Lucky Number Five

This is practically something out of Ripley's. We had a mare foal out today in the middle of the day (again) and she had a hard time foaling. As one of my managers was helping her out, he called the vet over to check something out. Soon, a whole group of us is crowded around this mare, trying to see what the heck was going on with this foal. It seems that this foal was born with an extra foot.

Yes, that's right. An extra foot. Her front left hoof was completely cloven in two, just like a calf's. The pastern is a bone that goes from the hoof to the ankle joint, and she has two. This goes beyond just an finger or toe (he he he). This is an entire extra hoof, seemingly normal with good blood supply and all. The only problem is that the ankle joint can't bend, partly because it has two separate bones connecting to it.

The prognosis for this filly is not the greatest. She won't be able to race, but she is able to stand and nurse. Other than this foot, she's perfectly normal. But her worth in the industry is low enough as it is. So she will probably be put down. This is a business, after all, and if she isn't going to be able to bring a sale price or reproduce successfully, then she has little use to the business. It's unfortunate, but it would be impossible to give her a quality life within the demands of this industry.

Beavis

It's been said that, collectively speaking, Thoroughbreds have the least amount of personality of all the horse breeds. Granted, this is coming from a girl who is a Quarter Horse girl, so I have just an ounce of bias. Just listen to me talk about my Trufflez and you'll hear personality overflowing. But I do feel that the mares here seem to be lacking in the personal quirks and antics that I find so enjoyable in horses. So I thank heavens for these little foals.

For instance, take the little foal Nikki and I have named Beavis. He's mischevious, a brat, and he makes a grunting nose when he runs that is taken directly from the MTV cartoon "Beavis and Butthead." From the day he stepped off the van from New York, he's been nothing but trouble. While holding him for the broodmare manager to examine, Beavis nearly took pieces out of my arm and the manager's arm. When we hold his dam for the vet to examine, the trick isn't making sure he doesn't escape, it's watching when he rears so his hooves don't hit you in the head or knock his dam over. Leading him o and from the paddock is a task in itself. If he's not bucking and jumping, he's tearing off, dragging you and his dam along for the ride.

He's not all a terror, though. In the afternoon, the mares will usually come to the gate when we whistle for them. Beavis has figured out the routine, so more than once he has come running across the pasture, grunting and whinnying the entire way. It almost makes his mischievousness bearable to hear him like that. And his personality would be annoying if it wasn't such a welcome change.

All the babies

It all reminds me of something I would read in a horse story back in middle school... Stormy, the black colt!

We had another baby born today... at 11:30 in the afternoon! This is unusual as the vast majority of horses will foal at night, under the cover of darkness. It's their instinct to foal at night, but every so often a mare just can't wait that long and has to foal in broad daylight.

This little guy caught us all by surprise. We try to make sure every foal is born in a stall where we can intervene in case of an emergency, but when a mare foals in the day, she's usually outside. And even the best watchmen will get caught by surprise. We were in the middle of stalls when our manager came in, telling us we had a foal in the field. Oops!!

The foal was no more than thirty minutes old when we found him, but we still needed to get him into his mare's stall quickly. All the other mares in the field were running around in a tizzy, either from the huge gusts of wind or from the presence of the foal. Eventually, we got a pickup out in the pasture, laid the highly confused colt down in the bed, and practically sat on him during the ride to his stall. This poor mare, though she could see her foal the entire time, was certain that her colt was going to disappear somewhere without her. Her behavior, as well as her size, made her more of a problem to deal with than the foal!

Once inside, the mare was able to see that her colt was fine, and by the end of the day all was well. He seems to be a very healthy baby, which is lucky for us! I think I might have to nickname him Stormy. Cliche, I know, but it perfectly describes the weather of the day, the whole situation at work, and his silver-gray color. I'll be excited to see what he looks like as he gets older.

Valentine's Day

Today has turned into a day not just for people in love, but for everyone you love in all respects of the word.

I received a package today filled with chocolates, a special box, and tons of notes from my friends back home. Reading all those great little notes has made my day so special. They made me smile, made me laugh, and even brought a little tear to my eye. Everyone who helped make the package so great deserves more than the thanks I can offer. Special thanks to Kenny for having the genius to put it all together and know exactly what would make my day practically perfect. It means a lot to know so many people would take just a few minutes to let me know that they are thinking about me!

Thanks everyone!

Weather Watch

I'm sure I have people wondering about me, wanting to make sure I'm okay. I hope this gets out to enough people to calm some nerves. A couple nights ago, about fourteen tornadoes went through areas of southern Kentucky. It's a nearly record number, and the casualties were the highest in over 50 years. The damage was all south of Lexington, so I was well out of harm's way, but I still had quite a bit of weather to deal with.

The thunderstorms were crazy. I've seen just a few powerful thunderstorms in Oregon -the kind that shake the window panes during a clap. Within a week, I've encountered two. The most recent was on Tuesday night, while the whole state was in a tornado alert. Unfortunately, the thunderstorm did result in the death of one of our broodmares, so it's hard to say that the farm didn't suffer much damage.

Despite challenging weather patterns that keep me on my toes, I still feel like this is exactly where God wants me to be. I'm so thankful for the friends and family who I know are praying for me and sending me encouragement and support. I may be off in a different state, but I still rely on everyone close to me! Take care... more to come soon...

Colts and Fillies

Last week we got three mares and foals in from New York. They are here for a while until they are sold by Taylor Made. These foals are about two weeks old and are such a blast to handle. One in particular has quite the attitude and is very curious. Today, the sun was out, the temperature was up, and I spent my lunch out in the paddock with the other intern Nikki. We took some fantastic pictures. Most are on Milo's internet gallery, but here are just a few for you all!