Ten months ago my sons champion Mare “Hedonist” went into foal by Newmarket jewl . Hedonist has been a family member for more that five years and won the under 25 two * international event for Ireland at Tattersalls 2010 with our son Fred on board. So for ten months Hedonist or Chuncho as she is affectionately known has been munching on good Irish grass and lazing about with a girl friend in a County Carlow field. She was due to foal 5th of June that date came and went and there she is waddling about in the field as big as a Tanker , We go checking on her hourly . I have never been a horse daddy before , all previous experience of child birth was when Fred was born , and that was pretty stressful. Somehow this pregnancy was even worse, perhaps because I could not talk to Chuncho to ask how she was feeling like I did with my wife. Or maybe it was due to the incredible size of he belly, I was having trouble getting my head around how a little mare could have something so big going on inside her. As the days passed I was trying desperately not to show that I was panicking , Checking on her as often as possible , To make matters worse her friend produced a lively little colt foal which was skipping around full of life and green grass energy.
Tusday morning at sunrise there in the feild is a beautifskinny little colt foal, Great panic over, or so I thought. I am new to this game , so I watched bewildered at a lovely foal who could not find where the mothers milk came from. Help was at hand the experienced Mr. Doyle and the wife fussed about, Milking the mare and trying to get the little one to suck, the hours passed. The Baby needed to feed, properly , to add to the panic Chuncho had not cast her placenta , The vet was called , I am now very worried , but I am assured that Boy Foals can be like this, So I look up symptoms on the internet and get even more freaked out , discovering that there is a syndrome called A Dummy Foal. . Just as I start to really panic the little sod clamps on to chuncho’s tit and glugs away like a thirsty rugby player. A few hours later The placenta has gone and our fine little colt is bouncing around the field with his mummy. If I smoked I would have given myself a cigar. Now I can only look in awe at this two day old masterpiece of a creature , and wonder what all the fuss was about, Nature is such a wonderful thing. One Love Mim Scala
mim1313 