Starting to ride Babe again

Finally! I've started to ride Babe again. Kruzer is 5 months old and is able to stay with Alley and Sox while I ride his mom for about a half of an hour.
It felt good to ride her. She's overweight and out of shape. I started riding her for 15 minutes a day for a week; then 20 minutes a day for a week. We're up to a half hour now, with some light loping. So far she is staying sound!
The first two days Kruzer would stand near the fence a nicker when I took her out - then he would wander off to pester Sox. He didn't really care his mom was not in the pasture. He could still see her, so things were okay. Now he doesn't even pay attention when I take her out. It's part of the routine of the day. Of course as soon as I put her back, he needs to nurse.
After I wean Kruzer (sometime in September) Babe will be put in a pasture by herself so I can control her feed intake. She needs to go on a diet. I was hoping she would lose weight while nursing a foal, but she just ate more. She is a good mother and produced a lot of milk. Kruzer didn't show much interest in grain until he was four months old...too full of milk.
I hope she is ready to show at the Guadalupe quarter horse show in November. We'll see.

18 days old

Babe's colt is doing great. He's learning to lead and have his feet picked up. He's very sure of himself and independent. This morning we finally made it from the barn to the pasture without him trying to cow kick me, bolt, rear or buck while being led. He hates restraint. I sent in the registration application. AQHA has to send the DNA test kit to verify his parentage and then he'll be registered. First name choice is The Kustom Kruzer.

Here's a video I made of him playing at two weeks of age -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZlvWJ7UQw4

And one of him learning how to lead at four days old -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggEAHKBXFA

His front legs are getting better. I still have him on limited turn out - twice a day for about an hour. Dr. Jana wants to make sure he is strong before he gets turned out with Alley's filly. We don't want him to become fatigued and not rest. Babe had her teeth floated yesterday. She's a great mother. She talks to him constantly - even though he ignores her. She went through her foal heat at 7 days with no problem. Kruzer didn't get foal diarrhea. I had dewormed Babe the day after she foaled and vets think that helps. Babe had a reaction to the dewormer. I used Zimectrin Gold and the inside of her cheek where I inserted the paste swelled and became very irritated. It says on the side of the box the reaction is "rare". After doing research I found out it's not as rare as they think it is. I've filed a complaint with the FDA and also called the company. I've pasted a picture of the inside of her cheek. She was in so much pain she couldn't eat for six hours. 12 hours later is was still swollen and sore.

Five Days Old!

Babe's dun colt by The Krymsun Kruzer is now five days old. I've made several videos of him.

This video is when he was four days old. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdwn2MH655U


Here's a video of his leading lessons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggEAHKBXFA


Still working on names.

Marestare video

WyCherie, a Marestare.com viewer was kind enough to make a video of Marestare's live streaming feed of Babe foaling. Thank you!
Click here to watch video.

36 hours old

While Don cleaned Babe's stall I held her as she grazed in yard. The colt had a blast, once he found his legs and learned how to canter. I had the camcorder set on a tripod. Click here for the video.

He's doing much better this morning moving his bowels. Had two normal bm's while we were cleaning stalls and doing chores...one while he was exercising while Babe ate.

Some concern about his knock knees, but they aren’t bad and should straighten on their own. The key is not to let him exercise to the point of exhaustion and keep him on solid footing.

One Day Old

Saturday, March 19, 2011 After getting about three hours sleep (not consecutively) I was up a 7:45. Babe and colt doing great. Treated the cord again. Don had to hold the colt as he’s very strong. We let them stay in stall until around 3 PM. We brought Alley and her filly in and put Babe and the colt out for a few hours.

Don led Babe and I guided the colt. He’s strong and hard to guide. Got them to pasture. Babe’s a good mother. She followed him around and stood over him while he napped.

We brought them in at 4:30 as vet was coming to check IgG levels and give them a check up.

Dr. Jana arrived. Gave colt tetanus shot and checked IgG, which was very good. Babe has some bruising, which Jana said was normal for a big colt and maiden mare. I’m to keep an eye on her just in case it gets infected. The placenta was all there, so that was good. Colt is straining to move bowels so we gave him an enema. I’m to watch him in case he develops constipation. Signs will be not nursing and acting lethargic. He could get seriously ill if his bowels don’t work properly.

At 8 pm I called Dr. Jana – he was straining to move bowels. She had us give him another enema. What he passed was soft and brown…not hard, so maybe he’ll be alright. I still need to watch him. He’s nursing every time he gets a chance and is keeping Babe empty, which Jana said was normal and what we wanted.

He’s also slightly knock kneed so we need to keep the stall not too deeply bedded and not let him exercise too much.

He’s getting more active as he gets older. He tried to kick at Don tonight when we gave him the enema.

Click Here for video

Dun Colt! 7 Days Early!

March 18, 2011 I thought Babe was acting restless during the day, but the wind was blowing and I thought maybe that was bothering her. At 5 pm I noticed drips of milk and her muscles were relaxed around tail head. She still ate her supper and started in on hay. I kept checking on her and keeping an eye on the streaming video while I worked on the computer.

At 11:20 pm her water broke, at 11:29 the amniotic sac appeared, at 11:40 two feet appear. Both feet were soles down, so far – so good. At 11:45 she was far enough along Don could reach in a feel a head correctly position along the front legs, near the knees. By 11:50 contractions were starting pretty strong, but foal was not progressing – somewhat “stuck”. Don helped out by gently pulling the foal along with the contractions – keeping traction downward – toward Babe’s hocks. 11:56 the foal was all the way out and Don broke the sac which was covering the head and neck. We left the stall and allowed Babe and the foal to rest and bond. We didn’t want either to stand too soon and break the umbilical cord before all the blood was transferred from the placenta to the foal.

Babe was extremely tired and several times lay back, flat on her side, which got me nervous, but she was fine – just resting. In between resting she was nickering to her foal, who was already trying to nurse. In about 15 minutes I went in and removed the rest of the sac. Found a dorsal stripe! We were hoping for a dun, but was expecting a bay, as The Krymsun Kruzer is bay (though around the 5th generation he has two duns in his pedigree). I also discovered we had a colt! He also has a snip and white right front foot to fetlock.

Babe and foal did not show any signs of wanting to stand, so we let them rest. He’s a big colt and she’s a maiden, so foaling was very tiring for both.

Soon he started to get active – trying to stand. In doing so he broke the cord. Eventually he ended up in front of Babe, who was still down. But she was talking to him and licking him. I went in and treated the umbilical stump with 0.5% chlorhexidine, which is better than iodine.

He ended up standing before she did. But once he was up, she got up also.
As soon as Babe was up, he started looking for a nipple. She was giving little squealing sounds, but was licking and caring for him. I let him gain strength and get his bearings. In about a half of an hour I helped him find her udder. He started nursing right away.

He’s a big strong colt.

I let them rest for another hour and helped him nurse a few more times. I then treated the umbilical stump a second time. I went in for a few hours sleep.

At 4 am I checked on them. The colt has passed about 10 inches of meconium. He was nursing well and Babe looked good.

Here's a link to the foaling video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RUOCo4P6q0