Marilyn's Ramblin'
Boss Lady's new Colt! By
The Boss Lady
Sunday, March 21, at 2:00 p.m. our new colt was born!!!!! He is
a GORGEOUS sorrel and white paint, and we waited 11 months and 21
days for his arrival.
Punami, the mare, started looking like she would deliver as we finished up a party the night before. Scotty and I made a cozy bed in the back of my pick-up truck and parked beside her pen so we wouldn't miss anything if she delivered in the night. This was especially important because what you do during the first hour of a foal's life is crucial for the imprinting process. This is a technique where you work with the colt for the first 24 hours so he imprints to you and is much more gentle, sweet, and easy to train as an adult. We were on pins and needles all night, but no baby had made an appearance by the time the sun rose.
Later in the day we noticed Punami was lying down in the pen. I rushed over and there were two tiny feet sticking out covered with the amniotic sac. Then she stood up -- not a good idea, and he fell out on his head, plop. He was in my arms immediately. I pulled the amniotic sac off his head, face, and down over his shoulders while his mom joined in licking him. Then Janice and I took towels and rubbed him dry. He is very strong, and amazingly enough, he was on his feet in about a half hour (with most horses it is at least an hour before they can stand). It was quite the funniest thing you can imagine -- all the staggering around trying to manage those great long legs.
Unlike most foals, once he was up, he stood up for over an hour and a half without getting tired or wanting to lie down. He wasn't too interested in eating either. He was much more interested in checking out the corral. Punami followed him around trying to get him to nurse, but he'd just take a lick and stagger off again for more exploration. That didn't make her too happy since her milk bag was quite full. She wanted relief and the little rascal wasn't cooperating.
This is SO much fun. He already is relaxing with us and lets us rub his ears, put our fingers in his mouth, and lift his feet and tap on them. Punami is a good mare and a good mom. I'd been working her for a couple of weeks so she'd get used to me. She nickers to him and gets a little concerned, but let's us do our thing with her precious child.
After the imprinting work I sat in my golf cart and watched him and the mare for about an hour and a half. Since his birth, we have been playing with him daily, and he’s had lots of visitors who join us in sitting on chairs in the corral, watching him, rubbing him, and enjoying a very special kind of magic.
We named him “Cracker Jack” after his daddy, Commander Jack, and because he’s the color of Cracker Jacks. When you come to the Ranch, you will just have to see this great little colt. Yahoo!!!!
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