Brewing Storm's Journal

[Cara]

Mare's Background as known so far: Rain is a little nervous around everything. She's not nippy with it, nor is she dangerous, but thinks must be taken slow with her. She likes humans, but still isn't sure of them. Other horses she's very wary of, and tends to keep herself to herself. She is unknown how good of a mother she is as this is her first foal.

Rain has only been at the college for a month and is still wary of everyone. She's settling in pretty well though and has been placed next to Trinket to see if the gentle mare can show her how to be a good mother. Trinket has been there to sooth the nervous Rain ever since she arrived and their becoming close friends.

My opinions/analysis of the mare: Even though heavily pregnant, Rain has wonderful conditioning and is very well cared for. She may be a loner when it comes to other people but she seems to be happy in herself (especially when she thinks she's alone).

With her straight profile, fine fluted ears, shapely nostrils, large triangular eyes, soft chin, fullness at top of mouth, stiff upper lip and teacup muzzle; these characteristics tell me that she is a horse who thinks a lot, yet is uncomplicated and will pick things up quickly. She is intelligent, but also quite sensitive so needs to be paired up with the correct person. Under all the intelligence though is a stubborn streak that will be enjoyable to encounter as it contradicts the rest of her. She is also an introvert, which explains why she doesn't actively seek out the company of others.

Foaling: I was thrilled when I heard that I had been accepted into the Equine Reproduction class - yes another thing on my already busy plate, shh - and as I headed toward the first class I stopped to check in on Rain as the mare was reported to be due any day.

From just looking over the door I could see that Rain had been pacing around her stall, her flanks were dark with sweat, she had obviously been nipping and kicking at her stomach. I went into the class and spoke my concerns to Mr Harman - thank goodness he didn't brush off my concern.

We walked back to Rain's stall and he asked me my opinion of the mare's condition. I explained what I could see (the sweat, signs of nipping and kicking, trampled bedding), which were signs of the first stage of pregnancy. He went to collect the barn manager while I continued watching the mare. Using my phone, I timed how long the rest of the stage took - as I guesstimated that she had been like this for at least the past thirty minutes - and not too long after the teacher had walked away, Rain's water broke. I again took note of the time as this was the end of stage one.

As Rain is a maiden-mare, things needed to be watched carefully as this foaling would be used for ideas of what her future foaling would be like. The process went pretty straightforward after that - as this isn't the first (and won't be the last) foal I have watched being born, I know exactly what to look out for should anything go wrong. However, the front feet came out followed by the nose and then the rest of the baby.

The precious filly-foal lay on the ground and took in that first breath - I think we - Mr Harman, Miss Jones and myself - all released a breath of our own. Mother and baby remained on the ground for a good few minutes while they both recovered from the event that had just taken place.

Before too long Rain rose from her side, breaking the umbilical cord and slowly rose to her feet before she went and investigated the new creature in her stall. All worry about her not knowing what to do vanished as she began to take care of her daughter.

The filly had a few tries but managed to get to her feet and wobble over to her dam and found the udder without any worries.

Mr Harman had excused me from class so that I was able to remain watching mare and foal - which I will need to thank him profusely for later. Keeping an eye on the time, I took note of the expulsion of the placenta. When this happened, my vet training kicked in and I entered the stall and checked it for any missing pieces. Finding none, I got to work with cleaning out the stall - being careful of the legs of both horses. Rain is so good though and made sure that her baby was safe at all times. I also applied some vetadine to the filly's "stump" so that there was no chance in the baby getting any kind of infection. This took a while though as I had to convince Rain first that I wasn't going to hurt either of them. The mare seems to have accepted me after all of this, so it is a step in the correct direction. I also used this opportunity to make sure that the filly's legs were all straight - well as straight as they can be for a baby who is still trying to find her balance - and that everything was where it should be.

Evaluation: Today went well! The foaling was as straightforward as possible - thank goodness since it was Rain's first. The foal is happy and healthy. She stood - and nursed - within the first half-hour of her life. It will be both a pleasure and an honor to watch this little girl grow up and to form a bond with both mother and baby.

Herbs: I want to add a handful of raspberry leaves and a little garlic to Rain's feed as raspberry leaves help cleanse and tone the uterus. I would like to have given her the leaves for the last four to six weeks of the pregnancy, too late for that now though. I need to be careful of how much garlic she is given though as it can taint the milk.

For aiding the milk production, I would also like to offer the mare the following herbs: fenugreek, nettle, aniseed, marshmallow, calendula and clover.

I am also going to make sure her feed also includes; lucerne (alfalfa), linseed, carrots, fresh green vegetables and apples

Future Plans: With Rain's permission, I hope to start the filly's training as soon as possible (within the next couple of week). I want to introduce the baby to the halter at an early age so that it doesn't become an issue later. I also want to get her used to being handled all over so that she won't be scared later on when it's time to have her feet tended to by a farrier. Other than that? We'll see what happens as it comes along.

End Notes: With the permission of both Miss Jone and Mr Harman, I would like to name the filly-foal: L'éclat de Lumière which is French for Flash of Light. I would also like to learn a little more of Rain's background.

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[Cara]

Things have been moving progressively forward since the birth of the precious filly and mare I have been graced with the privilege of working with.

L'éclat de Lumière or L'éclat as I like to call her, as she is like a flash of colour when she runs around the pasture that she shares with her dam, took a while to convince that she should work with me, rather than against me. She has such a stubborn spirit that I am enjoying teaching her how to channel it through working through the sessions we are spending together. Since she is still a baby I am keeping the sessions short and simple. Currently we are just working on getting her to walk forward with a lead rope, trying to get her to understand that I do not wish to play a game of tug-of-war with her.

Rain is never too far away when I am working with her baby, and always keeps a close eye on what I am doing with her. I have received a couple of nips from the concerned dam when I first started working with her filly, now we have an understanding though that I will be as careful with her daughter as she is when I'm working with her.

At the end of the sessions with L'éclat, I know spend a good amount of time with Rain. Her nervousness is ever present, but we have bonded together with during the time that I have spent with the two of them. I have taken to riding Rain around the pasture each day to help condition the mare once more. Rather than lugging out the tack each time though, I ride her bareback as it's easier on her while she's still nursing and I don't see the need for it while I'm just walking and trotting her around.