Way back on 24 March I took her to the vets for another scan. Usually this is done at 40 to 42 days and confirms the foetus has a heartbeat. In consultation with my vet, we decided to delay this scan to 60+ days;
- If she was going to lose it by 40 days, we wouldn't gain anything by knowing then. It was already too late to re-breed, and if the pregnancy lasts more than 40 days the mare won't cycle again that season.
- If she was going to lose it between 40 and 60+ days, it would have been all the more disappointing, as we would have known it was still there at 40.
- If it was still there at 60+ days, it would have been there at 40 ;)
- I wanted to have a go at deciding the sex of the foal, which can be done after 60-65 days.
It was also nice to not have to throw yet another $50 or $60 at a thing that might not be there at all, or might come out upside down, back to front, with five legs and two heads, or not breathing. Who, me... cynical?! ;)
In any case, the scan was delayed a bit to accommodate my vet's holiday, at 77 days, or 11 weeks on the dot.
I got to see the head, the spine, the heart (beating! woohoo!), the shoulders, the pelvis, four legs, and - perhaps most importantly! - two white blobs around the pelvic area. One would be scrotum, which means two is ovaries. Babiche wasn't 100% sure as the little beastie was hiding a bit, but will be very surprised if it pops out as a colt.
That was all very exciting... Of course I'm VERY happy it's most likely a little filly, but the important things were all present and accounted for (heartbeat, legs, head, etc).
The "
Indy is now a little more than a third of the way through her pregnancy (128 days today). Her expected due date is 9-15 December.
Her foal is between the size of a small kitten and a rabbit, having surpassed the size of a hamster at 60 days and a chipmunk at 80. It is approximately 20-25cm long and 1.5-2kg in weight.
Indy, meanwhile, is already the size of a small bus.
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