Foaling in the Field: A Natural Nativity

 

Our grandest plans were subverted.

 We waited eleven months for the exciting event, but we were surprised. We had every intention of bringing our beloved warmblood mare inside to a cozy breeding stall, softly bedded with fresh hay, when her time arrived for foaling.

 Of course, the mare had another plan altogether. In fact, she had a completely different timetable than the rest of us.

 According to the calendar, she was not due to foal for another few weeks. So much for modern science!

 

NOTE: Written by this author, this copyrighted material originally appeared on another publisher’s site. That site no longer exists. This author holds all rights to this content. No republication is allowed without permission.

 

Surprise in the Pasture!

 A friend went out to the pasture around 11 a.m. to collect her quiet gelding. He refused to exit through the gate with her. Instead, he practically dragged her to the three-sided shelter, across the pasture. There, she saw an amazing sight.

 Inside the lean-to, she found the entire herd. About a dozen horses huddled inside the shed, guarding and watching the mare and her perfect newborn filly, like an equine nativity scene.

 An hour earlier, the mare had been peacefully grazing outside. When she was ready, she simply entered the shelter and delivered her offspring on her own. Her pasture mates gathered and observed.

 Perhaps they were protecting the blessed event, or possibly, they were simply curious.

 My friend left her own horse in the field and bounded over the fence to herald the news to the barn staff. All hands came running to collect the horses from the pasture. When the coast was clear, they led the mare and her brand-new, full-term, bouncing filly into the barn.

 

That’s where we came in.

 Around noon, my kids and I drove through the barn gate and noticed the parade, headed for the foaling barn. We leapt out of the car and raced to the stall.

 Usually, a mare will guard her newborn foal attentively. She will place her own body between others and her offspring, making herself the physical boundary to keep others away.

 However, this time, it was somehow different. We’ve been together nearly ten years, and this was her third foal. The sweet chestnut mom quietly stepped behind her baby and welcomed us into their world. It was as if she wanted to tell us, “C’mon in. I trust you. Share our happy moment. Look what I have!”

 

“Please allow me to introduce my pride and joy.”

 A sturdy fawn-colored face, with a huge, crooked white stripe, fairly grinned up at me and my children. The friendly filly accepted our attentions eagerly, as her mom nuzzled her own baby and my human children as well.

 In that moment, I caught a glimpse of what it must feel like to become a flesh-and-blood grandmother, to watch your own daughter deliver a child. Pride and affection, adrenaline and tenderness, all mixed together.

The vet arrived several hours later and pronounced everyone exceptional.

 

What a day!

 

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Image/s: LAN photo – All rights reserved.

Herd helper: Morgan mare to the rescue

There’s one in every crowd, right? We’ve all known parents who loved to brag on their kids. And how many horse owners are particularly proud of their own horses?

OK, count me in.

I love arriving at the stables and being greeted with a good report about our horse. She’s a sweet Morgan mare, who is trusty enough to pack kids and adults around for riding lessons. She’s done some hippotherapy too. She’s that sweet.  (Morgans rock. But I digress.)

Sure, she can raise a ruckus, when she feels like it.

This past weekend, she actually spooked a bit. (It lasted about 5 seconds, while she scooted maybe 3 feet.) She’s a horse, after all, and it’s almost springtime. Plus, someone tossed up the big garage-like barn door without warning.

But this horse is well-trained and sort of senior and generally doesn’t seem to want to expend the effort it takes to kick up her heels much. (At this season of her life, she is willing to give me some good go, but I definitely have to ask for it.)

She was a hero the other day.

A barn staffer actually used the word “hero.” How funny is that?

This gentle mare is kind of bossy in the herd. We’ve never seen her rear or kick or bite. She doesn’t have to. She has mastered “the look.” You know. It’s the same look your toughest teacher had down. All she had to do with turn her head with that face on, and you knew she meant business.

That’s it exactly.

In this horse’s herd, there’s a chestnut mare who likes to play hard-to-catch at coming-in time. Maybe she forgets her filled feed bucket and a pile of hay await her in the stall. Perhaps she just loves staying outside. For whatever reason, she’s made this a game.

The other day, the barn staff had had enough of that.

The chestnut mare bolted and darted and wove her way around the pasture, while these folks tried to catch her. She was having none of it.

So one of these wranglers walked back into the barn and retrieved my horse from her stall. They led her out into the pasture again. They tossed some loose hay on the ground, and she began to munch it. Almost immediately, the errant one came alongside her turnout pal. The humans led my mare towards the gate, and the other followed. 

Soon, these folks were able to slip a rope over her neck and hold her for haltering.

That’s all it took.

Because sometimes it’s more fun to follow a friend home at the end of the day than to prolong the inevitable by breaking curfew. Something like that.

In any case, I was pleased with the good report about my own horse. She’s a keeper.

Images:

LAN photo. All rights reserved.

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What's most alarming about the recent EIA case?

Most equine owners in Northeast Illinois and Southeast Wisconsin have likely learned by now of a couple of recent cases of Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), an often deadly retrovirus that attacks equids. One horse has reportedly been euthanized. The other (apparently originating from the same location) may be at large - in our own region or in parts unknown.

Although veterinarians are urging horse owners not to panic, particularly in this season, a few valid concerns seem to linger.

Adapted by The Mane Point from an ABS FreePic image.

This article is copyrighted by The Mane Point: A Haven for Horse Lovers. Unauthorized reproduction or publication is not allowed.

1. The infected horse was apparently diagnosed two months ago (in mid-November), and many local equine professionals and horse owners are only now hearing about it. We have to wonder why no public warning was issued when this first occurred.

2. The infected horse seems to have been removed suddenly and without warning from the stable where it had been housed. According to Illinois Department of Agriculture reports, another horse on the same premises tested positive for EIA and was euthanized. But the first horse supposedly went missing. The USDA is said to be investigating. Is the animal housed in a local stable or in someone’s back pasture perhaps? What happens when far-flying insects bite that equine and then zip over to a nearby horse farm or equestrian facility to nibble on additional horses, ponies, or donkeys? 

3. No one seems to know anything about the horse in question. Sure, privacy laws may prevent specific disclosure, but some sort of hint might be helpful and could put certain fears to read. We have no idea what barn was affected. We don’t know what kind of horse it was. For example, what breed, discipline, age, color, or gender is the horse? We have no clue where the horse may be at this time. We are unaware of whether the horse is even still alive.

4. If local testing of potentially at-risk equines took place, we surely haven’t heard about it. The Illinois State Veterinarian website includes this statement about EIA: “State law also mandates testing of equidae within 1 1/2 miles of a single positive animal and 3 miles of multiple positive animals.” Depending upon precisely where the two affected equines (both the apparently still missing one and the euthanized one) were based when they were diagnosed, their general area could include a whole lot of horse farms.

Psst. Give us a clue, please. Or at least, a timely heads-up.

Wouldn’t it be helpful to have some sort of veterinary alert system in place, whereby horse owners – or at least, equine professionals (such as local veterinarians, barn owners/managers, show facility owners/managers, equestrian trainers, and farriers) – shared key details of such instances? Maybe we don’t need the equines’ and owners’ names, but we need to know enough to discern whether our own equines are at heightened risk.

Ideas, folks?

For more info: Let's review the Coggins Test and Equine Infectious Anemia.

On the plus side …

1. Equine owners whose animals are stabled in reputable facilities will recall that the barn management requires annual current negative Coggins Test results. Solid show facilities do the same. Trainers and clinicians practicing responsible professional standards insist on such documentation for all trailer-in equines. That should provide some assurance, although it’s no guarantee that horses on neighboring and nearby properties (within insect flight range) have been tested.

2. Now in midwinter, area horses may face reduced risk of EIA infection. This virus, though dangerous and currently incurable, is blood-borne. Freezing temperatures in this region have all but eliminated biting insects for a while. However, winter was late in coming this time, so November and early December disease transmission could have taken place.

3. Several horse vets have indicated that the incubation period for EIA is a matter of a few weeks. That means any horses infected by the initial cases would likely (but not always) have shown some symptoms by now. But that does not necessarily include secondary, tertiary, or subsequent generation cases, if those exist.

4. Because we have entered a new calendar year, responsible horse owners are already lining up veterinary appointments for this year’s Coggins Tests. Once we receive our own satisfactory laboratory results, we may rest easier. At the same time, it is certainly possible for a horse to become infected with EIA shortly after the test has been performed and remain undiagnosed until symptoms may arise (or another test is performed).

OK, so we won’t panic. But we’re still watching.

And we’d appreciate a few hints about the infected horse’s identity, location, and current condition. We’re not nosy, and we feel very sorry for the owner/s whose horse/s have been affected or even lost. We just love our own horses and want to sleep better.

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Image/s:

Adapted from public domain artwork