1. Tell us more about Sandy.
Sandy is a 1999 Appaloosa mare. We have owned her since 2002 when we bought her at the World Show. Coming from world-class reining and cow horse bloodlines, Sandy is extremely athletic and built real solid. She is 15hh and an alert mare, and an easy keeper. She is well trained, though we do not ride her when she is expecting after about the fifth month or so. Sandy is sired by multiple World Champion Hollywood Taps and her dam's sire is the great Ima Doc O'Lena.

2. Is this Sandy's first foal?
No, Sandy's first foal was an athletic bay colt named "Java" by Supreme Champion and 2003 World's Best Appaloosa Zip Me Impressive. Java is for sale, but if he's not sold, he will be shown at longe line. Sandy was a good mother and was bred back to Zip Me Impressive for a March 2004 foal. A colt, "Junior", was born on April 5, 2004.

3. When do you think Sandy will foal?
Using a standard horse gestation period of 11 months plus five days, we figured Sandy would foal on the 24th of March. With such a long gestation, two weeks early or two weeks late is pretty much right on time. And that's good, because Junior wasn't born until April 5, 2004! Quite a few horse folks believe maiden mares tend to go longer than experienced mares, but we have not found that to hold true - they are just as apt to go early as late, so we simply keep a very close eye on them beginning about four weeks before. If a foal is born more than three weeks early it is very likely to have serious health problems or die. A foal's respiratory system develops very rapidly in the last month, so a very early foal will have a very difficult time making it.

4. Can you tell us about the foal's sire (father)?
The foal's sire is Supreme Champion and 2003 World's Best Appaloosa Zip Me Impressive, or "Zippy" as we call him. Zippy is the youngest Supreme Champion ever in the history of the Appaloosa breed. He is dark bay with a spotted blanket, and is nine years old. We bought him when he was 13 months old and he is regularly shown in competitions. He holds 50 Top Ten World and National and Year End titles and three Bronze Medallions. ZMI as we call him is a Multiple Reserve World Champion, and Multiple Canadian National Champion. Along with Sadny's great bloodlines they should make a very nice foal.

5. How will you know Sandy is about to give birth?
The "classic" signals we watch for include her tail cocked continuously to one side; pacing; her udder very full and waxed on the teats; getting smooth and elongated under her tail; the baby moving back into position giving her a more "cylindrical" appearance; and the ligaments on either side of her tail feeling soft and loose in preparation for foaling. In addition she may be not as hungry the day before or day of foaling; she may drip milk from her udder a few hours before delivery, and she may lay down and get up frequently. Her water will break and then the foal should be born within one hour - but sometimes as quickly as 15 minutes, so watch close! Any or all of these signs - or barely a few - may be present for Sandy's foaling. We have had a mare that never waxed, just started streaming milk about an hour before; a mare that never laid down until she foaled ten minutes later; a mare that ate, laid down and had her baby, and got up and ate again, all in a total of eight minutes (!), and a mare that laid down in the foaling position a thousand times during the two weeks before, giving many, many false alarms. Sandy likes to lay down to rest, so we are expecting lots of anxious moments until D-Day arrives.

6. Will the light in the foaling stall bother Sandy?
No, the light is from a low-watt light bulb. We enhance the lighting of the picture via the computer software so that you can see things better at night. Lights are off during the day. We will also turn off the lights after Sandy foals and the baby is up and nursing vigorously. (about two to three hours after foaling) Mother and baby will be in natural light every day, whether they are in the barn or outside in their paddock.

7. What kind of technical equipment do you use to support the BarnCams?
We have four cameras in the barn and one in the house all devoted to supporting the technical side of the BarnCams. We have four wireless cameras and one video camera pointed at the horses we are featuring each day. An older, wired system runs from the foaling barn to the TVs in the house so that we can do hourly and then half-hour checks at night without running down to the barn. We have three dedicated servers to handle all the traffic - it has been incredible! In addition, we will use a hand-held camera for our BarnBuddy Club members when Sandy foals.