[Irish_Love]

I've put off this thread in the fear of the eye rolling newbie paranoia glares, the Placentitis/Dystocia scares or the typical "she's a maiden" mares.....but here goes.

My maiden is at 333 days today. Sound normal, still early, yadda yadda, I get that. But at what point do you start to think...umm...I hope everything is ok and it's not just the "maidens do what they want" justification?

She has been showing EVERY "it's now" sign since day 317. She's FULLY bagged, has been for 2+ weeks. Milk is sticky and milky... tastes fine to me and I hate regular milk. Vulva area is jelly, tail can be bent to wherever, baby bump looks dropped and moved back, stool softened for a bit then went back to normal. PAF test and Mother Nature test both hit in the 12 hour window... on day 319, when a woman at the barn said she was having light contractions and I raced home. 2 more weeks... nothing.

Vet said if she looks happy, is eating, not restless, etc- invest in Chemetrics and take it from there. That being said, she's been at 300+ since Saturday. What gives?? This chick is driving me nuts! Should I be worried? I just moved so I know I won't trust a new vet's opinion, but is it worth paying a ridiculous call fee to have MY vet drive 2 hrs to check on her? Do pH and temp checks really help or will they confuse me more?

Please help, or just tell me to chill out and gain some patience...

[Laurierace]

I only do pH, the rest are a waste of time. Go to Walmart and get some spa strips. Make sure they go down to at least 6.2 in pH. Aquarium strips also work.

[JoZ]

When do you start to worry? Conception.
When do you stop? I'll let you know when/if it happens.

I second the pool strips though I find them hard to read -- I think the ones we have stop at 6.5 so I'm looking at things like how orange it turns and how quickly it turns. I wish I could just say "there, THAT'S the color!" Does anyone have test strips with a lower low?

[Laurierace]

You don't buy them if they don't go to at least 6.2 6.0 is better but harder to find. Knowing your mare is at least 6.5 doesn't help you much. Granted, pH can change quickly and my last mare was at 6.2 or lower for 80 hours so what do I know?

[JWB]

Not to hijack but can you explain the pool strips - how they work and what they mean? I used the foaling predictor kit on my boss's horse several years ago. Was thinking of looking for that again, but if there is an easier to find/cheaper option, I'd love to know about it!!!

[Laurierace]

pH is pH. It makes no difference if it is pool water or properly diluted mare's milk. 6.2 is considered to the "foaling imminent" which is why having strips that only go down to 6.8 or 6.5 are relatively useless. They tell you that you are getting close but you have no idea how close. pH drops and calcium rises as it turns into real colostrum before foaling.

[JWB]

Thanks!!
Think these would work? They go down to 4.5.

[camohn]

youngest healthy/normal foal I have had was born at 320/longest was 365...so that is a big window to work in!

[Laurierace]

Thanks!!
Think these would work? They go down to 4.5.

I don't see why not. The spa strips usually measure hardness ie calcium too which moves before pH so if you want something to test to pass the time I would go with something that tested both.

[Chestnut Run]

pH is pH. It makes no difference if it is pool water or properly diluted mare's milk.

What is the dilution rate?

We did the mare predictor kit, but didn't find it very predictive of our two mares that first year. It was my first time ever breeding, even though my husband had foaled out hundreds of mares, so I was milk checking 4 times a day once they were close to their expected due dates. The one mare was in the "not likely" spot, and foaled that night. The other mare was in the "foaling imminent within 24 hours" spot for 7 days.

Sheila

[Laurierace]

1/2cc milk to 3ccs distilled water or 1cc milk to 6cc distilled water. Go with the bigger sample if possible.

[Irish_Love]

Update... came home to a healthy colt that night :-) Anyone need about 15 more veils of the Chemetrics test? or 24 strips of the Mother Natures foal test?

Will trade ya for a good, strong, not taken by ISR/OLD colt name starting with "O" haha!!

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...psffff5d44.jpg

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps51bd343c.jpg

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps32f663bd.png

[Derby Lyn Farms]

Congrats! I was reading this and my response was going to be that your mare is probably foaling as you write this. Glad everything turned out ok.

[fairtheewell]

He's darling!! Congrats!

[Irish_Love]

Thank you! I'm really excited to have him. I would have posted properly in the announcements sticky, but my photographer friend is coming this weekend, so wanted to do him justice :-)