HorsebackWriting

Liberty’s false labor

posted in Blog, FSHR Horses, Mares & Foals, Rescue Tales | Monday, May 2nd, 2011

Well, yesterday I fooled them all into thinking I was going to foal! A couple of evenings previous I had waxed, and yesterday morning little drips of colostrum had appeared on my teats. I was peeing a lot, and had bouts of restlessness, experiencing contractions, and pressure in my rear that was all too real. My udder was full and hard and I wouldn’t let anyone near it.

So they put me in my safe space and gathered around…

The watch begins

And though I wanted my friends Clover and Princess with me, Princess kept lying down in my bed and Clover wanted to crowd under my small shelter with me, so they were moved to the outside of our safe space to keep watch with me there.

Set up on the outside

They wrapped my tail...

...and I slapped it against myself as I dealt with the discomfort I was feeling.

But then, the feeling would pass, and I’d go back to eating contentedly.

Princess got bored.

I spent a lot of time in here, resting and leaning my rear end against the wall...

...with my thoughts turned inward.

They kept close tabs on me until about 10 p.m….until some of them had to leave. Clover and Princess walked off, too, and I got a little agitated and white-eyed about that. Amanda waited until they came back before she went inside.  Amanda came back out at 11:30 p.m., to find me peacefully eating with Clover and Princess right beside me, and knew that God would take care of me.

Today, though, she took me to the vet to see what was what. She was worried because she and Daniel found me lying on my side groaning late this morning, with nothing happening. There was a huge wet area in my pen, which I made from urinating, but Amanda was afraid maybe my water had broken and something was wrong. The vet came out, but by the time she arrived I’d jumped up and been cavorting in the grass with my friends. It made me angry when the vet tried to wash me back there for an examination, so she wisely helped Amanda hitch up the Dodge truck to the horse trailer and I went into the vet clinic.

I hated being trailered away without my friends Clover and Princess. It made me so angry (again!) when the vet and her helper washed me back there. They were wise to make sure I was in the stocks or Dr. would have broken shins! Then it turned out that my cervix wasn’t even open. But the vet could tell that I was healthy and doing fine and even felt like little feet were up there. Amanda needed to hear that. She needed reassurance. The vet smilingly told Amanda that she could go on being hypervigilant, because things could change and I could get to foaling… any time!

But I'm NOT SAYING WHEN! Neigh-ner, neigh-ner, neigh-ner!