Feinding Wisdom- in a story (2)

If the 11 months of waiting weren't exhausting, the first 24 to 48 hours after a foal is born certainly can be. The foal must stand to nurse, find the "milk bar", successfully figure out how to work the "milk bar", consume enough colostrum for his immune system, and all systems- including plumbing- must be working properly. Being a prey animal, foals are born ready to run so all of this should be accomplished in a short period of time.




We had a hot chocolate party in the barn after Solomon was born! Pholly & Solomon bonded well and we watched to be sure that all systems were "go".

Long legs are great! But they are hard to navigate when you're a horse just out of the womb. He'd spent months all folded up and now he had more room to spread out than he knew what to do with. I've learned over time that Jason has a great way with foals. He is patient, gentle and has the strength to support them while they figure out their legs. Solomon was particularly challenged by his long legs. So much so, that we had some concerns. Jason spent a LOT of time helping him figure out how to stand. Once a foal figures out how to stand, they typically don't have further trouble. This wasn't the case for Solomon. He could stand, but wasn't getting there on his own. Untangling and lining up those legs seemed to give him the most trouble. We took turns going down to the barn, lining up his legs & encouraging him to stand up. He could do it once his legs were in the right place. The vet found nothing wrong and just encouraged us to continue our diligence. My alarm woke me up in the recliner around 36 hours later to find Solomon standing on his own. Challenge conquered!

In a few days, we were able to let Pholly & Solomon outside. At first we turned them out in a small area so Solomon could learn to follow mom and so neither could run endlessly which could bring physical exhaustion to both. After a few days of confined space, we then allow them time in a regular pasture. We were so excited to see Solomon really use those legs!


Our dreams were furthered fueled by Solomon's movement. He was obviously destined to be a talented horse and we felt he would be well suited for dressage- just what we had hoped for! We felt he would shine just like that star on his head!

The dreams all came crashing down right before Easter (April '07). Solomon was just now 7 weeks old. Of course, we didn't know that it had all crashed down. Not at first.

The accident is still a mystery to us. We don't leave halters on our horses for many reasons. One good reason is so the horse doesn't get caught on something and hurt himself. The exception we've made is for foals. When we first begin halter training them, we leave the halter on while they are outside. Wrestling a halter on a foal in a wide open pasture can be difficult, if not futile. And who wants to risk the wrath of an angry mare?

In all honesty, Solomon learned very quickly and haltering him was soon a matter of routine. You know what they say about hindsight! It is 20-20.

Our best guess is that Solomon caught his halter on something and a wrestling match followed. One which left Solomon with a gash on his nose. In true horse form, we now had to make an after-hours, emergency trip to the vet clinic. The vet was the first to notice the swelling in Solomon's right hind leg. His stifle joint was swollen. We returned home with Solomon's nose stitched closed and instructions to watch the swollen leg & return to have stitches removed in 2 weeks.

His nose healed wonderfully. But I was left with a SICK feeling in my gut during that return visit to the vet. Solomon's leg was still swollen.