I haven’t taken many photos of Hobnob (formerly #StillNoBaby) today as I needed a sleep in and had other jobs to do at the #smallholdingdream, but a friend helped me turn them Lily & Hobnob out and got this video of the baby cavorting around at speed!
Arguably one of the best photos I’ve ever had of me and my horses, and Lily is sticking her tongue out!
D’ya like young Hobnob, formerly known as #StillNoBaby? One of my best friends is buying him at weaning so it will be like keeping him but off my payroll!
#smallholdingdream
Beyond thrilled with this little guy, formerly known as #stillnobaby. No name yet - bearing in mind daddy is Boutime Wooster (butler), and it’s #VEDay week suggestions include;
Hobson (butler from the movie Arthur)
Gunner
Winston
Aragorn
Jeeves
WWYD?
#smallholdingdream #FellPony
IT Is HAPPENING! #stillnobaby #babycoming #foalwatch
It’s time!!! #stillnobaby is 🤞🏼🤞🏼 turning into #foalwatch TONIGHT!
We think Lily has stayed Stage One labour. She is pouring precious colostrum out onto the stable floor 🤦🏼♀️ (horses don’t do placental transfer of antibodies. It’s all from colostrum) so you can hear the worry in my voice. 😢
Just in the past hour (when the photos in post below were taken) things are progressing: she is dripping milk a lot now and her tail has gone very loose suggesting the ligaments are slackened and ready!
#stillnobaby #notmuchlonger
#smallholdingdream
Teatime at the #smallholdingdream and we think it’s nearly the end of #stillnobaby…. Lily is waxed up (dried colostrum at the end of her teats), her nether regions are slackened off and she is leaking milk down her legs….
Showtime tonight hopefully! 🙏🏼🙏🏼
And the answer to that is…. Nope. #stillnobaby
For the many people who are following Lily’s pregnancy - we are #stillnobaby, but hopefully not for much longer. Now, avert your gaze and don’t look a the next post if you don’t want to see pony boobs! n/1
Day 351, #stillnobaby and if anything Lily looks less pregnant… given that is not possible (it’s a Shetland pony to her right, not a foal!) there’s only one place the foal can be rather than having low in her belly and that is moving up into the pelvis READY FOR DELIVERY 🙏🏼🤞🏼🙏🏼🤞🏼🙏🏼🤞🏼
0611 and #stillnobaby. Main camera offline and back up glitchy - 😳😳- second backup redeployed from the poultry stable. Am heartily sick of this now. I’m exhausted and I’m sure Lily is too!
And we are #stillnobaby at 0415 of day 351. Thought she was possibly starting labour earlier but not looking like it now.
#smallholdingdream
Lily is still pregnant 🤦🏼♀️ Day 350. Today she barged past me and let herself into an ungrazed section of paddock and has happily stuffed her face all evening. She did have a big hollow in front of her hips earlier today but it’s not so obvious now. Resting a hind foot a bit weird.
🤷🏼♀️ #stillnobaby
Oh Lily…. C’mon love. You must be as sick of waiting for your baby as I am!!! #stillnobaby at day 349.
#snallholdingdream
Annnnnnd….
#stillnobaby
She is literally crossing her back legs 😂 (think standing this way is relieving pelvic pain)
Sitrep #stillnobaby but at least it shouldn’t disrupt my ED shift! Really now hoping for a bank holiday weekend foal.
#smallholdingdream
Sitrep on Lily’s foal is #stillnobaby… our fabulous vet was here today doing Chip’s vaccine booster and taking bloods from little wee Brandy ?Cushings, and had a look at Lily and thinks still a few days to go. Probably. 😂
#smallholdingdream
#FellPony
Report from Lily’s expert foalwatcher in Ohio who takes the strain till 0330… #stillnobaby but maybe for not that much longer! #smallholdingdream
Day 344… will it be tonight? Some subtle changes this evening make me think Lily is either very early in Stage One labour, or they the foal was moving around… which in itself may indicate labour is looming.
Watch this space! #stillnobaby #LilysFoal #smallholdingdream
Day 343 and the hourly photo from the Lily Cam shows the story of my life at the moment…. #stillnobaby #smallholdingdream
Day 342 and #stillnobaby - Lily pleased to be let out into her paddock this morning!
#smallholdingdream
Day 341 drawing to a close #stillnobaby. Sat with Lily for a bit to see if anything is changing… her guts are rumbling & she’s periodically a bit restless but eating hay happily in between times. I dunno 🤷🏼♀️ also as usual she is happy to lie down in front of me!
Seeing this on the cameras is doing nothing for my nerves!
#smallholdingdream
#stillnobaby
#LilysBaby
#FellPony
Close of Day 340 and I’m back to work 2mor, #stillnobaby, my neighbour is in state of excited terror in case she has to be Pony midwife, and vets have been alerted they may be called out to my mare by neighbours! Not much seems to be happening except Lily shifting her weight. #smallholdingdream
It’s officially Lily’s due date (340 days: but normal equine gestation spans >6 weeks period to reduce owners to nervous wrecks!) & #stillnobaby.
The view on the camera was a false alarm - just a nap - but if she is one of a tiny % of mares who foal in daytime I reckon that’d be the spot!
And #stillnobaby - but there is photographic evidence of her ridiculous forelock ponytail!
#smallholdingdream
CCTV image of a very pregnant black pony with a person leaning over and down and inspecting the pony’s udder
And there’s #stillnobaby, although to be fair Lily’s official due date isn’t until - today!
My friend Tami in Ohio who takes the early-hours baby watch just caught me doing a bedtime udder and teat check!
