I heard of this story from a friend of mine who has been caught up in the “Suerte hostage crisis” for a few weeks now. At first I thought it was silly. How can you get addicted to watching a pregnant horse standing around in a stall all day? Well, it seems now I’m hooked too… Thanks Beth!

I think the fact that she is SO pregnant has something to do with it. Not to mention the fact that Suerte likes to play with our minds and lay down, moving about restlessly, immitating labor…

Thousands of people are following the pregnancy of Suerte, a 21-year-old chestnut Trakehner, and calling or e-mailing their support and concerns.

The intense interest began after horse breeder Genevieve Ghilotti installed cameras to upload live video stream from the stalls at Glenhill Farm in west Petaluma to allow her clients to keep an eye on expectant mares and witness the births of their babies.

Ghilotti said she has received calls around the clock from Germany, England, Canada and Africa and nearly every state in America.

That even includes Africam, a camera set up at a watering hole in Africa where news of Suerte is posted on a bulletin board, Ghilotti said.

The Web hosting company, Mare Stare, has logged 55pages of discussion about Suerte. Ghilotti has received more than 1,000 e-mails.

Join the insanity and check out Suerte’s web cam… It has to happen soon right?