We now have foal number 2 here. Allie (Alpowa, a Nez Perce mare belonging to my friend Wendy Ford) is here to foal. Allie was quite early and gave no warning on her last foal, so I had been watching her closely. She obviously decided to make up for that ‘no warning’ foaling as she started in labor on Saturday or Sunday (brain fog still) and keep stopping and starting all weekend. I spent most of the weekend getting chores done quickly, just in case. Ha! Monday rolled around and she was still doing her, start, stop, start, stop. She would get to the point of having hard contractions and then just…quit.
My new wireless camera once again proved it’s worth, as I checked in with Allie via cell phone. I was getting pretty tired by Monday night and no doubt Allie felt the same way. I went to bed and checked my phone every hour, until at 1 am Tuesday morning, I saw a foal! My eldest daughter Alex (who was still awake) and I hurried outside. Allie was very protective and not happy with any human intervention, so we had to be very careful. It was a black baby and after about half an hour I was able to check the sex; colt. I texted Wendy, but he wasn’t the bright, alert, hungry foal you want to see. I think now that Allie knew that he wasn’t quite right and that is why she was so protective.
I was able to get a little bit of milk into him, he had a small poop and was up after over an hour. To give an example of what a bright, alert foal does, Ahmi was up, nursing and flying around the stall in an hour. This little guy could barely get up, wasn’t nursing well and his dam was worried.
After he drank a little, I left them to bond and went to bed.
Next morning, I took one look and called Wendy to let her know we needed the vet. He was still acting like he was just born, not nursing well, milk all over his face. The vet came out and drew blood and agreed with me that he wasn’t right. The IGG results (from the bloodwork) came back at 250 – Ahmi’s IGG was 1833. So, another vet call and he got 2 bags of plasma, an antibiotic shot and lots of support. Almost immediately after the plasma, he was pooping like a champ and nursing well. Whew! Allie also calmed down and let us handle him without worrying, so she was happier too. By the next day, he was acting like a foal should – nursing well, running around and being bright and happy. He had another IGG just to make sure and this time he was over 1100.
Since then, he and Allie have been introduced to Aya and Ahmi. All are getting along well and he’s growing like a bad weed.
One day old.
They are all now out on pasture, enjoying the wonders of grass and friends.
My daughter Callie taking some photos with her good camera.
They are all out together now and ‘Auntie Annie’ will be joining them soon. Only one more mare to go. Asalari is due August 6th, but will probably be earlier. She is bred to the lovely stallion Arin.
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