Today was one of those days. I wasn’t supposed to be on call but do to the weather and the call being fairly close to the farm I took it. What was supposed to be a straightforward call turned in to the call from hell. The main thing was the critter was fine in the end, the bad thing I only brought one pair of overalls and I was COVERED in blood and offered no water to wash up.
It was a two and half hour call this afternoon in bad weather with an animal a lot worse off then stated in the call to start with. Hate when that happens!
On my way home my truck went in the ditch….. stupid weather…stupid truck.
Someone stopped to help me out… and freaked out when they saw me covered in blood.
No no no no I’m fine, I’m a vet, it’s not my blood honest”
Truck was pulled out, home safe and sound, yay for hot showers, please pass the wine.
What.An.Afternoon.
Your mare is pregnant and everything is going well, now it’s just the wait. I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid and bred my mare the wait drove me crazy.
I was only 8; I stared at her belly with a tilted head trying desperately to figure it out if it was a filly. I always remember our vet handing me steel nail… yes a steel nail.
The idea is a simple one you take a steel nail and tie a piece of your horses tail to it. If it swings your mare is pregnant, back and forth it’s a colt, in a circle it’s a filly. I know, I know but the 8 yr old me was wide-eyed as I watched my vet try this trick.
I have to admit it’s stuck with me. When I have clients that don’t want to know but have little kids in the family, I always pull out the nail trick. Love seeing their wide-eyed expressions as we try and guess what it’s going to be.
For those clients who want to know, my ultrasound machine takes away the guesswork! Did you know that you can have your foal sexed and know exactly what you’re getting? Most people still don’t realize that we can provide this tidbit of information.
Fetal sexing is becoming more and more in demand these days. Owners want to know the sex for reasons such as insurance coverage, sale or purchase, appraisals or are like me and can’t stand not knowing!
It’s done via ultrasound ideally at around 5 to 6 months (59-68 days); it can be done later but then your looking at a Tran abdominal ultra sound (external). The way we are able to tell filly vs. colt is by the location of genital tubercle. Closer to the rear means filly, closer to the umbilicus means colt.
So if you can’t handle the suspense (like me!), why not try an ultrasound?
