Journal Entry #2 - An Unexpected Arrival
As we quickly made our way home, Chuck and I heard an unsettling sound as a decent drizzle began to fall. The sound was full of pain, it was clearly a horse, but we couldn't see where it was coming from. Despite trying to get home quick, we slowly, we were able to follow the sound and found a mare in trouble. She was trying to give birth but was in terrible shape. The drizzle that had fallen only made things worse for her; the ground was soft and wet, the mud was covering most of her body. Clearly, she had been trying to find a good position, but hadn't been able to. She looked weak and tired, her quiet moans and cries broke my heart. At first, Chuck and I didn't know if we should intervene, but to let nature take its course. But neither of us could leave her there in pain, suffering like she was. Chuck dismounted from Strix and slowly and calmly made his way down to her. She was lying in between two hills, usually a nice place to quietly give birth, but not this time. The water was collecting around her and her feet began to slip beneath her as she tried to stand up.
The mare's eyes widened as she saw Chuck approach. He held his hand out, talking softly to her, "easy girl. It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you." Chuck had always had a way with horses, and she calmed down. She called out again as another contraction took hold. She grunted and put her head back down on the ground. Her chest and belly rose and fell quickly as she tried to recover after each one. Chuck placed his hand on her stomach and patted her neck. I watched as he whispered to her, but I couldn't make it out this time. He softly let his hand brush across her side as he made his way to take a look at the foal. Everything looked good, the foal had good placement and the front hooves were out. Then Chuck realized what the problem was. The foal was big, possibly too big; causing her to have such difficulty. Chuck knew then, that he had to see if he could help her deliver the foal. With every push, he pulled. After a few times, he came back up to me and grabbed a rope to try and get some better leverage. The foal was proving to be difficult. He wrapped the coarse rope around the foal's legs and pulled again as the mare pushed. It started looking like they were making some progress as the foal's nose came into view. "Come on girl!" I heard him say, encouraging her to keep going. She was tiring and wasn't putting as much effort into each push anymore. I knew Boron and Strix wouldn't venture too far, so I jumped down to help. I quickly made it to the mare and encouraged her to keep on; not to give up. Her nostrils flared as she tried to catch her breath. Ever push was extremely difficult for her, she was so weak, so tired. I wondered how long she had been at this. The mud was covering most her face, so I rubbed some off so she could see and breathe better. She was nervous with us there, I could tell; but I think she was too incapacitated to do anything. As more contractions came, Chuck pulled. Every push was a move in the right direction until finally, the foal was out.
The mare took a deep breath and looked at her foal. She locked eyes with Chuck for a moment and then laid her head back down and closed her eyes for the last time. Just then, her last breath left her. I held her head in my lap and rubbed her face. She wasn't a very old mare; the foal was just too much for her. I cried for her and her foal. The two would never meet and now, and we had a new foal to care for. Chuck, now covered in mud along with the foal, tried to wipe the mud away. The foal was breathing and alert despite the ordeal. We could tell it was a painted foal, but the mud made it difficult to tell any more. The drizzle started again and we needed to hurry. I softly put the mare's head back on the ground and walked around to see the foal before grabbing my camera and taking a few pictures. The foal was a colt, he cried for his mother, but got no rereply. "We have to get him out of here." Chuck told me. The mud was going to make it difficult for him to even try to get to his feet and with the mare gone, we knew it wouldn't be long before a predator would come along. Chuck whistled and Boron and Strix came down to us. Chuck lifted the foal onto Strix as I got on Boron. With the drizzle changing to a full rain, we had to move quickly. We went as fast as we could with a foal and before long we made it to Dr, Rowley's office at the Stud Barn. "Dr. Rowley!" we both called out. By now, the rain had washed most of the mud off of the colt and I was able to tell it was a sorrel painted colt. He stayed calm as Chuck got him off of Strix and carried him into the barn. Dr. Rowley came running out as we hurried in, making our way over to the stall just outside the office.
Chuck put him down on the stall floor and Dr. Rowley rubbed his head. "Where did you find this guy?" he asked with a quizzical look on his face. Chuck and I told him the story of how we found his mother and helped with the delivery. Then he entered the stall to take a look. The colt just looked at us, twitching his ears and shaking the water off of his head. He looked to be in good shape considering all he had been through, but could he stand? We waited to see. As his coat began to dry Chuck called to him. "Come on now, get up." The colt looked right at him and whinnied back. "Come on, you can do it." Back and forth the two talked to each other. Dr. Rowley looked at me, "if he can get up and is healthy, we're going to need a mare to nurse him or he is going to need around the clock care." I thought for a moment, Sadie, our Clydesdale mare had just given birth to a still born foal. She would definitely have enough milk. "You'd better get her over here" he told me. I called over to the Draft Barn to Maryann and asked her and Ronan to bring her over. Sadie had been moping about the last few days since the loss of her foal. I was hoping she would accept the colt as her own and he could help her recover as well. Only time would tell, but first, we had to get the colt to his feet.
By the time I got back to the stall, the colt was on his feet; wobbly, but on his feet. He looked at Chuck and myself and whinnied again with joy. He was proud of himself! "What an amazing little colt" I said with a smile. Chuck was laughing to himself as well as he knelt down. The colt sloppily made his was over to Chuck and nuzzled his face, then whinnied again. "He's hungry" Dr. Rowley said. By now, it had been almost two hours since he was born, we needed to get Sadie here quick. Just then, the barn doors opened and in walked Ronan with Sadie behind him. She was holding her head a bit lower than normal until she heard the quiet call of the colt. Her ears perked up as she got closer to the stall. "Hi Sadie." I said as I rubbed her neck and nose. "What do you think of your new foal?" I asked as Chuck moved further into the stall. He wanted to be close incase Sadie did the unthinkable. She lowered her big head down and sniffed the colt. He whinnied to her and sniffed her in return. Sadie took a step closer and licked his neck. He moved forward and nuzzled his head to her chest and whinnied again. It looked like Sadie was going to accept the colt! Chuck took hold of her halter and led her into the stall as the colt followed her around and quickly began to nurse. Sadie's eyes widened for a moment as the colt drank with earnest. She looked back at him and licked his hind quarter. The pair was going to be just fine. Chuck closed the stall door and watched for a bit as the two became better acquainted. It didn't take long before the foal was tired and ready for a nap. He finished nursing; his mouth now covered in milk and moved to Sadie's other side before clumsily lying down to nap. Sadie lifted her hind hoof and closed her eyes, content with her new found purpose.
"Go on home now." Dr. Rowley told us. I'll keep an eye on them he said as we walked out of the barn. We hadn't noticed until then that Ronan had been kind enough to unsaddle and put Boron and Strix away for us. "They can stay here for the night." Dr. Rowley said, "Take my truck. I'm sure you'll want to come back in the morning so I can get it back then." He continued. It had been a long and exhausting day. So much to remember, plus I had so many photos to go through after our outing in the valley. But my biggest question was, "What are we going to call him?" I asked Chuck as we drove down the bumpy muddy road. He just looked and smiled at me in silence as the now heavy rain batted against the truck.
The mare's eyes widened as she saw Chuck approach. He held his hand out, talking softly to her, "easy girl. It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you." Chuck had always had a way with horses, and she calmed down. She called out again as another contraction took hold. She grunted and put her head back down on the ground. Her chest and belly rose and fell quickly as she tried to recover after each one. Chuck placed his hand on her stomach and patted her neck. I watched as he whispered to her, but I couldn't make it out this time. He softly let his hand brush across her side as he made his way to take a look at the foal. Everything looked good, the foal had good placement and the front hooves were out. Then Chuck realized what the problem was. The foal was big, possibly too big; causing her to have such difficulty. Chuck knew then, that he had to see if he could help her deliver the foal. With every push, he pulled. After a few times, he came back up to me and grabbed a rope to try and get some better leverage. The foal was proving to be difficult. He wrapped the coarse rope around the foal's legs and pulled again as the mare pushed. It started looking like they were making some progress as the foal's nose came into view. "Come on girl!" I heard him say, encouraging her to keep going. She was tiring and wasn't putting as much effort into each push anymore. I knew Boron and Strix wouldn't venture too far, so I jumped down to help. I quickly made it to the mare and encouraged her to keep on; not to give up. Her nostrils flared as she tried to catch her breath. Ever push was extremely difficult for her, she was so weak, so tired. I wondered how long she had been at this. The mud was covering most her face, so I rubbed some off so she could see and breathe better. She was nervous with us there, I could tell; but I think she was too incapacitated to do anything. As more contractions came, Chuck pulled. Every push was a move in the right direction until finally, the foal was out.
The mare took a deep breath and looked at her foal. She locked eyes with Chuck for a moment and then laid her head back down and closed her eyes for the last time. Just then, her last breath left her. I held her head in my lap and rubbed her face. She wasn't a very old mare; the foal was just too much for her. I cried for her and her foal. The two would never meet and now, and we had a new foal to care for. Chuck, now covered in mud along with the foal, tried to wipe the mud away. The foal was breathing and alert despite the ordeal. We could tell it was a painted foal, but the mud made it difficult to tell any more. The drizzle started again and we needed to hurry. I softly put the mare's head back on the ground and walked around to see the foal before grabbing my camera and taking a few pictures. The foal was a colt, he cried for his mother, but got no rereply. "We have to get him out of here." Chuck told me. The mud was going to make it difficult for him to even try to get to his feet and with the mare gone, we knew it wouldn't be long before a predator would come along. Chuck whistled and Boron and Strix came down to us. Chuck lifted the foal onto Strix as I got on Boron. With the drizzle changing to a full rain, we had to move quickly. We went as fast as we could with a foal and before long we made it to Dr, Rowley's office at the Stud Barn. "Dr. Rowley!" we both called out. By now, the rain had washed most of the mud off of the colt and I was able to tell it was a sorrel painted colt. He stayed calm as Chuck got him off of Strix and carried him into the barn. Dr. Rowley came running out as we hurried in, making our way over to the stall just outside the office.
Chuck put him down on the stall floor and Dr. Rowley rubbed his head. "Where did you find this guy?" he asked with a quizzical look on his face. Chuck and I told him the story of how we found his mother and helped with the delivery. Then he entered the stall to take a look. The colt just looked at us, twitching his ears and shaking the water off of his head. He looked to be in good shape considering all he had been through, but could he stand? We waited to see. As his coat began to dry Chuck called to him. "Come on now, get up." The colt looked right at him and whinnied back. "Come on, you can do it." Back and forth the two talked to each other. Dr. Rowley looked at me, "if he can get up and is healthy, we're going to need a mare to nurse him or he is going to need around the clock care." I thought for a moment, Sadie, our Clydesdale mare had just given birth to a still born foal. She would definitely have enough milk. "You'd better get her over here" he told me. I called over to the Draft Barn to Maryann and asked her and Ronan to bring her over. Sadie had been moping about the last few days since the loss of her foal. I was hoping she would accept the colt as her own and he could help her recover as well. Only time would tell, but first, we had to get the colt to his feet.
By the time I got back to the stall, the colt was on his feet; wobbly, but on his feet. He looked at Chuck and myself and whinnied again with joy. He was proud of himself! "What an amazing little colt" I said with a smile. Chuck was laughing to himself as well as he knelt down. The colt sloppily made his was over to Chuck and nuzzled his face, then whinnied again. "He's hungry" Dr. Rowley said. By now, it had been almost two hours since he was born, we needed to get Sadie here quick. Just then, the barn doors opened and in walked Ronan with Sadie behind him. She was holding her head a bit lower than normal until she heard the quiet call of the colt. Her ears perked up as she got closer to the stall. "Hi Sadie." I said as I rubbed her neck and nose. "What do you think of your new foal?" I asked as Chuck moved further into the stall. He wanted to be close incase Sadie did the unthinkable. She lowered her big head down and sniffed the colt. He whinnied to her and sniffed her in return. Sadie took a step closer and licked his neck. He moved forward and nuzzled his head to her chest and whinnied again. It looked like Sadie was going to accept the colt! Chuck took hold of her halter and led her into the stall as the colt followed her around and quickly began to nurse. Sadie's eyes widened for a moment as the colt drank with earnest. She looked back at him and licked his hind quarter. The pair was going to be just fine. Chuck closed the stall door and watched for a bit as the two became better acquainted. It didn't take long before the foal was tired and ready for a nap. He finished nursing; his mouth now covered in milk and moved to Sadie's other side before clumsily lying down to nap. Sadie lifted her hind hoof and closed her eyes, content with her new found purpose.
"Go on home now." Dr. Rowley told us. I'll keep an eye on them he said as we walked out of the barn. We hadn't noticed until then that Ronan had been kind enough to unsaddle and put Boron and Strix away for us. "They can stay here for the night." Dr. Rowley said, "Take my truck. I'm sure you'll want to come back in the morning so I can get it back then." He continued. It had been a long and exhausting day. So much to remember, plus I had so many photos to go through after our outing in the valley. But my biggest question was, "What are we going to call him?" I asked Chuck as we drove down the bumpy muddy road. He just looked and smiled at me in silence as the now heavy rain batted against the truck.