The Birth! (in images)

Labor (this page) Delivery Imprinting On her feet

This is about what I saw when I checked up on Dot, except that the amnion sac wasn't showing, yet. But I saw enough of a bulge at her vulva to know that it was happening.

When did the water break? I have no idea. When I checked on her 15 minutes earlier, Dot was rolling, which was normal enough, but she was pawing before she rolled. That was unusual. I allowed myself to feel hope that she would actually give birth that night.

In foresight, I had wrapped her tail up with brown gauze, covered with vet wrap (white in this photo). This allowed her tail to stay clean, keep her vulva easily accessible, as well as have it wrapped for delivery. Thank goodness for foresight. I barely had enough time to run and get the video camera and call people before Dot got too far into labor. I wasn't going to have time to wrap up her tail while she paced and rolled around.

Since I had less time than I would have if I had seen the water break, I simply ran in with gloves, warm water, and cotton, to wash her vulva area. Soap would have been nice, but it would have taken even longer to wash it off and I really didn't have that time. Not to mention, with the sac showing, I did not think that introducing soap into the environment was such a good idea!

I got her clean and got dust and other bits of grime washed off, and that seemed to be the most important part.

Judith was hanging out with me in the office, so she was on hand to help me out. Thank god! She lives right there, but I didn't need to even phone her up. Her friend is the one who video taped the birth from which these images were taken.
Dot lay herself down, rolling a bit (you can see the straw in her mane). Judith is comforting her in this photo. Me? I'm probably running around grabbing supplies while calling people on the cell phone. Have I mentioned how USEFUL cell phones can be? Handy little things !!

There I am. Or at least, those are my hands, wrapping fresh (think, clean) vetwrap on Dot's tail. The white vetwrap was a bit soiled from poop and other such debris, so it seemed best to wrap a clean layer on top.

I worked as fast as I could. While I was there, a foot started to protrude from Dot. Eeek! MY the time I was done, a lower leg was showing. To say the least, I was NOT calm. Adrenaline was rushing and I tried to remember what I was supposed to be doing next.

That's a leg! It really was INCREDIBLE. I knew intellectually that there was a living fetus inside of Dot, but to see the baby foal start to emerge was QUITE unlike anything else. I've seen kittens born and baby birds hatch and what was pretty damned cool, but the sheer size and vitality of this baby foal was incredibly stunning.

Anycase, Dot was grunting and whinnying and sweating and being a good mom in labor. No screaming ... I think only humans do that. *grin* She pushed as much as to get the muzzle out before she took a break.

I have not a clue where I am in these photos. Probably running around tearing my hair out.

Actually, I was quite prepared, but parts of the labor went incredibly quick. There was no way that I was able to prepare myself for the actual event as far as keeping a calm mental state. Yeah right. I'd have to birth out dozens of foals to even approach that, and I think there would still be a rush every single time.

Meanwhile, Dot is panting, groaning, and altogether putting me off of the idea of pregnancy altogether. I think I have Jessica on tape declaring she will never have children, and I can quite agree with her. You definitely have to be in an altered state of mind to accept the physical changes and demands that pregnancy puts upon you.

Here is a NICE close up of the two legs (perfectly positioned with one right behind the other) with the muzzle in the shadows.

The amnion sac is still intact at this point .... although Dot got to her feet shortly thereafter and lay down again. She was quite determined and there was not a thing I could do to convince her to pretty please perhaps lie down just a BIT further away from the stall wall? It turned out to be enough room, but just barely.

Dot laid herself down once again, in the process, tearing the amnion sac against the bucket at she turned around. She didn't quite judge for the foot of foal (no pun intended, it was sticking out about a foot) sticking out of her rump. She seemed happier where she repositioned herself.

Here, she's taking a quick rest, since full labor and delivery are moments away. She's sweaty by this point, and straw is stuck all over her. Thankfully, I had cleaned almost the entire stall earlier that evening. Nice timing!

Here I am again, checking up on her after we all scrambled out of the way while she repositioned herself. I am about to sit down and watch the delivery take place!

Go to the Delivery page!