We also removed the partition from the shelter to create a nice large area for Xacra, which we christened "the foaling suite". All set up for the new arrival :)
On Sunday Knickers and I went to a dressage clinic with Bento Castelhano which, aside from one nice WB mare was a complete Luso fest. We really enjoyed it and found Bento to be excellent, so I would like to take one of the boys next time and take part in a lesson. Need to bring up our fitness levels though :O
Knickers had her final exam on Monday, and stayed up Monday night on foal watch, although Xacra was showing no real signs of being imminent. Feeling we had garnered a bit of experience after grasping at every tail switch from Alfama when she was due, we waited and waited for the signs that would tell us she was very close.
Except that they never came! Sid was up working in the early hours of Wednesday morning and last checked her at about 3:30am. When I got up at 6am I stumbled, bog eyed and bleary into the office and stared stupidly at the screen trying to process the fact that where there was only one horse before, now there were two. Argghhhhhh! Ran downstairs, alerting Knickers who, utterly oblivious, was feeding the smalls in the kitchen, that we appeared to have a new arrival, and raced out there to find that yes indeed, during the night the stork had brought us one very tiny little Luso baby :)
But argh! How long ago, and was everything ok? Raced back into the house to get Sid who checked back on the footage to find that Xacra had given birth, very easily it seemed, at about 3:44am, not ten minutes after he'd gone to bed. No evidence that the baby had suckled though - argh. Got a headcollar on Xacra and stood her still to let the baby find her teats and after that all was well and they were off. The vet came to check them both over; all was well. We have a gorgeous new little colt and after some lively discussion have opted to call him Golfinho :)
The two of them have the small run outsider the shelter for a few days until he has got a bit stronger. He is quite a bit smaller than Gualter was - more the sort of size one might expect for a first foal, but then his sire is smaller. On saying that they did go for a brief foray into the field - Alfama and Gualter were closed off in the other paddock and Xacra took her baby for a quick spin around the field, then back into the run. I can't wait to see them all out together, athough a bit concerned about the size difference between the two boys. However I have no doubt that Xacra will operate an iron rod over proceedings, being the unmistakeable Boss Mare that she is :)
Meanwhile, the vet came again yesterday (am considering asking them for a discount, or going the whole hog and installing one on site) to check on T who, in the midst of passaging very animatedly for the laydeez, was pronounced sound! So he will be going off to stud next weekend, which is excellent. Let us hope that he proves to be as quick a study as Q in the use of the dummy. We have to broaden his turnout horizons carefully so as not to risk a relapse, and won't start bringing him back into work until he comes home from stud.
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