A busy weekend for Spike Media

Spike Media had a very busy weekend

I tried today to set up a blog for Spike Multimedia with blog.co.uk, but I seem to be unable to launch or publish this blog, so I decied to put up on my own blog.

Spike Media took a stand at the New Scotland Exhibition held at the S.E.C.C. in Glasgow at the weekend.

We organised a free 3 page website with free hosting etc as a special show Prize Draw to help attract new business.

The event lasted two days, and all the exhibitors had to compete with a beautiful sunny Saturday and the Scotland team playing football. The general opinion on Saturday was that the show was very quiet, sorry to say many exhibitors started to dismantle their stands before 5 o'clock!


The pictures above show Colin and Craig setting up our stand on Thursday afternoon, then connecting to the Internet on Friday morning and our stand with the boys in front, ready for the doors opening at 10 o'clock.

Also at the weekend, Spike Multimedia sponsored St Columba's school hockey team shirts for their annual tournament against Mount School from Yorkshire. We are delighted to report that St Columba's won their game 5 - 0.

(for child safety, the picture has been cropped to protect identity.)

Above is a picture of the contents of the "foal box" that I have put together.

Inside the box is an old bath towel, which can be used for rubbing down the new born foal, clearing away any mucus etc. In the jug are some babies bottles, I do hope these two items will not be required, but should I have to milk Ruth to feed the foal, these will do the job. Next to the jug is an old jumper which can be worn by the foal to keep it warm if necessary. Below in the bottom right hand corner is my trusty plastic apron, which has seen a lot of blood and gore over the years. This is just to keep myself clean. The anti bacterial hand wash is self explanatory, as it is very important to be as clean as you possibly can so as not to introduce any kind of infection to the new born, but if you need to touch or interfere with the birthing process, then the rubber gloves are good barrier to infection. The rolls of gauze bandages are are very useful. I can tie the placenta out of the way of the foal when it first gets up onto it's feet or use it to tie off the umbilical cord if required. Again, the curved scissors are self explanatory. The black bin bag is to collect the placenta for inspection by the vet. A clean bucket with water is not in the photograph, but is also an essential piece of equipment.

Well, apart from washing Ruth's tail and dock, I don't think there is really anymore I can do until the foal comes.

Ahh! These pictures were taken this morning. Corrie & Ruth are not kissing, they are licking apple juice off each others lips! Sorry to disapoint you.


You possibly can't tell from these images, but Ruth's udders are "bagging up", which means they are swelling & filling up. You might just be able to see her nipples, they will soon start to wax up, and that is when I have to be extra vigilant as this is a sign that the foal is on it's way! And it is going to be very soon. Any bets for the end of this week?

Tonight I will take some more pictures of Ruth's private parts, as it is a week since the last pictures were taken. People with a nervous disposition - don't look!

I did notice this morning that Ruth's udders have swollen a little more, but I am now convinced that the foal will not arrive until it's due date even though the weather this weekend has warmed up. Can't wait .....

My "foal-box" has now been made up in preparation for the big event, I'll post this up another day, and show you it's contents.

Monday 21st March 2007

The images above were taken on Monday night. The difference between these pictures and the ones taken the week before are that Ruth's vulva has extended some more as have her udders. Her body shape is beginning to change also.

However due to the very wet weather then followed by the rather cold weather, I think Ruth will hold onto her foal this week. I now think she will foal closer to her due date, which is 5th April 2007 .

Saturday 17th March 2007

As you can see from the images above, I managed to muck out, clean, scrub down and disinfect Ruth's stable in preparation for the foal. A thick bed of clean straw, banked high up the sides of the walls was put down. My only fear was that Ruth would "pig out" on the straw, but so far she hasn't.

Whilst hosing down the stables, Mum and I managed to block the drains! So we got absolutely drenched trying to clear them, as the weather outside was foul.

A good job done.

Here is a picture taken on Sunday night of Coriander, my Irish Draught horse. I know she is caked in mud, and it took a bit of time to clean her up.

I turned her out on her own yesterday, whilst Ruth was stabled waiting for the vet to arrive. This big edjit worked herself into a terrible tizzy all day because she was on her own, churning up the mud by the gate and calling like a foghorn. She probably has a very sore throat this morning! Today she is out with Ruth and the panic of yesterday is over.

The vet arrived late in the afternoon to give Ruth her Tetenus booster and check her over to see that all was well.

He reckoned that the foal has moved round into position, which could explain Ruth's behaviour on Sunday night when she started stamping her hind legs as if irritated. He also thought that the foal will be born sooner than I had anticipated!

I checked Ruth again this morning, I notaced that her udders have really started to swell, so I think the foal will be born sometime next week.

I attended a Scottish Equine Breeder’s Association Breeding Day last month, held at Oatridge College, entitled The Health & Welfare of the Foal and Young stock.

The main speaker was Professor Derek Knottenbelt, who spoke at length about the medical conditions and problems, at foaling and of the newborn foal. The main points of his talk that I considered important were:

a) You can tell a lot about the condition of the foetus and the mare by checking the udders and vulva of the mare regularly during the weeks before the birth. Any weeping from the vulva or leaking from the udders, contact the vet immediately.

b) Ensure the environment the foal is being born into is as clean as you can make it, and the mare too, as the foal is born with NO immunity to its surroundings. This is the reason why it is so important for the foal to drink the mare’s colostrum as soon as it can.

c) Collect the placenta – it can also tell you much about the health of your newborn foal.

d) A foal who does not sit up on it’s chest after being born, but lies down is a sick foal not a sleepy foal.

e) NO IODENE or purple spray! Foals are intolerant to iodine)

f) DO NOT stick your finger into the rectum of a foal if it becomes constipated. Ask your equine vet for a recommended enema preparation, which breaks down the compacted faeces gently. Soap & water is not the answer or any other concoction. Unfortunately, I didn’t write down the Professor’s recipe for this enema, but any Equine Vet worth his salt should know it.

g) For straight limbs, you only have 4 months from the birth of the foal to do any corrective intervention. So if there is a problem get it sorted as soon as possible, either by a blacksmith or a Vet.

There two other Vets that day, Dr Scott Pirie and Andrew McDiarmid who talked about the older foal to weaning, skin conditions, limbs and laminitis, digestive problems & teeth, and of course worming.

My head was spinning by the end of the day. I do think that I was not alone in thinking how foals ever manage to reach maturity when all the odds seem stacked against them not survive!

So taking the points on board that professor Knottenbelt discussed about regularly checking the vulva and udders of the mare, I took some photographs of Ruth’s udders and vulva last night. I have noticed that her vulva has distended quite a bit in the last two weeks and that the flaps of skin which are her udders have also distended recently too. I will take some more pictures next week for comparison.

Ruth was wormed for the final time on Monday before the foal arrives, and she due to have her Tetanus booster on Wednesday.

I’m suffering from “Foal Fever” at the moment; I’m just so excited about Ruth’s first foal, which is due early April.

As I have just set up this blog account, I am testing the space to learn how it works etc.

Eventually I will customise the look of this blog page, but you will have to be patient.I intend to use this blog space for the foreseeable future to inform children and vet. students of the weekly development of my Dartmoor mare who is in foal.

Her name is Ruth, and she is due to foal on the 5th of April 2007. By showing photographs of body parts which are relevant for monitoring her development and text to explain what I can see, I hope that the information I provide will be of interest to anyone studying reproduction.