Luna's Foal's Birth...
02/13/2007 8:34 PM
Hi All,
As of this evening (8:30), Luna is waxing and all signs are that she may
have the foal tonight, certainly within the next 48 hours. The straw and heat lamp
are in place, and so far no signs of distress. The roads are nearly impassible here
in Conneaut with a cold west wind blowing. Shannon and I are heading up to the stable
and are prepared to camp out for awhile. I think we may be in store for a Valentine's
Day foal.
Brett
02/14/2007 3:56 AM
Hello all,
Just like in the storybooks! With a major winter storm coming, Shannon and I barely
made it up the hill with our car before getting snowed in at the stable. The roads are
impassable. Caitlin has a mild fever, and Martha stayed home with her. Shannon and I
camped out in the car, periodically getting out and checking Luna in the nearby stable.
Wind blowing hard, plastic sheeting on windows beginning to tear. Drifts of snow
everywhere. Luna was eating the straw we laid down and becoming increasingly restless.
We were in radio contact with Martha at the house, and when we started feeling a chill,
Martha and I arranged to meet halfway between stable and house to resupply. Martha made
some ramen noodles for us, and I hiked through the blizzard with Shannon holding out under
blankets in the car. About 20 minutes later I was back at the car, and after snacking,
Shannon and I decided to go check luna again. When I approached the stable, I noticed
she was looking a bit tattered, and when I looked down there was a foal lying in the straw,
just like that. I immediately contacted Martha on the radio, who contacted Greg on his
cell phone. Shannon and I scrambled to get the foal blanket on the little one, and I tied
the umbilical cord to Luna's tail, so she would not step on it. I took the blanket off Luna,
so that there were no straps that would get in the way of the the foals attempt to find
the udders. Shannon and I stood in the stall and watched as the foal made several attempts
to stand up. About the fifth attempt and it was successful! By that time Greg showed up,
and he gently helped steer the foal and mom under the heat lamp, they started to bond,
Luna licking the foals fur dry. Within the first hour, the foal found the all important
source of colostrum. We breathed a sigh of relief, the three most essential steps to the
foal's survival had been acheived: Standing up, bonding with the mare, and colustrum
intake during those first critical hours!
It is simply amazing how quickly this newborn animal went from being in the womb,
to actually trotting around the stall. I put a two layer foal blanket on and iodine on
the feet and navel. Everything is stablized, and it is 10 degrees outside with a
wind chill of negative 15. The next two nights will be even colder. So this is as close
to a real time report as I can give you. It is nearly 4 a.m. and the girls are back home
in bed. I am about to head back up the hill to make sure the heat lamp stays on. I have
a backup lamp just in case. Our car is still stuck there and all of Conneaut is snowed in.
Yet, new life has overcome these obstacles and we are all very happy. I will send pictures
as soon as possible.
P.S. I forgot to mention that Caitlin and Martha walked throught he storm and joined us
at the stable to witness these first moments of the foal's life. The whole family shared
in this amazing experience.
Cheers,
Brett