14 Days

Today's blog is a guest blog by a friend and customer who visited us this Spring. Here is her accounting of her time spent at Fields Quarter Horses!  Written by Debbie Spork.

1. I have lambed, calved and babied (as in human....new use for the word). All I was wanting to do was foal. Ladies was that asking too much?

2. For 14 days in March and April, I lived and worked at Field's Quarter Horses. It was fun, exhausting and a learning experience. I was hoping to get lots of hands on foaling and although only KC cooperated, there were still things learned.

3. How phenomenal Chevy really is and how talented, quiet and beautiful his foals are. (Not new knowledge)

4. Khris and Wayne drink A LOT of caffeine.........and I mean A LOT.

5. How to clean stalls bedded with straw. ( I got really good).

6. What a red bag looks like. (Early separation of placenta.....not good for baby)

7. How to treat the above. (Watch baby for signs of brain swelling. Treat baby with IV DMSO. Check IGG level on baby to check if he received enough colostrum.)

8. Learned to look not only for slower activity in a dummy foal, but also ankle swelling as a precursor of brain swelling.

9. What Placentitis looks like. (Yuck)

10. How to treat above. (uterine lavage for mama, SMZs for baby)

11. The procedure for collecting Chevy at Rood and Riddle and how the semen is processed in the lab for shipment. (Very interesting!)

12. Did I mention how much caffeine Khris and Wayne drink?

13. What a great lesson Gary Trubee gives and how talented he is as a horse trainer. How lucky Fields Quarter Horses is to have him at their facility and what a great opportunity for Amber to work with one of the best.

14. While moving loads of hay in the pickup, learned how strong a little piece baling twine really is. (At times, really thought we were going to loose the load)

15.How cute Shelties are..... (Heidi you can come live with me anytime)

16. How to do milk testing.

17. During foaling season, breakfast is at Waffle House.

18. How busy Khris and Wayne are during foaling season, hence the GALLONS OF CAFFEINE they consume.

19. How much caffeine I should have been drinking.

Last spring a friend and I stopped at Fields for 2 days. I went to see Sage and her foal Myah. While there I bought Chevy Metal. During that visit I was hoping to help with foaling. None of the mares cooperated.   This year, I figured if I stayed 2 weeks during breeding season, I would definitely help foal lots of babies. During my 14 days at Fields Quarter Horses, I worked, learned and gained new friends. My only complaint is that the mares were not given a copy of my itinerary.

And the last thing I learned while at Fields Quarter Horses............................................ full moons, a change in weather or low ph milk testing has no bearing on when a mare is going to foal. Just send Debbie back to New Jersey and they will all start popping.

Thank you Khris and Wayne for the opportunity.
Debbie Spork
Owner of future World Champion Stallion, Chevy Metal, aka Ozzy.