Foals and Foaling
email us...
This year was a very mixed time emotionally during foaling. Menai Silver Minnie produced the most lovely chestnut filly foal to Carnalw Dewr on a Wednesday afternoon. By the evening I was certain the foal had not sucked and we brought them into the stable to help things along. With hindsight we should have taken the hint and let her gently slip away but faced with a new life you feel you should do all in your power to preserve it. Terry spent hour after hour all night encouraging the baby to feed. I took over with my neighbour Libby through the daylight hours and eventually we got baby feeding of her own accord. Sadly this was false hope and she grew weaker and weaker. Our vet diagnosed a hole in the heart but hoped it would heal over as apparently most foals are born with a small hole which naturally closes up over the first 48 hours. Much as we tried we knew in our hearts this was not going to happen and inspite of all our best efforts Holly passed away during the night. It was very moving that Minnie told Terry to stop trying. He had stayed up all night and was lifting the foal regularly to put her to the teat but in the early hours of the morning Minnie knocked his cap off as he bent down to pick up the baby and gently nipped the top of his head as if to say 'Leave her now, she's had enough'He did as she told him and the foal passed gently away in her sleep. A few days later Synod Rosalia produced Maenan Regina (2006) (143724 by Rhosymeirch Surprise out of Synod Rosalia), a liver chestnut filly, four white socks and a blaze, by Surprise. Everything went well and Regina was fit and well and bouncing around. Although you can't replace one pony with another, the joy of watching Regina so healthy and happy certainly eased the upset of losing Minnies filly. We called Rosie's filly Regina as it is Latin for Queen and as it is the Queen's 80th birthday this year and Regina's grand mother is Parc Queenie we thought that all fitted her rather well. What a difference a week can make in the life of a stud. From the depths of despair to the heights of joy! You need to be tough spirited to keep up with this hobby don't you? A month later Sackville Tanita presented us with a black filly foal, four teeny tiny white socks and no markings on her face apart from a dozen or so white hairs where a star should be (much to Terry's disappointment, he desperately wants a black filly with four proper socks and a blaze) Maenan Time after Time is by Bryncarreg Casey Jones and is for sale at weaning.
