Berck drove me to work this morning, because despite it having snowed all night and a forecast for more of the same today, he woke up incredulous at a clear sky, which meant there was a possibility he might have to work. We’ve only got one set of snow tires, because we usually don’t each have to be somewhere when we need them.

Duncan tried to fix the muddy driveway by dumping a bunch of dirt into it but neglected to smooth it all down. It’s almost impassible for a Miata. On Monday I parked on the other side of the railway tracks and walked down the ruts to work.

I walked into the house today to find Michele on the phone talking about a new foal. I immediately put back on the parka I’d just removed and went out to see for myself. Abby hadn’t gotten pregnant on the first round when we timed births for late summer, but an accident happened later on. Michele wasn’t sure she was even pregnant until she found a foal out in the paddock when she went out to feed this morning. I found the youngin’ wrapped in a blanked secured with duct tape lying in the snow, her mother munching on hay close by. I said hello and took some pictures and then went back in. Duncan said he had suggested the name Creation’s Heart of Courage, which I liked because she was born on Valentine’s Day. The more popular name seems to be Creation’s Sweet Courage, however.

An hour later Michele told me to go out and “stir up” the little filly. I love my unorthodox job assignments. The filly was still lying in the snow, not a good sign when she should be walking around and nursing and such. I could tell she was hungry because she was sticking out her tongue and sucking at the air, then trying to suck snow from the ground. I went over and caressed her and encouraged her to get up. She flailed a little and lay back in the snow. I messed with her ears. I vigorously rubbed her neck. I moved her legs. Finally, I got her to flail a bit more if I poked her buck spot through the duct taped blanket. She tried to get up, but her long back legs kept sliding on the snow. Deciding she might be able to get up better with some milk in her, I finally picked her up. She stood on her wobbly legs and shuffled back and forth, trying to keep her balance. “Okay,” I told her, “Let’s go nurse.” She took a couple steps toward me and then crashed to the ground hard on her side. I gave her a chance to catch her breath and then picked her up again. More shuffling and swaying as she willed her wobbly legs into balance, then she walked toward my outreached finger, hoping, as I’d planned, to suck on it. I led her over to her mother, who was standing completely still.

Instinct tells a newborn horse to head for its mother’s belly, but it doesn’t tell it which end has the good stuff. The filly tried sucking on the hair between her mother’s forelegs, all while Abby’s udder shot a constant stream of colostrum. Then the filly overshot the teats and tried to suck on her mother’s rear end parts. Abby kept flinching and grunting, either because she was being tickled or hurt, but she kept standing completely still. The filly finally found what she didn’t know she was looking for and began emitting happy slurping noises.

She nursed for a good 15 minutes or so, about which time Michele decided it was time to move mamma and baby into the riding ring with access to the barn. I moved the current occupants out and haltered and led Abby in. Michele picked up the filly and carried her over to the barn overhang where she deposited her.

When Susanna and Nikki arrived, the filly was still lying where Michele had left her. They took turns coaxing the filly to stand up, poking her in alternate flanks and messing with her ears. This horse is never going to have any problems with sensitive ears, the amount we’ve put her through; she looked like she was starting to enjoy it. They took her coat off to see if that helped. Finally, Nikki “barely” helped her up, and the filly immediately went back to nursing. She hadn’t lain back down by the time Berck picked me up this afternoon. I think she’s afraid she won’t be able to get back up again.

She’s got an enormous amount of hair growing out of her rear frogs, so much so that she ends of up walking (or wobbling) on her rear heels. I’m guessing the hair will wear down and she’ll start walking normally. It’s amazing that she was born with a full winter coat, while her brother and sisters were born with a slick, short summer coat in September.

Now we’ll see if she does okay with minus degree temperatures tonight.

Pictures are in the gallery.