# Introducing my two very pregnant Connemara mares!



## cliodhna (8 February 2011)

Hi All,

I have been a member of the forum for quite some time but have not posted much. I have decided to upload a few (well actually quite a few) pics of my two heavily pregnant ladies. They are both Connemara's and are atually half sister although you would never think it to look at them! Both share the same sire Currachmore Cashel (not sure if anyone really follows connemara breeding, he is a popular Irish stallion).

Anyway, the light grey pony is 290 days today and is looking every bit of it i think! She stayed very neat and trim up until about November and has just blossomed/ballooned since then!! She turns 4 in April and is a maiden mare. She is very bossy and opinionated but also very confident and willing to please.

The dark grey girl is due a little later, about the middle of April. She turns 4 in May and similarly this is her first baby. Her body changed very early on but she hasnt experienced the same spurt that the lighter lady has. She looks quite cresty in these pictures. We have worked to keep her weight down, walking her in hand and were soaking their hay up until the middle of december and her weight came down. I think the crest is just unavoidable with natives, altho she looks so big you can feel her ribs quite easily!

Anyway, sorry for turning this into such an essay, just thought i would finally introduce myself and the two pregnant girlies! hope the pictures work, im a bit disastrous with this... 

Oh and apologies for the grubbinessof them!!





















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hope that worked!


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## cliodhna (8 February 2011)

woohoo it did!!


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## AFlapjack (8 February 2011)

What gorgeous girlies!! Can't wait to see photos of their babies.
I have a Connie gelding sired by Tiercel Top Cat.


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## appylass (8 February 2011)

Oh they are lovely! I do like connemaras.


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## cliodhna (8 February 2011)

thank you, i am besotted! 

am curious for feedback, any other comments?


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## connieconvert (8 February 2011)

They are beautiful.
   That lovely Connemara eye is unmistakable.
    I have a dun Connemara gelding by Wisbridge Erinmore that I love to bits.
    Hope you will post pics of the foals when they arrive.


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## Pipkin (8 February 2011)

I`ll have both babies please 
Lovely looking mares!!!! best of luck to you xx


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## Fazzie (9 February 2011)

Really lovely mares, so pretty


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## mojito (9 February 2011)

Two lovely mares you have they look great. I have a half arab half connemara mare in foal to Gwennic de Goariva you might know him? Shes not due til may though, i struggle a lot to keep her weight down so she gets no extra feed at all unless theres snow she gets some hay but no hard feed at all and she hasnt lost any condition! I suppose i'm lucky but its such a worry during the summer months!


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## cliodhna (9 February 2011)

Thank you for the nice comments. Yes, the weight is always a concern, especially with Rua, the dark grey. Even when trim she has a cresty neck! At the moment they are in at night with hay, their paddock is looking pretty bare so they get some hay in the field, and they are both getting bailey's stud balancer just for the last trimester. Nothing too exciting! Am already looking forward to having the foals weaned so she can get back into work, am getting a bit ahead of myself there though! 

Mojito: I only know of him, have not had the pleasure of seeing him in the flesh. Perhaps at the stallion parade in March though, is he still in Ireland? Is your mare a showjumper as well? Arabs are so gorgeous, what a lovely baby that will be! Are you hoping for a dun? You must post pics when baby arrives


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## cumbriamax (9 February 2011)

lovely ......am a big fan of connemaras (shame I'm too big for one)


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## CILLA (9 February 2011)

I love connies my daughter competed on one for many years pony club teams etc he was a super pony. I am currently looking for a 4/5 yr old for my daughter who is now 24 ! to bring on for a eleven year old if you know of any . Would have a home for many years. Size around 14h.


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## mojito (9 February 2011)

Hi, yes he's in Ireland in Tim Careys stud in westmeath... The mare was a grade b jumper and evented in ponies too so hoping to get a nice jumper between the 2 of them! I would love a dun but think I will probably get a grey, got a lovely grey last year by a diff stallion so i dont really mind! Oh ill have lots of pics dont worry!


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## cliodhna (9 February 2011)

Mojito: Had a snoop through your pics, what an elegant head your mare has, she is a beauty!

Cilla: The pony sales in Clifden are on in March but I assume you are in England? Good luck in your search!

Anyone else have any comments good or bad?


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## Allover (9 February 2011)

How could there be any bad comments, they look wonderfull and are gorgeous girls, cant wait to see pics of the babies when they come, you must be sooo excited!


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## haras (9 February 2011)

They are lovely!  You must be so excited - double trouble!  I have a soft spot for connemaras, I went to a riding school as a child that was also a connemara stud, so learnt to ride on them.

My arab mare is due in may (pure arab foaly) I have problems keeping her weight down too.  she is such a good doer (and thats after colic surgery 5 months ago, it's bonkers!)

Good luck!  keep us updated!


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## TJP (9 February 2011)

They are lovely mares, who are they in foal too?


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## Waterborn (10 February 2011)

mojito said:



			Hi, yes he's in Ireland in Tim Careys stud in westmeath... The mare was a grade b jumper and evented in ponies too so hoping to get a nice jumper between the 2 of them! I would love a dun but think I will probably get a grey, got a lovely grey last year by a diff stallion so i dont really mind! Oh ill have lots of pics dont worry!
		
Click to expand...

Your mares are really lovely, I do love Connies.  I have a Perlino Connie x , had a buckskin foal last year (in my Avitar) and due again in June.  She is by Woodfield Sammy who I have tried to find a photo of but always failed. I've searched in the usual Connie directories. Anyone find him?


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## Choccie (10 February 2011)

They are both lovely, i have bred a few connemaras over the years. I have a homebred 2yr old filly that i may try to put in foal next year.

With regards to the crest, i found my mare got very cresty on Bailey's Stud Balancer.  It is quite potent for natives so i would not feed the full amount, i mixed half and half with Lo-Cal balancer to bump up the vits & mins but without too much protien.  Connies really are amazing at producng foals from grazing on virtually nothing!  I would also go easy on the stud balancer when you have weaned the foals and watch they do not get too heavy topped as well.

Please post some pictures of the foals, i would love a Connie foal fix to two!!


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## cliodhna (10 February 2011)

TJP said:



			They are lovely mares, who are they in foal too?
		
Click to expand...

Their sire is Currachmore Cashel, they are half sisters, here is a link to him http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...MjfCA&esq=4&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

Pearly the white mare is in foal to Cashelbay Cruise, who actually just recently moved to England
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...eXSCA&esq=6&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0


And Rua is in foal to Drymills Bridgeboy, cannot find a picture of him. Not sure if those pictures will work!

Choccie: Interestingly they are usually fed bailey's lo-cal and had not thought of mixing the two. Was drawn into stud balancer, like everyone else I'm sure, by their reassurances of the right balance of vits and minerals! Will mix the two and see how they get on! I am very wary about feeding the foals concentrates as if they are anything like their mothers they will balloon and I do not want to put any undue pressure on their young joints! Their diet will be mostly forage based.
Thank you everyone, am delighted by the lovely compliments of them!


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## connieconvert (17 February 2011)

Dear Cilla

You could try the www.britishconnemaras.co.uk website. They have a For Sale section plus lots of contact info.
Good Luck with your search.


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## sldickerson (24 March 2012)

Thank you for sharing these pictures. Last Sunday a white mare w/blue eyes
came running into my front yard...I closed the gate & began the search for her owner. I feel in love w/her. Turns out the owner wanted to sell her. So...I've spent the last week on the internet trying to learn more about my "new gal". She's short & has ears, head, and muzzle just like the close up picture of your mare. I'm thinking she might have some of this breed.


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## SusieT (24 March 2012)

to be honest they both look very fat to me,being cresty should not be happening even with natives. It's diffiultl so close to foaling but I'd be tempted not to give them hay in the paddock, to soak their hay at night and keep their weight down. At least the foals should milk some weight off them but I'd be keeping a v. careful eye on them at foaling as fat mares, particularly maidens struggle more with foaling. :/ Wouldn't have let them get that  fat in the first place!


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## GinnieRedwings (24 March 2012)

Suzie T, this thread is over 1 year old...

Sldickerson, if your new mare has blue eyes, she may be cremello, perlino or whiteborn fewspot (apaloosa or knabstrupper) perhaps you could post pictures so we can hazard a guess? x


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## SusieT (24 March 2012)

ah,would be interesting to hear how all 4 are doing now?


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## g16 (7 May 2012)

waterborn - i notice you were asking re woodfield sammy. he used to stand just down the road from me but has since been sold. i think he had his first foals in 2003 or 2004. i had two out of him who i've since sold. he is a nice dun 14.2 stallion. class one and a grade a showjumper. 
his sj record is here: 
http://www.sjai.org/Registrations/W...lDetailsPublicView.aspx?av=9572251&h=666bc8ff
and his offspring record is here http://www.sjai.org/Registrations/W...chAnimalsPublicDetailsResults.aspx?h=ac945822

although it says not recorded for his parentage you've probably already found that and it should be on your mares passport. also the owners on the sji website don't own him anymore.from what i could see he had a nice temperament and a lovely jump. my two certainly had fantastic jumps and techniques and lovely temperaments, esp the gelding.
hope this helps!


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## Waterborn (8 May 2012)

Thank you g16, that really does help!  Do you have any photos of him?  Would also love to see photos of your two if you have any. Does my mare (on my website) look like Sammy? My mare has a buckskin baby (now 2), does he look like any of them?


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## g16 (8 May 2012)

Sorry I've no pics of sammy - i saw him 7 years ago so trying to remember! I saw him in June with his summer coat - he was dun with quite marked black points. Quite a stunning boy - but I think al dun connies are when they have their summer coat! My mum watched him lunged over 1.40m (I was with previous years foal) and she said he cleared it easily.

This is my mare at 5 
	
	
		
		
	


	




and last summer at 6 just before I sold her 
	
	
		
		
	


	




this is my gelding - really didnt want to sell him! here he is at less than a week 
	
	
		
		
	


	




and here as a 5 year old just before selling 
	
	
		
		
	


	





the dam measured 137cm and the mare full up 138 and the gelding 146. Not sure what the mare is doing but the gelding only started jumping properly last autumn and is doing clears at 1m.
I know most of sammys foals were dun or cremello but I ended up with one chestnut! (mare was chestnut). mine are 3/4 connemaras.


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## Waterborn (8 May 2012)

Interesting to see the change in your buckskin g16 and your comment on Sammy's dark points. My perlino mare by Sammy is below with her 2010 foal as he was then and now. He seems to be getting the dark points!


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## g16 (9 May 2012)

i think they usually do go darker on their legs. hard to see in my pic but rolos legs are black from about the knee down. thats his summer coat which only lasts about 2 months then he goes paler again like your boy. who is the sire of your foal? what is your mares dams breeding like? is he bred for performance? my two were bred to be good pony club ponies but to also be quite competitive jumping ponies


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## cliodhna (13 May 2012)

Ha! Was browsing through the breeding forum (randomly as dont come on here too often anymore), and got such a shock to see this thread has been ressurected! 

SusieT FWIT the mares were both on soaked hay and on a small, fairly bare paddock with just a mug of baileys stud balancer. I was also bringing them for walks in hand as they were two right lazy lumps. I had also been lunging the dark grey initially. Genuinely I was trying hard to control their waistlines (weight taping like a looney every week and writing it down)... Anyway, its hardly relevant anymore as thread is so old, but felt need to emphasise my efforts.

Both mares foaled easily and were super mums, here is a pic of Pearly and foal at their first show last year at the start of June 2011






Lovely pics btw Waterborn and g16, esp LOVE the pic of the perlino, such a stunning action shot!


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## ElleSkywalker (13 May 2012)

Ahh, I LOVE Pearly, any more pictures? Have you still got her wee one?


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## cliodhna (13 May 2012)

Awh thanks Yes sure do still have him, he has turned into a right little bruiser! V well mannered though, he has been stabled at night all year so has been handled a lot and is very quiet. Am actually hoping to bring him back to that show pictured above in a few weeks and show him as a yearling colt. Not sure how he will do but will go for the experience. 
Here are some Pearly pics (ignore the riding please, I'm practically tipping over her ears in this pic)


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## ElleSkywalker (13 May 2012)

Love the snoooozing picture 

Now, if you could just pop her in a jiffy bag and send her to Skywalker Towers that would be marvelous


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## Waterborn (14 May 2012)

Lovely pics btw Waterborn and g16, esp LOVE the pic of the perlino, such a stunning action shot![/QUOTE]

Thanks for your comment on my perlino, swap for Pearly


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