If Danesa has read the book . . .

[PasoVicki]

She's due in 20 days (May 23rd).

These side views were taken on Sunday:



http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g239/SoCalPaso/Side.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g239/SoCalPaso/Side2.jpg

And the rest were taken this morning. The last two aren't very good; there was no one around to hold her still, and she kept leaning into me when I tried to photo underneath -- and then I had to stand behind her until she swished her tail.



http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g239/SoCalPaso/Rear.jpg


http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g239/SoCalPaso/DoYouMind.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g239/SoCalPaso/Under.jpg

She's been like this for a couple of weeks.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g239/SoCalPaso/Backend.jpg


Her tail is definitely more lax now, and she's moving awkwardly. I feel sorry for her.

Vicki

[Cindy]

I think you might want to keep an eye on her LONG before 20 days from now. Like maybe pretty soon. Give us a better pic of her teets. Has she foaled before? I can't remember.

[Barbwire]

Pretty mare, see how she shines. :D

[Linda Y]

My goodness she has a beautiful coat!
I am going with the before 20 days, too.

[PasoVicki]

How much before 20 days??????? This is her third, my first. She's calm; I'm a nervous wreck.

I'll try for a better photo of the teat, if I can get her to stand in position for long enough. My digital camera has an extremely slow shutter speed. And, yes, I do mean "the teat." When I bought her last summer, she was pregnant but nursing a colt. When the seller weaned the colt, she got mastitis. The seller was very professional about it; he offered to cancel the sale and return my money . . . but the vet assured me that the new foal wouldn't have been affected by the mastitis and that Danesa would have enough milk for the new foal for at least 30 days, after which we will have to start creep feeding. Of course, now that we're so close to foaling, those assurances don't seem QUITE so reassuring. Like I said, I'm a wreck.

Vicki

[Brigitte]

Pretty girl, what a coat! Can't wait for the foal

[Pasogirlz]

She looks lovely. Reminds me of my Mina. 8-) I can't wait to see what she foals. I bet it is a beauty!

[CarolU]

Vicki, she's a beautiful mare....I think she shines with your love....

Maybe we'll BOTH get Mother's Day fillies!

[Blameitonbrio]

Vicki, what a beautiful horse you have. My favorite picture is the rear shot!

[Barbwire]

Hate to sound stewpid, but I thought mastitus was treatable and the affected teats are fine after treatment. Did she have the bad one removed? :confused

[Abejita]

if you dont catch it to treat it it can block the affected side premanently. Maravilla, who is now 25 had this happen sometime in her life..one side works the other didnt..and we never had to creep feed..she milked like a dairy cow..

[PasoVicki]

Not a stupid question at all, Barbwire. This is one of those cases of poor veterinary advise making a situation worse. When Danesa first developed the mastitis, the "first vet" told the (previous) owner NOT to treat it, except to spray the teat with water and massage it and NOT to milk it to reduce the swelling. After more than a week, the owner called another vet, who said the mastitis should have been treated more aggressively and that the mammary tissue had been damaged to the point where that side wouldn't make milk anymore. So nothing has been removed, but one side isn't functional.

Vicki

[Cindy]

How does the vet know that that side will not make milk any more?

Other than that, she looks pretty full in the bag from the pictures that you posted. But it is hard to tell from the angle. She also looks a bit elongated in her vulva. If you have also seen marked differences in her physical appearence, she might be very close. What are her breeding dates?

[PasoVicki]

I don't know how the second vet knew that the mastitis side wouldn't make milk anymore, but it seems that he was correct. One side is "bagged up" with a very prominent nipple. On the other side, I can't even see the nipple unless I really search for it; it's still in pre-pregnancy condition.

Her vulva has noticably elongated over the past couple of days. Does that mean she is close? Her former owner didn't give me her exact breeding date(s); he only told me the foal was due on or around May 23rd. So I've been using May 23rd as the 340th day. I have everything ready, though, so I can start watching her more closely at night. (I'm already staring at her for most of the day, so what's another eight hours, right?)

Vicki

[Cindy]

Yes, the vulva is what I noticed most. It did look elongated to me but I do not know the mare. If you have seen a difference in that in the last couple days, I would definitely start watching. If you do not have an exact breeding date from the previous owner, you have no idea when her true due date is. I may be just a non-trusting person but I would rather have exact breeding dates than what the other person THINKS is the predicted foaling date.

[PasoVicki]

If she goes until the 23rd, I probably won't be here because I'm going to go out of my mind!
She's been walking (or standing) around for two days, sort of holding her tail up as though she's going to poop. (And she is pooping quite normally which, for her, means a lot.) Yesterday, she also looked like she was having spasms for a while, all the way from her shoulders back along the surface of her belly. It was probably just flies, because she's extra sensitive to them and there were some buzzing around -- but I couldn't tear my eyes off her for the longest time.
Gotta get off the computer and go look at her again. It's been at least fifteen minutes . . . .

[Cindy]

LOL. Need more ninny pics. Need more ninny pics. :rofl

[baileyholc]

I think she's fixen to pop. :yay

[PasoVicki]

I think Danesa has read the book. She has this little ornery streak, and she keeps saying to herself: ""Okay, the book says mares do so-and-so when they're about to deliver. I think I'll try it just for fun. Maybe I can get Vicki to spend 24 hours a day with me."

[Carol Nelson]

Agree with Cindy...didn't get too excited UNTIL I saw the vulva shot...hmmmm.... We'll be waitin' for pics of the little one... ;-)

[PasoVicki]

I managed to "milk" a few drops out of the one functional teat this afternoon, and the fluid is still at the watery/cloudy stage. Does that mean she is still quite a few days/weeks from delivery -- or could she go through those stages of milk color that someone (Camilla, I think?) mentioned pretty fast??

Vicki

[Cindy]

The milk is usually pretty accurate so you probably have some time. But, as Camila said, I have also seen mares go from no colostrum to full colostrum overnight when they foal so it is always a good idea to keep watch even when the milk says not to. Especially if you are seeing other signs that she is close. Could be a week or two though if the milk is accurate.

Was that vague enough for you. :D

[PasoVicki]

For the past couple of weeks, I've been touching and massaging around her udder/teat at least twice a day, to get her used to the idea in case the need arises. She's never seemed to mind; in fact, she has rather seemed to enjoy it. This morning, she's done an abrupt about-face and doesn't want to be touched there at all. She managed to twist around and give me a good sharp kick on the leg when I tried. She's also suddenly decided to do all of her urinating and pooping in her stall (she can go in and out as she chooses), which is unusual for her. She's always pooped outside (and usually pee'd outside) before now. And she's been doing a lot of pawing the ground since last night.

Like I said, she's read the book -- and she's just ornery enough to keep throwing out false signs that she's going into labor. She likes to see my reaction.

Vicki (now sporting a nice bruise on my upper leg)

[Fino1]

Pawing in her stall? Me thinks she has started "nesting" and she is ready to pop it out.
Keep watching..........

Judy

[Cindy]

Ditto Judy. That is usually a sign that it is coming soon.

[PasoVicki]

I can't tell whether there's any "nesting" involved. She's not just pawing in her stall, she's pausing to paw periodically in various places. She's playing with my mind (or what's left of it).

Vicki

[CarolU]

It'll be interesting to see who delivers first...Bella is dripping some milk this morning...we are sooooooooooooooooooo close!

[PasoVicki]

If Bella is dripping, she's definitely going first. Danesa is just playing mind games with me, and she's going to stretch it out for as long as possible. Her "official' due date isn't for 15 more days.
Can't wait to see pictures of Bella's Buckskin filly!

Vicki

[Camilla]

Hi Vicky,
Very pretty mare with a nice shiny coat. We are still shedding up here and dreaming about summer coats.
She does not look all that close to me from the pics... baby is still high up, does not looked dropped, no visible sinking in of croup muscles, no visible milk vein in pics at least. you may have a couple more sleeps anyway. Did you read the milk checks I posted in Carol's postings about her mare? If you can not get any fluid from her "teat" or it is still just a small amount and clear... go back to bed. :) There are 6 steps and they are pretty accurate in my experience. The problem with starting the all-night vigils too early is by the time the foal does come you are too exhausted and sleep right through it.
Good luck and good foalin'. :smile:

[PasoVicki]

So, is there an "average" or "normal' amount of time that it takes to go through the various milk stages . . . ie, from cloudy to milk?
Also, is it "normal" for the outside of the teat to be wet (not dripping, just wet) and sticky a long time before delivery? I haven't taken any milk since Saturday (recall I said that she had gotten sensitive about being touched there and had kicked me on Sunday). I've still been feeling and massaging, though, and this afternoon my fingers had some damp, sticky spots on them just from brushing over her teat.
Vicki

[Camilla]

Hi Vicki,
Yes, not every mare appreciates being felt up and intruded upon in that department... especially after she has had a no doubt painful mastitis experience. To "milk", it is a good idea to work up to the area slowly and gently, while staying as close to the mare as possible (the farther away you are the faster the foot is travelling when it whacks you :).
If the fluid is truly sticky (and likely yellowish), you are about halfway there and will likely be foaling within the next 2-3 days. My book summarizes that most mares will not foal until the milk is opaque white (not necessarily dripping), but some will foal at this yellow-ish sticky stage (I've had one at least that did) and it suggests doing your nightly checks once you reach this stage. If you can convince her to let you take a little milk and check, it will help you know for sure. If her bag is not really full and tight with a "strutting teat", you are likely still a bit off. Let me know if you need me to type out the tips on how to extract milk from the udder without irritating the mare...
Can you see her milk vein? A clearly protruding "vein" running along the outside edge of the bottom of her abdomen?
Good luck...

[PasoVicki]

Camilla --
There was a thread on the Health&Farrier forum that included a description of milking, but I don't think I'm going to do it again just to check color. I've been gently working on her all week just to get back to the point where she'll allow me to feel around under there without jumping away. I don't want to do anything to really upset her as I don't want her to kick at the foal when it arrives and heads for the milk bar.
I'm not sure what you mean by the teat being "strutting." This afternoon it was definitely wet and sticky when I felt it.
She's spent most of the past two days in her stall (she can go in and out as she pleases) rearranging her straw.
I can see a vein in her side, but it isn't as clear as the ones I have seen in the foaling books.
Today is day 330 IF her former owner calculated correctly.
Vicki