Foal Scare Galena

At feeding time this morning I noticed Eliza's colt didn't seem normal. A normal 4 day old colt would be running around the stall bucking and maybe kicking at his mom. This colt let me feel his umbilical cord without any reaction. I was glad to feel that it was dry but still rather than take a chance I sent a text to Dr. Hoerr saying: "4 day old Friesian colt lethargic, can I bring him in?" The response came back pretty quickly with a yes. Eliza and her colt were loaded and on the way by 7:00 am. The first job was to check his temperature and it was a bit elevated, almost 103. Normal is 101 so it wasn't terrible. Dr. Hoerr drew blood to make sure he got enough colostrum and to check for infection. The colt had an elevated white blood cell count. He had in infection somewhere and the usual place for this is the umbilical cord. The ultrasound machine was taken out and his belly sonagrammed but no pockets of pus and all looked well with that and his bladder. More blood was pulled for a procedure Dr. Hoerr recommended which was to irradiate the blood then put it back in him. The colt was also given a shot of Exceed (antibiotic). By 8:30 am we were on our way home with another Exceed shot to give him in 3 days and the order to just keep observing him. They were put back in the stall and off I drove for the Berean office showing up an hour late there. WOW were there a lot of workers there when I arrived. The parking lot was full to overflowing. To read about our day there click HERE.
I needed to be home by 2:30 pm so had to quit before we were able to finish. I'm pretty sure I'll be heading back there before Tuesday.
Of course the first thing done once home was to check on Eliza's colt. He seemed a bit better. They were taken outside for a few minutes to see if that would perk him up.

 A normal foal at 4 days of age would be galloping around his mom outside getting farther and farther from her. This colt stayed pretty close. At least he didn't immediately lay down. He actually seemed interested in tasting the grass.

They were put back in the stall. On the way back to the house I noticed we have a new family living on the pond. This couple has 5 goslings. This is not the pair that are nesting on the far side of the pond. That goose is still sitting on her eggs.

I walked across the pond to check. Mara followed most of the way then stopped to graze on the dam. Mara is a Raven daughter that belongs to Raechel and is here to be bred to Evan. She was covered last night. We won't tease her again until tomorrow morning. 

When Emily got home we pulled Galena to get some pictures for our website. Galena is Horsemeister's new mare. She is a Gypsy/Spotted Draft cross but looks pretty much like a purebred Gypsy, hair and all. This mare stands just shy of 16.2 hands tall. Her mane is so thick and long it lays on both sides of her neck, her feather starts at the back of her knee and cascades down around her hoof. Her tail is also thick and long. She has never been bred but we hope to breed her soon to Valiant. 

But all of that isn't even the best part about Galena. She rides! She rides nice and has very nice movement. 

Mark mowed tonight, right now that seems to be a never ending job. The cool wet weather is perfect for growing grass. Last news of the day is a great email that came in from Jenni about her brand new Evan filly. She writes: Judy,

I know you are busy, but I wanted to tell you, this filly is OUTSTANDING!  She is going to be so tall. But best of all, she has a wonderful personality. So sweet, curious and with the right amount of spunk.  She is special!  And oh the neck on her. Holy smokes. She is going to make us both very proud when I find the right home for her.  She needs to be shown!  

For being 2 days old yesterday, she allowed about 18 4 & 5 year olds from the Galesburg Christian School to love on her. They adored her!!