Phoenix - The diary of an orphaned foal -

June 11, 2007

He's here!! Lady had her foal, and it is a beautiful coal black colt. Since Scooby, his sire, can only produce black we figure him to be a smoky black. He is so perfect and shiny! Lady is doing great. He's up and nursing just fine.

June 20, 2007

It's 3:30 p.m. I call Lisa to see what she is doing. She answers the phone sounding harried and says she'll call me back. A few minutes later I get the call. Lady is colicing, can I pick up some mineral oil and come quickly.

I throw the kids in the car and off we go.

When I arrive Lisa is pulling Lady around the yard, trying to keep her going. Phoenix is walking beside Lady. The temperature is approx 85 degrees, with a nice wind, but boy is that sun hot.

I take over for Lisa, her mother is now there and helping keep Lady moving. She is in obvious distress trying to stop and lie down every few steps. Lisa and her mother, Jan, are both trying in vain to contact a vet to come and check Lady. We move out of the sun and keep Lady walking in the shade.

Finally a vet is contacted, unfortunately he is a cow vet, but better a cow vet than no vet.

He comes, gives Lady a concoction of medication as we continue to walk her. One of the meds is a doozy (later explained as horsey-morphine). He also get's two pints of mineral oil down her. She is now more comfortable but we continue to walk in hopes that she will pass something and ease up her discomfort. At this point Lisa says it's more than just a tummy ache...something is wrong. Twisted gut is the general consesus. I try to stay optimistic. Lady is becoming dehydrated. We stop every so often to offer Phoenix some nursing, but she isn't producing much and if we stop too long, she tries to lay down so we need to keep her moving. Offer Lady water, which of course she has no interest in. Lady's respiration is out of this world. She is cold to the touch, her gums are now white, and her eyes are growing more distant by the minute. She has been in shock for quite some time and it's time to make a decision.

It's 6:51p.m. The call has been made. Lady has passed nothing, no gas, no poop, and she is in pain and respitory distress. Her sides have expanded she looks pregnant all over again. The vet is coming to end her misery.

The vet gets there, checks her over and declares her "dead on her feet". She is humanely euthenized, while Phoenix is held off to the side. She goes quickly. Phoenix, the 9 day old orphan, is then allowed to go see his mother in the hopes that he will understand that she is gone, and will not call for her and stress himself. He attempts to get one last meal from her, but she is dry.

The vet performs an autopsy on her then, and we discover her intestines to be 10X their normal size. He finds the twist high in her intestine. She was not a surgical candidate. The twist was so high and so tight. The only hope she ever had was if we would have had a surgical set up right there the instant that she twisted. Our nearest surgical set up is two hours away. She would not have even made the trip.

Phoenix is put in a stall with a nurse filly. Not to nurse on, but to keep him company. The attempt is made to feed him via a goat nipple, some goats milk. He's not real receptive, but we don't figure he's all that hungry yet.

Later we try to feed out of a bottle with no success. Phoenix just lost his mom and has no clue what he is suppose to do. We tried a bucket, that was no good either. He trys to nurse on his stall mate, who doesn't take to that very well! The good news is he is drinking water and eating nibbles of hay. Not by any means enough nutrition, but one less hurdle we have to overcome.

Jan decides to try her Morgan mare, Jessie, to see if she will let him nurse. She felt Jess could physically meet the demands of 2 nursing foals, and is a great mother. We held Jess and Phoenix nursed and nursed, but Jess didn't like him after he was done eating.

Lisa decides because Jessie is a very energetic mare, it was too much to ask her to spend the majority of her time in a stall to make sure Phoenix was eating every two hours.

I was up to the task of taking care of Phoenix, so the decision was made to bring him here!

June 21, 2007

8:05p.m. Phoenix is on his way here! We hastily clean out the foaling stall. The foaling stall is big. About 25ft x 15ft. Our two horses are allowed constant access to this stall usually, but they also have a large three sided shelter that is attached to this stall, and seperated by a half door that they can come in to to get out of the sun or weather.

I scoop up a truck load of wood chips and we lay those down first. Then straw goes over the chips for a nice soft bed. Lisa is bringing Lucy too, Lady's foal from last year who was born with contracted tendons in her front legs. She's a beautiful healthy yearling, and Phoenix's new buddy.

We unload Lucy and Phoenix and settle them into their new digs. Phoenix is kind of lethargic and quiet. I'm sure the stress of moving is not helping matters. We get about 80 ml of milk into him via a syringe.

I go out an hour later and get approx. 500 ml of milk down him.

Two more feedings overnight, first feeding I get 420 ml down him, second feeing 430 ml. I don't like using this syringe but it's the only thing he'll take! He slurps the milk down and I am afraid that he is going to get filled up with air and cause problems with a tummy ache. I would hate to cause him discomfort and have him start colicing like his mother did!

By the third feeding he recognizes me as mommy and whinnines and paces when I'm not in the stall with him.

It makes me feel good, even though I know he's in it for the food!! =)

June 22, 2007

My husband, Dave, checks him this morning and reports that he is much more responsive and active and has a bit of an attitude!! I think he's still a bit dehydrated, and will continue to feed him every two hours.

I taped him and he weighs 110lbs.

He attacked the syringe with much more gusto this morning! I think he's starting to feel good!! I was encouraged as he seeked out the food, instead of me bringing the food to him! He slurps and carry's on with the syringe. Jan is on her way to a neighboring town to pick us up some more Foal Lac and a bottle with a nipple for Phoenix. The syringe is working, but it's not the best solution, besides we're losing a lot of milk due to dribbling out of this mouth as he laps at the syringe.

12:20 p.m.

I'm trying the bottle and nipple combination out on Phoenix. I got in our fresh supply of goats milk so I mixed it with the Foal Lac and away we go!! The first try on the bottle was good. He sucked down half the bottle. Then he turned his head and didn't want anything to do with it. I patiently tried, then tried again...nothing. He absolutely refused to eat anymore. Well, the total amount that he SHOULD have is two 8 oz bottle's full. He only had about 4 ounces at this point.

6:45 p.m.

Poor Lisa has been stuck home all day when all she wants to be is here with her Phoenix. One of her kids was sick so she was needed at home.

Phoenix and Lucy went out into the paddock tonight. They needed some time out of the stall for some sanity! I switched horses around as I don't want my two yearlings stressing Phoenix out. He enjoyed his romp. I was attempting to get some photographs of him, but he was not far from his food source (me!). Silly boy. I am trying to keep in my mind that Lisa is not going to want a spoiled rotten little colt back, so I'm attempting to teach some manners along with giving care! We'll see how that goes!;)

He pounded two bottles tonight, for a total of 500ml of milk. He had gone three hours as I had baseball photographs to take, so he was particularily hungry. I will try not to do that to him too often.

I'm preparing myself for another long night of getting up every two hours=) Long term well worth the temporary loss of sleep.

Thanks to those of you who have offered your good wishes and prayers! Keep them coming!! Don't forget to sign our guestbook to let us know you were here!

______________________________________________

6:50 p.m. Jan just left. She came tonight to give me some literature on orphan foals, and to take her turn at feeding Phoenix! =) He was throwing a little bit of an attitude after his meal. It was funny to watch, but I'll have to discourage it. He pinned his ears back AND bit at her. Someone forgot to tell Phoenix not to bite the hand that feeds him!

While I know the behavior cannot be tolerated, I was encouraged none the less because it means he is healthy, and getting plenty enough to eat to feed the attitude!
While Jan fed, I picked the stall clean and was so happy to find Phoenix poop!! So the enema evidentally worked! So, he's eating wonderfully and his plumbing is working!

I'm gearing up for another night of every 2 hour feedings.

Phoenix is 12 days old!

June 24, 2007

I'm getting the hang of the night feedings and am able to fall asleep right after I climb back in bed. The night feedings last, from start to finish, about 35 minutes. Not a bad interruption and I count the next feeding two hours from the end of the last!! That stupid bat is in that barn every night, so one way or the other I have to get over my insane fear of the little winged rodents, and go in anyway...ish. I wish I had a bat trap to get rid of that nasty thing!

Phoneix is up to 2 1/2 bottles per feeding. Total ounces:25 Total ml: 740

Total weight gain of 14lbs

When he finishes his normal two bottles, I offer him another full bottle, but he has only been eating half of it.

He was a bit pushy after his bottles again this morning so I had to remind him to be polite to the one that feeds him! Fortunately, he's like a little sponge and doesn't question his two legged foster mommy!

I also witnessed another poo, but he had to strain for it, so I'll have to see what Lisa wants to do.

After he was finished with breakfast, I switched he and Lucy with my two and mine came into the stall and they went out. I'm going to let them have the morning outside, as mine usually are in the barn at this time of the day anyway. Phoenix needs to soak up some sun and Lucy was starting to develop and attitude from being locked up. I'll do my best to keep everyone happy here!

People on the online groups Lisa and I belong to have been so helpful I think I am going to start another page off of Phoenix's site, for resources and information on orphan foals. The resourses may not have been tried by us, but I'd like them to at least be accessible to others in our situation. There is nothing scarier than feeling alone in a stressful situation.

8:50 p.m.

Phoenix and Lucy spend a good majority of the day outside. It was good for them. They soaked up the sun and ran around a bit. A special treat came this afternoon, in the form of a nice green round bale, full of timothy/grass!! Lucy, in particular was thrilled! As a rule we generally do not do round bales, but this one was offered so we graciously accepted the offer!

A couple of things that are bothering me about Phoenix, and I'll be researching about them.
First, he's still a little plugged up. He is pooping, but it is hard and he has to strain to poo. This bothers me and I am going to see what we can do for him. If you have any suggestions, please do email me with them.

The other thing that is bothering me is the occasional aspiration of the milk. I know that this is a serious thing that can cause pneumonia, so I discussed with Lisa and I am going to start teaching Phoenix to drink from a pail instead of a bottle. I'd hate for him to become ill.

June 25, 2007

7:43a.m.

So the teaching Phoenix to drink from a pail sounded easier than it actually is! We tried twice last night but I am so concerned about him getting enough, I ended up bottle feeding him both times. He was not even slightly interested in that bowl of milk!! It surprised me a bit, because he does drink occasionally from the water trough. So the action is familiar to him. But what I did do was drop the bottle down even further. So now I hold it about level with his chest, lower than his withers. There was less milk, but he still aspirated a bit. That really, really bothers me and I will be placing a call to the vet to see what they suggest and what I should look for should this aspiration cause pneumonia.

Otherwise he continues to thrive. According to my measurments he gained another 3 lbs; he weighs 117lbs now. I noticed this morning that the bottoms of his back legs are really turning greyish, mousy color. He's such a pretty color, I hope he keeps the dark.

He and Lucy are outside again this morning munching on the round bale.

Enjoy the new pictures from this morning. I was really impressed when I looked at this pictures this morning, as I moved them into Phoenix's folder I noticed the dramtic difference between his first morning here, and this morning. I will post that for you to see.

Thank you again everyone for you help and prayers. Don't forget to sign the guestbook, even if you are a returning visitor!!

2:30 p.m.

I'm worried. Jan came today to feed Phoenix and he would only drink 4 ounces for her. I went out and fed after she left and he drank another 14 ounces, but he was acting different.

I took his temp and it is 100.7, with the digital thermometer, which is all I have. So that is normal. He just acts different. Nothing specific, I guess..just different.

So I have calls in to two different veterinarians. Hopefully one or the other gets back to me soon. I suppose "he's just acting different" isn't really a good explination of symptoms, but that's all I have to go on. A gut feeling. Let's hope it is wrong.

His next chow time is 4p.m. so we'll see how that goes and if I feel better about him then.

5:25p.m.

I just got off the phone with the equine vet. I am to keep an eye on him, but he highly doubts there is anything going on. Mostly because if this issue was going to cause a problem, it would already be caused a couple of days ago! He recommends keeping the bottle low and keep doing what I've been doing. I will continue to monitor him just to be sure, but his temp is good, he's eating good...the same amount he was eating before I upped it, so I need to just be diligent and keep on keeping on. Keep the prayers coming though. This is almost worse than being a new mom!! The worry!! So much can happen!! =)

He and Lucy have been out all afternoon in the fresh air and sunshine, so he'll be nice and tuckered out tonight!

7:01 p.m.

Ok, I am a bit more relaxed about things tonight. He ate normally again. I think perhaps he was thrown off a little bit by Jan. Just different hands. Not bad, just different.

I did give him a mineral oil enema because he strains Sooo hard to poo. I feel obsessed about the poo, but there are a lot of bad things that can happen from straining too hard to poo and it's one very easily remedied thing.

The milk is still coming out his nose when he lowers his head. But he didn't cough and there is no way that the bottle is higher than the mare's udder. The vet seemed to think that it may be going in funny, but not into his lungs as that would have caused issues by now. Again, I just need to relax and let the poor boy be!!

1:38p.m.

It is so hot and humid today, we ended up leaving Lucy and Phoenix in the barn. We opened it all up so there is a nice crossbreeze, for as much of a breeze as there is, and turned the fan on.

Lucy was quite warm this morning when she was outside so we'll leave them in for today and possibly try putting them out together when Dave gets home.

Lisa picked up two new lamb nipples. Phoenix was not amused!! He is not the slightest interested. I'll try again in an hour and see if his belly overrides his distaste of the change.

2:35p.m.

Tried again with the lamb nipple. HA. Not remotely interested. I know when he gets hungry enough he will eat. Hopefully I can hold out because I really think the lamb nipples will be better for him in the long run. I also don't want to go backwards, so I won't let him go too long without eating. Especially as hot as it is today.

10:40p.m.

I'm a horrible foster mother!! I gave up on the stupid lamb nipple!! It was over 90 degrees here today and he needed to eat, so I went back to the NUK nipple! He ate then!!

This evening I picked up some step 2 NUK nipples, which are a bit bigger. I have to open the holes a tiny bit more, but not too much. His 8 o'clock feeding took an hour and a half! But he accepted the bigger nipples with no fuss.

Lucy went out with Snickers and Storm (my yearlings) for a while by herself tonight. Phoenix chilled out in the stall with me. It was trying to storm and the ground was wet from rain, so I kept him in. Besides I'm not sure how my horses would be with him, and I'm not willing to take the chance.

After his enema today he had a big poopy and I think we're on track finally with that. sheeww. What a struggle just to get a boy to poo!

Heading to bed now. Going to try to go three hours between feedings tonight.

June 27, 2007

7:49a.m.

I went every three hours last night. It was almost worse for me!! I think I was sleeping more soundly when the alarm woke me, which made it harder to get moving! I also fought with the new nipples all night. The first nighttime feeding took an hour. I am trying to find the happy medium with the nipple hole size.

The morning feeding went well. He drank 3 full bottles, which equals out to be 27 ounces of milk. We must have unplugged him yesterday, because today he has the squirts!! It's not out of hand though. He has normal frequency, just runny when he does go. I'm not going to worry about it for the time being.

I tried letting everyone out together this morning. Started by introducing Snickers, my filly, into the mix. That went well. She sniffed at Phoenix and then went about her business. Phoenix hasn't learned the fine art of submission though, and if she tried to sniff his butt, he would let go with both barrels!! If she approached him from the front, his ears are pinned and he swings his head! She ignored him though and went back to eating. So then I bring out Storm, Dave's gelding. Different story. As I figured he would, he followed Phoenix around with his nose up Phoenix's rear end. So Phoenix let him have it, and Storm let him have it back! Fortunatly he was no where near hitting him, but that was enough for me, so Snick and Storm and currently inside the stall and Lucy and Phoenix are enjoying some outside time! If is kind of interesting watching Lucy take over most of the role of mother to Phoenix. She kept herself in between Phoenix and my horses most of the time! I am very impressed that a filly as young as she, would sort of take over as she has.

It has been a week since Phoenix was orphaned. I think he's doing remarkably well ˜

5:39p.m.

I have been a bad mommy all day today! Jan came over and fed Phoenix the last two feedings! I've been running all day getting ready for a wedding that I am in on Saturday.

Jan reports that he ate 3 bottles his first afternoon feeding and a bottle and a half his second feeding. It's another hot day here, so I'm thinking he just doesn't feel much like eating when it's hot hot hot outside!

10:35p.m. Phoenix made up for his earlier poor appitite by downing four bottles at his 10 o'clock feeding!! Little oinker!

The poor boy went from being plugged up to being a hershey squirt!! I'm giving it a day...hopefully it clears itself up!

some of the hunger or he'd be downing those nighttime bottles.

Lucy and Phoenix went out again this morning to enjoy the cool outside morning air.

June 29, 2007

3:25p.m.

I have gone to every 4 hours between feedings. It's really nice at night!!

Today is just an insane day so the update will be short. Tomorrow is a friend of mine's wedding that I am in.

Lisa will be doing this evening's feeding for me. Phoenix's runs are getting firmer..he's still runny but not nearly as runny as they were yesterday.

Will update more thoroughly after Saturday!! Have a great weekend everyone.

June 30, 2007

8:03a.m.

I moved horses around today so both sets can be outside at the same time. Give that stall a chance to really air out! My two are behind the house, and Phoenix and Lucy are in the paddock by the barn.

Phoenix has been consitently drinking 4 bottles per feeding the last couple of days, for a total of 36 ounces per feeding. Averaging 6-7 feedings per day.

It's getting progressively more difficult to get pictures of him, he's such a little shadow!! I noticed yesterday what a nice little round quarter horse butt he's getting!!

July 3, 2007

5:55 a.m.

Two new things. Yesterday I built a creep feeder for Phoenix. He want's little to do with the grain, but at some point he will want it and the feeder is all set. It passed the Lucy test. She was completely unable all day and night to get into it! Now hopefully the mice can't get it either!

Also, this morning I let Lucy and Phoenix out with my two yearlings. It is just too much for those two to be in the stall the majority of the time. Phoenix needs to excersize his limbs more, and needs to learn how to behave in a herd. I sat out and observed them for about 45 minutes and it looks like Storm is going to be the only one with any sort of issue with him. Storm just happens to be Phoenix's half brother! He chases Phoenix off the hay pile if he deems it his, but he does not chase him far. If Phoenix sticks close to Lucy, I think he will be just fine. She does not have the aggressive protectivness of a mother, but she does nicker to Phoenix when she moves and loses sight of him. If she was more protective of him, I wouldn't have any worries. For now, I am just going to observe them from in here and determine if it is safe to leave them all out together once the numerous hay piles are gone.

July4, 2007

Happy Independence Day everyone!

July 5, 2007

7:09 a.m.

Well it's been two days and the horses have been getting along spendidly. Phoenix and Lucy are, without question, accepted into the "herd". This morning I opened up some grazing area for them. It's been so dry here we don't have a lot of new grass growth. I have kept them off this area, and in the dry lot for a good month or better trying to get some good grass growth before I let them graze on it. It won't take them long to get it all mowed down. I like to let them get some good grazing time though, for sanity.

Phoenix has been nibbling a little on his creep feed. Not as much as I would like to see, but at least he knows it's there. I also put a bucket of replacement milk under the creep feed area so that he can drink that at will as well. I change that in the morning and evening. So far he still will have NOTHING to do with drinking milk out of a bucket! He almost acts offended if you dare suggest!

Lisa came over Monday night to see Phoenix as well as a good friend of mine, with her son. He's a pretty popular boy and everyone is pulling for him.

July6-8

I've been so bad at updating here. Was getting ready for a horse show and did not have the time.

July 9, 2007

5:49 a.m.

The past few days have been a rucus trying to get ready for my yearling fillly's first shows. Lisa and I were out of town showing on Sat. and in town showing on Sunday. Jan took over one feeding and my oldest son, Bryce, took over several others so Phoenix wouldn't miss a meal!

I'm going to head out and get some pictures when the sun comes up fully. Phoenix is getting big. He's eating anywhere from 4.5 (40.5oz) bottles to 5.5 (49.5oz) bottles per feeding. Still really munching the hay. We keep trying the bucket and hoping , but he's really not interested in the slightest. The creep feeding is going nowhere either, except the local mice are gaining weight rapidly! I'll also tape Phoenix today and see how the weight gain is going. He continues to eat every four hours during the day and waits 6 hours at night as I am no longer getting up with him.

I've been making him behave himself to get his bottles as he's been showing a little bit of attitude when he knows it's time to eat. If his ears are back he does not get to eat, rather he can back away from me until the surly attitude dissappears! He catches on really quick and it doesn't take too many times of backing him away until he settles down and asks nicely!

I was thinking about it last night and I cannot believe that Phoenix has only been here two and a half weeks! It seems like he's been a part of our lives forever!! I will be so interested to see how he grows and matures and if he has any negative effects from being raised as an orphan.

7:25 a.m.

I just got back in the house from taking pictures. Boy was he full of himself!! I find it really strange that a foal that has had so much human contact, really doesn't prefer the human over the horse! He is really not a very friendly foal. Although I've worked very hard to keep him at a distance, not get too attached, and make sure he is very sure of his place in my herd, I am still kind of surprised that he isn't more friendly than a "normal" foal of his same age.

Phoenix acts very much like our current yearling did at this same age. Prefers you leave him be, really does not like to be touched and considers you no more than a food source! A woman at the horse show asked me if he was an in-your-pocket baby, and my answer was a resounding NO! He is no more personable than any other herd baby at this age.

After raising two in-your-pocket foals, I much prefer the more aloof, "un-friendly" foals. It is my belief that they make more respectful adults.

Anyway, I regress..here are the pictures of Phoenix this morning. He is 4 weeks old today!!

July 20, 2007

6:35 a.m.

I just got done with chores this morning. A few things have changed since my last update.

I put Storm (the yearling with the bad cough) on a four day run of penicillin and his cough is gone. No more snotties in any of them. It sounds like Snickers might have a little bit of a cough left, but we'll see if it needs to be treated or not.

Phoenix has a small cut on his left front, outside pastern. It's not bad, but in such a place as to be dirty all the time!! We've recently had a bit of rain, which left it's share of mud. So the last two days it's been wrapped. Now that he's back in a clean, dry, stall, I have it unwrapped to get air.

Lisa and I have been discussing the plan with Phoenix, as he's just not growing as we think he should be. We decided to start feeding every two hours again. He was up to about 3 bottles per feeding, every two hours. When I fed every four hours he was eating 6-7 bottles per feeding, so more frequent feedings did not mean more milk...

He's still not interested in grain. I went so far as to manually place the grain in his mouth, to which he hastily spit it all right back out again! He is eating hay and grass, and drinking plenty of water.

So after some consideration, here is what we came up with. Jessie, Jan's morgan mare, had her foal in April, and he was ready to be weaned. So last night, Lisa brought Jessie here, and took Lucy (the foster mother/half sister) back home.

Last night Jessie would let a very enthusiastic Phoenix nurse, as long as we were holding her. So I let him nurse on her, then tucked them in for the night as she didn't show any aggression toward him. Just annoyance if he tried to nurse. Checked on him once last night and offered the bottle. He turned up his nose at it.

This morning I turned on the lights and saw Jessie standing so calmly, and Phoenix snorting down the nursing!! She was visiting with the yearlings over the gate, as he got his breakfast!! I was so pleased.

While I was cleaning the stall, watering and feeding horses he tried to grab some quick bites and she wasn't receptive to it, but I know overnight he had to have eaten as he turned down the bottle again this morning! I think in this case it is best to let nature take over and stay out of the way! It was real funny how I went from most popular with Phoenix, to nothing overnight!! I could not be more pleased.

Jessie hates to be stalled, and I'd rather not have Phoenix locked up either, but we're going to leave things how they are at least for today and perhaps tonight, or tomorrow morning, we'll let them out in the pasture for a while by themselves. I want them to establish a relationship before I introduce them into our little "herd". All this in preperation for when he goes home, where there are several horses in his herd, not just two or three!

If anyone has any information on nurse mares - how long it takes to bond - how to tell if it's going to work - how the mare acts once she's out with other horses etc, please do post the information in the guestbook or email me.

10:14 p.m.

Well, I've offered bottles all day and he's refused them all! I have not seen him nursing on Jess much but her bag is still nice and soft, and he's not hungry, so he must be nursing!! I checked on them about every 2 hours today, but didn't bother them.

Will continue to update.

July 22. 2007

2:45 p.m.

Another positive update!! Jessie has taken to Phoenix as if he was her own! I let them out together, into the pasture with my two and they have done wonderfully. He nurses as he wants, even abuses her as he would abuse his own mother!! She is patient with him, and protective of him. She nickers to him if he wanders too far and places herself between me and him.(since I am no longer his food source, he wants absolutly nothing to do with me!)

I think a good week or two here and they should be ready to go to their own home, with their own herd. I'd hate to take them back to Lisa's too soon, as Jessie's newly weaned foal is there. I think that would present problems between Jessie and Phoenix if they go back where Cruiser (Jessie's foal) is too soon.

Thanks for all the prayers everyone!! This seems to be a successful orphan story!! Will update with any changes or updates.

July 27, 2007

9:05 a.m.

Everything is still going great! "Mother and son" are doing awesomely together. We're thinking another two to three weeks and they will be heading home. I taped Phoenix this morning and he taped at 152#. His umbilical stump finally fell off too!

August 1, 2007

2:51p.m.

Well, we've had a bit of excitment today.

I got a new halter in the mail for my yearling, Snickers. So at 10:30a.m. I went out to the barn to try it on her. When I entered the stall I instantly thought something was strange as Phoenix was laying in the center of the stall. He always lays in the south west corner. I leave some hay in that corner so he has a nice soft bed. Then, as I was trying on Snicks halter, I saw him roll...then roll again, and roll some more.

I ran into the house and immediately called Lisa, PHOENIX IS COLICING!!

I went back out and my oldest son, Bryce, started walking Jessie, and I walked behind Phoenix attempting to keep him moving. Around and around we went. In the meantime I called our local vet and told him what was going on. I was instructed to give Phoenix orally a TBSP of epsom salt, dissoved in 16-20 oz of warm water. I was unable to leave Phoenix as he would immediately lay and roll if I wasn't pushing him forward, so I had to wait until Lisa got here.

Lisa got here in less than 15 minutes, she got about 3/4 of a container of mineral oil down Phoenix, and we then administered the epsom salt/water mix. Back to walking we went. The vet was expected in about an hour.

About 12:30 the Vet showed up. He gave Phoenix some anti spazmatic drugs, as well as a pain reliever. Respiration and hydration was good as well as temp. Few gut sounds, but as he explained, when there is trouble in that gut, the whole system shuts down.

He then administed about 1.5-2 gallon soapy enema to try to get things moving. We then walked them some more, and then let them rest. Within 45 minutes to an hour, Phoenix was back to nursing on Jessie and obviously feeling no pain! As of 30 minutes ago, when I came into the house, he still had not pooped though he's passing pretty consitent amounts of soapy water!

The vet is stopping back. I expect him shortly. I am about to go out and check Phoenix. Will update if there is anything to report, and will for sure update after the vet returns.

On a different note. I want to say, my oldest son, Bryce, has been absoutely wonderful today...

I am reminded continually what a good kid he is, but on days like today he is a real blessing. He not only did everything I asked him to do and was a great gopher, he also took care of his younger siblings, and even made lunch and delivered it to the barn for Lisa and I. After the rush and panic was over, he also cleaned the kitchen mess from lunch and continues to ask if I need anything. He is a real blessing and I thank God for him.

KEEP PRAYING!! We're not out of the woods yet!!

4:38p.m.

HE POOPED!! Never been so thrilled to see some poop in my life. Dave and I were out checking on him and he finally pooped. It was very very loose, really more like water than poo, but it was clearly poo. So we're on our way! The vet stopped back out and he said Phoenix looked really good and should be just fine. He did suggest that I start feeding him a quart of honey water a day to ensure that he gets enough fluid.

Will update again tonight if anything changes, otherwise will update in the morning.

August 7, 2007

10:36 a.m.

There were some requesting an update on Phoenix, so I decided to give it to them!

He pulled out of the colic with no issues. That same night I let he and Jessie out of the stall. He ran around like a wild-man, kicking and bucking and rearing onto his "momma'. Needless to say, he recoverd 100%..with no issues to date.

I taped the little turd this morning and he weighs 167#. He is quite stout, and very strong! I have done very little handling with him, for two reasons. First, he is not mine, and therefore I did not want to get overly attached to him. The less I handle him, the less attached I will become (at least that is the hope) Second, I tend to spoil babies. With him being hand fed, and around humans so much, I didn't want to spoil him and cause him to be a danger to people. Again, he's not mine so habits I create in him will be habits that someone else has to un-do.

So, with his lack of handling, he's not very friendly and I have to trick him to catch him!! Once I get my hands on him he stands nicely while I tape him and rub him down.

Jessie gets grained each night. I am hoping at some point here Phoenix shows an interest in grain. So far, he is not interested in her grain. He generally takes her supper time as an opportunity to nurse for a while!

Phoenix does like his hay and grass though, and eats pretty much all day long!

I will take pictures soon.

August 14, 2007

I went and visited Phoenix today. He looks so good!

Apparently Jessie's foal decided to take a liking to mom, so she is now nursing both foals. If it was any other mare, I'd be concerned. But this mare is a tank. So if her feed is kept up, and she has access to hay, pasture and plenty of water, I don't think she will have any issues nursing both. I was worried that she'd kick Phoenix off and take back Cruiser full time, but she hasn't.

Lisa promises me an update soon. When I get it, I will post it here!

August 16, 2007

The following update is from Lisa.

__________________________________

Deanna- My best friend in the whole world! I can't thank you enough for taking care of Phoenix for me in those first few critical weeks of his life and beyond. Having you lend a helping hand during this difficult time helped me out more than you will ever know!

Thank you for getting up with Phoenix during the night to make sure he had his bottle and missing out on so much sleep! Thank you for not spoiling him too much, I know that was hard for you to do! LOL! All the research you did to make sure he had just what he needed at all times. You tried many different things so Phoenix would be the happiest foal ever! I know Phoenix loves you for all the hard work you put into him. I'm sure he will grow up to be one awesome boy. This webpage for him will be cherished forever and is a reminder of what a wonderful, caring person you are:)

Phoenix is finally home and doing just great with his foster mommy, Jessie. He has wide open spaces to frolic with his mommy and all his pasture mates.

Folowing photos by Lisa.