No foal!

This week, the two Nigerien vets Dr Madougou and Dr Hamzy conducted a rectal palpation on Arwen (their first ever on a mare!) and I finally got the answer to one of many questions concerning my little mare: Arwen is not in foal! Not much of a surprise really, but she did have us fooled there for a while, while her belly growing and all the signs of impending birth... She must have resorbed very early on (when it's easy to miss), but I'm just happy that there was nothing seriously wrong with her (like having a dead foal stuck somewhere). They did not find any cysts or anything else that seemed to be the matter, and the only thing I am waiting for now is for my mare to return to her normal cycle and not be so sensitive all the time. But that seems to be taking its time and right now, she seems to be in some sort of mourning! ...Which my jockey is taking more seriously than I! But then again, I have my own hormones to tend to regularly so maybe that's why I'm not so alarmed... :-D I'll let you know when Arwen falls in love again! It might be a few years though before I actually allow her to mate again. Not while she's still in training, that's for sure!

Ishtar