I tend to lurk here. But we had a safe arrival yesterday morning. 14/11/14. So I wanted to share our experience. By Kinnordy Rilke out of Janeils Witchcraft. The first full warmblood foal for Rilke and first foal for Crafty. Bay colt foal, lots of white from minimally marked parents! No sign of foaling at 6am. Foal fully delivered at 6:20am. I was working overtime to stay calm, 28wks pregnant myself and first foal. Took a little longer to stand, was up and wobbling about an hour after birth. First feed was a little bit of an issue, maiden mare and she tore when foaling. So was sore and unsure of why the little beast was heading that way. We observed until about 9am by which time the foal was no longer attempting to nurse off dam. Instead was seeking comfort in a nearby tree. I haltered the dam to stop her spinning around, resulting in squeals, kicks and rising stress. We gave that up pretty quickly. We moved mare and foal into a smaller yard to reduce the distance foal was moving around. Then twitched the mare to keep her calm. Foal then found and successfully had his first drink on his own around 10am. After which we removed the twitch and allowed him and dam to rest. Unfortunately we had to move mare and foal again, which resulted in her squealing when he attempted to nurse. So we twitched again for this feed. After this and being allowed to settle. Dam and foal managed to feed without interference. As of this morning, they are doing very well. Foal can nurse from either side and either teat. Seems to prefer nursing from both teats while standing on the mares left side. Mare has manured and foal is urinating this morning. Evidence of further manure on his behalf in the yard too. We did have the vet attend yesterday afternoon. He was able to repair the tear for us and checked that foal was passing the mecconium easily enough. Placenta was washed and checked prior to vet arrival with the all clear. Very grateful for the assistance I received from Port Augusta Veterinary Clinic over the phone throughout the day and then when they attended. Also to those I rang seeking moral support as hormones overrode common sense. Thank you. If we ever breed again, which is not on the cards. We would do a lot of things differently. Very pleased with the foal, and his dam. Hoping she has a lovely foal for the sires owner in 2016.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 01:00:03 +0000