BABIES, BABIES, BABIES!!

 Date: April 6th, 2007. Time: Almost Midnight. Excitement Level: Sky High!

We are expecting ten foals this Spring, and the "Maternity Ward" at Sunset Farm is busy tonight. Our closed-circuit television monitoring system shows:
Upper left:  Mother Radiant Sea and one day old filly foal, (by Rifles and Roses) with the foal resting after her exhausting first day of life outside mother.
Lower left:  Barn Manager Keith Teegardin guides what may be our biggest foal ever to it's mother, My Dear Francis, for the first nursing. This is the second foal for the young sire, Looking For Roses.
Lower right:  Another mother-to-be, My Genius Jenny Wade, shifts her weight nervously as the early signs of labor begin. She is expecting her first foal, by Basquiat.
Upper right:  Blank screen- this is our standby channel in the unlikely event we need to monitor a fourth labor/birth.

Keeping a watchful eye on every stage of the birthing cycle is something we take very seriously. Our television system allows Pam and Keith to monitor progress throughout the night.

Our goals are to provide for a clean environment, intervention to assist mother in a difficult delivery, help clearing the airway if needed, immediate drying and cleaning of the foal, assistance guiding the foal to stand and nurse, early handling to build trust in humans, then allowing uninterrupted mother/foal bonding.

By monitoring and being available as needed, Keith assists Mother Nature in every way possible to guarantee healthy, human-trusting foals and comfortable mothers during every birthing cycle. Over the years, Keith has assisted in all but a very few of our deliveries and knows instinctively what mother and foal need every step of the way.

UPDATE: The following evening, (again just before midnight),  Keith called to alert us that the mare in the lower right quadrant had began her delivery, but that something was wrong. The mare was trying to deliver, but nothing was happening. Watching the monitor, Pam conferred with Keith, and decided that intervention was necessary.

Finding that the foal was misaligned within the birth canal, Pam was able to maneuver it into proper position, allowing the delivery to proceed. Without being aware of the problem and solving it in a timely manner, there was a very good possibility that both mother and (filly) foal would not have survived. This was a rare, but not unheard-of situation during our many deliveries- when serious problems were avoided, all by using a simple and relatively inexpensive video monitoring system, and by stepping in at the right time.

In a slightly similar situation some years ago, a mare had positioned herself against the stall wall in such a way that the foal could not emerge from her. Again, timely intervention, moving the mare to allow room for the baby to get out, made all the difference. Only by watching the delivery on TV were we able to even know there was a problem in the making.