# Vet thinks I've got a bogoff :)



## ycbm (18 July 2017)

Vet came to do jabs today, looked at my mini bought on October 4th last year and said 'has she been anywhere near a stallion?'  . She says she is a characteristic shape, out and then back in, instead of round,  and pointed out that she's a lot bigger on the right than on the left.

I would be tickled pink if we get a tiny  baby 

Watch this space!


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## poiuytrewq (18 July 2017)

Fingers x'd then! How exciting. It will be tiny aswell from a mini. I remember going to someplace years ago that did mini rescue and the foals were just amazing


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## FinnishLapphund (18 July 2017)

How exciting, hope the veterinarian is correct!


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## Laika (18 July 2017)

Oh my! Another thread I think I'll be keeping my eyes on!!!


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## SatansLittleHelper (18 July 2017)

Yayy y another baby


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## Hexx (18 July 2017)

Why didn't the vet do a check while she was there?  Saves you another call out.


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## Pippity (18 July 2017)

Fingers crossed it wasn't a Shire that got to her!


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## SEL (18 July 2017)

It's about time for another baby thread!


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## ElleSkywalker (18 July 2017)

Hexx said:



			Why didn't the vet do a check while she was there?  Saves you another call out.
		
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It's a mini so can't always scan/internal as too tiny.

Fingers crossed for you


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## ycbm (18 July 2017)

Pippity said:



			Fingers crossed it wasn't a Shire that got to her!
		
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They had a piebald colt. I wonder what we might get from a chestnut mare?  I'd love piebald or a bay or anything with four straight legs


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 July 2017)

I've learnt not to trust Shetland colours that aren't blacks lol!  I have a chestnut that is out of a chestnut mare byou a skewbald stallion. All othere crosses from this combination have been skewbald. 75% of the stallions offspring have been skewbald colts. We were expecting a skewbald colt and we're so glad we got a chestnut filly!  

My wee coloured job is skewbald. His mother is dun and his father is cream and white. He has every colour under the sun in his pedigree so goodness knows what colours he will end of throwing!  I might put him to one of my chestnut mares next year to see what happens! 

Good luck no matter the outcome!


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## meleeka (18 July 2017)

Ooh another baby post, how lovely!


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## chillipup (18 July 2017)

Woweee another baby on the way? How soon will you be able to find out if she's definitely carrying yc? or will you just have to wait? I do think pictures of the (possible) hussy are in order though, we do need to see the little minx


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## Leo Walker (18 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			They had a piebald colt. I wonder what we might get from a chestnut mare?  I'd love piebald or a bay or anything with four straight legs 

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Without knowing the genes of the parents its a bit harder, but chestnut/bay/red with the possibility of splodges


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## Leo Walker (18 July 2017)

EKW said:



			My wee coloured job is skewbald. His mother is dun and his father is cream and white. He has every colour under the sun in his pedigree so goodness knows what colours he will end of throwing!  I might put him to one of my chestnut mares next year to see what happens!
		
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skewbald as in chestnut and white or bay and white?


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## Meowy Catkin (18 July 2017)

Leo Walker said:



			skewbald as in chestnut and white or bay and white?
		
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Photos! We need photos of cute Shetty foals!


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## Crugeran Celt (18 July 2017)

Friend bought a coloured gypsy cob last October, fabulous mare and a dream to hack, produced a beautiful, very large foal two weeks ago. Seems many BOGOF around this year. She only realised she was pregnant about two weeks before foal arrived.


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## ycbm (18 July 2017)

There will be photos galore if we get a baby, don't worry. I'll get a picture of the belly soon. I think she has a bit of time to go, if she is in foal. I have to admit to being quite excited and hoping it's true. The vet is a very experienced breeder and I didn't ask her opinion, she just kept on looking at her funny, and then suddenly asked about a stallion.  I did wonder last week, and had a feel of her teats, and thought she had already had a foal some time. The vet says that she has. So hopefully things will be easy, if it happens. 

What do I look for next, I don't want her foaling out with the big boys!?


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## Andalucian (18 July 2017)

Ooh, how exciting xx


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## mynutmeg (18 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			There will be photos galore if we get a baby, don't worry. I'll get a picture of the belly soon. I think she has a bit of time to go, if she is in foal. I have to admit to being quite excited and hoping it's true. The vet is a very experienced breeder and I didn't ask her opinion, she just kept on looking at her funny, and then suddenly asked about a stallion.  I did wonder last week, and had a feel of her teats, and thought she had already had a foal some time. The vet says that she has. So hopefully things will be easy, if it happens. 

What do I look for next, I don't want her foaling out with the big boys!?
		
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Go get 2 books (this is assuming you're a breeding novice) 'your mare's first foal' https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Your-Mares-First-Foal-Jane-Skepper/1872119980 and 'from foal to full grown' https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Ja...&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=from+foal+to+full+grow

These are both very good books that will talk you through everything you need to do and get 
good luck


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## Equi (18 July 2017)

omg!!!! How exciting. I need to see pics of her from all angles lol


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## ycbm (18 July 2017)

equi said:



			omg!!!! How exciting. I need to see pics of her from all angles lol
		
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I am NOT lying on my back on the floor to photograph 
her teats  !


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 July 2017)

Leo Walker said:



			skewbald as in chestnut and white or bay and white?
		
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Chestnut and white. 

His sire is Dun & White which goes to a skewbald and brown dun. The brown dun goes to a liver chestnut and a dun. The skewbald is a black and a chestnut. 

His dam is dun which goes to a black and a cream dun. The cream dun goes to a cream dun and chestnut. The black is well black through and through.


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## Equi (18 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			I am NOT lying on my back on the floor to photograph 
her teats  !
		
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Awk there is no fun in you!


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## McFluff (18 July 2017)

Ooo, how exciting. Fingers crossed vet is right and all goes well.


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## ycbm (18 July 2017)

equi said:



			Awk there is no fun in you!
		
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Do you think I could teach her to stand on a table  ?


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## criso (18 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			They had a piebald colt. I wonder what we might get from a chestnut mare?  I'd love piebald or a bay or anything with four straight legs 

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Reasonable chance that you'll get that, depends on whether the chestnut is hiding a bay agouti gene.

http://www.animalgenetics.us/Equine/CCalculator1.asp

I put in chestnut  and Black Tobiano  (not knowing what sort of piebald) and got this.

Offspring Color Probability

18.75% -	Bay
18.75% -	Black Tobiano
18.75% -	Black
18.75% -	Bay Tobiano
12.50% -	Red (Chestnut/Sorrel) Tobiano
12.50% -	Red (Chestnut/Sorrel)


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## Meowy Catkin (18 July 2017)

Make sure it's a glass table and you'll be away!


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## Peregrine Falcon (18 July 2017)

LOL Faracat! 

Another surprise foalie, how exciting.


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## texas (19 July 2017)

squeee! that is all.


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## scats (19 July 2017)

How exciting!


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

Faracat said:



			Make sure it's a glass table and you'll be away! 






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 .......


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

criso said:



			Reasonable chance that you'll get that, depends on whether the chestnut is hiding a bay agouti gene.

http://www.animalgenetics.us/Equine/CCalculator1.asp

I put in chestnut  and Black Tobiano  (not knowing what sort of piebald) and got this.

Offspring Color Probability

18.75% -	Bay
18.75% -	Black Tobiano
18.75% -	Black
18.75% -	Bay Tobiano
12.50% -	Red (Chestnut/Sorrel) Tobiano
12.50% -	Red (Chestnut/Sorrel)
		
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Those are good odds!  I'll take anything off that list and I already have the two least likely.  Not keen on black but I'm sure it would win me over 

I'll get some photos when I've done the gnome wedding later (see other thread for details  ) , but she's a chestnut with paler legs and mane and an evenly distributed sprinkle of white through her coat, not enough to call her a roan.


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## claracanter (19 July 2017)

We all love a BOGOF. Can we see a pic of the mum -to- be please?


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

What do we think? From directly above.







And her gorgeous little face. Side view later.


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## Sukistokes2 (19 July 2017)

Waiting with baited breath


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## Asha (19 July 2017)

whats her bag like  ? The belly does look an odd shape, so sounds promising. I love Shetland foalies. Exciting


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## pansymouse (19 July 2017)

I love her mad mane and flared nostrils - she's the sort of pony that makes you smile xx


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## Pippity (19 July 2017)

What a pretty face! Fingers crossed for something special!


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## Flicker (19 July 2017)

Faracat said:



			Make sure it's a glass table and you'll be away! 






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That's fantastic!!!


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## Meowy Catkin (19 July 2017)

Aww, she's pretty!


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## Cecile (19 July 2017)

Congratulations, she is indeed beautiful and will give you the most wonderful foal (Fingers xx'd vet is correct)
So exciting, I'm going green with envy


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

Dupe


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

From the side







And from the front.


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

So what do you think, breeders, is she pregnant? And if so, how long to go?


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

Faracat said:



			Aww, she's pretty! 

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She's got the loveliest Thelwell face with huge eyes and I smile every time I look at her. If I'm honest, the back end doesn't match and her hocks are too straight and she does a funny little stilted Charlie Chaplin walk, but she's not a show pony and I don't care. I'm happy to keep the baby whatever, though a friend is already asking if I'll have one spare now, so who knows?


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## rara007 (19 July 2017)

Do you know her history? Some mini mares that have foaled before can be really hard to tell (the local mini stud often gets a couple to flaking before scanning and realising nothing is coming!)


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## ycbm (19 July 2017)

rara007 said:



			Do you know her history? Some mini mares that have foaled before can be really hard to tell (the local mini stud often gets a couple to flaking before scanning and realising nothing is coming!)
		
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I bought her at the beginning of October, age thirteen, from a place that had a chestnut skewbald  filly foal, a black and white colt who looked two, and a herd of about eight pets, mostly geldings, that they were trying to reduce in size.

Vet says she has foaled before, but we have no idea when. I have lost the details of the seller, so if anyone knows someone in Lancs nearish to Robinsons who fits the description, with an autistic son approaching adulthood, can you let me know?


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## Cecile (19 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			I bought her at the beginning of October, age thirteen, from a place that had a chestnut skewbald  filly foal, a black and white colt who looked two, and a herd of about eight pets, mostly geldings, that they were trying to reduce in size.

Vet says she has foaled before, but we have no idea when. I have lost the details of the seller, so if anyone knows someone in Lancs nearish to Robinsons who fits the description, with an autistic son approaching adulthood, can you let me know?
		
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You should find the details under Section 1 ownership detail page in her passport if she is registered with the SPS
If the owners didn't fill in that page for whatever reason you would of had to fill in notice of change of owner when you registered her under your name, the SPS would have recorded all the details and I am sure would be happy to help if you fail to find the details


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## JJS (20 July 2017)

How exciting! BOGOF babies are the best!


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## On the Hoof (20 July 2017)

JJS said:



			How exciting! BOGOF babies are the best!
		
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Well you do have the best one in the world! . Talking of whom is Flower still ruling the roost and growing like a weed? More piccys??


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## Elf On A Shelf (20 July 2017)

If she is registered and has had registered foals I can look her up on grass roots for you. If she isn't registered with the Shetland Pony stud book then there will be no record of foals.

My mare didn't look like she was due to foal any time soon. Checked her at 8pm, no milk bags, no squidgy bump,  nothing. 6.30am I get a phone call to say there is a foal running round the field. 

Shetlands are crafty! Never believe them!


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## ycbm (20 July 2017)

EKW said:



			If she is registered and has had registered foals I can look her up on grass roots for you. If she isn't registered with the Shetland Pony stud book then there will be no record of foals.

My mare didn't look like she was due to foal any time soon. Checked her at 8pm, no milk bags, no squidgy bump,  nothing. 6.30am I get a phone call to say there is a foal running round the field. 

Shetlands are crafty! Never believe them!
		
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Oh no, I'm going to have to split her up. My big paint is a violent 'player'. He means no harm but he could easily misjudge and stamp on a foal.

She is registered as 'Snow Fox', with a stud name I've forgotten. I'll look it up later. Her last owner didn't update the passport.  I have to be honest, she really isn't a quality I would have deliberately bred from, but I'll take a bogoff


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## Elf On A Shelf (20 July 2017)

There is a 14yo chestnut mini mare registered as Grimpowood Snow Fox - is this her? If so she has had 2 registered foals. One in 2006 and one in 2011. Both fillies, one chestnut and one blue roan.


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## ycbm (20 July 2017)

EKW said:



			There is a 14yo chestnut mini mare registered as Grimpowood Snow Fox - is this her? If so she has had 2 registered foals. One in 2006 and one in 2011. Both fillies, one chestnut and one blue roan.
		
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That's her! Oh I'd love a blue roan!!  Thanks EKW. Her belly is really low this morning, but nothing at all in the udder.


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## Elf On A Shelf (20 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			That's her! Oh I'd love a blue roan!!  Thanks EKW. Her belly is really low this morning, but nothing at all in the udder.
		
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The blue roan was by a blue roan stallion. Your mare is chestnut for 3 generations.


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## Equi (20 July 2017)

It's really hard to tel esp in Shetlands they tend to just have massive bellies anyway. Think it will have to be a wait and see thing!


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## Leo Walker (20 July 2017)

You cannot have a blue roan without a roan parent, so its wont be a roan foal


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## ycbm (20 July 2017)

Leo Walker said:



			You cannot have a blue roan without a roan parent, so its wont be a roan foal
		
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I know she doesn't show on the photos but she's borderline roan herself. She has a lot of white in her coat, just not quite enough to do more than make her look a peach colour instead of red. But anything healthy will do. She has the sweetest temperament, you couldn't wish for better to bed from in that respect. 

I'm going to be so disappointed now if it's just an old foal belly!


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## Leo Walker (20 July 2017)

Shes probably got sabino or a sabino like ticking going on. She might or might not pass that on, they dont know all the sabino type genes yet or how they work.


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## ycbm (20 July 2017)

She's  changed shape again today. Her belly has dropped and she has a little round low hanging 'pod'. And two new pockets, the size of a flat hand, one on each side in front of the whorl above the stifle joint. No change in the udder. 

I wormed her this morning to make sure it's not that.

Have our odds gone up, or stayed the same?

OH is hoping is a baby, he's quite excited!.


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## rosiesowner (20 July 2017)

how exciting! It will be beautiful in any colour... I've always wanted to see a newly born foal


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## Elf On A Shelf (20 July 2017)

rosiesowner said:



 how exciting! It will be beautiful in any colour... I've always wanted to see a newly born foal
		
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You can watch one being born! Please bare in mind that this was 10 years ago when out door cctv & web connections weren't the best! This is the mother and this full brother to our accidental foal this year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgcAEzIdrlI&t=27s

3 days later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpun3o5zeuk


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## sky1000 (20 July 2017)

EKW just watched - how lovely.


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## JJS (21 July 2017)

On the Hoof said:



			Well you do have the best one in the world! . Talking of whom is Flower still ruling the roost and growing like a weed? More piccys??
		
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She certainly is. I'll try and get around to putting an update up soon


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## ycbm (22 July 2017)

Well there's definitely something going on. If she isn't pregnant then she may be sickening for something. 

She's separated herself from everyone else, and gone very tactile with me. And she's looked just slightly uncomfortable in the belly for three or four days as if she has a touch of indigestion. She is picking up a hind foot now and again and tapping the floor with it. And occasionally looking at her flanks.

One of the geldings, the ultra sensitive one, is following her around, looking very curious. That's not normal.

When she lies flat on the floor, her top hind leg sticks out into space as if she's got rigor mortis! That's been happening for a couple of weeks. 

So I'm splitting them up from today, little ones away from big ones, and we will see what happens.


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## ycbm (27 July 2017)

Nooooooooooo!!!

She's in season.

  


Now having stupid thoughts of buying a fifty quid colt to run with both of my girls next year. Tell me it would be completely nuts,  please!


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## KittenInTheTree (27 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			Nooooooooooo!!!

She's in season.

  


Now having stupid thoughts of buying a fifty quid colt to run with both of my girls next year. Tell me it would be completely nuts,  please!
		
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It would be stupid, irresponsible, and could result in the death of both of your mares.


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## Gloi (27 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			Nooooooooooo!!!

She's in season.

  


Now having stupid thoughts of buying a fifty quid colt to run with both of my girls next year. Tell me it would be completely nuts,  please!
		
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Of course it would, I'm sure someone would lend you one for free in exchange for summer grazing ;D


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## Elf On A Shelf (27 July 2017)

Gloi said:



			Of course it would, I'm sure someone would lend you one for free in exchange for summer grazing ;D
		
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This! There are plenty of studs that would love their spare stallions to be used for either free grazing or upto £100 for the summer for however many mares! Which then means you can hand it back for winter and not have to worry about mares being covered after foaling the following year. Or you could send the mare away for a month or so so no need to have a stallion around your others at all. There are also so many over bred and unwanted ponies you would need to be 100% certain of their future.


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## ycbm (27 July 2017)

KittenInTheTree said:



			It would be stupid, irresponsible, and could result in the death of both of your mares.
		
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The death of both my mares? How likely is that, pregnancy is a normal condition!?  Not quite sure why  it would be quite as stupid as you think to breed a couple of tinies I want or my friends want? Can you explain?


Please don't mention rescues, I tried to get rescues when I bought each of my minis a year apart, and no-one was interested in letting me have one. They were gone before I even had a chance !


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## ycbm (27 July 2017)

EKW said:



			This! There are plenty of studs that would love their spare stallions to be used for either free grazing or upto £100 for the summer for however many mares! Which then means you can hand it back for winter and not have to worry about mares being covered after foaling the following year. Or you could send the mare away for a month or so so no need to have a stallion around your others at all. There are also so many over bred and unwanted ponies you would need to be 100% certain of their future.
		
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How do I get hold of one?  Babies would stay with me unless friends beg for one. I mean, two isn't enough, is it  ?   Am I too late for this year?  Late foal is not an issue, I have a big barn.


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## Tiddlypom (27 July 2017)

Sorry you're not getting the bogoff you'd hoped for. If you want another mini, then have another go at getting a rescue. Not sure why you weren't successful before, as IME the rescues are always looking for good homes.


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## Elf On A Shelf (27 July 2017)

Realistically yes it is too late for most people to be thinking of putting a mare in foal. If she took straight away then you are looking at an end of June/early July baby. 6 months on to weaning your in the deepest darkest winter which will then make you feel horrible seperating baby from mummy - not that the mares generally care! 

If you are serious then I would do some research into your mares bloodlines over winter, find a stallion that would be a good match for what you want - height, colour etc. And approach the stud about sending your mare there or loaning/leasing the stallion with the idea being you go for a March/April covering to get an early foal that you wont feel so bad about weaning! The funnier the colour the stallion the less likely you are to be able to lease/loan but it generally doesn't cost much to send a mare to a stud that will chuck her out in the field with the others.

There are loads of studs advertised on here: http://www.shetland-pony.com/

Along with many, many more that are not!


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## rosiesowner (27 July 2017)

EKW said:



			You can watch one being born! Please bare in mind that this was 10 years ago when out door cctv & web connections weren't the best! This is the mother and this full brother to our accidental foal this year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgcAEzIdrlI&t=27s

3 days later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpun3o5zeuk

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Sorry I've only just seen this. Wow, ten years to the day since the second video was posted. Beautiful foal x


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## Elf On A Shelf (27 July 2017)

rosiesowner said:



			Sorry I've only just seen this. Wow, ten years to the day since the second video was posted. Beautiful foal x
		
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Is it? I hadn't even noticed lol! I rarely remember when our foals are born!

This is him now:


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## Equi (27 July 2017)

Don't get too excited - many mares experinece such a rush of hormones before partration that they actually have a pseudo season right before the birth. Keep checking her lady bits and back end for changes.


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## FfionWinnie (27 July 2017)

My mare who just foaled was acting like she was in season just before she foaled. However I don't think I'd suggest you start breeding minis. When it goes wrong it goes very wrong and I've just had the most stressful week of my life and a 900 quid vet bill. Luckily I've got a live mare and foal to show for it but it could easily have been a dead one or both plus the bill. Get a cow instead and have calves is my advice. Much simpler!


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## ycbm (27 July 2017)

FfionWinnie said:



			My mare who just foaled was acting like she was in season just before she foaled. However I don't think I'd suggest you start breeding minis. When it goes wrong it goes very wrong and I've just had the most stressful week of my life and a 900 quid vet bill. Luckily I've got a live mare and foal to show for it but it could easily have been a dead one or both plus the bill. Get a cow instead and have calves is my advice. Much simpler!
		
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Ooh, no, I wouldn't want that bill!   Sorry it went so bad for you. Not keen on cows


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## Elf On A Shelf (27 July 2017)

equi said:



			Don't get too excited - many mares experinece such a rush of hormones before partration that they actually have a pseudo season right before the birth. Keep checking her lady bits and back end for changes.
		
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The Ginger W ho re had the stallion covering all throughout her previous pregnancies. She lives up to her name! So anything is possible!


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## ycbm (27 July 2017)

equi said:



			Don't get too excited - many mares experinece such a rush of hormones before partration that they actually have a pseudo season right before the birth. Keep checking her lady bits and back end for changes.
		
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Oh flip, I really don't know enough about this! Thanks for that, I will keep them apart from the big boys a bit longer then, because I don't recall seeing her in season all summer. And I thought I saw it kick the other day.


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## rara007 (27 July 2017)

Let's just hope none get sarcoids  Or she doesn't foal perfectly... or the foal doesn't suckle enough colostrum or is bandy legged... Or maybe we do to tackle the breeding and overbreeding in one go!


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## mynutmeg (27 July 2017)

The only time my mare ever showed any signs of being in season was while she was pregnant - if shape is right, experienced vet thinks she is and you've been able to see or feel kicks then I'd carry on keeping seperate as it's not worth the risk to mix her back in.


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## ycbm (27 July 2017)

mynutmeg said:



			The only time my mare ever showed any signs of being in season was while she was pregnant - if shape is right, experienced vet thinks she is and you've been able to see or feel kicks then I'd carry on keeping seperate as it's not worth the risk to mix her back in.
		
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Will do!  They have a 30×40 arena, two stables, a 15×5 yard and a 20x5 bit of grass and field shelter, ad lib low sugar haylage, and they seem really happy at the moment, so there's no pressure to move them


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## JJS (27 July 2017)

As lots of people have said, some mares do act like they're in season even whilst they're pregnant, so showing signs of one doesn't necessarily mean anything.


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## KittenInTheTree (27 July 2017)

ycbm said:



			The death of both my mares? How likely is that, pregnancy is a normal condition!?  Not quite sure why  it would be quite as stupid as you think to breed a couple of tinies I want or my friends want? Can you explain?


Please don't mention rescues, I tried to get rescues when I bought each of my minis a year apart, and no-one was interested in letting me have one. They were gone before I even had a chance !
		
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I never suggest rescues, so that's not relevant to my post. If you actually do have an unplanned on the way, then best of luck, but I was responding to your post about buying a cheap colt to run with your mares. Breeding for the sake of it because "Aw, adorable wittle foalie, squee!" from a random £50 colt is stupid and irresponsible, end of. Foaling is inevitably riskier than not foaling - like most things with horses, it's all lovely and happy until it goes horribly wrong, and yes, there can be death. So if you must use your mares to fulfil some deep seated need for foal ownership, then you should at least be responsible, get any vet related before breeding stuff done for the mares first, and then choose a decent sire. Presumably a healthy, well put together foal would be just as "Squee!" as a bin end one. HTH.


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## popsdosh (28 July 2017)

I would change your vet for getting you excited in the first place! Everybody gets sucked into a tide of excitement and logic goes out of the window. Lets face it the vet was the one that got you going as you did not suspect before. To me she never looked in foal and lets face it although a few mares will foal from now on why would a healthy mare running with a colt not foal sooner in the year. Late foals are a total pain IMO.
On the subject of buying a cheap colt Really! OP you would be the first person to jump on a poster for indiscriminate breeding!!


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## Equi (28 July 2017)

KittenInTheTree said:



			I never suggest rescues, so that's not relevant to my post. If you actually do have an unplanned on the way, then best of luck, but I was responding to your post about buying a cheap colt to run with your mares. Breeding for the sake of it because "Aw, adorable wittle foalie, squee!" from a random £50 colt is stupid and irresponsible, end of. Foaling is inevitably riskier than not foaling - like most things with horses, it's all lovely and happy until it goes horribly wrong, and yes, there can be death. So if you must use your mares to fulfil some deep seated need for foal ownership, then you should at least be responsible, get any vet related before breeding stuff done for the mares first, and then choose a decent sire. Presumably a healthy, well put together foal would be just as "Squee!" as a bin end one. HTH.
		
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I assume tongue in cheek means nothing to you.


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## ycbm (28 July 2017)

popsdosh said:



			I would change your vet for getting you excited in the first place! Everybody gets sucked into a tide of excitement and logic goes out of the window. Lets face it the vet was the one that got you going as you did not suspect before. To me she never looked in foal and lets face it although a few mares will foal from now on why would a healthy mare running with a colt not foal sooner in the year. Late foals are a total pain IMO.
On the subject of buying a cheap colt Really! OP you would be the first person to jump on a poster for indiscriminate breeding!!
		
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I did suspect before, PD, I was feeling her teats the week before the vet came. 

I would never jump on anyone for breeding anything that they intended to keep,  except to deliberately breed for a mutant like a dwarf. 

Blame the vet?  It's the best fun I've had all summer. Get a sense of humour!


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## ycbm (28 July 2017)

KittenInTheTree said:



			I never suggest rescues, so that's not relevant to my post. If you actually do have an unplanned on the way, then best of luck, but I was responding to your post about buying a cheap colt to run with your mares. Breeding for the sake of it because "Aw, adorable wittle foalie, squee!" from a random £50 colt is stupid and irresponsible, end of. Foaling is inevitably riskier than not foaling - like most things with horses, it's all lovely and happy until it goes horribly wrong, and yes, there can be death. So if you must use your mares to fulfil some deep seated need for foal ownership, then you should at least be responsible, get any vet related before breeding stuff done for the mares first, and then choose a decent sire. Presumably a healthy, well put together foal would be just as "Squee!" as a bin end one. HTH.
		
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I might agree with you if I was incapable of knowing a well put together pony when I see one and/or was planning to dump them on the market. But honestly, this is getting like arguments about breeding dogs. It really isn't rocket science to breed two pet minis thirty inches high, who will never show and not work and have a home identified.

I don't think I want five, though, so buying a colt doesn't seem like a good idea. OH isn't keen on deliberately breeding, though he was very excited about a bogoff, so I doubt that it's going to happen.

It was a fun idea while it lasted


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## Wagtail (28 July 2017)

It does annoy me when people get all preachy about breeding when the person concerned is a knowledgable, resposible horse person who wants to keep the offspring themselves. I would have loved a foal from my old mare and only didn't put her in foal because she had a previous injury that I was worried would be aggravated by a pregnancy. But if it hadn't been for that, then I would have done it. But the foal would never have been for sale. Nothing wrong in what the OP wants to do IMO.


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## Leo Walker (28 July 2017)

Wagtail said:



			But the foal would never have been for sale. Nothing wrong in what the OP wants to do IMO.
		
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You cannot guarantee a horse will never be for sale unless its written into your will it is to be PTS if you die. 

How do you know these minis dont carry the gene for dwarfism?


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## Equi (28 July 2017)

Leo Walker said:



			You cannot guarantee a horse will never be for sale unless its written into your will it is to be PTS if you die. 

How do you know these minis dont carry the gene for dwarfism?
		
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It's quite easy to find out via lines and a quick hair sample. Fact is it's quite rare in the U.K. And a lot of the dwarf genes come from America and very inbred Shetland lines which will be easy to find out.


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## Widgeon (28 July 2017)

KittenInTheTree said:



			I never suggest rescues, so that's not relevant to my post. If you actually do have an unplanned on the way, then best of luck, but I was responding to your post about buying a cheap colt to run with your mares. Breeding for the sake of it because "Aw, adorable wittle foalie, squee!" from a random £50 colt is stupid and irresponsible, end of. Foaling is inevitably riskier than not foaling - like most things with horses, it's all lovely and happy until it goes horribly wrong, and yes, there can be death. So if you must use your mares to fulfil some deep seated need for foal ownership, then you should at least be responsible, get any vet related before breeding stuff done for the mares first, and then choose a decent sire. Presumably a healthy, well put together foal would be just as "Squee!" as a bin end one. HTH.
		
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I'm pretty sure the OP was actually joking about the fifty quid colt....


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## SEL (28 July 2017)

Widgeon said:



			I'm pretty sure the OP was actually joking about the fifty quid colt....
		
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That was how I read it!

Although I was looking forward to a teeny tiny BOGOF, so perhaps we should find a mini stallion and sneak it in........


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## ycbm (28 July 2017)

Certainly joking about any old fifty quid colt. But there are dozens of unwanted colts that go very cheap, which are equally as good as the mares kept for breeding. They are just surplus to requirements, and cheap because of what they cost to geld. I'm not going to end up with five, (no, no, I must not!)  though, so buying one is not on the cards. I have the winter now to work on the OH about breeding next year if I don't go of the idea.


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## ycbm (28 July 2017)

SEL said:



			That was how I read it!

Although I was looking forward to a teeny tiny BOGOF, so perhaps we should find a mini stallion and sneak it in........
		
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I'll PM you my address 

She isn't just in season today, she's ragingly in season! The yard stinks of wee, I'm glad it's raining now.


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## tristar (28 July 2017)

best way i use to tell if they are or are not , is, stand on something high, wall, ladder whatever and look down if it bulges in the right place, ie has no waist it could well be, also if it looks fatter one side than the other as the foal moves around.


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## ycbm (28 July 2017)

tristar said:



			best way i use to tell if they are or are not , is, stand on something high, wall, ladder whatever and look down if it bulges in the right place, ie has no waist it could well be, also if it looks fatter one side than the other as the foal moves around.
		
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You don't need to stand on a wall when you're more than twice as tall as your pony 

Well she's bigger on one side than the other and that's what got the vet wondering, though to satisfy PD, she did say 'I could be wrong' more than once. She was bigger on the right, then bigger on the left, and now it's back to the right again.  She has got smaller since I took her off the grass and wormed her, though, and there's no doubt she's in season!

As I was watching her today, her belly twitched on the bigger side and she jumped. If she isn't in foal I'm now afraid that she's got something wrong with her, because she's breathing deep too. Vet will be back soon no matter what happens, I think.


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## JJS (28 July 2017)

Have you tried pressing your ear to her side, YCBM? With pregnant mares, you can often hear the fluid all swishing around in their tummies. It's quite an obvious difference if you then listen to one who's not in foal for comparison.


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## ycbm (29 July 2017)

JJS said:



			Have you tried pressing your ear to her side, YCBM? With pregnant mares, you can often hear the fluid all swishing around in their tummies. It's quite an obvious difference if you then listen to one who's not in foal for comparison.
		
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Yes I did!  I thought I was going loopy, but obviously not. I need to tie her up, she moved away before I got a good earful


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