Foaling Archives - A Country Girl's Heart -Beats that Matter

May 26, 2019July 9, 2019

Roots and Wings: Beats that Matter

0 Shares

Often, I share what is happening on the farm, how I move forward in my homesteading journey or enjoy other parts of the country I have visited. In this post I get a bit more personal sharing about my unseen journey, of the heart….Beats that Matter.

I have always had an interest in animal husbandry and the biology of how a body functions both human and animal. There has long been a special place in my heart for the appearance of new life. The wonder of it all, the few moments that life hangs in the balance before arriving, the nurture of a new mom and the trust of a new born have repeatedly touched my heart in a special way. My first experiences go back to my childhood, observing, learning, and assisting with the birth of baby goats. In high school as a part of the farm lab in an Ag and Natural Resource class, I assisted a sow(pig). My journey with horses was only beginning and it has continued to this day.

I have consciously made the decision to step away from horses while pursuing different areas of my life. Music, the beginning of my homesteading journey, raising chickens, producing vegetables and fruit, and attending farmer’s markets along with this website have taken hours of my time, energy, and money. Yet, in the last 3 weeks, caring for equines, felines, and supporting those practicing veterinary medicine seemed to take up a much of my emotional and physical resources. Now, for certain, I do not regret any of it, but rather I have enjoyed the moments as they came. Anytime I have been involved in caring for animals both good and bad, tears and joy abound. These last few weeks have been no different. I have learned new information and put to use my previously acquired knowledge. One such way was in the joint effort of mare watch and foaling. I made an exception to my decision to step away from such activity while focusing on growing new ventures. Largely because, this was to help another human with her animal when she was not in a position physically to do so herself. You see, I have had to rely on others to help me with my animals when I did not feel good. Another time, I found myself alone, no help, with serious health struggles with a horse that needed around the clock care. I jumped at the chance to support another. I am not sure how many times I teared up, happy to be a part of helping. I felt the old adage, ‘It is better to give then to receive’. I will say no more, but rather share this 12-minute video of my wonderous moments.

These past two weeks allowed me to add to the portrait of who I am created to be. This journey called life unfolds much like the stroke of a painter’s brush bringing details of a picture into being as the Lord shows me who He created me to be. For that I am deeply thankful and growing confident in His leading while I grow roots in unseen soil. As the roots develop I am learning it is not about what field I work in, but rather, no matter where I am, I find much joy in encouraging others. Heartbeats that make a difference to those you are around. What are you doing while your heart beats?

0 Shares

April 10, 2018February 9, 2022

Roots and Wings: New Life ~ Horses

0 Shares

Continuing the story concerning my passion for new life, this post shares briefly on the journey as it relates to horses. I say briefly because the experiences and stories might make up a small book. I am limiting my sharing to this blog post with no comment on the possibility of future stories. If you have not seen the first or second you may click on the underlined words to view.

Our pony, Glady, foaled when I was thirteen. This is where my love of new life birthed in a new species, horses. I remember sleeping in the barn a few nights to hopefully catch her foaling. I slept with blankets on bales of hay, NOT comfortable, but at 13 years old, it was an adventure. I must be getting soft, because my idea of adventure has shifted slightly. I can not say with certainty I would not sleep in a cold barn to watch a mare foal, cause likely I would. I simply much prefer a camera to view, a warm room and softer sleeping arrangements these days.

Life became busy in my teenage years and it was after my high school graduation that I was again blessed with a foal, re-kindling a flame.

The arrival of Roses Casino, out of a mare named Mismatched, created a story its own. While her arrival has a story to it, her impact on my life is currently an on going story.

Alas, it would be 5 more years until I foaled another mare of my own when Brave the Cold gave me Brave Diamond Dust. This time I had the privilege of studying the Book Blessed are the Broodmares by M. Phyllis Lose . I learned a lot. However, I had no experience knowing the difference between a tired pregnant mare resting at night and a mare actually foaling. I faithfully checked her during the night for close to 6 weeks. My excitement and anticipation for this foal, driving me to wonder about the meaning of her every move. One night I was certain something might be going on and called the only person I knew to ask, my farrier. Our families were friends and often his wife would invite us over for supper. But, I think he found me a bit overzealous to be bothering him in the middle of the night. Lesson learned! I smile at the memory! My consistency paid off and I was rewarded with being present for her foaling, a filly I called Dusty. This was the beginning of developing my eye for foaling and only added more to my passion for new life. To be honest, I have been fooled since thinking a mare was foaling when she wasn’t. However, it takes a bit more to fool me now. I would rather check on a mare and be wrong, than miss a foaling.

I was given the opportunity to spend time on a farm that foaled a few mares each year. Here I would trapes out in a 10 acre pasture to find the mares and look them over. I once found a foal stuck in the mud and pulled it out to return it to its mother. I was only gone for the evening and knew she was close. I checked her and found the foal. I guess by then I was getting a bit better at knowing what was a true sign and what was my anticipative thoughts. That said, I remember years later a mare I looked at that had NO bag, No softness under her tail, the slightest bit of change under her tail perhaps, but not presenting a picture of a mare ready to foal. Everyone was surprised she foaled that night. Now in this case, she did not even get her milk in for over 24 hrs after the foal was born. If I recall correctly, it was drug (hormone) induced.

Oh, do you see what I mean? I could share for days the stories I remember! I moved from this place with a bit more knowledge and a growing love for foaling out mares.

I spent the next 5 to 10 years focused on barrel racing and a bit of team roping. During this time I had only occasional reason to be involved in foaling out mares. One time, my mare who pregnant with twins lost them about 7 months. Another involved a friends 4 yr old Arabian mare who lost the foal due to a red bag. Several of us pulled for over an hour to remove the dead foal. The education I gained that day saved another foals life years later.

When I learned a veterinarian I had recently ask to work on my horses was involved in opening a foaling barn, I could not resist asking about the progress every single time I spoke with him. You see I had given thought to taking a job on a ranch in Wyoming to be in charge of foaling operations. I decided against it. Now a foaling barn would soon be in operation, locally. Offered a job there cleaning stalls, I took it. Employed there for 5 years, I gradually was given responsibility for overseeing the foaling mares. I loved watching the mares shape up to foal. Each one was different and I learned to expect the unexpected. Oh wait! In some ways I was that way from the beginning, perhaps the years of seeing goats do unpredictable things when kidding. They are different in some ways goats and horses. But then again new life is new life when it comes to the beauty of it and unpredicateble timing of arrival.

I probably do not even consciously remember all the mares I seen foal at the foaling barn. I often operated on 3 to 4 hours of sleep for months during the foaling season. There are some memories that stand out where I learned a new lesson or encountered a special moment. I could write a small book on those experiences alone. I grew my knowledge base of foaling out mares. The opportunity to see a wide range of breeds and sometimes special cases like a mare that was partially paralyzed allowed me to learn in a way no book can.

It has been almost 5 years since I ended my employment at the foaling barn. This was where my focus started to shift in a different direction. But last year I was ask to help foal out mares at another local barn and sure enough, my passion for foaling mares has not left me.

A part of shifting my focus involved starting to live a homestead life style on almost 12 acres. My love of new life has manifested itself in the form of hatching chicks. Stay tuned for New Life- Chickens.

0 Shares

April 4, 2018April 4, 2018

Roots and Wings: New Life ~ Goats

0 Shares

As a child I observed the birth of baby goats. I do not remember my age the first time I seen a baby born, but I may have been as young as 5. Perhaps I was in early elementary school. Somewhere along the way we lost a kid or a goat due to complications in the delivery process. I remember the frustration I felt, seemed like something could be done to help out.

Perhaps all the James Harriet books my Dad read me triggered the belief that I might be able to assist the does when they had trouble kidding. The next time I was alone with a doe who was having trouble giving birth or kidding, as it is called I decided to see what I could do. Feeling a bit apprehensive, I tentatively, reached my fingers in the birth canal found the missing leg that was just out of sight. I gently pulled the leg forward. Excitement rushed through my veins as the doe was able to complete the birth of a kid (baby goat). Looking back, the kids elbow may have been locked on the does pelvis. Thus, my journey as mid wife of sorts to animals found a place in my life. A new feeling to me, accomplishment, a new belief that maybe I could……make a difference, succeed, learn a new skill, and a belief in the importance of trying. I guess, the belief and the curiosity in what if I tried this(or that) may have been there all along or I would not have searched for the baby goats leg that was hindering its birth.

From that first kid where I pulled a leg forward to assist with a birth, I gradually learned to sort out more difficult kidding complications. As I recall my next challenge presented a kid with one leg and head present in the birth canal and one leg pointing down or back into the utertous. Again I reached in and found the hidden leg holding up the process and gently worked it forward, allowing for the kid to make easy passage and begin a life out of the womb.

Life as a (human) kid featuring the pet goat Jimmy.

Becoming bolder, I found myself facing two kids attempting simotanous birth. I remember feeling only slightly sorry for the doe. No time to think about the momentary pain I was causing her. I resolved the short lived pity of her pain with the thought that if I didn’t proceed the kids and her would loose their lives. I worked back the nose that did not belong pushing it farther back into the uterus. I may have needed to find a leg not properly positioned, or perhaps that was another time. I do not recall if there were twins or triplets born that day. I do recall the momentary joy as my confidence grew in the belief that in at least on area of my life I could make a difference.

This picture shows a mucus plug on a doe getting close to birthing or in goat terms, kidding.

As my confidence grew, I learned to reach into a goats birth canal when no kid was presented, but the goat was obviously straining in labor. I remember one particular time where no kid presented, but I found it in the uterous, its back bone pressed against the birth canal. This not only blocked its own birth it blocked the birth of the other 2 kids that were born that day. Before they could make an appearance, I pushed the kid further in the uterous to reposition it allowing it to come out into the world via the birth canal. In the process, everything became funny! The doe was less than convinced I was truly helping her and instead of laying down she began moving rapidly around the pen. I stayed with her, my arm still lodged inside working to move the kid into position. She laid down again and the kid was born. I likely will not forget the memory of that experience. Of course, this was over 30 years ago and technology did not lend to the ease for videoing the process. Recalling this story causes me to laugh inside for the picture I must have presented.

Goats also influenced my life as the first animal I exhibited.

Not only did I learn this skill, I developed a passion for new life. A passion that carried over when I found what I call my heart animal, horses. Looking back I am amazed at the timing in which each lesson presented itself. Had I faced the doe in labor with no kid visible, first, the doe and all 3 kids would have died. I would not have been prepared or confident enough to sort out that problem. Today as I write and think how perfectly each incident went from a small challenge to a slightly bigger one. It feels like God’s hand wrote the process. Did He orchestrate my education? And if so what was He preparing me for? I can look back and see where my passion led me up to now, but I do not see why! The why of how my life abruptly changed and headed down a different path on the surface largely rests on choices I made, but in the bigger picture(the strong passion for birthing animals I have always felt), I am uncertain. I trust the message of Philippians 1:6(KJV) that says, “…..He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

As I ponder, I have to ask where else in my life has this kind of learning process occurred?

Mare and foal before the foal stood for the first time.

On a lighter note: Next in this series, I share about how my experience birthing goats fueled my passion for new life in the form of a horse. I could write a book about foaling out mares, but for now I will limit my sharing to a blog post.

If you have ever witnessed or helped an animal give birth, what was your experience? Leave a reply in the comments.

This is the second post on New Life to read the first click here. If you would like to watch a video of a chick hatching be sure to enter your info below.

0 Shares