If your friend calls and says your pregnant mare may be in stage I labor, that is not a good night to break out the 15# textbook on equine reproduction and stay up late rereading all the chapters on dystocias and fetotomies.

Doubly so if you are actually supposed to be studying for a Biology midterm that covers circulation, respiration, and digestion (but, no, not reproduction).

'I'm sorry I had to miss the midterm, Dr. Davis. I was attending a seminar on equine reproduction and it ran late.'