Baby #6

 

First, let me apologize for the lack of posts.  Besides running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I have not had much luck with internet access since being home.  That should start changing here shortly and I’ll be posting more often.  At least, that’s the plan.

 

This should be the last baby that will be born from the mares seized from Baracksville, WV last April.  River must have conceived either days before being seized or in the few days after when we were trying to catch everyone and get mares separated from stallions.  Amigo was born exactly 11 months from the day River was seized, on March 14th shortly after 1AM.  I had separated River from Lucille and Lucky about a week before, when her bag started filling up, but she was still right in front of the house and I could look out the window all night and keep an eye on her.

 

The GBH was home that night and was having trouble sleeping, so when he heard the horses screaming and going nuts, he grabbed a flashlight and our new puppy (she deserves her own post later), Calypso, and headed out the door to see if someone had gotten out or if that bobcat we had heard in the woods a few nights ago had made a return visit.  He and Calypso wandered around, but couldn’t find anything amiss.  He came back in, but Calypso stayed out, which is totally against her nature.  She is usually glued to us and goes wherever we go.  As soon as the GBH closed the door, Calypso started barking.  He went back out to find her standing in front of River’s foal, who had been born under the metal panels of River’s pen!   The poor little guy was about 12’ from River’s pen and was still soaking wet and attached to the umbilical and sack.  He couldn’t stand up yet, but had obviously tried since he had gotten himself so far away from River. 

We got the little guy back in with mom, dried him off, and I kept River close to the heater until he stopped shivering.   River has proven to be an excellent mother, but because her fat belly was hanging so low and her udder was so high and tight, the poor little guy had trouble nursing.  I tried milking her, but couldn’t get anything out.  Fortunately, a friend of mine raises Andalusian horses not far from our place and I knew she’d have a supply of colostrum since her foaling season starts in April.  Once he had some warm colostrum in his belly his energy level picked up and within another hour he had figured out how to turn his head to the side and practically upside down to nurse.

 

The friend with the colostrum is also the person who named the little tyke:  Amigo.  Too darned cute for words, right?