The most wonderful thing happened in our barn the other day:
Lil came out to feed us at 5:30 as usual (if she lounges in bed any later than
this I begin trying to kick my door down – this tends to bring her running,
since she can hear it in the house) – and feedtime is a wonderful thing in
itself. But. After she gave all us stabled horses our breakfast and headed out
to the back paddock to feed the outdoor gang, Charlee, our pretty young
Friesian mare who lives next door to me, stopped eating half-way through her
breakfast and lay down for a while. I was kind of busy with my head in the feed
bucket, but the next time I looked up, there were two Friesians in her stall –
although the second one was so tiny I think it could be called a Frieslet.
Now when Lil came back in from outside, she opened the door
to Charlee’s stall, halter in hand, ready to take the young lady outside to her
paddock, but when that stall door slid open the Frieslet kind of tumbled out
into the aisle at her feet. I truly wish you could have seen Lil’s face. I’m
still laughing.
Charlee wasn’t due to foal for another week, and she’d shown
no signs of being in labour when Lil fed her. Lil said later that her first
thought had been: “what idiot locked a dog in the stall with Charlee?” Quickly
followed by: “Oh my god, it’s a foal!!!”
Her name is Mila. She may be tiny for a Friesian, but she’s
big for a foal and I can’t figure out where Charlee put her for the past 11
months! She was on her feet within a half hour and doing flying lead changes a
couple of days later. She even did a half-pass in the paddock her second day of
life, but I suspect that may not have been intentional – it was a breezy day
and I think she was just trying to stay upright.
I can’t wait to get out in the paddock with the two of them.
I intend to teach Mila everything I know. Mould her in my own image. Present
the world another perfect Friesian. OK, I know, Charlee helped. But I shall
finish what she started. Happy birth day Mila.
