Sunday, April 25, 2010

Belle's Baby is here!


Well, I wasn't as lucky as Terri...I didn't get to see my foal being born. However that probably saved me some stress! All went well despite my abscence. I was on my way up to The Mane Event in Red Deer, when I got a frantic phone call from my friend Wendy, who shouted "YOU HAVE A BABY!!!" I got out to the farm in record time.

He is the cutest thing in the world (right now anyway! LOL!).

Belle and me are close. We have a connection that I don't really know how to put in words. She had no problem with me walking up to her, and meeting the new foal. At one point, the foal lay down and went to sleep. Belle followed suit and lay down beside him. Taking the opportunity I did the same (hey - I didn't sleep much either!). I wasn't quite between them, but close. When Belle saw I wasn't going anywhere - she put her head right in the grass and went to sleep just like the foal. That's trust. She doesn't seem to mind taking her attention off the foal as long as I'm there. I like that.

Some foul weather moved in yesterday afternoon, which turned into a blizzard lasting until about 1AM. I led Belle into the barn, and baby followed; at least until we got in the barn door. We turned around in the stall to realize that baby decided to check out everything in the yard. Belle was none to happy...but called to her kid and he came in. I got them nested in a stall. Belle hates being inside - she stared out the window all night and was in a crabby mood. Her baby on the other hand was oblivious to the weather and took the time to eat/rest/eat/rest/eat/rest until he discovered that running circles around mom in the stall was fun too...but oh, so tiring!

This morning I turned them back out in the pasture. They did a few laps along the fenceline - it is amazing that they can be so coordinated when only a few hours old. I spent some time on and off with the new guy today. The treat of the day was when I was sitting in the pasture, and he came wandering over to me (watchful mom close behind) and plopped (literally) down on my leg and went to sleep.
What a cool little guy! He was way more energetic today, running around, jumping, a mini-buck, making new friends and playing with mom. I spent half the day laughing, just watching him.

4 comments:

Kj said...

Too cute Scott! Congrats!

chef Rachel said...

really nice looking boy, congrats scott

Unknown said...

It is nice that you have such a good relationship with the mare and foal. He is going to get such a nice start in life. Congratulations.

Darcy said...

Scott!! You're a Dad! How awesome. Just ran into Riki on the crew bus the other day and she gave me the great news about Belle and the little guy. Miss you at WJ, hope to see you back online soon! Congrats on the new addition. Belle looks amazing!! She did awesome!