A New Baby! Joey Foaled!
Joey my gypsy horse was due to foal this week and I was sure hoping she’d do it before I have to leave for training at the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School tomorrow, but I really didn’t expect her to foal last night. She wasn’t giving me any clues that she hadn’t been giving for weeks already. Last night a freak thunderstorm smashed the house and woke me up, and I was worried she might try to foal out in that mess so as soon as it died down enough I went out there with the intent of bringing her in. The storm passed and didn’t seem like it would come back, so I checked on her and she seemed cool as a cucumber and I left her out. The next morning I slept in later than I have been and didn’t pull my lazy body out of bed until 10. We had cousins over last night and if there had been a baby running around somebody would have woken me up. I got out of bed and put on some clothes and my boots and went out to check on Joey, completely certain that I’d find her standing and munching grass like always. I looked and I saw her laying down, my first thought was “Oh God, she’s gotten injured during foaling and died!” and then I saw her moving and saw that sweet little baby halfway out of her. Everything was fine and she was totally cool, and by some miracle of my lazy morning habits, I actually got to watch her baby being born.
It was really beautiful and so easy for her. This is her first one, but you’d have sworn she’d done it a hundred times. That baby had his head up looking around before he even got both his legs out. She was very attentive and patient with him. She stood over him as she adjusted to non-aquatic life. She stood while she figured out how to get her legs underneath of her and stand up. When she went to nurse I saw her shift her weight and tilt her hips towards her to make it easier. It took me a while to get a close enough look to tell that it was a precious little filly, my aunt Jane had gotten here by that time to see the new arrival. The filly looks a lot like her daddy, Lion King’s Legacy.
They must have planned things in advance, because at the very same moment Joey passed her placenta and the little filly took her first poop, they hit the ground at the same time, it was magical!
Joey is protective of her little sweet baby, but she isn’t being aggressive. I’ve gotten a couple good pets in and sprayed germicidal medication on her belly button. She’s eating a lot and pooping a lot mom stays really close by. I brought a bucket of grain out to Joey 4 or so hours after the baby was born and at first she was really excited and came hurrying on to eat like usual, the baby following close behind. The filly stopped to take the most enormous poop and Joey stopped dead in her tracks and went back there to stand with the baby. Joey would normally plow through a small town to get to a handful of grain, I’m so impressed with her mothering instincts.
