Foaling Season 2008 on the Baby Boomer's Arabian Horse Breeding Farm - Poop Patrol Antics

I've been on poop patrol before with a number of Arabian foals but usually it is about passing meconium not after it's been done. With the lower bowel all flushed out from the Fleet enemas, there was no telling how long it was going to take for poop to come down into the lower tract but we needed to be watching for signs of an impaction so poop patrol it was.

We were watching for signs of straining and particularly those with an arch in the foal's back. Straining that hard with an empty bowel could cause the bowel to loop back on itself. When that happens sometimes it can be fixed by tubing the foal with water and oil and sometimes they require surgery. It was going to be important to watch this foal around the clock until we saw some signs of poop.

My vet said looping back of the intestine is one of the side effects of those Fleet enemas and why he avoids them at all costs. I know they are recommended by lots of vets but after this experience you can bet I"ll never use one again. I have some in my "horse" cupboard that are making their way to the trash.

So the poop patrol began. I also enlisted the aid of some of the people on Mare Stare. Needing to track this filly 24/7 was going to take more eyes than my two.

Fortunately the filly gave us lots of entertainment. Her usual antics might amount to racing around her mother and kicking the daylights out of the mare before the filly decides to stop and nurse. The mare has had to resort to lifting her leg and gesturing a kick back to get the filly to back off and sometimes to make her nurse on the other side. The only time it's been dull in that stall is when the filly was asleep.

The filly wasn't much better with the humans in her world. Poor Lindsay cleaning stalls had to deal with this brat of a filly trying to sneak out the door and pushing Lindsay out of the way in the process. The redhead had no idea that she was just a horse........indeed, she was pretty sure she should be some kind of queen over this new world of hers.

I decided that all this attitude was going to need to be channeled real soon. It would be a mistake to let this behavior go unchecked......... halter training had to start asap. I think in some kind of all time record for me, I broke out the rope halter. I planned to teach this filly how to give to pressure, although I was going to have to catch her first.

When I came through the people door with that rope halter in my hand, the chestnut filly took off for behind her mom. Lucy wasn't sure what to think about my motives or for that matter those of her filly. She hesitated as I asked her to move away but obliged when the filly got pushy. I think the poor mare has had it with the attitude as well.

So when Lucy moved to give me access to her foal, the filly darted past me trying to escape. I reached out and grabbed her blanket holding on tightly as she drug me with her across the stall. I still can't get over how strong baby horses can be.

I did manage to get her stopped and trapped in my arms. When I tried to put the halter on her nose, the filly just flat out threw herself onto the ground. Too bad I hadn't been thinking about such a response because I should have sat on her. Instead she managed to bounce back up before the thought ever hit my mind. I can assure you the next time she makes that move that I will be ready. This filly really could use some more imprinting.

I did finagle the rope halter onto her nose and then the strap up and over her pole. Getting the halter fastened took a bit more effort as the filly shook her head and stomped her foot at me scrunching my toes. I was really relieved when I finally got the knot done up holding the halter firmly in place.

From there I just put a little bit of pressure onto the lead asking the filly to drop her head. At any sign of change in her expression I gave her a release to encourage her to give to the pressure. Some of the time she over reacted and tried to escape. Her choice of routes changed it time but I managed to second guess her and keep her caught.

The gains at dropping her head were small but I thought I was making my wishes known. The during a released moment the filly dropped her head almost to her knees. Then she dropped her shoulder and tried to roll out away from me. I quickly trapped her with my arms as she threw her head up high in the air. The message was clear......."I get you want me to drop my head but I'm not going to do it for you!"

I did manage to gradually get her to drop her head about six inches from its highest point before I stopped. No way was I anywhere near the point she had dropped her head at me in disdain. I figured because she was a newborn a lesson five to ten minutes long was probably enough. But this one session made it real clear that lots more sessions were going to be in order. Not only did this filly think she was a princess........she was a very smart princess with her own ideas on how the world should turn.

It was then it occurred to me that her regal, aloof attitude was just like a character I clearly remembered in a book. Always looking for names that suit the personalities of my horses, it seemed that this character was a perfect fit. How to make the name of the heroine of Gone with the Wind into something "scandalous" was going to be tough but the very thought of calling this filly "Scarlet" tickled me.

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





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