day one and a half

I have a bit of a predicament. My foal photos land in between day counts. Sooo, I am halfin' it. What a great predicament to have! Time passes quickly. Have no fear I will eventually stop counting half days, and oversharing.

Yesterday was bizzy. I didn't get much photo or baby chill time. I snuck to the barn and took a few pics. Or tried. The lil' stinker is challenging to capture!! 

4/11/23

the only time she stands still is nursing or sleeping

Koda is back to turn out with Nemo and Harmony. Our pastured horses are very quiet. I heard a couple calls between Nemo and Cierra yesterday.

Both boys are both very interested in the filly. Harmony shows the least amount of interest.

As you know, our three horses are stalled across from Cierra. Koda got a quick closer look at the baby through the stall bars this morning before mama gave him a firm warning...MY baby!!

feeling (and looking) a bit left out

Both boys need a good brushing, and Koda needs his mohawk clipped. I also need to call the vet and find out next steps for Koda. He continues to be very lame. The Osphos shot visibly did nothing. Guessing we will be doing the arduous blocking thing next. 

a day and a half old

I have yet to get a good capture of the filly's pretty little face. We plan to let mama & baby stretch their legs in the indoor arena later today. That should provide better photo opportunities and maybe even some action shots?!

classic signs

We have been watching Cierra closely. She has stayed bagged up, with no visible big changes. Brad did not noticed any waxing. We saw no dripping milk. I did see Cierra kick at her belly once while out at pasture on Sunday. It is a sign of pending birth, but one kick could have been anything. A bug or whatever adjustment. Sunday was the first warm day of a trend that has us on track to set record high temps (80F expected) today. Our son walked Cierra in with us during evening chores. All was normal.

I checked the barn camera live view around 2:00am. Imagine my surprise to be woken up shortly after 5:00am to Brad's voice "Aurora, Aurora, Cierra had her baby" I responded with "WHAAAT??!!!!" 

I got dressed as fast as my startled foggy morning brain could process. Grabbed my camera and headed out to the barn. It was pitch black outside and completely still. 

5:09am on April 10, 2023

Sure enough, Cierra had a baby at her side!! The first words out of my mouth when I saw the little one were "hey Brad, it's not white". It was obvious the baby was not very old. Less than an hour.

Our joy was a bit overshadowed by the feeling that we had failed Cierra. Not because we missed the birth. We know it is very common and mares are sneaky about birthing. Cierra did amazing and had no problem all on her own. Our barn camera captured video of her birthing, in three stages. We feel bad because we had not bedded Cierra's stall with the nice straw we purchased, specifically for their safety. Sigh.
 

Where were the classic signs?? 

Brad thought about changing her bedding last weekend. We even talked about bedding half the double stall with straw, so Cierra could get used to it. We both really thought she was no where near close to giving birth. Thankfully the shavings were not a problem.

Cierra had a filly on Monday April 10 at 4:21am!!

Congrats to Linda! She had the closest guess on our foaling contest. Email me your snail mail address for your prize. Happy Birthday!!

We stayed in the barn and watched the miracle of motherhood unfold.

Cierra used her body to steady her wobbly baby
5:11am

non-stop cleaning baby
5:13am

keeping a persistent watchful eye

Wow, Cierra is one excellent Mama!! She remains very sweet. Her soft nickers to her baby melt my heart. We are fairly sure the filly is a Buckskin.

Cierra kept redirecting the filly towards her, and repositioning herself. Nudging baby, wrapping herself around and waiting patiently. She helped the filly find her way and before we knew it, baby was suckling away.

We were a little concerned with Cierra. She seemed uncomfortable, and laid down. Acting as if she had more to expel. At one point we noticed she was sucked in on one side. We were unsure if the full placenta was out. Brad decided to call the vet. Sadly, I had to leave for an appointment and missed the whole vet visit :(( 

Baby was about 7 hours old when the vet was out. A little earlier than they want for doing an IgG foal test. Typically our vet waits until after foals are 12 hours old. Cierra's baby scored very high on the test and clearly has received what is needed from mama.

I was so bummed to miss the vet visit! The important part is Cierra is fine and so is her baby. Brad told me the vet laid the afterbirth down on the floor and stretched it out. Everything was connected, normal and all out. Whew! 

I watched a cute video our camera captured with the (new to us) vet doing the foal exam. The baby fell asleep on her, and I guess the foal pooped on her leg too. Whoops.

21 seconds

It is amazing to see the transformation in Cierra. She is in full mama mode. Very concerned with her baby and checks her every two seconds. 

5:39am

Incase you are wondering, the filly does not have a barn or registered name. Yet. I resent Brad my registered name suggestions from last August. At this point, I don't have any barn name suggestions for him. I might just keep my mouth shut (it could happen) and see what he comes up with for name/s. The filly's name will be Brad's decision. 

4:24pm (32 secs)

4:32pm

Her filly is precious. We think Cierra is going to have her hands full. Already spunky with a mind of her own. I imagine Cierra will calm down and give in to her babies funny antics. 

she has a very prominent swirl

4:27pm

first outing to wash mama's tail
(and pooping in the aisle)
4:10pm

It sure will be fun watching the filly grow up! She has already changed in just one day. I better empty my camera cards!

8:45am

4:32pm

Yesterday was an unexpected whirlwind. Full of emotions. If we could love Cierra any more, we do now. Just look at what she created <3

 

let's play in our sandbox

IF you already follow and have interacted with my blog in the past, then let's play in our sandbox together. Join me in guessing when Cierra's baby will be born! 

Rules-n-stuff, for a once in our lifetime foaling guessing game:

1) Comment with your guess on foaling date/time/sex (and color, just for fun) on this post. Additional guesses can be made if your previous guess date passes.

2) Closest guess from U.S. or Canada will win $50 (U.S. Visa Gift card)

3) Tank will select the winner (on video) if a tiebreaker is needed

4) Feel free to play along, even if you don't want to be gifted a prize. If you are the lucky winner, Tank will randomly choose among ALL contest participants for a winner. Except for whomever doesn't want a prize.

5) Guesses will be displayed on side bar for everyone's enjoyment

6) I want to play too. Rule #4 applies.

7) Your odds of winning are really good! 

..................................

Last night the moon caught my attention and drew me outside. Hanging so bright and pretty between two pines! I grabbed my camera and quickly ran outside without a jacket. Brrrr! It was windy and I was sh-sh-shaking. Very surprised my handheld photos turned out at all. Not my best moon shot, but here it.

April 5, 2023 Pink Moon (rise)

The full moon's mojo had no affect on Cierra birthing. The next full moon is May 5th. She better have a baby before that!

After snapping photos, I found out April's full moon had a name. It was not even a little bit pink. Google says "The pink moon is a nod to the bountiful blooming flowers and trees that the spring weather brings."

..................................

Helpful things to know before you guess:

- Cierra was bred May 5, 2022. She has been pregnant for 336 days today (April 6).

- She is a coming 13 yr old maiden mare

- One gestational calculator put her due date on April 11th +/- 10 days

- According to AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners) It is very normal for mares to carry a fetus for 320 to 380 days. In general 330 days (11 months) is the most commonly cited gestation length. Data and opinions vary greatly. You decide.

- Cierra started bagging up 3/14/23, not much has changed as of this post

- Mama is a Smokey Black. The stud is a Buckskin with a "black type pedigree". Here is my post about the many color possibilities. Post was dated 10/12/2020. WOWee, this is one looong awaited foal!! Choosing color (or not) does not affect winning.

Contest disclaimer: We will do our bestest to know the exact birthing time. Default time may end up being when the foal is first found. 

..................................

A few closing photos from our first unforgettable visit with Cierra:

7/2010

Cierra's parents & other mares/foals, all peacefully together in the same pasture

Her parents Dude and Birdee also stole our hearts

(15 seconds)



not sure who chose who

MJK Dudes Dream Girl (Cierra) will be making more dreams come true!!

moving day

On April 5th, Cierra will begin her 11th month of pregnancy. Her baby will be comparable to the size of a..............wait for it..............

Cierra 3.27.23

A foal! No surprise there.

The equine pregnancy wheel said her baby this past month (10th) has been comparable to the size of a newborn jersey calf. Weighing 55-99 lbs.

Cierra's foaling window is predicted to be +/- 10 days of April 11th. Yes, we are in that window. Her pregnancy count will be 341* days on the 11th. I think her foal will be born later. Hopefully not too much later. For everyone's sake.

*number corrections

12* x 24" double stall was cleaned out last week
(with Purr supervising)



wide angle view

The double stall needed more work to level up to the stall divider. Bedding will be added and water & feed buckets hung. We decided to use buckets vs mounted feeders and auto water for these two stalls. Hopefully we don't regret this decision. They are meant for special situations. They could require different feeding heights or tracking water consumption (although I since learned you can add that function to auto waterers). These are interior stalls, with no windows. All our stall lower bars are closer together than the uppers bars, to keep smaller equine from potentially getting stuck.

I am worried about the divider against the wall, but Brad is not. He is latching it securely to the back wall. Have I ever told you how much I love my husband? He always takes my worries into consideration and finds great solutions.

We've been busy finishing stall prep this weekend. Mostly Brad. Although I do help where I can. Saturday was THE day. No, not birthing day. It was moving day! We played musical stalls. All our barn animals have been moved into new living areas, including the cats. After four years, cats are now fed supper in the front stall. Cats are creatures of habit. They will get used to it, eventually.

 two feeders were hung in unused stalls, across from the double stall
(feeder perspective is off, it's not that low)

Leo on top of empty feeder boxes, supervising the changerama

We walked into the arena and found Tinkerbell flipping & going crazy!!
She was entertaining herself on the lawn mower seat. What a weirdo!

tick-tack-toe all four horses in a row

(Koda, Nemo, Harmony & Cierra)

Our horses are still being turned out in pairs, next to each other. There are some shenanigans and fence running, but it's mostly peaceful. When it happens, it's more like Koda and Nemo playing.

We had yet another week of wet-n-wild weather. Today we begin drying out. One good thing about living on sandy loam is it dries out faster. Brad started fence work by adding a separate gate to the upper pasture.

For now, we decided not to section off our existing pastures. We really don't want a bunch of smaller pastures and a lot of fence lines. A completely separate pasture behind the arena for Cierra and baby is still planned. 

Cierra in her birthing stall

Koda, Nemo and Harmony moved across the aisle

Cierra closest to feeder. Koda, Nemo & Harmony
3.30.23


It won't be long now and we will have a new addition to our herd.