A month has passed since he was born but I still can’t look at the photos and videos from that first hour. The day turned out well, of course, but the anxiety lingers.
I did not think he was going to make it.
Normally, I’m hands off on these things. Not that I have a whole lot of experience in this area—I don’t—but after watching him struggle for nearly an hour, shivering and exhausted, I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer.
The problem was the amniotic sac. Maybe mom could have worked it loose with a bit more time but I wasn’t going to take that chance.
I grabbed the rake and used the handle to slide it off his back legs, like pulling his pants down.
Mom was not thrilled with my involvement. But then I went back to cleaning the corral.
That’s the difference you see between the images at 2:40 and 2:45 in the following video.
I still think he’s small for his age. Perhaps he was born a week or two early. That would explain much of what I saw that day.
Yes, I’ve touched his nose but that’s it. No stalls, no blankets, no halters, no imprinting.
