Oh, Baby!
Here she is, folks!
Meet Fina!
I thought I was prepared, but this little stinker decided to surprise us. I'd been checking Chroi every night, all through the night for a week to make sure we wouldn't miss the big event. Then on Tuesday, she started showing more promising signs. The area around her tail became soft, almost jelly-like, and she began "waxing." Waxing occurs when droplets of colostrum dry on the udders and form a bit of a build-up, like wax dripping from a candle. By Wednesday evening, milk was flowing pretty steadily from her udders. Some mares don't wax at all, and some will wax up to a month prior to foaling.
But when Chroi had Keira, she waxed the day before, and boom! Foal:
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| The night Keira was born |
So Wednesday night, I didn't sleep much, waiting for this new baby. I'd get up, put my slippers on, wander out to the barn in my jammies, peer over the fence, and... nothing. Then Thursday morning when I went out to feed, Chroi was just standing out in her stall as usual, waiting for her breakfast, calm as can be, with that baby still securely inside her big round belly. So I threw some flakes of hay to her & Keira and headed off to a doctor's appointment with my son.
While we were gone, my neighbor went to check on Chroi and left a message on my cell phone: "You've got a drop-dead gorgeous filly over here! She's black and white and has two blue eyes."
So we rushed home, and this face greeted us:
She had just stood up.
What's amazing to me is how, minutes after being born, a new foal will get up and immediately begin the process of trying to nurse.
She uses her whiskery little muzzle, trying to find the right spot...
Not quite...
wrong end...
A little help from Mom...
Success!
Her curly hair.
She's all legs.
Newborn horses, like newborn babies, are a little gawky and awkward at first. But they get all cute and fluffy in a few days.
We're so happy to welcome our newest family member!
I think she takes after her dad, Lenny.
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