foal was born in July. And even if it was, I have no idea what part of July it was born in. :-|

I really can see and feel the baby kick now, on an almost daily basis. It's actually become kind of a feeding time ritual, to feed everyone, pick up manure, and watch to see if I can see the foal kick! He really moves around a lot. Sometimes it kicks, sometimes it's like a bowling ball rolling in her gut! 

Anyway, I just thought I would share. And any comments are very welcome! I'm just getting very excited! (I go back and forth between very excited and worried, lol!)


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

I still say I wont be surprised if she has that baby before July, even well before, though I know generally it isn't possible, I just wonder if her previous owners made a calculation error or were incorrect about the month the previous foal was born. She just looks so big! That being said, the vulva can relax very early, it certainly did in Freyja! Is she producing milk or any kinds of substance in her udder, or is it just swelling?

Don't apologise, and definitely keep posting updates of Izzy, I'm about as excited for her to foal as I was for my own mare!!


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

_Don't apologise, and definitely keep posting updates of Izzy, I'm about as excited for her to foal as I was for my own mare!!

_Awe thanks! 

When I went to try Izzy out back at the end of October, she had a foal at her side and I thought it looked rather young, so I asked him how old it was, and he said 3 months. But I don't know if that is accurate or not.... it was just off the top of his head. Wouldn't it be great if she were due sooner?! 

But originally I didn't think she was due until August or September, so I've really moved the date up already. So I don't know if she is really that much farther along, or I'm just getting really excited! But baby sure moves a lot. If I watch her for any length of time, I will usually see it move. 

A week or two ago, she seemed to have a little fluid on the tip of the larger teat. And I could squeeze some out. Right now it doesn't seem to be coming out on it's own, but I'm sure I could express some if I wanted to. It was/ is an off-white but opaque color. 

One of the books I have has you checking the milk to see if it changes color, but then other folks have told me not to express any milk because it might encourage her to leak colostrum when it's time for that. She tends to have a leaky teat anyway, so I guess I'm a little afraid I will encourage it to leak later on, which wouldn't be a good thing. I have been joking about super-gluing it if it springs a leak early. :lol:

I have still been riding her every 2-3 days and she was lethargic there for a few rides, but then the last time I rode her she had a really nice spring in her step. So I guess I'll just play it by ear. If I think she is starting to waddle or have trouble, I will quit riding her. But as long as she seems okay, I think the exercise is probably good for her. At least that's what my horsie friends say. 

Speaking of which, I have friend who bought a mare at the same place who is also in foal, and she thinks her mare is due in July, but her horse doesn't look nearly as big as mine! But her horse is also a lot younger, around 8, and Izzy is 16 and has had 9 foals that I know of, 10 including this one, so I'm sure that's why she has so much more sag to everything, lol. 

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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Most my hands on experience with mares has been right at delivery, so going through the whole pregnancy with Freyja was a new one for me, too. I notices she got really miserable-seeming and slow from about 8-4 weeks before Fiona was born, but the last four weeks before she delivered it's like she got a spirit booster, was galloping around the paddock and seemed much more lively. Maybe once the foal gets in position they have much less pressure/discomfort? Idk


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