Day 326 - Welcome Baby!!

Finally!!

It's a filly!!



After two long days of agonized waiting, I settled down on the couch to watch O from the window. At around 9:20pm, she started walking around curling her lip a few times. She doesn't normally do that, so I assumed it was probably time to go check on her. I figured labor would take awhile - first stage is usually 1 or 2 hours. I walked out the door to see her curl her lip again, and her water broke. She had been eating hay quietly not even 5 minutes before that. She was still on her feet when the sac appeared about 5 minutes later. Thankfully, she had the sense to go lay down - I thought for a second I was going to have to catch!

(I do have lots of birth pictures.... they're not uploaded yet!)


She had a normal presentation although I did have to help her a bit. The baby is HUGE. HUGE. I can't believe this giant baby came out of a maiden mare!

My super sexy foal watching outfit complete with head lamp

Her legs are SO long that she took a little while to get them out from under her. She is big and strong, but those legs gave her a lot of trouble. Pax jumped right up and stood the first time she tried. This new filly fell, and fell, and fell, and fell. And finally she stood, and could get up and down by herself.

And then she took AGES to latch. It was three hours before I felt like she really had gotten a good latch, and longer until she really could do it by herself. I gave her extra colostrum just in case. She's so tall that she just couldn't get the hang of everything for long enough to make it happen. Pax latched the first try and held on like a leech. She was already jumping around within the hour.

But, Pax was also a violent foal. She would buck, leap, strike, rear, kick, and thrash around every time you touched her, for at least three weeks. This one is docile as a lamb. Less than 24 hours in and she lets you walk up to her, pet her, put a halter and blanket on, and stick your fingers up her nose and into her ears. Every little bit of resistance melts away in moments. I was NOT expecting that!

O passed the placenta within a half hour, the baby passed meconium pretty easily after an enema, I dipped her naval stuck a blanket on her for the night. It wasn't too cold but it was dewey in the morning. O got her dewormer, I fussed around for awhile longer just doing nothing, and then passed out at around 2am.

How did all that baby fit into that tiny mare!?

She weathered the night well, and got a good checkup with the vet today. Her IgG was good, and was drinking well, pooping, peeing, and acting normally. The placenta looked great, everything was normal. The baby is a little bit windswept behind, but it's pretty minor. She should continue to straighten out over the next few days!

I have so much more I want to write about - how O is such a good mom, how Dylan is behaving, and not to mentiomn the show last weekend AND the chiro today! - but I am EXHAUSTED. I must sleep!

The new baby is taller as a newborn than Pax was at 4 weeks old! And O is a solid hand shorter than P, AND a maiden!