Meadow Brook Stables

01/08/2026

Trust no one

01/08/2026

This is going to be the longest countdown ever and one we don’t want to speed up.

Kee 249 Days In Foal
92 Days From Due Date
72 Days From Safe Date

01/08/2026

Day 300:

This feels like a big day. 300 days.

300 days since Easy arrived here and quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) changed my life.

In such a short amount of time she has challenged me, humbled me, made me laugh, made me cry, made me think differently, and reminded me why I love this work so deeply. She’s taught me patience on days I didn’t think I had any left, and presence on days when my mind wanted to be everywhere else. She’s made me slow down, listen more, and celebrate the tiniest wins. Easy has a way of making every interaction feel important — and somehow, even on the hard days, worth it.

With the forecast swinging wildly from -25°C to +5°C overnight, we swapped her heavy winter blanket for an insulated rain sheet. These drastic temperature changes are tough on horses (and all livestock), and this kind of weather always puts us on high alert. Big swings, moisture, pressure changes — it’s classic colic weather, so we keep our eyes peeled for anything even slightly suspicious. Management matters most on days like these.

We headed over to the indoor and she was her usual enthusiastic self getting there — very excited, lots of opinions — but once inside she settled right onto the wall like a pro. Snow sliding dramatically off the arena roof? No big deal. She took it all in stride like she’s been doing this her whole life.

Today’s session was short and sweet. We focused on stopping nicely on the circle, finding that balance between forward, organized, and quiet, before making our way back to the barn for a vet appointment (not for her — though she’s certainly had her fair share over these past 300 days).

It wasn’t a big flashy training day.

But it was a meaningful one.

And honestly, that feels pretty fitting for Easy.

01/08/2026

It’s hard to put into words just how grateful we are right now. 💙

This time last year, our page sat at 38,000 followers. Today, we just crossed 64,000 — and that number isn’t just a statistic to us. It represents thousands of people who choose to follow along, learn with us, laugh with us, worry with us, and celebrate the highs and lows of life on the farm.

Social media can feel noisy and overwhelming, but this community has been anything but. You show up with kindness, curiosity, thoughtful questions, support during the hard moments, and genuine excitement for the good ones. That means more to us than you probably realize.

Sharing what we do — the good, the messy, the emotional, and the educational — takes vulnerability. Knowing that so many of you value transparency, animal welfare, learning, and honesty makes it worth it every single day.

Thank you for trusting us with your time, your attention, and your support. Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or just found us recently, we’re so glad you’re here. We can’t wait to keep growing, learning, and sharing this journey with you. 💙

01/08/2026

We would always rather be too cautious than too careless — especially when it comes to our broodmares.

We typically start daily udder checks on January 1st, even though foaling season is still roughly 70–100 days away for most of our mares. Before that, we’re still keeping an eye on things a few times a week during grooming. Why so early? Because when it comes to pregnant mares… you can trust no one. Mares do not read calendars, do not respect due dates, and love to keep us humble.

Over the years, I’ve found that a mare’s udder is one of the most reliable indicators of how close she may be to foaling or whether something isn’t quite right. When we monitor udders, we’re watching for:

Gradual filling vs. sudden development
Symmetry between sides
Heat, firmness, or pain
Waxing or discharge
Dripping or leaking milk
Changes in teat shape or size

We also check udders to catch potential issues early, such as:

Mastitis (infection of the udder — painful and serious)
Frostbite (especially in cold snaps)
Underdevelopment (which can mean poor milk supply)
Overdevelopment too early (which can signal pregnancy complications)

When I noticed Kee starting to build an udder well ahead of schedule, my internal alarm bells went off. Being the paranoid horse person I am, I sent photos to our vet — who agreed that it was far too early for Kee to be doing any of this foolishness.

The biggest concern at this stage of pregnancy is placentitis.

Placentitis is an inflammation and infection of the placenta. It can interfere with the placenta’s ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the foal and maintain the pregnancy. If left untreated, placentitis can lead to:

Premature labor
Abortion or stillbirth
Weak or dysmature foals
Neonatal infections or failure of passive transfer

So we didn’t wait.

Kee was checked via ultrasound, and thankfully the baby is alive, healthy, and VERY unimpressed about being poked and prodded awake. At Kee’s gestation stage, there aren’t many established “normal” measurements, but by around 270 days, the placenta should measure no more than 8 mm thick. Kee is currently 248 days and measuring right at 8 mm — from the one measurement we could get, because the baby was wiggling constantly and quite literally pushing the probe away.

Given that information, we’ve decided to take a proactive approach rather than wait and see.
Kee is being treated with:

Antibiotics – to address any potential bacterial infection of the placenta

Anti-inflammatories – to reduce inflammation and improve blood flow to the placenta

Regumate (progesterone support) – to help maintain the pregnancy and reduce the risk of premature labor.

We’ll be rechecking her toward the end of the two-week antibiotic course to determine whether we:

A. continue treatment
or
B. safely discontinue it

We don’t like leaving things to chance around here. If there’s something we can do to prevent complications before they start, we’ll do it. Being cautious might mean extra checks, extra meds, and extra sleepless nights — but it also means giving both mare and foal the very best chance possible.

This image is an ultrasound of the foals eye!

01/07/2026

The Horses That Taught Us
Episode 8: Stuck And Stained

Next up our first true dystocia.

Dystocia simply means a difficult or abnormal birth — when a foal cannot be delivered without assistance due to size, position, or both. I had experienced it many times with calves and lambs, but never before with a foal. This one would change that.

Rio went into labor in the early hours of the morning, around 3 a.m. A few of us were already on high alert — something about that night just felt like it was going to be the night. Thankfully, there were several of us there, watching closely.

Labor started normally… until it didn’t.

Rio began to struggle, and progress stalled. At one point she had a moment of panic and started bucking in the stall — whether a nerve was pinched or she was simply frightened, we don’t know, but it was clear things weren’t going as they should. Once we were able to get her safely laid down, we stepped in and began to assist.

When pulling a foal, everything has to be done carefully and in rhythm with the mare’s contractions. You only pull when the mare pushes, applying steady, even traction — never jerking or rushing. The goal is to guide the foal out, not force it, reducing the risk of injury to both mare and baby. Positioning, timing, and communication between the people assisting are everything.

Thank goodness there were three of us — because it took all three. This filly was shoulder-locked, thick, powerful, and at the time, the largest foal we had ever delivered. She was incredibly well fed… and ironically, she was still two weeks early.

When she finally arrived, she was yellow — meconium stained. Meconium is the foal’s first manure, passed in utero when a foal experiences stress before or during birth. It stains the amniotic fluid and the foal’s coat and is a sign that the foal had a difficult time during delivery. I’d seen it mostly in lambs before, so while it was alarming, we understood what we were dealing with.

Thankfully, both mare and foal were okay. The vet checked them the next morning — Rio had somehow avoided tearing, though she was understandably very bruised and sore. Cleo, the filly, was strong, healthy, and completely unaware of the drama she had caused coming into the world. No infection present from the meconium.

That year taught us an important lesson. Having extra hands can save lives, I seriously don’t think I would have gotten Cleo out on my own. And was happy to have extra hands to help in a time of dire need. Foaling out on your own is stressful and not recommended because there is no way you can be everywhere you need to be at once especially when things go wrong.

Cleo arrived with a fight — and reminded us that every foaling season has lessons it insists on teaching.

01/07/2026

Day 299:

Easy had a session out in the field today with a big focus on relaxation. She’s clearly figured out that lowering her head is the key to earning a reward, and she’s now able to offer it much more quickly and with less fuss. Holding that position for longer is still tricky for her, so today I started taking the next step by naming the behavior.

Once a horse is consistently offering a behavior on their own, that’s the perfect time to begin pairing it with a word or cue. Every time Easy put her head in the right place, I quietly said “relax.” Over time, her brain starts to make the connection: this word = this feeling + this body position. Eventually, the cue won’t just mean “put your head down,” but “find that soft, settled state.” Naming a behavior too early can create confusion, but when the horse is already offering it, the label helps bring clarity and understanding.

Thankfully this cold snap hasn’t bothered Easy at all. She’s been cozy in her blanket and spent most of the morning happily grazing through the snow, perfectly content and very much unbothered by winter — which I can’t say for myself. ❄️

01/06/2026

Alright Kee … when I was saying it was 72 Days Until Foaling Season Starts I didn’t meant for YOU specifically. You are the 6th mare due - why do we have to jump the line and be 1st? Thats almost your “Safe Date” but still 21 Days from your DUE DATE. 🤦🏼‍♀️

01/06/2026

01/06/2026

Apparently this post can’t wait… 🫣😩😅🤪

I was planning a very professional, well-timed “Rules for Broodmares” post.

But Kee has once again decided that schedules are a suggestion and has started bagging up early… again. I’ve started a list below - what else should I add?

It is clearly, it’s time to lay down the law.

📜 Official Rules for Broodmares – Please Read Carefully

1. Foaling hours are strictly limited
Acceptable window: 7:00am – 11:00pm
Foaling between 11:01pm and 6:59am will result in immediate side-eye and lifetime judgement.

2. Safe dates exist for a reason
You may not foal before your safe date.
This is not a “surprise me” situation.

3. Colostrum is NOT a leaky faucet
Dripping, streaming, or casually wasting liquid gold is unacceptable.
Save it for the baby. All of it. Every drop.

4. Please keep all body parts appropriately assembled
Foals should exit with:
Straight legs
Normal tendons
Heads facing forward
No interpretive yoga poses

5. No dummy foals
We appreciate creativity, but we’re aiming for:
Awake
Aware
Knows where the milk bar is
Breathing like that’s an important life skill

6. Size matters (but not like that)
Foals should not resemble:
Bodybuilders
Miniature ponies from full-size mares
Anything requiring a team meeting

7. Milk should arrive on schedule
Not too early.
Not painfully fast.
And preferably without traumatizing your udder or the staff.

8. If you could avoid emergencies, that would be great
No premature labor
No dramatic false alarms
No “just kidding” foaling behavior for weeks on end

9. Foaling should be uneventful
Boring is beautiful.
Textbook is the goal.
We love a smooth, forgettable delivery.

10. Please remember we are tired
We will be watching you.
We will be documenting everything.

And we will notice if you try to break these rules.
Looking at you, Kee. 👀

Once again trying to get the party started before the invitations have gone out.

Broodmares… please cooperate.

Sincerely,

The humans who haven’t slept since last foaling season started. 🍼

Pictured wide load Kee last year because I forgot to grab a picture of her today.

01/06/2026

Day 298:

Easy was absolutely feral on the walk to the indoor today — very excited, ears on, brain buzzing, ready to conquer the world. We did lots of circles, backing, and yielding along the way, and then… the moment she stepped into the arena she was cool as a cucumber. Business mode activated.

She stood like a champ at the wall while I took her blanket off and groomed her, then we got to work. Her circles were good, though we’re still negotiating the correct amount of “distance” on the circle — which she is fairly certain is a very lame request. Once we found a more consistent “out,” with plenty of guiding from me, some whip wiggles, and shoulder taps (she remains impressively unfazed by pressure… sometimes I wish she cared just a little more 😅), things started to click.

We added stopping on the circle next. At first she made some assumptions — stop clearly meant turn in or change direction in her mind — so we worked through that until she could stop and wait for further instructions. She also thought that was lame. Shocking.

We finished with relaxation work. She’s catching on faster each session and now knows that lowering her head is part of the answer, but she hasn’t quite found the full relaxation piece yet. She’ll offer it for a second and then immediately look for the next job. In time, we’ll build duration once the understanding is solid. She always ends with a good round of yawns and some quality snorts, which tells me her brain is processing and letting go.

The walk back to the barn? Slow. Very slow. If only she could average the energy she brings to the arena with the energy she brings from the arena, she’d be absolutely perfect 😅

01/06/2026

💙 Gambit Update - Stronger Steps 💙

Gambit has been doing really, really well lately — and I don’t say that lightly. He’s showing no signs of decline, and if anything, he’s showing signs of strengthening. His balance is better. His coordination is better. His overall body awareness has improved. For a horse that has shown neurological deficits in the past, those are huge wins. He isn’t 100% “normal” — but honestly? Dang, he’s close.

Today I put a ba****ck pad on him. He’s only worn one once before, way back when he was a yearling. We use ba****ck pads as a stepping stone to help horses get comfortable with the feel of a cinch before ever introducing a saddle. When horses are prepared properly, pressure shouldn’t be a big deal — and Gambit proved that today. He couldn’t have cared less. I sent him out at liberty and he confidently walked, jogged, and loped. He looked good. He moved well. He stayed balanced. And my heart maybe grew three sizes watching him.

So why the ba****ck pad? If I’m being honest… part of me quietly hopes that someday he might be stable enough to ride. Maybe not a big fancy show horse — but maybe a light hack here and there, just the two of us enjoying the ride. And even beyond riding, there are very real benefits to getting him comfortable with tack. It will help tremendously when the time comes to long line him.

Long lining is an excellent tool for improving balance, coordination, straightness, and body control — especially for horses that need extra help organizing their feet. I like to long line with stirrups and run the lines through them because it creates a clearer, more consistent line of communication, keeps the lines off the ground, and reduces the risk of accidental tangles, tripping, or an unintended tug on his neck. Because the ba****ck pad was such a non-issue, I’ll likely look at introducing him to a saddle next.

Nutrition-wise, Gambit is now fully transitioned onto the Vitamin E Elevate powder and is eating it like a champ. We’ll be retesting his levels in a few weeks to make sure they’re right where they need to be.

He continues to remind me that progress doesn’t always shout — sometimes it quietly shows up in steadier steps, smoother movement, and moments where you stop and think, wow… look how far you’ve come.