A Death and a Birth

This morning I knew Marika's colt was critical. Last night I just couldn't get him interested in nursing. Each time I went out I had to lift him up and put him in the right position, he would stick his head under, bump her udder a bit but just not latch on good and when he finally did latch on, he let the milk run out of his mouth. I called Hoerr vet office and made arrangements to take him over.  The soonest I could bring him was 1:00 pm so I went to work just hoping he would be ok. Rhoda arrived to check on him around 10:00 am and he was dead.  Poor Marika. It turned out that he just didn't get enough oxygen during the birth. I knew it was a red bag delivery but thought all was well when he was alert and nursing well. What I didn't know is that the brain swells the 2nd or 3rd day sometimes and the foal loses all ability to nurse. As soon as I got home from work I got the skid steer out to bury him and started digging a hole. That went fine, he was placed in the hole but when I went to cover him up, the skid steer sunk! It turned out I was burying him too close to Eliza's grave. Rhoda got on the skid steer and I got on the tractor to try to pull it out but it just sunk deeper.  Mark was called to tell the problem then Karin called. As I was explaining to her, "Marika's baby died and as I was burying her the skid steer fell into Eliza's grave" I happened to look over and the two men working on our house siding were staring in horror!  I realized they thought I was talking about HUMANS!  Rhoda picked me up right about then with the horse trailer loaded with Marika so hopefully they realized I was talking about horses.  We drove Marika to Middle Grove. Marika was calling and calling sure we were going to bring her colt out so the best thing to do was to take her away from here. We also wanted to bring home Missy, Foxy and Sheena and had quite a hike to find the herd. Even Marika had a tough time finding them. We were starting to believe they had gotten into the winter pasture when the herd heard Marika calling and came running over the hill. We had no trouble haltering and leading the three mares we wanted down to the truck and trailer but it was a LONG walk.
When we arrived we brought Anna and Hadassah and their foals over from the cabin field. They needed to come back here for teasing and we wanted Sheena and Foxy to live there so Mike can grain them.  Missy was put in with Ayanna. Anna was teased and is just starting to show but not yet willing to stand.  She and her colt were put in the middle paddock.  Hadassah and her filly were brought into a stall, the filly haltered and given a tying lesson and had her hooves all picked up.  Since she was not muddy and doing well, we took her to the outdoor arena for some pictures to update the website.

Hadassah was full of energy and took off running so I turned on the video function of the camera.

Mark got home and by himself got the skid steer out of the hole. He was the hero. Rhoda left for home, she is leaving tomorrow for Dallas to visit Ben & Taunya's family.  I started stripping Marika's stall but quit to get dinner done. After dinner the stall was done and sprayed down with bleach. I had just come inside pretty exhausted from the day when I heard a terrible kicking sound coming from the monitor. I could see that Soul was cast up against the wall. I told Mark I was heading up to see if I could get her done but to be ready to come. When I got there not only was she cast she was in the process of giving birth. It took both Mark and I to roll her over.  Mark was the hero again, that was twice in one day.  Soul stood up, then laid back down and at 8:30 pm promptly gave birth to a big colt, he looks black but this one I believe will gray as there are tinges of brown on his legs.

By 9:30 the placenta was dropped and the colt nursing. I came in to clean up and had to think, this afternoon I was washing my hands after handling a death and this evening I was washing my hands after handling a birth. I sure am thankful for those foaling cameras. Soul and her colt would have been dead by morning if Mark and I wouldn't have heard and rescued her. 

IN other news today, This afternoon was mom's scheduled eye surgery, Ruth took her and kept us informed. Surgery went well.  It went SO well that mom did not have the bubble put back in her eye. We are thrilled, that means she doesn't have to lay on her side for days and  she can go to China.