The Foaling Contest 2012!

[Ali Hedgestone]

It really depends on the mare. Though she looks uncomfortable enough it may be tonight. The closer they get the bigger, and more uncomfortable, they get. She is definitely closer since she is waxing up.

[Jennifer Francis]

she was uncomfortable while standing up last night so she finally layed down. I watched her till about twelve and she seemed more comfortable laying than standing but no luck she still has not foaled i hope she waits until the first around three am would be nice lol, but horses love to have there foals when no one is watching

[Jennifer Francis]

It may be just me but she looks like she is sweaty around her chest area

[Ali Hedgestone]

It's hard to tell if she is sweaty with this video. The thing I notice is she is still eating. Which probably means not tonight. Most mares I have been on foal watch with tend not to eat the night before. However, that is not always the case and some will eat like there is no tomorrow. lol

[Jennifer Francis]

yea you never really know most mares i have dealt with will only eat a few bites if anything before giving birth then there was one mare who floored me she ate right up until the time it was for her to give birth lol. im like ok your giving birth and all you want to do is eat wth but anyways i doubt it will be tonight but you never know

[Mike Bryant]

3/8 (which is actually a Full moon)
4:50 am
Chestnut w/snip on forehead
Filly

[Madelene Gilbert]

Baby on the way! Check out the feed!

[Meagan D'Amoure]

Hey all -

Red waited until I woke up from my "midnight nap" in order to foal. Literally within about 5 mins. of waking up, Breanna (my friend) came in and we sat down and watched her water break. We were out to the barn as quickly as we could be, and when we arrived there were already feet out. As I'm sure some of you saw, she was getting up and down quite frequently. The second to last time she got down, I decided to get her up and away from the wall because there was literally 3 inches between the foal's front feet and the stall wall. Even if we could have kept her there, I didn't feel it would be safe.

When she stood, she spooked at the sac that still contained the fluid.. which was what the running and kicking was about. At that point I decided to turn the cam off until she settled down, as I know some people might be unsettled. (As we were.) Within moments she had settled down and realized everything was okay, and went back down and started pushing. She had a very textbook foaling, and 10 mins. later we had a foal on the ground. I turned the cam back on in that time once she had settled down.

Unfortunately the foal was not breathing when it came out. We saw movement which the vet later described as the last reflex. Breanna and my mother scrubbed on the foal in hopes of getting it moving and breathing, but unfortunately to no avail. The vet arrived out very quickly and checked to see if there could be anything done, but by that time the foal had expired. From what the vet showed and told us, the umbilical cord was very thick in one area and you could see clotting, which likely constricted oxygen. It could have twisted around itself, around a leg, etc., at any time - not necessarily from whenever she was kicking and running. Red passed her placenta very quickly - just as soon as she stood up within about 15-20 mins it was on the ground. Everything looked good with the placenta, none of it has been retained.

Red is being left to mourn the loss of her filly and we're going to be keeping the cams off. We've given her some banamine as a precaution, but I'm not anticipating any more problems.

I'll figure out who won the foaling contest in the morning. Thanks for participating.

[Danny Warren]

That is so so sad

I am very, very sorry for your loss with the foal and hope the mare has no further problems.
I'd been on the cam here and there all day with the updates that she was close, and was super excited about it.

Sending good wishes your way.

[Jo Ferris]

awww, that's so sad. sorry for the loss of the foal

[Ali Hedgestone]

The loss of a foal is always hard. My condolences to you and Red.

[Kelley Wachter]

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of the foal, Meagan. Sometimes it is so hard to realize how dramatic a turn a "textbook" foaling can take-- and very quickly. That is the hard part, emotionally, for me anyway. We, too, have had a rough foaling week-- lost one that came over a month early, had two dystocias (one pretty severe) that made it though the one mare has been touch and go since Tuesday, and a red bag presentation that resulted in the foal having to be tubed with a gastro-nasal tube, and who knows what tonight will bring with several mares waxed and 50mph wind gusts predicted! So hang in there and hopefully Red stays healthy and her future as a a momma may be realized next season!

[LA Pepper]

My extreme condolences. Horses can certainly disappoint more so than most other things. I was looking forward to newsw of your new arrival. I didn't go to the cam except once, when I got a picture of an empty stall with a pile in it (!). So much planning, and so much waiting for a foal . . . But I hope the mare is doing great and I hopr you soon start to look forward to the next project, whatever that may be

[Madelene Gilbert]

Meagan, I'm so sorry. I was watching the feed last night right up until she started running around the stall and camera turned off (around 1:40am my time), but from what I saw you and your team/friends were taking good care of Red. I hope she has a speedy recovery from the birth and good luck to both of you...

[Nan Lanson]

I'm so sorry about your foal. I hope that Red recuperates quickly. Thanks for letting us peek in on her.