Pregnancy update- NOT foaling update

This means that Drifter is indeed still pregnant. She is very uncomfortable, full udder and swollen vulva. She gave us quite a "scare" on St. Paddy's day- false labor. She laid down at least 8 times between 7am and 11am. When Kim came home around 11 she was laying down in the field. She then laid out flat and began to grunt. They called me, "Drifter is foaling". She had a few contractions, pushed a few times, then got up and started eating again- like nothing was going on!
I was so glad to get there and she certainly looked like she was going to go that night. Her milk did not test on the chart for calcium or pH. I stayed at the barn until 2am- tested her milk again and she looked to be at 100ppm for Calcium and 8+pH.

Came back out today, the foal was kicking a lot. I was able to get some of the movement on video. Milk testing today resulted in the same- calcium at 100 and pH 8, but starting to change.

Slowly Creeping Closer

Milk testing is underway and we still have a few days to go. She is not testing on the charts yet. The milk testing is about 95% accurate within 24 hours. She is starting to bag up more and is very uncomfortable and also very snuggly. Here are updated pics.

She's teasing

Drifter is keeping me up at night, she was very restless on Friday after one Nanny goat had triplet kids. Last night, she was also restless, pacing, pawing, looking at her sides and being generally uncomfortable. Here are pics from today and Friday.
Friday- Drifter's upset





Udder shots

The big move

Yesterday was the big move from my boarding barn to the "maternity ward". The stall was bedding in straw and waiting for Drifter's arrival. She got on the trailer nicely- front feet first and a little break- then she hefted her back end in. She stood very quietly eating her dinner while the door was closed. I let her eat a bit before jumping in the trunk and getting rolling. As soon as we started to leave the farm- she got pretty excited and upset. I could hear her calling and tossing her head. I could feel the trailer shaking as she was carrying on. As soon as we hit about 35mph she calmed down and relaxed a bit- she is a good loader- but maybe not the best hauler. The last time she was on a trailer it was a five day cross country ride- so maybe she had a reason to be anxious.

Luckily the ride to the new farm is only 15 minutes. When we got there she was dripping in sweat and clearly nervous. I again entered the trailer and offered her dinner. She started to eat and relax within a few minutes. I wanted the last thing she remembered on the trailer to be her standing calmly eating some yummy grain. She backed off very calmly with only a little stumble as her weight landed on her hind end. I was expecting her to be very pushy after unloading in a new place. As soon as she stepped off the trailer the FedEx trunk arrived and the chickens started clucking. She looked around, alert, but not upset and walked with me down to the barn. When she realized there were horses at this barn she started walking faster, but was never pushy or out of control. She only took a momentary glance at the chickens. She sniffed at the goats that are living beside her, but she took everything in stride. She settled into her stall and munched some hay and peed. All was well.

Today I went to check on her, see how she settled in and how she got along with her new turnout buddy. All was well and she was tucked in for the night. I checked her over and WHOA she is starting to bag up! She enjoyed a brief massage and I snapped some new pictures.

Moving Day Nears

Drifter will be moving to her new home on Friday. There is a large foaling stall that is already deeply bedded in straw that is ready for her. I think she will be really happy to have someplace to lie down and rest at night. The farm is super nice with goats and chickens as well as the horses.

Here is the pictures for this week.

Weekly update

Not much change this week- still no udder and I find it's very hard to tell if her rump shape is changing. Do quarter horse rumps change all that much?

She loves to come in and be groomed at this point. The web cam is working at the barn she will be moving to. I will be able to check on her from home. Once she gets very close to foaling I will be right there with her.

Can you believe?

That this is the same horse?

I love the light in her eyes in the recent picture. The other picture is from her first day in NJ.