Is It Spring Yet?

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today appears to be such a delightful day. As you can probably tell, my spirits have risen drastically in the last 24 hours. Spring seems like it's in the air and I can tell because of the melting snow on my back porch, the birds chirping outside my window and the warm scent of horses that are just little warm underneath their winter blankets.

Maybe we'll be able to do away with those heavy blankets soon…? Who knows.

However, the best indication of spring being right around the corner, for me, is always the arrival of the first foal of the season. And last night, she made her grand entrance!

At approximately 10:30 pm, this darling little sorrel with an L-shaped star on her forehead and a small snip on her muzzle happily made her way to the outside world.

The funny thing was, my husband Clay had just finished checking on her mother \”Spook\” at 10:00 pm and although Spook was waxing, she didn't appear to doing anything out of the norm. She wasn't sweating and didn't even look like she was uncomfortable, so Clay definitely didn't think she was in first stage labor. He left the foaling barn and went to check on things in the show barn.

Not even 10 minutes later, Clay's assistants, Corey and Lacey, walked into the foaling barn to discover that Spook's water had broke and one tiny foot was already starting to come through the pelvic canal.

Spook had been waiting for Clay to leave.

She just didn't count on anyone coming into the barn only a few minutes later.

Regardless, the mare had a fairly uneventful delivery and after their bonding period, Spook stood up easily and detached the placental cord. Clay and Lacey then moved in to disinfect the baby's naval (and at this time, discovered she was a girl). Within a half hour or less, the filly was up and trying to figure out how to nurse.

I swear, she has got to be one of the fastest foals I've ever had the pleasure to watch to stand and nurse! And it's good thing too, because my legs prevent me from doing too much standing anymore… Now if only I could have as quick and easy a delivery as Spook –

(Not that I'd want to carry a pregnancy for 11 months, however…)

The baby nursed her first drink of colostrum relatively quickly after that and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. By this time, she had passed her meconium and things were looking fairly good for a decent night's sleep.

For me, that is.

Not my husband, on the other hand.

Clay woke up every couple of hours through the night to check on the mare and foal and ensure everything was as it should be (for instance, the mare still needed to pass the placenta and he wanted to keep an eye on her general health.)

As such, it made for a fairly sleepless night for the both of us and today, I'm behind on my daily chores again. The dishes are piled high in the sink again and the groceries are getting scarce. But guess what?

Our friend, Kim Rose must have been reading our minds because she dropped by with a care package!

Dinner, pre-made and complete with paper plates – so I don't have to do anything!

And my other friend, Coleen Labatt, popped in to tackle some of the baby laundry – you know, pre-washing all the blankets and garments of clothing that needs to be done before babies can wear them or have them touching their skin.

I don't know what I'd do without great friends. Sometimes, their kindness and generosity just absolutely blows me away. Thank-you ladies for all your help – words cannot express my gratitude!

And Clay's pretty happy that we'll be eating well tonight too!!!