Foaling Watch Update: April 6, 2025

🔹 Quick Status Overview 🔹

🐴 My Audubon – Day 339 – Still looking very pregnant, but comfortable. Her leg edema was slightly improved today, which is something the team has noticed in past mares close to foaling. No milk test today, but another is planned for tomorrow.

🐴 Lady Dyanaformer & Ditto (Filly) – Day 17 – Still bright and energetic with normal vitals and appetite, though her breathing is slightly raspy. Today is her final day of antibiotics, and the team is likely having the vet out again tomorrow to make sure she’s recovering as expected.

🐴 Elusive Surprise & Thirteen (Colt) – Day 24 – Thirteen was his usual bouncy self today and even tried to “help” the team clean his stall. Surprise had a quiet day—but a meaningful one. Early this morning, she laid down in her stall for the first time in weeks, a great sign for her comfort and stifle health.

🌬️ Cold, Wet, and Windy

The weather continues to be less than ideal. With temperatures dipping into the low 40s, steady rain, and wind, the mares and foals only managed about 20 minutes of turnout during a short break in the storm. That short time outside allowed the foals to stretch their legs—and gave the team a chance to deep clean Dyana and Ditto’s stall, which can be tricky with protective Dyana standing guard.

By contrast, Audi and Surprise are easygoing during stall cleaning, which helps streamline things on wet, muddy days like this.

🩺 Ditto: Bright and Bouncy, But One Last Check

Today marked Day 17 for Ditto—and her final scheduled day of antibiotics for the pneumonia she’s been recovering from. While her appetite, energy, and vital signs remain great, the HHS team still hears a slight rasp in her breathing and will likely have the veterinarian out tomorrow to make sure there’s no lingering issue.

📌 Why double check?
With young foals, pneumonia can flare back up unexpectedly, and Ditto’s respiratory system is still developing. A follow-up exam ensures she's on track to recover fully and safely return to full turnout once the weather clears.

🐾 Thirteen: Curious, Healthy, and Nearly Official

Thirteen continues to thrive—he was his usual curious self today and even made a cameo on camera while the team cleaned his stall.

And big news: his winning name, A Dozen and Won, has officially been submitted to The Jockey Club! Now it’s just a matter of waiting a few business days for name approval (or moving to our second choice if needed).

🧊 Audi: Still Holding, Slight Changes

No milk test was done today since yesterday’s results were still on the low side (just over 50 ppm calcium and pH well above 7.0), but the team plans to test again tomorrow. Audi continues to look very pregnant, but comfortable.

There was a slight improvement in her hind leg edema, which the team has occasionally seen as foaling nears. While not backed by strong scientific data, there’s anecdotal evidence among breeders that a reduction in edema can sometimes accompany the final hormonal shift before labor.

Regardless, Audi’s looking great and continues to rest well overnight—so we keep watching and waiting.

🌟 Surprise: A Small but Meaningful Win

Surprise may not have been in the spotlight today, but she quietly gave the team something to celebrate: she laid down in her stall early this morning for the first time in nearly a month.

📌 Why does that matter?
Surprise has a significantly deteriorated right stifle joint, a condition discovered during her intake exam after being acquired from the Keeneland November Sale last fall. Horses with this kind of chronic stifle arthritis often struggle to lie down or get back up comfortably—so when they avoid it, they miss out on one of the most restorative parts of rest.

That’s why seeing Surprise lay down and rest fully today was such a welcome sight.

💉 Her Treatment Plan

Shortly after arrival, the HHS team chose to inject her stifle with Arthramid, a long-acting injectable treatment that helps improve joint function by stabilizing the synovial membrane (the soft tissue lining of joints).

Unlike steroid injections, Arthramid is non-inflammatory, making it a safe option during pregnancy—especially important since Surprise was already in foal with Thirteen at the time.

Now that she’s foaled and recovered, the team is considering a follow-up injection, possibly using steroids this time to provide more immediate comfort and reduce inflammation in the joint.

She also receives daily Equioxx, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that helps manage the chronic discomfort caused by bone-on-bone arthritis. While the damage to her stifle is unlikely to improve, the goal is to slow further deterioration and keep her comfortable and mobile for as long as possible.