Foal Journal:

3/5/00:

2:30 pm

Two and a half hours sleep? Bah! That's nothing. At least I have full nights of sleep in my future. It is something to look forward to. So! Doing pretty well. Vet check said all was fine. Needed to watch Denali for urination (fine now) and Dot for defecation (not yet). Only problem was the IgG test. It needed to be above 800. Her's was at 200. Normal is about 1500. Most likely, because Dot was dripping milk for the past 2-3 days ... lost too much colostrum. Anycase, since the antibody count was far below ideal, we're supplementing Denali with serum (she's resting now and the serum is dripping into her catheter) and antibiotics to fend off any infections. The vets will do another IgG test this evening.

I figured out how to get Denali to lie down though! I had to try a couple of different ways. I can't just pick her up and flip her like a dog. Plus, she's too big. The vets laid her down earlier, but I didn't see exactly what they did, and there were two of them. I picked up her front leg and she just crumpled down on that side and quite literally "fell" asleep. She had been considering lying down, but then got distracted. They sort of "fall" to lie down in the beginning. I've seen her do it earlier.

So cute! So small, yet so big! The vets were surprised at her size and activity level. She looks like a week old foal, size wise, they say.

3/6/00:

4:40 pm

It has been a good day today. Denali is in perfect healthy and as active as anything! Only thing we need to work on is me. Every time she sees a person, we're sticking or prodding her or harassing her somehow. I've spent calm time with her while she sleeps or is on the ground, but little when she's on her feet. I plan to go out tonight with a bag of carrots for Dot and just "hang" for a while. She should be curious enough and investigate me a bit. She needs her antibiotics at 10 pm in anycase. Not too sure how that will go. I'll use a smaller needle this time, she felt the one from this morning a bit too much!

Anycase, the IgG test last night was just fine. The serum/plasm helped like it should have. The vets came out today to remove her catheter. All looking good. Dot is finally pooping and everyone is active, hungry, and have good temperatures.

The fun today was going outside! Wooo! Christie helped (thankfully), which allowed me to stay sane. We walked over to the polo field. Dot grazed some, in between whirling around in circles (around me), as Denali ran in circles around us. She tries to buck, but only lifts her read off of the ground without kicking her legs out. She'll get there in time when she's stronger and more coordinated. We didn't stay out for long, since I don't want to stress her system. Denali did investigate the grass ... at 36 hours of age she was mouthing it. She's a fast one. If the weather is pleasant tomorrow morning, we'll try that again.

Denali is learning to follow mom, although she's a bit unsure about the cement aisle of the barn. We worked on moving away from pressure and moving forward off of the butt rope today. According to some, I should be rushing her more, but she needs time with me that is non-stressful. She's still friendly and mellow compared to other foals, that I'm not really worried about her turning "wild".

3/7/00:

9:50 pm

Today was fun ... another romp on the polo field. Only a little bit better about walking on the cement aisle way. I worked on leading with a butt rope this evening and she improved! If the weather is nice tomorrow I want to get her out at least once, maybe twice. It is still raining right now, so I don't know about tomorrow. I have to time it for when there aren't too many other horses out and around. They tend to get QUITE excited at the sight of the foal. Some just watch, some whinny like crazy and some like big brother Ally just flip out, running around his pen, bucking, rearing, and generally being a nut case. Oh well, he'll get better, I dearly hope.

I'm doing better on sleep! I calculated that I got 10 hours of sleep in the 80 hours from Thursday through Sunday surrounding the delivery. Ugh. Lots of catching up to do, which makes it hard to get the web site updated. Urg - other priorities and all.

Denali is quite a handful, or an armful, I might say. Even corralling her with my arms takes effort since she's so big, as well as her tendency to buck. I haven't bitten my tongue or cheek yet, but I suspect some fillings are getting loose. She is getting better and she is still such a curious and friendly foal. The carrots for Dot worked last night. Denali spent a bit of time investigating me and in now totally fearless. Makes it hard to clean the stall. She's always in the way and isn't even scared of the fork.

The one difficult part is the IM (intra-muscular) injections of Naxtel (the antibiotic she's getting). Oh, she complains! Moving to a larger gauge needle (smaller sized needle) has helped some, but I still need someone to hold her on the ground. I have to sit on her hind legs to keep them relatively still, and I have yet to not bend the needle. She only has 2 more days out of 5 left to go (4 more injections), and as long as I can get help, it will be doable.

There are certain virtues in a smaller, weaker foal! I did discover that using the wall helps a lot. I can "trap" her with my body and arms and use the stall wall as the fourth side. This helps to "hug" her, since they find that sort of pressure and support comforting, especially when doing things like picking up the feet, when their balance still isn't perfect.

She can almost lead in a circle around me. She's figuring out what "whoa" and the arm in front of her chest means. She eventually gives in to the butt rope, although it is always easier going towards mom, as would be expected.

Much fun, if quite exhausting at times!

3/8/00:

9:50 pm

This really is so much fun! At times, it still has not sunk in that Denali has arrived, while other times I am entirely used to her presence and cannot imagine her not existing. Anycase, her education progresses. She ran more out on the polo field today. And she didn't even have issues with following Dot back to the stall today, except for that little part where she wanted to sniff noses with all the other horses in the barn and Dot was freaking out, but that's all manageable. This evening, Denali was incredible with the butt rope and "whoa". It's not the type of fun and games she wants to play, but I think it is different and interesting enough that she really does pay attention. It's quite cool.

I registered Denali with the American Warmblood Registry today. Handy, that they're located right HERE in town. Laurie helps run the registry, so that's how I got involved in this in the first place, since she owns Denali and Ally's father (Delta's Shadow) as well as their middle brother (Darby).

For now, I'm hoping the rain will go away. We've had enough for this year, thankyouverymuch! No more! Way too muddy to get momma and foal outside into their pen. Bah. Hard enough to find a good moment to take them outside. Then again, at least it doesn't snow here. It is California and all.

3/11/00:

10:53 pm

I've been busy! Just got back from a IHSA show, and little Denali is NOT happy about staying in the stall all day. She is leaping around until she gets so worked up she starts to sweat, starts to lie down, then realizes that she is still hyper, so she jumps up and takes off again. To say the least, she is doing fine and quite healthy.

Let's see. On the 9th, she was quite the active little one. Not only did she have a blast running around mom on he polo field as usual, she decided to go wandering off when we headed back to their stall. I was with Dot, who was freaking out in the stall because she couldn't see Denali, and Denali was outside sniffing noses with other horses and then wandered out of the barn. I couldn't take Dot through the doorway of the stall, because she would have run me over. Fortunately, Dot's screams brought help. From now on, Denali leads FIRST into the stall, the little Devil.

To add to her devilish reputation, which was firmly established on the 9th, she learned out to kick when she bucks. I have the bruises to show for it. Dot still doesn't mind when she kicks, but at some point she'll start some motherly discipline .. I hope !!! This is where having a pasture to put Denali is when she is weaned is a GOOD THING, because the other horses will put her in her place. Meanwhile, I try to discipline her as best as I can, which is difficult with a foal who thinks everything is fun and games.

And to conclude her quest for an evil reputation, while I was pulling the muck cart out of their stall, Denali decided to just walk on out, because those horses in the barn aisle way were apparently QUITE interesting. Except then Dot got all nervous, ran out behind her which caused Denali to take off out of the barn with Dot in town. They galloped out to the polo field, through the dressage court, around the track and all over the equestrian center before finally stopping. As Jen put it, they looked quite majestic, if not exactly doing what they were supposed to be doing. Argh. I went home and slept for 3 hours after that.

Anycase! Denali is doing quite well. Almost leading, just not quite. With a butt rope and a hand on her halter, I can take her anywhere. That's how I get her into the stall. I'm heading out after I wake up tomorrow to get them out and let them run. Then back home for studying, followed by more running time in the afternoon. Beautiful weather for once! None of this rain half the day, cloudy the other half.

03/24/00:

8:28 pm

Wow, it has been a while. I finished finals yesterday (quarter system) and now have some actual time for myself. Sorta. Horse show this weekend and I'm gone end of next week, but hey. No class!

Denali is simply awesome. She brings joy into my life and I simply love watching her and working with her. She's leading now ... has been for about a week. She's even getting better when we're heading out and she's all hyper and trying to rear and buck and bolt. Less of those three are occurring. AND she ties now! No problem in doing that at all. It's simply wonderful, really. I still hang around to keep an eye on her, but she's bright enough to figure out that she needs to give into pressure.

We moved Dot and Denali outside two days ago into the outdoor pipe pen (24 feet x 24 feet). Jeff and I boarded up the walls. I thought that Dot would have issues with neighbors on three sides, but she was actually perfectly content. I think it helps that the horses are the same that were there before she went into the barn to foal out. She had previously established relationships with them and the foal didn't change any of that.

Denali is growing, but her legs remain quite straight and her shoulder and hip are quite excellent (as Laurie told me, since I really can't tell on some of these things). Being outside gives her more exercise and she gets out for 2-4 hours a day onto the polo field and into the turn outs, so she's doing quite well. Mid to late April, I have pasture for her and Dot up the road in Woodland at a reputable barn. That will be quite excellent for both of them. It'll be harder to give Dot her grain since I won't be able to make it up there every day (although the days are getting longer, which gives me more time at the stables). Dot's carrying a little extra weight, so it won't hurt her to loose some of it.

I love being a mom to little Denali. She's really quite wonderful. Although, I appreciate Ally so much more now, since he's so obedient and trained, compared to Denali, but she'll get there ... eventually. As a mom, I'm getting less and less fretful. I know for the birth I was worried about EVERYTHING. But hey, I knew I was birthing her out into a not very safe environment, what with 100+ horses and lots of them coming and going and traveling. Caution seemed like a good idea. And Denali is perfectly healthy (and now insured! Ally was sick with a $2000 vet bill last Nov and the insurance more than paid for itself in that case. Of the total $3500 that his illness ended up costing, there was only a $250 deductible.That sold me on the idea of insurance.)

So that's that for now. I miss Denali when I'm gone at horse shows. It's hard, like I never expected it to be. She's not MY own child, but my life revolves around her development and her life so much that I feel the loss of her presence.

04/06/00:

10:03 pm

Spring break came and went, and now I'm done with my first week of school. Denali is growing like crazy. She's doing so well, I'm really impressed. She's tying, leading, being grooming, picking up her feet, and has even has had a bath! I rode Dot a couple days ago and ponied Denali off of her for a while. It went fairly well. Then I let Denali run around and follow us. That was much fun, except for the moments when she'd run right in front of us. Dot was incredible good, considering it has been 4 months since she was last ridden.

I make sure she gets out for at least an hour a day, usually closer to three. In a week or so, the two of them will go up the road to pasture. One, I have to figure out who I can get to trailer us. Two, we have to figure out how to get Dot and Denali in the trailer without Dot flipping out if Denali gets out of sight. This is where having a foal that leads is going to be such a help. Pasture will be great for all four of us ... Dot will get to graze non stop, Denali can go anywhere she wants, I won't have to spend 3 hours a day with them, and Ally will get more time from me. With the amount of studying I think I'm going to have to do this quarter, less time with the horses will be a good thing.

Denali comes up past my upper hip now ... it's been fun being able to scratch her all over and loom over her. I've never had a horse shorter than me! Well, that won't last for too long, but I'm enjoying now while I can. I'm still looking forward to watching her grow up into a big girl. Anycase, I took more photos and video today. I'll get some up on this page and elsewhere on the site later on.

04/12/00:

9:57 pm

I can't say that I'm experienced at raising foals by now, but I sure have a lot more experience than I had at the start, when I essentially had no practical knowledge whatsoever. The most interesting part of this is how the theoretical knowledge that I gained from book reading had a bearing on what I actually ended up doing with little Denali. That's a fancy way of saying that I ignored half of the stuff those books told me to do. I suppose I have enough confidence in myself to just go on my own, using instincts and common sense. That's what I did in training Ally. I didn't read a single book for that. But in his case, I had practice in training green horses, so training Ally from scratch wasn't too far outside of my experience.

Well, Denali sure seems to have turned out alright, so I'm not worried! She had her first farrier experience last Saturday. Dot had her shoes pulled (the crack was healed) and trimmed. Max was kind enough to rasp the points off of Denali's feet and work with her a little bit. I've worked with her some, but she needs to stand still a little bit longer for the farrier. That requires an attention span. I put this in the category of things to work on and develop. *grin*

The two of them will be moving out to pasture pretty soon now ... just need to figure out the when and with whom we shall trailer. I'll worry about them at first, but I know it is for the best, even if I can't visit them every day. *sigh* I'm really going to miss Denali. She's such a personality already. But she was plenty of years in front of her and right now she needs to run around and grow. Plus, all of this sleeping on straw in a stall will spoil her! Can't have that, not at all.

Right now, she's starting to shed out her fuzzy coat. It's coming out in patches around her face, giving her a very molted look. I'll have to take photos ... when she's done shedding out. Right now, it looks like something's been chewing on her.

That's that. Really, at this point she's not as exciting on a daily basis. Denali does what she does. 1. she works at being cute. 2. she runs around. 3. she asks to be scratched. 4. she eats. 5. she sleeps. And ideally, if I ask her to do anything different, like tie or follow or what not, she does that too.

05/02/00:

11:04 am

Last week, I finally moved Dot and Denali up to pasture in Woodland. Oh, they're happy creatures there! Grass, pasture, and even other foals to play with ! Denali doesn't quite know what to make of them yet. She's so much bigger than the Morgan and Morgan/TB crosses, it's quite remarkable. Anycase, they trailered up just fine. All those worries I had ... no problem. It helped that we used a two horse slant with the partition pushed to the side. Dot just walked right in and Denali hopped up beside her. Easiest thing ever.

I visit the twosome a couple times a week as my schedule allows (midterms midterms bleah). Denali has definitely imprinted. She will follow me around the pasture all on her own. No halter, no bribery. She's like a large dog in that way. That's how I got her to visit the foals on the other side of the fence. She was really quite cute ... she didn't quite know what to make of them. So she took off towards Dot whinnying. And then a couple minutes later she ran back to me whinnying. I'm certain she'll adjust just fine. She needs a playmate quite badly.

Dot's happy. She gets a bit of grain each time I see her and anytime she's taken in from pasture. The plan is to re breed her, one last time. I just have to figure out how to time her heat cycles to let Laurie know when she's in heat. Surrounded by other mares, she's not as "showy" as she was before with the geldings back at the old barn.

Otherwise ... things are good. I don't miss Denali as much as I anticipated. Probably because I'm too busy to really think about it. And when I have time to think, I have time to visit her. So it is working out quite well.