Alita's Story

Weeks Thirty Three & Thirty Four

January 12th - January 25th

The Wait Begins

  The first few days after Lynn's massage Alita was a bit sore however she seemed like it was a bit easier for her to move after about 2 days. Her leg seemed a little bit straighter and she didn't seem as tender when she walked.

  I proceeded to massage her at each feeding if possible. If not I tried every other day. I knew I should be doing it every day however my mother in law was getting ready to move in, the baby and house chores take up a lot f the day as well. I did know however that every little bit would help so I would do what I could.

  Well after two days is when the fun began.

  On January 15th we began to check the mares as they were approx. 10 days out from their foaling date. On this date Aly and Alita were both moved to a 12x16 foaling stall with a 20 x 40 turnout. That night we checked both mares and recorded their signs as follows:

  Aly: slight bag, hindquarters loose, tail tight, milk clear baby down
Alita: no bag, hindquarters tight, tail tight, no milk & baby is still up.

  Due to both not being in the immediate danger of foaling we left them together and that's how they liked it. During the day the were occasionally turned out in the pasture with 3 other pregnant mares to graze and enjoy the sunshine.

  We then checked the mares again on January 18th and neither mare was showing any changes in her 2 days previous signs. So we would wait 2 more days to check again.

  The days were pretty warm and the mares really enjoyed their time in the pasture together. Aly and Alita were turned out in the smaller pasture with the mares every other day. They would then stay in the stall and paddock area so Alita could rest her leg a bit because the extra weight seemed to be putting a strain on her. I hoped it would be over soon for her.

  We checked again on January 20th and their signs were as follows:
Aly: Medium bag, hindquarters loose, tail tight, milk clear and baby still down.
Alita: slight bag, hindquarters tight, tail tight, no milk

  From the way they were progressing Aly would foal before Alita. Horses however can surprise you so we were on our toes for anything. The next two days were wet so Aly and Alita stayed in. They weren't very happy however I didn't want to risk Alita slipping in the soft dirt.

  On January 22nd we checked again and the signs were as follows:
Aly: very hard big bag, hindquarters loose, tail medium, milk cloudy, baby still down and her Foal Predictor Test turned 5 squares in 25 seconds.
Alita: No change from the 20th.

  At this point we knew Aly would be foaling first so we shut her in the foaling stall leaving Alita on the outside to keep watch over her. We had tried to move Alita to the paddock next to the foaling stall however she paced and called to Aly until we put her back. She wanted to be close to her friend.

  We stayed up and watched Aly in the stall from the house on our "foal cam". You could see Alita's head stick over the gate into the stall occasionally as if to say "I'm here too!" We watched with no pending signs until 3 am and then went to bed setting the alarm every ½ hour to look at the TV and see what was happening. When morning came around there was still no foal.

  We let Aly out of the stall into the paddock area during the day. Alita was so happy to be able to touch her friend again. They ate hay all day long side by side. Aly seemed a bit uncomfortable most of the day so we were pretty certain the event would be that night.

  After feeding we checked Aly again and recorded the following:
Very hard bag, very loose hindquarters, tail medium, Lots of cloudy milk, tummy pointed and predict a Foal test was 5 squares in 5 seconds.

  This would be the night. We shut Aly in the stall again and left Alita outside in the paddock area. A few friends: 12 yr. Old Caylie and her mother Suzanne came over for foal watch and we all sat in the house awaiting the event. They had never seen an actual birth so they were very excited! We watched the monitor for hours and Aly would start to pace, get us excited and then go right back to eating her hay. Alita stayed close outside the gate as if she knew something was going to happen.

  Caylie just wanted to go home as she was sure after 5 hours of watching the monitor that Aly was going to wait another night. I convinced Caylie to stay for awhile longer and we both fell asleep around 1:30am while Suzanne kept watch on Aly. Suzanne would periodically go outside and look over the fence to tape and then come back in. During this time Suzanne said Aly began to pace at about 2:45 am. She would stop at the gate to the stall and Alita would run her head up and down her back. Aly would then pace the stall again and then come back to Alita.

  At 3:15 Suzanne woke us up and said Aly had been pacing for awhile and Alita seemed to be massaging her back whenever she stopped at the gate. I got up and no sooner then putting on my pants we saw the sac. I quickly called my friend LaNet that lived just 10 minutes away and told her it was time. We then rushed outside.

  Suzanne stayed at the fence and taped while I went in the stall to help if needed. Aly was down @ 3:30. By 3:40 the shoulders were out and by 3:45 the foal was out. The only intervention I had was breaking the sac around the foals mouth as it was moving, past the shoulders and the sac had not broken.

  Alita was pacing back and forth and calling to Aly the whole time. She wondered what this little one was and why her friend was ignoring her and paying VERY close attention to the baby. My friend LaNet arrived just as it was all over and due to Alita's extreme excitement we had to move her to the paddock next to Aly. Alita kept her head over the gate from the other side nickering and probably wondering Is that going to happen to me?

  After about an hour the foal was up had been nursing and my husband and I headed to bed, LaNet, Suzanne and Caylie went home.

  The entire day Alita spent calling to her friend and watching with HUGE eyes. We let Aly and the colt out into the paddock where Alita could get a better view however Aly made sure she kept herself between her baby and Alita who was peering over the fence. Having her out seemed to calm down Alita as she wasn't quite as wound up as the previous night and the wee hours of the morning.

  Now we wait for Alita's blessed event. She is due to foal 3 days after Aly. She has been still getting her 8 lbs of grain mix 2x a day along with Corn Oil. I keep trying to slip some dehydrated alfalfa in her food but she always finds a way to eat around it and leave it in the bucket. At least she will eat the few alfalfa pellets that I put in there