Djinn
Foals
Foaled last
night about 2AM.
Luckily, I was
monitoring through the night and went to the barn as soon as she went into
labor. That's where the luck ended.
One foot presented,
then a nose. She was working VERY hard, I knew something was quite
wrong. Got her to her feet, I pushed the foal back and looked for the
other foot. I couldn't find it.
She went down
again, this time pushing harder, the same foot and nose again. AND a
second sack. Oh Lord, she has two in the birth canal.
Called the vet, he
jumped in the truck, still an hour away.
Kept looking for
the second foot, praying I was wrong about the second sack. I wasn't.
She pushed again, and we had one foot, two noses. Tried getting her
up, impossible, couldn't push anything back. I knew both were dead or
soon to be (the first one nostrils did move so I did clear the sack out of
habit), so my only concern was for Djinn. Next contraction, both Denny
and I put traction on the on the one foot (since I knew the shoulder was
already clear on one side) and delivered the foal. I then could find
the feet on the other foal and delivered it.
Djinn was
miraculously un-torn.
But then I noticed
the first foal was breathing. It then raised up it's head and
nickered. It can't be! It can't be alive after that birth.
So, we started rubbing it with towels and sure enough, it was fighting.
I milked Djinn and stuck a bottle in his mouth. He sucked! By
then the vet arrived, we met him at the barn door and told him we had gotten
the foals out, one stillborn, one still alive. "Do you want me to
put it down?" "Not as long as it's fighting that hard!"
Of course, he
explained that the foal had no chance. 305 days is too early, even for
a single, let alone a twin. Then he walked into the stall and saw him.
Up on his sternum, bright eyed, ears perked, nickering. "Well, I
never..." So, he put a feeding tube in because we don't know how
strong his suck reflex is. So, we're giving him a shot. Milking
Djinn, feeding him every hour.
At 7:30, I went to
feed him. He nickers as soon as he hears the stall door open. I
feed him through the tube, then give him the bottle to teach him how to
suckle. When I get up to leave, he gets to his feet! He can't
stand, his legs are too weak and he has contracted tendons in the leg that
was back. But he got up. Twice.
So, he's fighting.
I know he doesn't have much of a chance, but I feel like we owe it to him to
help him as long as he has that much will.
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