A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

Part one of the Second Foal Crop

After the loss of the young Arabian horse, Image, it was difficult for me to keep focused on this dream of mine. It felt like it had been dashed into a million pieces for the second time in a short amount of time. With as many horses as I had to take care of, I had to keep on trucking. Even though I would have preferred to not even think about horses for a while.

I was not looking forward to the spring foals for the first time since I had started this breeding farm adventure of mine. The thought of having to deal with watching mares and caring for babies had lost all of it's appeal. I was really in a bad place but not so bad that I could turn my back on my obligations to the horses.

Sometimes during the winter, Heiress slipped her foal. Of course, it was after I had paid a Sweepstakes Breeding Entry nomination. But that's just how life seems to go sometimes. I wish I could say it bothered me but I think that I was relieved. That left four mares to foal on our farm and one outside mare for a client. The first foals were due the middle part of April.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I was still able to get myself to keep track of how the mares were progressing. Solidare, Faye and Aana, all began to show signs of impending foaling at about the same time. By now my skills at predicting when a mare might foal were getting honed down about as much as they could be. The mares will always pull something to prove how silly anyone is who thinks they have a clue. But on the whole, I was prepared.

Beginning with April Fool's day, I was sleeping in the barn. Getting up several times throughout the night to check on all three mares. Even then, I was fighting being in a dark, dark place, crying most times I checked a mare thinking about the lost foal. I was really struggling.

Even with Solidare, my replacement for Scandalous, being one of the expectant mares, I just couldn't get myself into foaling. She must have felt neglected. She spent a goodly amount of time around me nudging me over and over. Treats or grooming wouldn't stop her. Or maybe that mare knew I was in trouble.

Solidare was the first to foal on April 3, 2001. I hardly remember the actual birth except that the foal was absolutely huge. Big like Dare had been, only Dare had been a month late and this foal was about two weeks early.

Another big bold colt to Leg's credit but there was something odd about him that put me off. He had a star, strip and snip and four very irregular white socks and that attitude that the Leg's babies get. Put together exactly like expected out of Solidare and by Leg's.

I tended to the mare and dried the colt off and did the iodine thing on his navel. Meanwhile Dave stripped the stall and put down clean dry straw. Then I dressed the colt in a foal blanket. The first size was too small.

Getting him up and nursing was the usual battle. The legs were too long, the attitude too bold, and it was a bloody colt! Thankfully Dave was there to help with the standing and nursing. I had less patience than usual. And my "usual" patience wasn't nearly enough to deal with teaching a colt to stand and nurse.

The whole time I just kept shaking my head about this colt. There was just something odd about him, I couldn't put my finger on it. I remember when I went into the house to cook the bran mash for Solidare that I called my friend Chris about the birth.

Chris isn't in to colts, she prefers fillies. But she still asked all of the usual questions. His size, color, markings, how he was built and if I liked him. That's when I told her there was just something odd about him. He appeared to be healthy but he looked funny, anemic somehow. That's when Chris began to laugh, "Is he chestnut!"

To be continued.............

The Third Foal Crop Part 2


Visit Blog Village and vote daily for this blog Here They are now measuring the rankings by votes out, so if you find my blog on the site, please click that link too to improve my rankings. TY

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse foaling