An Update in Pictures
This first one is not a good pic, but you can see the lack of muscle definition along the top of her hip. I hate to admit, but I think she may have lost some weight, evidenced by her spine kind of sticking out. Either that or it's another effect of the baby, maybe pulling down on her? Her feed regimen has been changed, and I've been slowly adding to the amounts she gets of everything. She's really going to need it when she starts making milk.
Look at that poor belly. This is the side she butt-rubs on.
Yawning in pain just before having a nice poo:
Definitely not slab-sided yet:
Bag with continual leakage at a very slow rate:
Sleepy face:
Itchy face:
SCARY face! Actually this is her "Oh that's a good spot, scratch there!" face. Kind of freaky looking taken out of context though, don't you think?
Bella is a very pretty mare. She does look uncomfortable. I hope you have your beautiful baby soon!
ReplyDeleteI would not increase her feed until AFTER she foals. The foal will gain too much weight and make it that much harder for her to give birth. Good luck to you. Doris
ReplyDeleteBabies rarely get to big for a mare to foal out. The size of her uterus determines the size of the foal. I wouldn't worry about that at all.
ReplyDeleteHer back bone looking like it's sticking out is actually pretty common right towards the end. The weight of that stomach tends to 'pull' all the muscle etc. down, making the backbone look more prominant. Her tail head area (the one shot from the back) still looks level from left to right. I don't really see any real loss of flesh there and that tends to be one of the first places they loose it at.
If you want to bumpup her feed, just give her as much grass hay as she wants to eat. Alot of mares will eat like they are starved for a few weeks right before foaling.
The last 3 months of pregnancy is when the foal does the majority of it's growing so they really do need more feed to get that foal to the right size. :)
She still looks good, though a bit miserable lol. Poor dear. I hope she has it soon.
Thanks Twisted Oaks. :) We sure like her. I love her mane and forelock. I just hope she evens out and doesn't stay downhill. She is only three, bred while living on the range... Ideally she wouldn't be having a baby now. I hope she can continue to grow while nursing.
ReplyDeleteDoris, I think a fat mare can have trouble giving birth, but I'm not worried about the baby growing too much. And she wasn't getting much to begin with, compared with the amounts of grain some people feed. Certainly she can use the feed, being in the last trimester and hopefully still growing herself...
She does have free choice timothy. Well, pretty much. Unless it mixes at all with the straw, then she refuses to eat it. I figure in that case she must not be all that hungry!
I kind of thought it might be her belly pulling her down, but was worried I'd overlooked some weight loss...
She does have a sunken pit on either side of her tail head. I'll load a pic that shows it better in a new post. Lighting can really matter when you're looking at these little changes.
LOL...scary face, indeed! Poor girl. Oh, how I remember those days! I gained 45 pounds each time. At least Bella won't have stretch marks showing and can still wear a bikini when she's done :)
ReplyDelete