Princess

As an attorney and paramedic I am not a person easily moved by emotion- strike “easily,” insert “ever.” Yes- everyone thinks their new foal is the greatest and its birth was a religious experience. Whatever. Certainly, I appreciate a nice specimen, but, to me, a foal is healthy or unhealthy, correct or incorrect, evidence of a good breeding choice- or a poor one … So, in this particular case, I am just stating facts for the record.

May 21, 2008, was a blustery day with strong gusts of wind and heavy, fast-moving black clouds. The forecast indicated it would get progressively worse over the next three days. We had moved Princess into the foaling stall the night before and she paced the entire time she was there. We moved her back into her regular stall with the run closed. She paced and pawed, so I opened the door to her 100 foot run. After being sand-blasted with each gust of wind that blew through her open door and shook the entire barn, I thought for sure Princess would turn tail and get back inside … but she didn’t. I made my way out to her run just as it started to rain. She was pacing and lifting her tail. I thought, “Great! This 21 year old mare with a hole in her uterus is going to foal out here and, if she gets into trouble, I am going to have to try to drag her in where there is light and shelter.” I ran to get Norm to help. Luckily, he was already driving up on his tractor toward the barn because of the rain. I went back into the run just in time to be blown by the strongest gust so far. I actually had to hold myself in the door frame. I watched Princess circle and lay down. I saw a huge hoof begin to exit. Princess groaned and stood again. By then, Norm had made it to the open stall door. I told him the foal was big and there could be a problem.

Worried about the weather, I looked out the end of the run to the West and, just then, the black clouds parted and the sun shone through directly on Princess and the back of the stall door, casting a warm and golden glow. The wind stopped altogether. In fact, there was a sudden and palpable calm. There was no hint of rain. The change was so dramatic, I just stood there for a moment before I noticed Princess was down and the foal’s torso had appeared. Princess strained to get the shoulders through, so I assisted and the foal plopped out on top of me. I cleaned off the membranes and made sure the foal could breathe. I saw it was a colt.

He soon stood and nursed- being licked dry by his mother in what had become a brilliant sunset … The radiance slowly smoldered into the purple shades of twilight- casting a pale tint on the colt’s silvery coat. His eye was already soft with a deep blue hue. The evening remained tranquil and, after awhile, Princess readily led her colt into the stall for the night. While watching TV later on, I caught a glimpse of the colt on the foal monitor. He lay arched in the middle of the stall and, with his light color and dark outlines against the shavings, he looked like an ancient Greek marble bas-relief.

Dark clouds hung above again the next morning. I figured if I hurried I could get in a quick walk before the rain. We went out to the barn to get Princess and the colt and, again, the clouds parted and the sun shone through. He seemed to enjoy his first walk on the property.

I would mention there is a certain aura about him- but that sounds like opinion and I am just stating the facts.