All right, folks – contest time.
Kootenai (“KOOT-en-eee”) is having a baby. But when is anyone’s guess – including mine!
Not a particularly flattering photo, but she pays me hardly any mind at all anymore – and it shows the belly.
Kootenai is a 6-year-old mare from Sand Wash Basin. She was brought to Spring Creek Basin on Oct. 24, 2008, with Raven (still in Kootenai’s band with Kreacher) and Mona (now in Seven’s band). Raven was pregnant when she came and had Corona (named after her sire, Corona, still wild in Sand Wash Basin) on (or about) April 29, 2009. Mona had Shane (sired by Kreacher) on (or about) Sept. 15, 2010, and Raven had Apollo (sired by Kreacher) on (or about) May 10, 2011. PZP-22 was administered to all three mares before they came to Spring Creek Basin. It worked wonderfully on Raven – she did not foal in 2010. It worked probably as well as expected on Mona – she didn’t foal until September 2010. And it has worked very well on Kootenai – she’s 5, in obviously fantastic condition, having her first foal. The late date is unfortunate but is likely due to timing of application over the vaccine itself – and Jif herself is proof that September foals happen without interference (Hayden’s birthday isn’t till Sept. 22).
My most common view of the girl – grazing … and with that grass, who’d ignore it for me?! š
A view slightly from the back …
And a close-up of her udder.
These photos were all taken Aug. 4.
Contest rules:
* Just to make it easy for me, everyone gets just ONE guess at a date.
* Guesses can start now – which is to say, you can guess that she’ll foal tomorrow if you like.
(Disclaimer: I’m not able to get to the basin this week or next, but I’m almost positive she won’t foal in the next two weeks. That said, I haven’t been around pregnant domestic mares for a while to be an absolute great judge, so if you are positive she WILL, make your guess accordingly – and let me know – I might be able to send someone out to check her for me.)
* I like to think I’m able to guess birth dates within a day or two, so the guess closest to the date I determine gets the nod. If there’s a dispute, I’ll ask a local veterinarian to make the final determination.
* In the case of a tie, hmm … what do ya’ll think is fair? Flip a coin? Who gets heads and who gets tails? When I chose the winner of the calendar last year, I had a co-worker pick a name out of a basket. Would everyone consider that fair? You can guess the same date as someone else … or it could also happen that someone guesses, say, Sept. 4 and someone guesses Sept. 6, and she actually foals on Sept. 5. I make guesses as to date; I have no way of knowing what time of day!
Prize:
The winning guesser gets a calendar (won’t be ready till the end of the year) AND naming rights for Kootenai’s foal.
All good? Good luck!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
August 24.I hope I’ll win because I really want to name the foal.
Wow – you’re fast! That day will be the next time I’m in the basin, so you’ll know either way fairly soon! We have a foal with an Armenian name and one with a Turkish name – and several with Spanish names, given that history in this area. It would be cool to have another internationally-named foal! I love how our love of horses – particularly mustangs – brings people together from all over the world. That’s seriously cool magic! š
I read that there are 3 more mares to foal this year.I hope that one of them will have a Bulgarian name š
I will guess September 10!
I will guess September 9.
Well, this IS gonna be tough! I’ll take 9/6; Kathy’s thinking 9/8 and if little sister Molly has a vote, I think she likes 8/30 ;))
As long as little one is born healthy, that’ll be just great!
It’s a good thing I’m not guessing, eh, Billie? (At least not publicly!)
Karen – I’m predicting already that this is going to be tough. š Good thing Kootenai is ignorant of all our guessing on her behalf!
Maria – yes: Kootenai, Chipeta and Mona are still due to have foals. š If you don’t get the date for Kootenai, let’s talk about that for other foals!
Geez, you guys ARE going to make this tough! š
I don’t know much about pregnant mares or foals, but I’m going to guess August 22!
Judging by her udder size I say September 1st.
LoL,It’s gonna be a tough battle
Good guesses, Rachel and Julie!
I think I’m even more eager to meet her foal now! š
I’m gonna guess September 6th. š
I check your blog nearly everyday for new posts and enjoy the photos and stories of the horses very much. I would like to guess August 20th.
Thanks, Zacharias! And thanks for making a guess! I can’t wait to see when she actually foals!