Operation: Let's have a real-life Knabstrupper! Current Stage: BABY IS HERE

[BlackOak2]

Winter babies.
I forgot for a moment that she'll essentially be a January baby. Give or take. Even here in this area, it can get quite COLD! during the overnight hours.
Poor baby, first night'll be an example of the 'shivering truth' of the hardships that life can offer. Whoops! Luckily, they make blankets for them.

The back of the stall, it looked exactly like the one barn. But I didn't think that it might be temporary stalls (or I forgot after reading an earlier post you made... or maybe I'm just being thick and not thinking that temporary stalls can't be made bigger or smaller like that).

She cleaned up quite nicely then, with just a brushing. So much for the dirty roll she did the other day.
I've forgotten, did you make a decision about it? Are you scheduling for a live-cover or artificial?

Three weeks sounds still like a long time, but something like that I suppose could still make them go into premature labor. And that can be so easily considered a proverbial death sentence for the foal. I do remember that much like sheep and certain other hoofed or cloven animals, the length of time in the womb is crucial, since one of the last things to develop is the feet. A lamb that hits the ground even a week early can have malformed feet that never properly grow. So much so that it can be considered better to put it down.
When I was still in school... animal science at the tech school, we had a sheep that came, I think it was just over a week early. Lambs though, their feet were a little under-formed, but not far enough to make a difference. The teacher said that it's entirely possible she was covered the first time around and still went into a false-heat the second time. Unusual, but it can happen... And then she said that in this case (if that's what happened), the sheep birthed late and that the feet of the lambs didn't develop properly to begin with. -_-

Animal husbandry went from a great shining star to something that got scarier the more we learned about it! And now I'm remembering all of the disastrous outcomes that can happen and stories we were told of such events. Still... it was a fun class.

And then, watching all the little lambs running around. Super Fun! Baby animals having fun is fun to watch. Especially when you have more than just one or two.
I really hope that Mojo's foal has a really nice head on his shoulders. Both literally and figuratively. Working with a smart one might be a trick and a half, but working with a 'mean' one is just dangerous. Well... one that's a little thick would be alright too. They're just too 'Duh-Duh' to think ahead about much more than the sugar in your pocket... and how to best get it.

[Silverine]

Eh, it'll be closer to the end of February than January since she's not actually due to cycle until next week some time. But yeah, I'm definitely picking up a foal blanket once she's safely pregnant. Which brings up the one thing I miss from being back out west - that awesome tack consignment shop that was right nearby. I don't want to pick up a brand new foal blanket since I'm only planning on the one baby and they outgrow it so quick. Hopefully I'll find a nice used one.

I didn't mention anything about them temporary at first so it makes sense that you didn't think of it. And you definitely could remove the boards to enlarge it if the walls were secured to more than each other and there was a way to pad the runners.

Yeah, it was all dry dirt so it didn't stick. If it was mud that would be a different story.

Artificial. That's all Pax is offering this year, and it's more than fine with me. It's more expensive but eliminates the risk of injury and cuts down on the stress of everything for the mare.

I actually did some further reading and one vet said don't trailer at all for six weeks before the due date, and the general consensus seemed to be no trailering within a month of it.

I've been reading about some of the things that can go wrong with breeding and freaking myself out a little bit. I'm one of those people that once I know about a thing that can go wrong I think it will go wrong, so not knowing is definitely better - especially for my vet. Still, I have to read enough that I know what to look for. So there's a fine line that I'm walking right now.

I've already had the conversation with Mojo that if her baby's a bung-hole it's going away. I don't think it will be because she and Pax both have wonderful personalities and Knabs and Knab crosses are known for being "amateur friendly" but there's always a chance it'll be a dud. But if it's nice I'm keeping it, even it comes out with a too-big head and too-short legs.

[BlackOak2]

Too big head, too short legs...
Oo!! A cow.
Well, the foal, in that case could have a suitable coat too! Nice and splashed.

Whoops! Is that too mean?

Yeah, I do worry about injuries during breeding. For both of them. So artificial is one of the safest options. Even for accidentally transmitted infections.
But walking a line of 'things to watch for' and 'what could happen' is certainly a difficult thing. I'd do the same thing. Not that I expect it to happen, but I get so super vigilant I sometimes think I see signs that can be easily attributed to... an annoying itch. -_-
For the most part though, our horse's aren't bred to the point that things go wrong because of poor breeding. Not like some of our dog breeds. And she's an older, adult mare with a good head on her shoulders. With the exception of the regular pregger issues... What are they... Calcium... wacky hormone issues... and overly-eager 'support the embryo' reaction... things should go smoothly.

Ooo! don't forget that pony-blankets can work too! But consignment shops are a mainstay. There's a tack shop down near... well, not exactly near for driving, but as the crow flies... I haven't been in it yet. Have had no reason to do so. So I don't know if I ever get back around to horse riding, what I'll be in for.
But, a couple years ago, they had this brilliantly bright, gorgeous two-wheeled carriage. I think it was bright yellow... or maybe orange? Anyway, a color that is usually ugly, but this time I was certainly: " I So Want That!!!" And with no use for it. -_- It only hung around for a couple months before I assume somebody bought it.
Such a shame! I wanted to ogle it for awhile longer.

You could, theoretically do craigslist or ebay. It might save you some dollars, even though you might not be able to get your hands on it before purchase.

Or... maybe the repo barn has a couple old ones they could sell or rent one to you. They'd make a couple dollars, you'd save on purchase price.

[Silverine]

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update:

I emailed the repro people yesterday just to check in make sure Mojo was behaving herself. They said she's doing well and settled in nicely but is still transitional right now. So they've got her under lights when she's not outside (she should be getting 16 hours total of UV light per day) in order to help her transition along. They'll keep checking her weekly to see where she's at. So nothing exciting yet, but she's in good hands.

[Silverine]

UPDATE!

It was breeding time today! I just got the receipt that the repro barn collected Pax and sent the little swimmers on their way! It's about a week or two later than I had originally hoped, but I'm just so excited that things are finally underway! That means we'll be getting an ultrasound somewhere from April 23rd to 25th. And if that comes back good I can go up and get her!

I'm gonna be so on edge these next two weeks. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself.

[Greenlands]

UPDATE!

It was breeding time today! I just got the receipt that the repro barn collected Pax and sent the little swimmers on their way! It's about a week or two later than I had originally hoped, but I'm just so excited that things are finally underway! That means we'll be getting an ultrasound somewhere from April 23rd to 25th. And if that comes back good I can go up and get her!

I'm gonna be so on edge these next two weeks. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself.

I hope all goes well!

[BlackOak2]

O.o

I'm seeing spots!
It's been a really, REALLY interesting journey so far, regardless of the hiccups and the world pandemic.
I wonder if she'll fit through the barn doors???

It's a good week, at least here were I am, to breed. Warm days (a bit too warm for spring, but whatev...), cool nights (can open the windows for the crisp chill, but not too cold that more than blankets are needed, rainy... okay, rain... and then spring flowers everywhere.
The flowers are nice this year.

[Silverine]

Speaking of seeing spots, check out this Pax baby that was born this morning!



He's the second full-leopard baby so far this year. (Less than five minutes old in the picture.) Five have been born in total at this point and the other three had blankets. So far all of Pax's full-leopard offspring have been colts. I hope that doesn't mean Mojo needs to have a boy for me to get a full spotty baby!

[BlackOak2]

Holly Creation! (Yes, Holly)

WHAT a looker!

I suppose this means Pax's owners are really excited by all this. And really happy about his progeny to date.
Look at that babe, already trying to stand. He's got a good eye. Well... from what I can see. And, of course... just ALL legs.

[Silverine]

Before I go on, for those just interested in baby things: Mojo's ultrasound will be on April 25th.

Not really an update, but I had a memory pop up on my personal FB today. It was three years ago today that I first met Mojo!

This is the very first pic I ever took of her, after I'd saddled her up for a trail ride:


And here is our first ever picture together, just with me redacted :


For those interested that don't know the story of how we met:

A friend asked if I wanted to go on a trail ride at a nice state park nearby. I said sure. I asked if I could bring my gelding, Jet. She said she'd ask the guy who was taking her out. He said he'd prefer to just take one of his horses. I was nervous because I get nervous on unknown horses of unknown provenance on trail. My friend assured that the horse was awesome and I would be fine. So I agreed.

I first saw Mojo at the guy's place. He had pulled her out of a pasture where she'd spent the past several months wandering around with a herd of cows and was spraying her down so she wasn't completely filthy. My first impression was that she was enormous. (She's a whole two hands taller than Jet so she was quite a bit bigger than what I was used to.) She also seemed decently calm and level-headed but was still a little intimidating for a nervous rider like myself. But I couldn't back out at that point so we loaded her and the others up and drove over to the park.

We got to the park and saddled up. Getting on was quite the adventure. There was no mounting block or convenient stump so I had to use the wheel well of the trailer. Even that almost wasn't tall enough to get me close enough. I had to drop my stirrup like four holes. But I got on and got myself situated (though I felt like my saddle was lop-sided for the whole ride) and off we went.

It was amazing to me how quickly I became comfortable with Mojo. Normally I'm a nervous wreck for quite a while on trail but it didn't take long before I was holding my reins in only one hand. (This is the biggest indicator of relaxation with me. If we're not actively steering or working on something and I still have two hands on the reins then I'm still at least a little nervous.) After barely 10 minutes I was happy and asking Mojo to hold back a bit and then trot to catch up. This is a big deal for me - I've been run away with enough times that even asking for a trot on trail can be scary. By the end of the ride I was considering asking to canter but held back because my friend's pony is rather testy and they were already having problems and I didn't want to make things worse.

After the ride we went back to Mojo's owner's place and rinsed the horses off. Afterwards we spent a while talking and I talked about potentially looking for another horse or wanting to breed my own, etc. It was mentioned in a half-joking, half-serious way that I should just buy Mojo. I half-jokingly asked how much he'd ask for her. He considered for a moment and then told me. I don't remember where the conversation went after that but I kept that price filed away in my head.

The next day I went to see Jet but I still had Mojo on the brain. I told my barn owner that she would be an awesome lesson horse and she should look at her. But the barn owner said Mojo was too expensive for a lesson horse. (To be fair to Mojo, my barn owner is stupid cheap about lesson horses. She won't pay more than $500 for a lesson horse and prefers to get them for free. Needless to say this means that we've had quite a few "quirky", weird, or downright unsuitable horses move through the program.) So about six weeks later I left for a summer internship with just one horse, another horse on the brain, and lots of time to think.

I couldn't get Mojo out of my head that whole summer. I was constantly messaging back and forth with my friend about her. By the end of the summer I was determined that Mojo would be mine. (Some of you may remember me posting about coming up with a show name for her - that occurred during this time.) When I got my job offer at the end of the internship I knew I was going to bring her home.

I arrived home on August 12th, 2018. I immediately contacted Mojo's owner and tried to get in to ride her one more time before making things final. I think he thought I was a tire-kicker because he kept hemming and hawing about a time. Eventually my friend that I'd ridden with just brought me with her when she went to see her horse (who was boarded with Mojo) and I got to get my second ride when the guy got home. I wanted the second ride because I wanted to canter Mojo at least once before I brought her home. It was a short ride because it was getting dark but I got my canter both directions and finalized my decision. I'd brought cash with me and handed it to the guy as soon as I hopped out of the saddle.

Picture taken by my friend just after I'd handed over the money (again with me redacted):



I asked if it would be okay if I left Mojo overnight and came back to pick her up in the morning. The guy said he could take her over to my place right then if I wanted. I called the barn owner to make sure it was okay and then agreed. On August 18th, 2018, less than a week after I returned home, I brought Mojo to her new home.



And that's how I met and obtained my heart horse.