Podcast Summary

Podcast: Katching Up With Katie

Episode: Foaling Season Catch Up... A LOT Has Happened
Host: Katie Van Slyke
Date: February 17, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode provides a high-energy, behind-the-scenes look at the wild, stressful, and rewarding foaling season at Katie Van Slyke’s Running Springs farm. Katie and her team share real talk about the unpredictable week they've had: a record number of births, late nights, technical content mishaps, and lots of laughs and learning. The focus is both on the physical demands of farm life and the unique chaos that comes with documenting it all on social media.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Foaling Season Mayhem

• Record Number of Foals: Three in a single week, plus one the week before, making for non-stop full watch (00:16).
• Unpredictable Timing: This year, almost all mares are going overdue—something Katie and the team note as a big change from previous years (02:20).
  • Quote: "They're all going over...344, 355, 5 or 51, whatever. But like, they're all going over and so that's, that's different." — Katie (02:39)

2. Tech Crisis: The Content Creator’s Dilemma

• Footage Overload and Storage Shortages: With massive birth videos, the team ran out of hard drive space and scrambled to find more, emphasizing the double workload from backing up everything (03:57–05:33).
  • Quote: "Every video you film takes up twice the amount of space as just filming it...Birth by itself is going to take up 2 terabytes. And then the next night you have a long birth...3 terabytes. Every hard drive that we have is full." — Nate (04:47)
• Balancing Content and Crisis: Katie reflects on how creating social media content turns ordinary farm chaos into extraordinary crisis—especially when everything happens at once (06:45).

3. Sleep Deprivation and Mental Health

• Sleep Struggles: The exhaustion is real; coping mechanisms include naps during lunch and leaning on each other for support (10:03).
  • Quote: "I sleep on my lunch break. I handle coping with stressful things with sleep." — Lindsay (10:30)
• High Adrenaline, High Stakes: The team shares how quickly situations can go south and how the first-time experiences are both eye-opening and stressful (11:13).

4. Learning on the Job

• Self-Preservation: Lindsay shares her crash course in farm animal safety, learning in real time about spatial awareness around horses (08:38).
  • Quote: "One of the main things is like, if they start to crowd around you, get out of the situation." — Lindsay (09:21)
• Team Dynamics: The hosts joke about who is quickest to respond during a late-night foaling emergency and gender differences in "emergency wakeup" instincts (27:34–28:20).

5. Memorable (and Gross) Moments

• Placenta Disgust: Lindsay’s "ick" is watching placentas come out—especially when they remain attached to the foal or are examined by the vet (13:27–15:15).
  • Quote: "I don't like the placentas. They just...especially when Dr. Matthew was, like, pulling it apart, I was like, what?" — Lindsay (14:15)
• Other Icks: Filming and eating around the mess, navigating food orders during births, and the resident cat’s questionable dinner etiquette (17:05; 18:26–18:32).

6. Surprises and Standout Experiences

• Full Alert Shocks: Lindsay admits being surprised by the process and technology of foaling alerts sewn into mares (20:05–20:43).
• Unexpected Drama: Coco’s foaling, being a mini, was especially challenging and highlighted for Lindsay how quickly the experience can veer toward crisis (20:58).

7. Favorite Foals

• The team votes for their favorites, with Lindsay loving Bobby for her adorable pink nose (24:30), Katie unable to pick, and various others getting mentions like Moose and Wally.

8. Community and Content

• Social Media Hustle: Katie posted 48 videos in 30 hours during peak chaos, balancing subscriber content and public posts (07:19).
• Moderation and Interaction: Lindsay thrives as a moderator in the comment sections, taking pride in her “keyboard warrior” role (22:14–23:49).
  • Quote: "She would lay on the couch and she would go like this [gestures]." — Nate (22:54)
• Snapchat Bonus: Lindsay and Rachel add levity and behind-the-scenes moments to the farm’s Snapchat, bringing out the humorous side of ranch life (23:53).

9. Looking Ahead

• Full Watch Continues: Despite the chaos, the team is committed to seeing foaling season through, with more births on the horizon and plans for continued live Dungeons & Dragons sessions as a form of relaxation and connection (30:15–31:26).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the Emotional Toll of Foaling:
  • "It reminded me how quickly things can go south...I was ready, but I was, like, still tired. I was stressed. I was like, I kind of paused for a second and, like, kind of freaked out." — Lindsay (11:13)
• On Farm Chaos and Content Creation:
  • "This has been one of the most chaotic weeks of my life, I think." — Katie (06:23)
  • "We had a rough birth...we had to have the vet out. Like, it was definitely scary." — Katie (10:52)
• On Training for Emergencies:
  • "I will say when we go out and I'm getting ready and I'm taking along, I'll take a long time to get ready...But in normal day to day circumstances, I can jump and run so much better than my husband." — Katie (27:34)
• On Farm Life Humor:
  • "My ick is eating food around it while we're doing it. Well, also, the cat was, like, laying her mole that she had caught on everyone's food boxes." — Katie & Nate (18:20–18:32)
• On Teamwork:
  • "Me and Lindsay left them, and that's why, like, they got down there minutes later and we...I was already back there helping and then they mosey in." — Katie (27:34)

Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:16 — Opening exhaustion: recap of a hectic week.
• 02:20 — Discussion on overdue mares and season unpredictability.
• 03:57–06:23 — Behind-the-scenes content crisis: hard drive shortages and tech mayhem.
• 07:19 — Content output: 48 TikTok videos and counting.
• 08:38–10:03 — Lindsay’s self-preservation journey and coping mechanisms.
• 10:52–13:12 — Traumatic births and learning from stressful situations.
• 13:27–15:15 — Placenta process: “ick” moments.
• 20:05–20:43 — Full alert system: surprises for Lindsay.
• 24:30+ — Favorite foals and funny team banter.
• 27:34–28:20 — “Emergency wakeup” and team coordination.
• 30:15–31:26 — Full watch plans, D&D, and community interaction.

Episode Tonality

• Energetic, Candid, and Relatable: The conversation is unfiltered, filled with rapid banter, self-deprecating humor, and honest admissions about stress and teamwork. The team vibes as both overwhelmed and grateful, emphasizing authenticity and connection with their listener community.

Bottom Line

This episode is a vibrant window into the realities of foaling season—not just the farm work, but the emotional rollercoaster and digital hustle behind the social media lens. Whether you're farming, creating content, or just along for the laughs, Katie and crew’s camaraderie, lessons learned, and moments of chaos make for an engaging, memorable listen. If you want further foal stories, be sure to check the upcoming birth videos and join their next live session.