It is starting

Foalwatch is officially kicked off tonight--with a thunderstorm in the forecast and four mares past their safe days for delivery, I have a full house in the barn. Well not a full house, but I have three mares in to keep an eye on. Look at the belly on baby Cash. That is a lot of tummy for a 14 hand horse. I am excited about seeing how she does with her first baby, but anxious as well.
Good Lord look at how round she is! Maiden mares rarely give the same signs an experienced mare will. For example, look at how full she is in the hip--her butt looks big and round and solid. Usually before a mare foals, her butt will get kind of jiggly as it loosens up to let the baby pass through. That is not always the case with maidens, so I am not letting Cash's big ol booty trick me. I am watching her close, just in case.
Here is Melody. I think she is the closest, so she is in the middle stall--that is the one with the foalcam. I am sitting in my recliner posting all this, watching the Illini game and watching Mel doze off in her stall. Is that the life or what? You can see on Mel how her back end is getting slack--normally her tailbone would not stick out so prominently, but she is relaxing so that she can deliver. When I look at her on the foal cam, I swear I can see her whole spine, from the weight of the baby dragging her down. Clearly she is not too skinny! It is amazing how their bodies change when they get this heavy in foal.
Xan is in the next stall. She does not look super ready to go yet either, the way her baby is laying low in her belly. He has not moved back yet, so it won't be any minute with her. You never know with the storm though and I missed her last year, so I did not want to take a chance on her.

I am starting to get excited, I think.

I am going on girl weekend with Jodi, Jackie and Lorna this weekend--I will only be gone Saturday and return Sunday, and Barry keeps making cracks that these babies will be popping out all over while I am gone, and he is probably right. He knows what he is doing though, and it will be fine . I just hate to miss it. Cross your fingers that someone foals for me before I go--that happened last year when Jackie and I went out of town, Mel surprised us. It could happen.