New Foals

It has been a while since I have had time to write anything on my blog. As you know from my post "On Foal Alert" we have been expecting some new foals. Two of them were born a couple of weeks ago. They were bred by two women who were new to the breeding experience and out of two maiden mares. They really had a lot of beginners luck - I guess that is what you would call it, but I don't remember being so fortunate with my first foal.

The first one, a filly, was born around 1:40 in the afternoon. The mare suddenly laid down in the field and proceeded to deliver her foal while everyone watched in amazement! They were able to get mom and baby into their hastily prepared stall soon after the filly was on her feet. It took some time to convince the new mom to stand still so the foal could nurse, but once she understood what the baby was doing nuzzling at her hind quarters she accepted the intrusion.

The next foal to arrive, a colt, was startling to everyone as soon as his head was out. He has big white rings around his eyes - a sure sign that he will be grey soon! His dam also did us all the favor of delivering him before bedtime. He was born soon after the mare started dripping milk, and it was a good thing that she didn't wait for us all to leave as she had a lot of trouble getting the little guy out. Once she delivered the head and feet she was so exhausted she could hardly push, we had to help him the rest of the way out and then cover the sweaty, shivering, and slightly in shock mare with a blanket until her heart rate and breathing returned to normal. Once she was on her feet she was fine and was soon busy licking him and encouraging him to nurse.

In June we are expecting a third foal and hopefully some German Shepherd puppies. In the meantime you can see more pictures of the new foals on the "Offspring" page of my website, http://www.lostworldfarm.com/.