A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 7

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

Once the horse show was out of the way, the next thing I had to worry about was the last mare I had at home yet to foal. That mare was Lilly, the mother of the foal I had lost the year before I was really not looking forward to this foaling. Even though many longtime breeders will tell you that a mare's first foal is usually smaller and not a quality as the rest of her foals will be, I didn't even dare to hope that Lilly could produce such a foal again.

So the closer Lilly got to foaling, the more distressed I became. Edgy would be a good description of me during that time. I did ok away from my farm working with other people's Arabian horses but at home with mine, I was a wreck. It was like some inner clock was ticking away and my dream lay in the balance.

Lilly is one of the sweetest mares that anyone will ever meet. She is quiet and unassuming to be around although she still has plenty of that good ole' Arabian attitude. During this time she put up with my lack of finesse in checking out her foaling status. The mare also didn't take on my uneasiness. Looking at Lilly you would have thought everything was right with the world.

Right after the horse show, I found the mare was bagged up and breaking down around her tail head. She had been as big as a house for weeks. But now it was clear that Lilly's body was preparing for impending foaling. So again, I moved into the barn at night so I could watch more closely over the mare. During the day, I would call from work several times to check on her status.

Finally on May 8, 2001 Lilly decided it was time. The mare quietly laid down with me in attendance and easily pushed out a beautiful foal. Everything went exactly by the book. There were no problems with constipation or low IgG scores and any of the other things that had marked the earlier foalings.

This foal was not nearly as large as the colt from last year had been but a beautiful foal none the less. As dark as the foal was at the points, I expected it would mature out as a gray. Drying the foal, I took my time and examined the foal from head to toe. From what I could tell with it still laying down, this foal was more than I could have hoped for. Not only that, this time it was a filly.

She had just as big an attitude at the colt had, maybe bigger. There is definitely a difference between Legs's colts and fillies. While the colts think that they are the coolest thing on earth, the fillies know they are. This filly was no exception. While she was not as brazen as Dare, she was just as bold. Then there was a quiet confidence about her, just like her mother.

This filly didn't need help when I encouraged her to rise. She just jumped up onto her long spindly legs and stood there confidently looking at me. I could see the wheels turning as she thought about that first step and then the second and third. Before I knew it she was over nursing just like she'd done it a dozen times before.

Lilly was as attentive with this foal as she had been with the colt. It was clear it didn't matter to the mare whether she had boys or girls, as long as she could have babies, she was a happy mare. Mothering is definitely what Lilly does best.

It didn't take long after the birth of this filly for me to begin to come around. While my heart still ached for Image, it was finally clear to me that my dream was still safe and secure. Even though I had been convinced that the cards were stacked against me, this filly who was definitely more than I had dared to hope for was exactly that, the hope for the future of my breeding farm. There was no better name for her than Scandalous Hope.

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

The Third Foal Crop - Part 8
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