Dorrie & Frank
Well-Known Member
Well you guys know that Margie Wood of MarJac Miniature taught me all that I know - well and my daughter Scarlett. We loved Margie. Anyway - when I first met her she was sleep deprived - for months she had been awake every 20 - 30 minutes all night. I was a critical care nurse before I became an attorney. I missed the medic side of life. I volunteered to split the night shifts with her so she could at least get close to a good nights sleep if no mare foaled. We became closer than sisters. What a blessing it was for both of us. Most of her 20 or more deliveries each year were beautifully textbook - whith Margie cussing like a sailor from the time the mare was down and pushing until the foal was out and breathing. She never spoke a cuss word at any other time of her life - it was hysterical to witness. She would do the same for all of you having her watch your foals come on mare watch! In case you didn't know!
Anyway - upside down foals. She had this occur a few times in her over 20 years of mini horse foaling. I got to witness one in our years together. Scarlett was in college and could not get there to help (she's a natural with horses and animals in general and she and margie were tied together at the heart beat level.) And Jack was out at work. He worked on oil rigs as a trouble shouter and was sought out by the best for problem wells everywhere they could get him. Margie was ever so careful with her breeding pairings. She always said that everytime we breed a mare we ask her to risk her life to give a live birth.
So of course it was in the wee hours of the morning - I had the early shift and had not been asleep very long when when she woke me. We ran to the barn and the mare was down and pushing. Margie did not have her strength as much as in the past and need me to be her muscle. She watch a few moments and said she thought something was wrong. We went in and found a bubble with a "hairy nose and mouth." In reality it was a tail and anus. And upside down. She began giving orders that I obeyed without a thought - get this, pull that - all the while on the cell to the vets - her first two usuals were on colic calls - an older vet with her third to call could come and was on the way. "Get the 1/2 sheet of 3/4 ply from Jack's works shop. Get five - eight bags of feed. Get that old rug over in shop. Bring my extra oxygen bottle." I ran as fast as I could. Laughing to myself because of the steady stream of F bombs and Sh... coming from my gentle Margie. "Put the wood here, pull her feet there - shove the feed bags. - It was brilliant - we moved the mare on to our make-shift lift and raised her butt as high as I could. I finally had the mare's hind legs up at my chest with her head down. (Quite the up close and personal view.) When she was not in a contraction Margie was reaching for two hooves - back hooves as it turned out. The vet got there just in time to wait for the next contraction and pull the hooves up over the mare's belly toward her chin. It was very tight and the vet kept saying we needed to give up and save the mare by disecting the foal. Margie chewed him an new one like a drill sargent and let him know her attorney was looking him in the eye - if he wanted to walk away a hero he needed to listen up. A few moments later we had a foal out -pulled up over the mare's belly tail first - I lowered her legs and we removed the bags of feed under our make shift lift. Both mare and foal had the oxygen support of Margie's nasal canula inserted into the bottom of a styrofoam coffee cup and used as an oxygen mask. The vet was so thankful for the experience he offered to not charge her and she insisted that he at least let her pay for his travel time with a promise that if she ever called with an emergency again that he not doubt her and just get there. I thiink I even sucked a bit of the oxygen at that point too. We all went in for her wonderful coffee and to watch how the two did on the monitor. They have gone on to be have happy new homes. So teach your vets well. And use gravity as your ally.
Anyway - upside down foals. She had this occur a few times in her over 20 years of mini horse foaling. I got to witness one in our years together. Scarlett was in college and could not get there to help (she's a natural with horses and animals in general and she and margie were tied together at the heart beat level.) And Jack was out at work. He worked on oil rigs as a trouble shouter and was sought out by the best for problem wells everywhere they could get him. Margie was ever so careful with her breeding pairings. She always said that everytime we breed a mare we ask her to risk her life to give a live birth.
So of course it was in the wee hours of the morning - I had the early shift and had not been asleep very long when when she woke me. We ran to the barn and the mare was down and pushing. Margie did not have her strength as much as in the past and need me to be her muscle. She watch a few moments and said she thought something was wrong. We went in and found a bubble with a "hairy nose and mouth." In reality it was a tail and anus. And upside down. She began giving orders that I obeyed without a thought - get this, pull that - all the while on the cell to the vets - her first two usuals were on colic calls - an older vet with her third to call could come and was on the way. "Get the 1/2 sheet of 3/4 ply from Jack's works shop. Get five - eight bags of feed. Get that old rug over in shop. Bring my extra oxygen bottle." I ran as fast as I could. Laughing to myself because of the steady stream of F bombs and Sh... coming from my gentle Margie. "Put the wood here, pull her feet there - shove the feed bags. - It was brilliant - we moved the mare on to our make-shift lift and raised her butt as high as I could. I finally had the mare's hind legs up at my chest with her head down. (Quite the up close and personal view.) When she was not in a contraction Margie was reaching for two hooves - back hooves as it turned out. The vet got there just in time to wait for the next contraction and pull the hooves up over the mare's belly toward her chin. It was very tight and the vet kept saying we needed to give up and save the mare by disecting the foal. Margie chewed him an new one like a drill sargent and let him know her attorney was looking him in the eye - if he wanted to walk away a hero he needed to listen up. A few moments later we had a foal out -pulled up over the mare's belly tail first - I lowered her legs and we removed the bags of feed under our make shift lift. Both mare and foal had the oxygen support of Margie's nasal canula inserted into the bottom of a styrofoam coffee cup and used as an oxygen mask. The vet was so thankful for the experience he offered to not charge her and she insisted that he at least let her pay for his travel time with a promise that if she ever called with an emergency again that he not doubt her and just get there. I thiink I even sucked a bit of the oxygen at that point too. We all went in for her wonderful coffee and to watch how the two did on the monitor. They have gone on to be have happy new homes. So teach your vets well. And use gravity as your ally.
