Foal News

Down to the wire.

2009-03-12T07:23:00.001-07:00

Lexi's due date is late April/early May, so that means that we have roughly two months left until the little one makes his or her grand debut!!

Two of our farm's four foals due this year have already arrived, one in January, and one last month. The January foal has already been sold! We all fell in love with the little girl "Pumpkin" - our vet most of all! I'm happy that she's going to a GREAT home where she has top-notch care every day of the year. Thank you Dr. Laura!

The second foal was born more recently, a little half-brother for mister Sneak. Momma is busy doting on him and he's busy causing mayham for the rest of the herd. Quite a little stinker (in a good way!) that one is going to be. :)

Next up is Real Lena Loot (AKA Zoey) who is due sometime near the end of this month. Wish her luck and that there will be no complications!!

Pictures will be forthcoming, or you could check out our family website where they will no doubt be posted first. http://www.freewebs.com/wildassacresmi

Let the count-down begin!

Lexi Update: 6 months in, 5 months to go!!

2008-11-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

Howdy all! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I've got some news for everyone.

Lexi is doing fantastic, we've moved her out to our vet's about a half hour away where she gets a cozy stall at night and a huge pasture for turnout during the day. Not to mention the food - she looks like she's about ready to pop any minute now!

It's nice to know that she's in safe hands and I don't have to stress out about her weight and the baby anymore this winter. My mom's mare that's due in early January is also out there with her so she has a buddy to lean on.

I went out to see her last night and she was doing fantastic, munching on her dinner. I didn't get any pictures for you guys, though. Next time. :)

We're over half way there!! WAHOO!!

Moving...

2008-09-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow Lexi and our other (very pregnant) mare, Tess, are getting a new change of scenery.

We're moving them out to the vet's farm since (1)Tess is having an early January foal and our facilities aren't as well equipped as we hoped they would be and (2)Lexi has started her half-Thoroughbred drop-all-my-weight routine she does every year at the onset of cold weather.

Hopefully, once Lexi's safe and sound and in capable hands, I'll be able to stop giving myself an ulcer over this darn mare.

Almost through the first trimester!!

2008-09-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from today. Lexi is already getting her winter coat!! Ick. I am so not ready for another Michigan winter...I think I need to move to SoCal!! :p

I'm a little worried about her ribs showing a bit. (Just ask my fellow HGSers. I think I'm going to give myself an ulcer over this. THANK YOU guys for being so patient with me on the forums!) I think I need to pack on a few more calories to her mealtimes. She's a notoriously hard keeper in the winter (she's half Thoroughbred, cut her a break) so I'm thinking I won't be asking too much of her. Just get fat, stay fat, and make the baby fat. That's it Miss Lexi!!

Oh...And ignore the date on that belly pic. I never set the correct date on my camera when I change batteries. It's always January of '06 around here.

Not Lexi related, but baby news none the less...

2008-08-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Our farm name is "WildAss Acres," and many people wonder why we call it that when our breeding program mainly revolves around Paints and Quarter Horses.

Back when I was about eight, we adopted a burro through the BLM. He and I were both born in May of '88, and he became my best friend. We named him "Nestor" after the movie "Nestor the Long Eared Christmas Donkey," my brother and I's favorite. I would go out while he was laying in the pasture and use him as a pillow to read my books, or just chat with him. I was bullied quite a bit in school when I was younger, and Nestor always listened to me at the end of a long, bad day.

When some people from the BLM came to check on him a year after we got him, they couldn't believe how calm, easygoing, and friendly he was. He was turned out with a mixture of both mares and geldings, and never acted like a stud at all. He never batted an eye when the mares were in season, and there wasn't an agressive bone in his body. Our entire family fell in love with him (including the non-horsey boys) and so we decided to name our up-and-coming farm after this wonderful animal.

A few years ago we bought him a "wife." He had two girls and a boy. He loved all of his children, loved being around and baby-sitting when their mom needed a break. Sadly, he passed away on Valentines Day last year. We still have one of his daughters - named Terri - and today she gave us the most precious baby girl.

Colic Scare

2008-08-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

I swear to all that is holy, it is this mare's purpose in life to give me my first grey hairs.

I went out to feed her, put her in a pen by herself. Everything was fine and dandy, little miss piggy started stuffing her face right away. I walk away to fill up the water trough, turn back around and she's rolling. Okay.

I didn't think much of it until she rolled a second and third time, and then didn't want to get up. Crap. I ran over, forced her to stand, and started walking her. She buckled again and tried to go down. I didn't let her.

Long story short: she's fine. It was either mild stomach cramps or the baby kicking the first time. Nothing to be alarmed about. Or to start crying hysterically over the phone with my mother like an effing five year old about.
Seriously. I am that pathetic when it comes to this mare. Did I mention I also burst into tears when I found out she was pregnant? Oh yeah, I am all that is Cry Baby when it comes to my horses. Sheesh.

The Tally So Far.

2008-07-30T13:01:00.001-07:00

I think it's time to give you all a price figure, now that we're on the right track and things are going good. I haven't yet sat down and really figured a total quote for the hefty costs associated with this misadventure, so I'm sure this will be an eye-opener for all of us.

Looking back in my old posts I found the pre-breeding costs, which are as follows:
tranquilizer - dormosedan IV $48
rectal palpatation w/ ultrasound $26
ultrasound - reproduction $48
micro - endometrial culture $75
regumate solution 150ml $72
Total vet costs so far: $269

So, even before we begin working towards a baby, it's already starting to add up. I wish I had been more diligent in my records since then but no go. :( Sorry guys. This is just a rough estimate and may be higher or lower(HA!) than I make it out to be.

I took three trips out to pick up semen, that's $275 collection each time, minus gas.
So $825 for semen. The stud fee I got $450 off, do to 4-H and early booking discount, so that would be $300 for the stud fee.
Altogether, the Y chromosomes cost me $1125.
So far the total price is $1394.

Now for board costs...It was $45 per night at Kern Road for the four nights the first time, plus the second time I think she spent three(?) nights. So seven times forty-five is $315 for board at Kern Road. Dr. Laura only charged $10 a day but Lexi was there for nearly a month, so $300 for board at Dr. Laura's.
That brings the total board costs to $615.
Total so far is $2009.

Okay, fun part: vet costs. I'm really kicking my butt for misplacing all the bills, so I am going to guesstimate. I know at Dr. Laura's it was seven-hundred and some odd including board. Let's say $750. Minus board that would make it $450. We tried twice at Kern Road and their costs are a bit higher so let's say $475 times two equals $950.
Total vet costs would be (approximate)$1400.

That brings the GRAND TOTAL to $3409.
Ouchie.

Now just factor in feed costs, wormer, hay, farrier, regular vet expenses, dental, etc., etc.!! Boy when they say horses are a luxury they aren't kidding!!

Updates Updates Updates!!

2008-07-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I've recieved quite a few requests to move Foal News off Livejournal and onto Blogger...so here you go. :) I've added most of the old posts here, and am still figuring out the layout so bear with me.

In pregnancy news, Lexi and her baby are both doing GREAT! They had their checkup a few days ago and the baby looks good. It was too far up to get a heartbeat but it's there and doing fine. The fluid looks good too.

I'll keep you posted!

So Happy to be Home...

2008-06-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well Lexi came home a couple days ago. She missed both ours and the vet's farrier appointments, so her feet are looking pretty bad. Hopefully we'll get that taken care of in a couple days.

I had left her tail in the tail bag when I dropped her off at the vets, because dry it was dragging the ground about an inch and wet it was between 2-3 inches on the ground. I was so proud of myself!! Then we took the bag off at the vets and it turns out she had rubbed it on everything in sight, so after an hour and a half last night I finally got all of the tangles out and re-washed/conditioned/MTGed/mosturized it and put it back in the bag. Hopefully it stays there.

Here are some pictures of her first few minutes with the rest of the crew. I'm really really hopeful that the baby gets that athletisism. Holy engaging the hind end, huh? :)

We Did It!!

2008-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

She's FINALLY pregnant. :D :D :D She was bred June 3rd and checked on the 16th, and there was a little baby waiting for us!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-05-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for lack of updates but I do have quite a bit of news for you.

After Lexi's ultrasound turned up no pregnancy, it showed that she had a follicle growing almost to a 40 (which is what she ovulated at last time) so I ordered more semen. They bred her and checked her the next morning, and the follicle had shrunk. Lexi had fluid accumulation in her uterus so they just flushed that out and did a culture on it. It had no bacteria growth in it. They didn't crush the cysts.

I brought her home and decided to switch vets to a reproductive specialist Dr. Laura Chamberlain, Lexi was dropped off there last week and started on shots for a short cycle again. Laura said that she didn't think that the cysts were interfering with Lexi catching, rather that she probably had fluid accumulation from irritation last time as well and they didn't catch it which killed off the embryo. So this time six hours after breeding no matter what she is going to flush her out.

Ugh. So much for an early baby. But she is doing well, her butt is healing up nicely, and she is happy and healthy. If only her reproductive system would cooperate...

Ugh.

2008-04-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, Lexi got ultrasounded Monday and it turns out that she didn't catch. :( *sigh* So they're going to try and crush the cysts on her ovaries that may be giving her a problem, flush her out, and try it again. We left her there Monday night, and I'm picking up more sperm (for another $275) tomorrow morning.

This is frustrating, maddening, and disappointing all at the same time...I hope everything goes well this time, if not, we'll have to wait until next year and try again.

Time to run up another tab...

Woohoo!

2008-04-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Well, the vet gave us quite a surprise today. Since Lexi hurt herself at their clinic, they didn't charge for stitching her up, only for her antibiotics. I won't add those to the "overall vet cost" though, since it didn't have anything to do with reproduction. :)

She ovulated!! Yes! So now it's just up to those little swimmers to do their job. :) Wish us luck with the pregnancy test on the 28th!

She's Home!

2008-04-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well I picked Lexi up from the vet's this morning. She hadn't ovulated when they checked her earlier so they bred her again with the second dose before I got there.

She needs to be at the vets at 8:30 in the morning Monday to see if she's ovulated yet, if not, we'll have to order more sperm...at a cost of $275. Pray that she ovulates, please.

Why I Love Owning Unpredictable Horses...

2008-04-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

As you all know, I dropped Lexi off at the vets earlier this week for her AI. They have a very nice facility (they had better, as I'm paying $45 a night for it) and wounderful turnout. She's living the high life for the week, being pampered and coddled and ooohed and ahhhed over. So what does she decide to do?

Of course, because it is one of my horses and they cannot go a month without hurting themselves (Anyone remember Sneak and his Phantom That Nearly Cut His Leg Off incident a few months back?) she takes a chunk out of her rear end.

And when I say "chunk" I mean "huge gash in which muscle is bulging out of." Ugh. At least it was at the vet's, right?

But that's not the best part! What's great is how she managed to do this in the nice, wonderful, safe, secure vet hospital! Apparently Miss Priss did not like the feed bin where it was at. Oh no. It would look much nicer on the floor. At which time I can then lay on it, effectively cutting my rear end open and adding ANOTHER $100 or so dollars to momma's vet bill.

For Pete's sake, I already owe them just about my first born, now they'll want my 2nd and 3rd, too!

*sigh*

However, mom and I did go on the Sperm delivery today. She had never seen Lucks before and the breeding farm was only a couple hours away, so we (being the silly girls that we are) figured ROAD TRIP. Maybe not such a good idea with the thunderstorms and tornado watches and what have you, but hey, we're McCardell/Bokkon girls. We aren't known for being rational. We even came up with a name and slogn for ourselves: Sperm Girls, "We haul it as fast as you can blow it!"

Okay...so maybe not such a great idea for the younger crowd. We'll be sure to work on that. :D

Back on track, Lexi was bred today and will be checked tomorrow morning to see if she has ovulated yet. If she hasn't, she will be bred again using the second dose of sperm we got. Either way, I'll be picking her up tomorrow morning.

Wish us luck that she took and NO TWINS! Keep your fingers crossed. :)

Follicles and Gas Stations

2008-04-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well the vet took a look at Lexi last night at said that her follicle was about at a 27. She is going to check it tomorrow morning and see where it's at, but most likely we'll be breeding her around Friday.

I contacted the breeding farm and they said no problem, so I'm all set. Now we just have to wait for Lexi's reproductive organs to work with us!

On another note, the vet also said that all Lexi does when she's turned out is watch the people at the gas station nearby. Apparently, she's quire enthralled with the goings on at the local Shell. What a weird little mare I have...

The Longest Week of Our Lives

2008-04-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

My mom always says "Wear clean underwear to the doctors," so I figured why not use the same principal for Lexi? The weather finally hit over sixty so my dear got her second bath of the year. She wasn't very happy. Actually, she was an emotional wreck. (Or rather, as "emtional" as she gets. Which is better than a lot of mares I've met on their good days.) Apparently the shot worked. :)

Well I accomplised a couple things to do with the breeding this morning. I managed to get Lexi to the clinic with minimal drama. I also faxed over my card info to the breeding center to pay the final amount of $275 for collection & handling.

How exciting! Just a few more days and I'll - maybe - be a grandma-in-waiting!

Jump Start That Cycle!

2008-04-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Today I had class in the morning, so I pulled in the drive around 12:30 this afternoon and the vet was just leaving! So I missed Lexi getting her shot to jump start her heat cycle.

The vet said she may act "crampy" or "colicy" but don't worry about it. She said it's best just to not look and ignore her for a while. o.o Eep. So I just looked out the window about an hour ago and she's out eating with everyone and being her normal Big Bad Boss Mare self so (hopefully) she's past the worst of it.

Monday we drop her off at the vets! Yay!

Culture Results

2008-03-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well, there was "no bacterial growth" on Lexi's culture, so it looks like we are good to start the Mare Plus and Regumate today!

As far as maintenance while she's pregnant goes, I'm most likely going to leave Lexi barefoot with regular trims. She will be on Mare Plus the entire duration of her gestation, along with the time she will be nursing the foal. This should help keep up her own nutrients along with those of the foal(FILLY!). I will also try to keep her in shape with some light exercise/riding. Exercise during the pregnancy to keep her muscles in shape will help when she is foaling.

Anyway, it's off to the mud-pit, I mean pasture. :)

Pre-Breeding Examination

2008-03-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Pattys Day everyone!

Today Lexi had her pre-breeding exam. This included a palpatation/ultrasound and a culture, along with some Regumate to start her on at the end of the week. She had a few cists on her uterus, but all her parts were there. :) The vet said that cists are common on mares who have been bred before, and that we just need to remember where they are so that we don't confuse them for a fetus when we start looking.

The culture results should be back within a few days, and if everything is a-OK we can start her on the Regumate. The reason for this is that we are trying to "short-cycle" her. Regumate blocks mares from going into heat, and after about two weeks on it we'll give her a shot to bring her back into her cycle, effectively "forcing" her into producing an ovarian follicle. This will allow us to monitor the follicle and pick the opimum time for insemination.

Oh dear. I've caught the foal bug already, and I've still got (hopefully, if all goes well) a year to go!! :)

Here are the total vet costs to date:

tranquilizer - dormosedan IV $48
rectal palpatation w/ ultrasound $26
ultrasound - reproduction $48
micro - endometrial culture $75
regumate solution 150ml $72
Total vet costs so far: $269 Please note this does not include things such as: feed, farrier, wormer, foal supplies, board, etc.

Welcome to Foal News!

2008-03-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I recently was looking around the Breeding forum on Horse Grooming Supplies Horse Forums, and was struck with an idea: Post a detailed blog on breeding my mare, from start to finish. Another forum member also suggested I keep a tally of the vet bills and other costs as well, so that newcomers to the genetics lottery will know what to expect, and what they're getting into.

So, without futher ado, I give you FOAL NEWS! This blog will follow my lovely, awesome, hot, totally kick-butt mare, Lexi, on her way through gestation and motherhood.

This hot number on the left is Lucks Hint Of Hostage, a 1997 Tobiano Paint stallion. He is the 1999 Champion of Champions, a Supreme Champion, Open Show Winner, has his ROM in Halter and Color, and is the sire of a breed association Top Ten World Champion. He is owned by Steve and Lori Brock, and is standing at Peacock Equine Reproduction Center in Morley, MI.

The type of breeding we will be using is Artificial Insemination, and all breeding and care procedures will be carried out by Kern Road Veterinary Clinic in Fowlerville, MI.

Now this good looking girl on the right is my darling Lexi, or Top Of The Times, a 1990 own daughter of Scotch Bar Time. She is an Appendix Quater Horse, has points in AQHA, and is an Incentive Fund and NSBA money earner.

She has been bred before, but unfortunately concieved twins and was not checked in time to save one of them. One sibling died in utero, poisoning the other and causing them both to be born too early. Hopefully we can avoid that heartbreak this time by doing a 15-day and a 30-day ultrasound post insemination to check for twins.

There you have it. Stay tuned for more updates! :)