There are people who have raised horses their whole lives who have never seen a foal born. Mares are typically quite private about it. And births rarely occur during the day. They are more likely to occur between midnight and 5am. When a mare goes into labor the whole process, if nothing is wrong, should take no more than 45 minutes. Longer than that, and they’re having trouble for sure.
When we came upon this mare herd, we caught Jazz right as her water broke. We watched her, and photographed her from afar for about 10-15 minutes. Everyone was very excited as it was the first birth that Zach, Kelsey and Ty got to see.
She laid down.
And then got up and down again and again, and rolled around. Myself, having witnessed the birth of one of my own colts two years ago knew this was not a good sign. Although, we do believe that her rolling around was a way to help put the baby in a better position. However, this mare belongs to Zach’s Daughter, and she doesn’t have the best luck with her foals, or her horses for that matter.
Normally we don’t intervene, but we decided that in this case we should. This mare is a really gentle mare, and we figured if she’d let us help, we should. So we drove over closer to her. And tried to remain really really quiet.
Zach crept over to her so he could help. The foal’s elbow was stuck.
And, success! The first touch:
At this point Zach motioned us over. So long as we crept and were quiet. He was all wet and looking a bit disheveled.
The mare was quite comfortable with us being there, so Kelsey crept up to be the first to rub the colt!
Look at the smile on that girl’s face!
He is not altogether sure that this world is where he wants to be!
Now it’s time to get down to business and see if these legs will work.
Mama says, “c’mon baby, you can do it”!
This getting up stuff is really hard work!
Jazz thought she’d show her boy how it’s done.
And she gave him some encouragement!
Then Kelsey thought she’d see if she could help.
Oh these legs are wobbly!
Kelsey got a lot of his trials on video.
It was a great experience!
That foal is a marked to never forget! Great pictures and something to remember for a lifetime.
Life begets life. What did you name him?
I won’t be the one to name him- that’ll be Kelsey’s job and she’s at a loss still as to what to call him.
such wonderful pictures! isn’t it just so amazing? everytime. everysingletime. what a beauty.
amazing pictures !!!!!!!
Awesome! You got a whole lot of great photos from this amazing experience, thank you for sharing them!
When can he come to live with me?
How awesome for all of you, but especially Kelsey!
Beautiful!!! I am so glad you guys got there when you did!! I have yet to witness any of mine foaling! I always get there right after LOL!! Last year my “prized” mare was close to foaling so we moved her to a pasture up close to the house so I could keep watch on her. One afternoon my daughter’s Sharpei was just going nuts and I knew there had to be something going on outside so I was looking out the window and up pops this head down at the end of my long driveway! Yep in the driveway….The foal had rolled under the wire fencing and ended up there! Mama was none to happy about that LOL!! But all ended well!
How cute can you be???? lovely foal….
So glad you caught this on camera. Definetely one of God’s miracles. I saw my mare give birth and will never forget the experience either.
That is one of the most precious things I’ve ever seen! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! That foal is adorable. Talk about timing! Jazz looks like a great mom. What will be his name?
I will do my best to let everyone know what name he gets when Kelsey figures it out!
Birth is such a miracle. Congratulations! Loved seeing all of the photos: it made my day. We are waiting for cria (baby alpacas.) Seeing them arrive is a bit easier since they usually arrive after sunup but before noon.
How do you put the captions on your photos?
OK.
I cried.
That is so beauiful!
Wow! Great pics!!!!
How amazing!
great pictures, thanks for sharing! I bet Kelcey will hold a special spot in her heart for this little guy! And Love his blaze!
He’s a beauty! My favorite color and that strip/snip combo is a striking marking
Great photos and great timing … they seem to be just a smidge more special when you watch them come into the world!
Beautiful! What a great experience for all of you!!
Loved the pictures. I really miss seeing foals born. I was a barn manager at an arabian farm and I loved seeing those little ones born. I miss it sooooooooo very much!! Thanks for sharing with us
Jenn, I am speechless. These photos are so awesome. So beautiful. So moving. What a gorgeous baby! Cannot wait to hear the new name…
If I have looked at this post once, I’ve looked at it ten times. Each time, I can feel the breeze, I can see the herd. I am speechless, and in Aw of your surroundings. What a wonderful place you live.
What an awesome experience for Kelsey! What a gentle mare too! I think the stars aligned just right for all that to work out, pictures, Zach there to help and Kelsey to see/help her new foal. Pretty dang cool.
Wow! My first foal birthing! That was fantastic! That was also soo awesome that yall were there just at the right time to help her.