Last check was at 10.30 am and I knew she was close but we elected to go to bed anyway. At 11.00, lying in bed, Nick got up and opened the bedroom window to have one last look at Deb before we tried to get to sleep. She was up the top of the paddock lying down. As we were both still awake, it seemed silly not to go up quietly for one last look, just in case. I turned the alarm off and we slipped out the front door, I grabbed the foaling bucket on my way past.
As we walked along the longside of the paddock we could see Debi was up and I thought I could see a bag out the back. Nick couldn't see a thing - I think my eyesight astonishes him at times. Sure enough not only did we have a bag but we had two white legs waving about too. I went quietly to see if I could see a nose poking out/make sure I was seeing front legs and, the front legs kicked me! Haha! We stepped back to give Debi her space and she went down to foal. Quietly Nick gave her a gentle hand along with each contraction and the foal was born in a few quick minutes. She lay attached by her umbilicus for an excellent 5 or so minutes before her struggles to rise broke the cord.
She was up in the time it took me to go back down to the house to make hot drinks! As I walked back from the house I could see them starting to make their way to the nursery paddock (we always move them straight into the nursery paddock after they foal as it is the most sheltered paddock on the property with the added bonus of a walk in barn.
It really was a wonderful foaling and both mother and baby are fit and well. Debi has wowed us again producing a lovely 'little' black filly with a super blaze and long white stockings.
Te Pahus February Book choice
4 years ago
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