Thursday 2nd March
I arrived at the yard by 5.30am to find the little one had only just been born. The foal had difficulty standing so with the help of a friend we got the foal to its feet within the hour. I initially was excited by the arrival of a new filly foal, only to later find out it was a colt!
The vet came to remove the retained placenta from Queenie and check over the foal. The little lad was walking, feeding and had passed his first poo.
Friday 3rd March
After passing his first poop, Duke had been straining far too much and not passed anything since. By morning he was straining and uncomfortable, the vet was called for an emergency visit and gave Duke an enema. All seemed ok for the time being, but he was still straining and wasn’t passing anything.
Saturday 4th March
I visited at 5am and all seemed well. When I returned later on in the afternoon the little man was sweating, uncomfortable, kept trying to suckle then falling to his knees and not able to stretch out.
A visit at 9pm by the vet confirmed a slightly raised temperature, the foal was uncomfortable, straining, sweating. I’d expressed 500ml milk from Queenie to bottle feed Duke, but the vet gave it via nasal tube. Duke was given antibiotics, antispasmodic and had bloods taken. He was scanned to check for blockages or even torn bladder, which was ruled out. Duke was suffering from an impacted colic further up his digestive tract. After the vet left Duke was so exhausted he fell asleep stretched out, not hunched up in pain. I stayed till midnight and he was content.
Sunday 4th March
Back by 6am and I was relieved to find a cheeky little face over the door. Duke was drinking, running around and peeing, but still slightly sweaty and still hadn’t pooped. The vet was happy with his progress. As the morning passed by Duke was bright, bouncy, drinking and peeing. Finally, early afternoon saw the arrival of his second natural poop! Safe to say that Waterfall Duke of Diamonds is getting stronger by the day, he’s fully functioning, he’s suckling well, he’s lively, stubborn, full of attitude and sparky as hell.
I’ve been terrified beyond belief of losing this little fella, have had less than 10 hrs sleep since Wednesday, and have aged literally overnight. I’m exhausted. This has been a true labour of love but to see the spark in Duke’s eyes, the naughty swish of his tail and the bounce, bounce, buck of his back end has made it all worth while.
