Tilly

The big brown mare towered over everyone and everything around her. As long as she could remember, she looked down upon the rest of the world. In the manner of man and his inclination toward measurements, she was determined to be 17.3 hands tall. In the manner of horses, there were few American Quarter Horses (even those with some Thoroughbred heritage like her who were as tall as she). Although she was a veritable giant, Tilly was a kind and childish mare. She had spent a brief part of her life as a show horse carrying a rider in refined English garb mounted on a tiny postage stamp leather saddle. But, now she was going to be a dam. Her first foal would be arriving tonight and she was apprehensive.

Tilly paced back and forth in the stall- trying to relieve the nervous tension as well as the tightening band around her midsection. Over the past few weeks, she had seen the other mares take their turns becoming mothers. One by one they had foaled in the stalls around her, some easy but some difficult, and Tilly had become unsure. She knew that her time was approaching and because she was a maiden, she did not know what to do or expect in the next few hours.

The band of muscles tightened again around her belly and Tilly's knees buckled for a moment. Suddenly, she felt very tall and thought to lie down. She circled the stall to find a spot that suited her and settled upon an extra fluffy area in the back corner. She paused for a split second, then curled her front and hind legs simultaneously and landed rather ungracefully in the yellow pile of straw beneath her with a "whoosh".

This time the band tightened more harshly and she noticed that it was more painful. She turned her head backwards to look at her sides trying to determine the source of her discomfort. Curling her knees ever more tightly against her body, she let out a long breath. Brittney snapped a lead rope to the brass ring at the base of her halter and asked her to rise. Tilly disagreed with the plan and lay down flat on her side- this time feeling an overwhelming urge to push. With each contraction, she strained hard and arched her back. With every push and stiffening of her hind legs, her rear end moved closer and closer to the wall behind her.

Soon, both foaling attendants were insisting that she stand. Tilly was focused on the singular urge within her body which demanded that she push NOW! She bore down with the band of muscle and hormones now and was barely aware of the people. She had unwittingly shifted her three quarters of a ton body until her rear end was wedged firmly against the wall of the stall. With each tremendous push, the unborn foal was pushed against the unmovable oaken barrier. Brittney frantically tugged and pulled to encourage Tilly to stand so that the waiting foal had room to be born. Khris dangerously squeezed past the large mare's large hooves as they rammed backwards with each strong push to grasp the tiny white hooves which were trying to emerge from the mare. Between the mare's buttocks, there was a small area which she began to manipulate the foal into. Pulling downwards with each heavy contraction, she brought the foal out of the mare and down between her  hind legs until the chest was exposed and only the hips remained inside the mare.

Then, there was no more room. The already tight area between the mare, the wall, and the empty space between the mare's buttocks were all full of foal. Now, if the mare were to rise, the foal was at risk of being injured. Her hind limbs were still imprisoned in the mare and could rip, tear, or damage her delicate rectal tissues which lie just above the birth canal. Exhausted from the effort of pulling the squeezed foal halfway out of the mare, Khris moved to her head to ensure that she did not rise and Brittney phoned for backup. The mare must be moved and this was not a job for two people. They waited and rested- humans, mare, and foal alike for more help to arrive.

Within moments, Wayne entered the stall and a plan was formulated. Tilly still felt the strong contractions and knew her job was not finished. She continued to strain and push- unaware of the scrambled activity around her. Wayne and Brittney attached a cotton rope to her hind legs and with a huge effort, pulled Tilly's rear legs forward trying to gain any free space. Then, Wayne was able to pull the foal's hips from the mare. The entire group stood gasping from effort, adrenaline, and exhaustion. The tiny red and white foal began her life's dance as her long limbs flailed in front of her.

Tilly closed her eyes in relief and breathed deep heavy breaths- relieved that the force and pain were gone instantly. She noticed the small horse in the straw beside her and nickered a faint greeting. The filly nickered back memorizing the sound of her mother's voice. The people jumped into their routine of releasing the foal's  umbilical cord, harvesting colostrum for the foal's first nutrients, and other intrusions that seemed necessary to a person. Soon, mother and foal were lying nose to nose and meeting one another for the first time.

(This is the accounting of Tilly's delivery. She foaled against the wall and we were unable to get her up to reposition her body. Although Tilly would have delivered the foal easily, her proclivity to lie in corners and against the wall would have been the demise of her filly if this foaling was unattended. She was hell bent on pushing and likely because she was a maiden mare, actually thought to push her rear end against the wall to relieve the discomfort. As you watch our foaling cams, you will notice that mares in labor often push and rub their tails against the stall walls in an effort to rub away the pain. As a side note to foaling attendants, maiden mares often get themselves into precarious positions during foalings and it is important to try to get them up and repositioned before they begin the final stages of labor!)