Foal count: Four

Welcome back for blog post number four!
 
We’ve currently got the same number of foals as the number of blog posts written. No new arrivals this week, but it has been far from quiet on the farm with lots of things to keep us busy.

​Despite a quiet week in the maternity ward - surprising considering the milder temperatures - last Sunday we had a mare who prematurely gave birth to her filly foal, consequently resulting in the filly having to be hospitalised. The mare presented a red bag when foaling, and it was evident the foal had been stressed in the uterus due to the brown-coloured residue that was on the towel after being dried off. Thanks to the excellent work at B&W Equine and the team at their Breadstone hospital, the filly is doing superbly and arrived back at Byerley on Wednesday. Restricted on turnout, and weaning off her medication, this filly is none the wiser to the antics that panned out last Sunday. She is bouncing and battling on! We are closely monitoring this filly, but within the next few weeks, she will be allowed out for some light exercise.

​A few tulips have been spotted around the stud – spring is in the air for some of our Byerley residents… the barren and maiden mares! Having been in the barn and under lights since Christmas, our barren and maiden mares are being deceived into thinking that it’s already springtime. Their first scans of the year were carried out earlier this week. All maiden mares took their introduction to breeding very well, and almost all the mares are cycling or are heading in the right direction. The countdown is on now until the first day of the breeding season, the 14th of February.

​On Thursday, Fred the farrier was here trimming all our yearlings. Each yearling is walked up and down in front of Fred and assessed on their conformation and footfall. Fred trims all our young stock and is great at correcting conformational faults. He starts trimming our foals from an early age. Farriery in foals is extremely important during the first six months of life as it will often determine the limb and foot conformation that will be present during the foal's adult life. The yearlings change and grow differently, but already, looking at all of them, it’s beginning to get exciting thinking about the possibility that might be, come the yearling sales in 2024.

​We had lots of sweet treats this week to keep energy levels high. At the start of the week, it was over to Sue who made air fryer sausage rolls and delicious homemade éclairs. And just as energy levels were lagging, Vicky had batch-made her famous traditional old-school sprinkle sponge cake with hundreds and thousands on top.

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