At the time of the pre-purchase exam, it was agreed that rather than "disturbing" this big Friesian mare with an internal exam, that a quick history from the barn manager was enough. She was maiden and had no sign or history of infection. The mare was obese (you could see the rolls of fat) and the vet advised that if.  I wanted to breed her in the spring then she better loose a few pounds.  We took her home and fed her appropriately.  End of January we arranged for a trainer to start working with her as she was looking good. We were going on vacation for a week on February 18th and we decided to make a walkout stall and paddock for Whisper as this would be easier for those looking after the animals and she could throw her weight around if she decided to. We finished on February 06, I also dewormed her that day with Ivermectin.

On February 08 I went in the early a.m. to feed the horses and there was Whisper with her filly. At first I did not even know what it was.  She was standing behind the mare and all I could see was very bent legs, I first thought it was a wet dog and when I bent to see under the mares belly, I saw that little friesian face and then I saw the short umbilical cord protruding from the mare and then literally slapped my own face.  I ran for the barn phone and I called the vet. He was just as surprised.  The mom and babe were both outside and it was cold.  I brought her to a clean stall and recognized right away that the filly was having difficulty breathing.  I thought maybe she had aspirated. Checking the mare’s original stall I found the fluid was still running down the wall.  I had just missed it. 

All four fetlocks were on the ground and he suggested that if she survived the lung issue, that the legs would straighten on their own in a few days or even a week. She is two days old in this picture.  I could see her strong spirit; she had a lot of will in her.  For the first few days she could barely stand to suckle, struggle back to me, where I would sit in the corner of the stall on a big wool blanket, lie down with her head on my lap and then I put the oxygen to her nostril.  She quite often would fall asleep staring up into my face, just blinking. I would just caress her and listen to the music on the stereo, enjoying every minute I could. On the second day she was not able to lay in an upright position, only down flat.  Her breathing sounded rattly but not from the lungs, more like weakness in her throat, causing almost snoring sounds with gurgling. There were some very rough moments, where she would stop breathing and I would rattle her on my lap to get her to breathe. She got worse before she got better. It was about the fourth day that the vet checked her lungs and found her to be functioning normally; He admitted he was very surprised. I was so glad for her (and me too as the barn floor is not cozy after four days in February)

Her front legs straightened within a few more days but the back fetlocks were wrapped and any time she went outdoors, for protection. She would see me coming with the vet wrap and cotton and start bouncing about the stall.  I wasn't sure if she was excited because she knew it meant she was about to go outside or if she was a stinker about having to hold still for the wrapping. I began to think that I would good at hog tying.  Vet, farriers, experienced breeders; all advised that she will come up on her own.  I wasn't worried, she was over the worst.  This picture is Tifrons wearing Cody's (my friend's dog) red coat. Poor Whisper, she was feeling it too. Just after this picture was taken, I shot a great video of Tifrons flying around the paddock. She had such a strong spirit and energy. She deliberately would show off when I was there or visitors came.