foals !

A lot has happened since the last update but the most exiting of all is that we have two new foals in the paddock. After making us wait for 11 days, Fatima foaled of a completely black filly approximately midnight in the night of 14 to 15 October.

We missed the actual foaling but she was still down and the foal largely covered in the amnion sack when Peter went to check on them. It was an unusual cold night (10C) in a relatively hot period and the foal was wet and cold, even after rubbing it dry. An old dog rug did a great job in warming up the filly without upsetting mum. 

Everything went textbook and filly got up within half an hour and started nursing. The only thing it couldn’t work out was how to lie back down. It stood for the first 24 hours and was wobbling on its legs falling asleep. It worked it out afterwards ;-)

The sire of the filly is Legend of Loxley (by Lord Loxley) so we named her Double Dutch Miss Loxley, stablename Missy.

Of course Dot was very interested in the foal and Fatima was not impressed by that which she made VERY clear. Poor Dot was not sure why she was suddenly out of favour and wasn’t allowed to even look at Missy!

That didn’t bother her for long though as she foaled on 16 October. I was just going out to check on her at 8 PM when I noticed she was very hot and obviously getting ready to foal. So I sat down with her to comfort her which she appeared to appreciate. Only ten minutes later, she laid down in the stable and her waters broke. I quickly got Peter to come over, just in case.

The foaling was a little difficult as either the elbow or shoulder was a little stuck. She got up and smashed the foals front legs into the stable wall, freaking me out but thank goodness all seemed ok. Then she lay down again. With a bit of help from Peter and with the vet on the phone, everything suddenly happened and a beautiful filly was literally thrown into this world. This time a long legged chestnut with a diamond and four even anklets.

Poor Dot was probably in pain and not very interested at all. After the cord broke, we moved it closer to mum’s head, away from the stable wall. Keeping an eye on them, we left them to bond and do their thing. Although Dot wasn’t exactly sure what to do with ‘that thing’, she did get up and allowed it to nurse. Unfortunately the foal had very serious trouble passing the meconium but after aggressive treatment at the veterinary hospital, both mother and foal are now home and are doing great. Dot is a more relaxed mother than Fatima but she has definitely developed the motherly instincts.

This beautiful girl is by Dr. Doolittle. It was my last go with this semen after five unsuccesfull inseminations with Fatima. Obviously he didn’t get with her but Dot went in foal first time!

The foal has no name yet but it has to start with D, hope to make up my mind soon. Am seriously considering to just call it Double Dutch ‘D’.

In between all the sleepless nights, we had some more ‘fun’ with our septic tank playing up; had to change fencing to stop the foals from ducking under and of course some visitors so getting out of bed on Monday morning was not great. Fortunately a few reasonable night’s sleep and you forget about all that.

We are now back at the renovations with our replacement patio hopefully going up in the next month. The insulated roofing sheets should arrive early November. I am looking forward to it.

The sad news in Australia is the terrible bushfires around the Blue Mountains near Sydney. The extent of the fires is beyond any comprehension. Just from knowing how hot and rapid our fire heaps burn, I can’t even begin to think about what these fires must be like. And to make things worse, the type of trees there contain oil in their leaves. This oil is what makes the Blue Mountains, have that blue tinges. But that oil also burns hot and rapidly.
The loss of property and possessions is dramatic but it makes me sick to think of all the poor animals that are suffering with pain and fear. Life can be very cruel. It makes you feel helpless to be unable to do anything and just go on with life like nothing is happening.

To end these unpleasant thoughts; lets end on this update on a positive note.
Gucci has gone to live with Tracey. The intention is to transition Tracey’s daughter from Shiloh (our rescue pony) to Gucci as she has outgrown her. Shiloh will be sold and make someone a fantastic pony while Gucci will have a loving home to live and will get heaps more attention than I can find time for. A win/win situation for everyone!