Matisse (Dad)
Dixie (Mom)
Videos

Dixie's Colt - Show me the pony!!

Day 1 - The colt has landed (8/3/06)...

It all started the evening of the 2nd after dinner, Rodie noticed that Dixie looked like something was going on, she had the sweats, and a secretion coming out along with the periodic lifting of her tail. All abnormal behavior for her, so we put her in the round pen for the night to observe her. Mr. Jess stopped by and wasn't sure if she was in early labor or if she had an infection. Ms. Sherry thought it could be the lubricant they give off to allow the foal to pass through the birth canal easier. We stayed up till around 1am periodically checking her to see what was going on. She was pacing, but nothing really unusual, she wasn't laying down or showing any signs of discomfort. I got up and checked her at 3:00am, no change, then again at 4:30am. This time she was noticeably pacing around the pen, and her sides were sweating again. She didn't look to be uncomfortable so I assumed it was false labor. Given it was going to be daybreak in a little over an hour and I've heard they are unlikely to foal in the daylight, I lead myself to believe that nothing was going to happen and that it would be another day. I went back to bed at 5:00pm and fell asleep. The alarm went off at 7:00am as always, but I slept through the first 3 snooze cycles. Kalyn got up to go to the bathroom and let the dogs out. She looked towards the pen. Next thing I know its like Xmas morning with Kalyn running in and shouting, "Come quick - we have a colt - we have a colt!!". We all scramble to go out and see what was going on. As we approached, Kalyn saw that Dixie and the colt were laying down on their sides, not moving. She says, "It doesn't look good." My heart sank. This was the worst case scenario, I thought we'd lost them both - If I'd only stayed up I started thinking. Just then, Dixie was startled as Kalyn approached and she got up. I could see that the umbilical cord was still attached and hanging out of her. I told Kalyn to back off and let her be, she wasn't finished. Then, the colt moved and attempted to get up. The cord was broken and he stumbled to his feet, unsure and extremely wobbly. He danced around Dixie like he was punch drunk, and immediately started looking for the milk supply. Dixie's motherly instincts kicked in and they began to bond, with her licking him and him nuzzling her, looking for the food. Next to my kids and grand kids being born, it was the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed, to see such a large animal deliver and begin the nurturing process was incredible, something I'll never forget. Now, we just need to pick a name, how hard could that be?

Day 2 - Steady as she goes...

Day 2 started early with the gathering of hay and water for Mom and baby. There was a noticable change in the colt's movements on day 2, more confidence in each step, the clumbsiness has disappeared for the most part. Another noticable difference is the way the colt follows Dixie when she nickers to him. Yesterday it was more of a sloppy response but in the morning, she murmurs and he's right next to her - following her every move. He obviously must have gotten a good talking to over night about paying attention to her commands. The following behavior is crtical to the colt's well being since you don't want the baby wandering off on its own, creates a very vulnerable target for preditors. By the evening, we all were able to have some level of contact with the colt, at feeding time, he sniffed Rodie over pretty well and let him pet him a bit. Dixie has been pretty good so far about not panicking or getting over anxious when we try to pet him. There must be some level of trust there because she doesn't seem to mind us trying to get to him. Kalyn and I went out around midnight and spent about an hour with him as he layed down and relaxed. At one point, he basically layed right down next to Kalyn while she was sitting on the ground. He's curious about us and will approach when we're stooped at his level until Dixie calls him away. The naming process continues, Dad came up with a whole list of ideas, several of them seem like possibilities - its a hard choice but we need to make it soon...

Day 3 - Spending quality time together...

Our first weekend together started with fresh hay and water as usual. The colt seems to like to check out the new hay while Dixie starts eating it. For some reason, he seems to like to go to the bathroom on the new hay, Dixie is going to need to inform him that's food and you shouldn't be doing that. Hopefully that lesson will come in time. He really enjoys laying in the hay as well. Today was a really hot day so we arranged the pen to get them both more shade during the hot part of the day. They have a tree to lay under and when the breeze blows, it can be nice. We had more contact with him today, on two occasions I was able to pet him while he was laying down and a morning encounter had him sniffing me all over while I was bent on one knee to pet him. I saw him drinking from the water bucket for the first time, he watched Dixie closely as she swished her nose in the water and then he copied her. It's good to see him taking in water with the heat up over 100. I think I've settled on a name that seems to fit - how does Romeo sound?

Day 4 - Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo...

With each passing day now, Romeo is getting more familiar with people and will allow us to interact with him more. He thinks nothing of laying down next to someone if he's tired. He runs and plays, jumping and kicking around his mother. He like to play in the water bucket as well, now that he knows whats in it. He seems to be filling out well, you can't really see his ribs anymore so he must be taking in quite a bit if milk which is good. Dixie has been very patient with us which I'm glad to see - as long as we're on the ground trying to pet him, she doesn't mind. Oh, Romeo kicked me today as well. I don't think he meant it per say, but just because they're small, they still pack a wallop. I can't wait to see the bruise on my knee...

Day 6 - Learning some new skills...

By day 6 Romeo has learned about hay and trys to eat it. He intently watches Dixie and then attempts to copy what she does. He really doesn't have the hang of it yet but he tries. He's filling out well and no longer can you see his ribs. He gallops and runs and shows marked improvement in his ballance and agility. He stays close to his mother but is not above wandering off to check out things and then scamper back to her side. We're able to touch him and he'll willingly come over and let us pet him.

Week 2 - Bigger, faster, but still cute as ever...

Week 2 sees Romeo grow and start exploring his surroundings. He spends some time away from Dixie and is not afraid to venture off on his own for short periods. He tries to mimic her by nuzzling the hay, and will even stick his head in her feed bucket. He hasn't quite got the hang of it but it won't be long.

Week 3 - Growing by leaps and kicks and trots...

This week we see Romeo start to show some of his independance. He at times will venture quite a ways from Dixie, and acting more like a young fiesty adolesence. He has started eating some hay and will even eat sweet feed from Dixie's bucket. He still nurses several times a day but that shouldn't last much longer.

Week 4 - Is that a 2006 Ford Mustang out there?

Romeo has shown his capabilities this week. He's very fast when running around the field, he likes to run, jump and kick when he gets excited. He wanders off to check things out frequently now but still checks in with Mom alot as well. He eats from his own bucket now and we tried to put a halter on him for the first time. It was too big, we need to poke more holes in it.

Month 2 - Growing up fast...

Romeo continues to grow through month 2, gaining independence and more personality. We finally got a halter on him, and I've started leading him around. At first he would resist but he's starting to get the hang of it now. He's loosing his baby coat so his color is changing at the moment. With winter approaching, I expect that his adult coat should be in place by November. He still milks from his mother, but he eats sweet feed and hay and grazes with Dixie, just like a big horse.