Facts of life...

The horse business is never easy. You have your highs and your lows.  A fact of our horse business is that it's not just a business, it's our lives.  We've put so much time and effort into each and every horse that they are part of our family.  They are something special.  

One of the facts of life though is that things are not always rainbows and butterflies.  I've been raising horses for over 15 years and have been very blessed with relatively good luck.  Sure there's been a few bumps and hiccups here and there but in the big scheme of things, we've been very blessed. 

It wasn't what I was expecting when I walked to the barn yesterday.  Our broodmare, Punkin was by the barn and was acting funny.  She wasn't due to foal for another couple of weeks so I hadn't been really worried about her having her foal.  However, when I saw her I knew that things weren't right and she was having it then and it wasn't good.  Thankfully my dad was in town and was able to come right away to check her out.  (My dad is a vet.) He was there within minutes to our rescue.

My heart sunk when he said the words "the foal is dead", although in my heart I knew the sad truth already.  The head and legs were back and although she was pushing, there was no way she was going to get it out on her own.  Between my dad and my husband Philip, they were able to get the legs and head in position and deliver the dead foal, a beautiful sorrel stud colt with a star and Elvis' signature snip. It appears that the umbilical cord was detached leading to the death of the foal.  Punkin, although heartbroken over her lost foal, will be fine.  The outcome could have been so much different if we hadn't been there for her and I'm so thankful that we were there in time. Time will tell if we will ever have another Punkin foal, but with the loss of this one, I count my blessings in the foals she's given us already.  

The loss of this colt has hit us hard. We had such big plans for him and like I've mentioned in my previous posts, all of these colts are special to us and mean so much.  This business is full of hard work, sweat and tears.  We do our best to provide and protect but somethings like this are just out of our hands. Because we are dreamers, dreaming of that next foal, dreaming of what it can do and will do, we will continue on.  We will never forget what was lost, but we will always remember what there is to come.  

Proverbs 16:9 reads, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."  All this time we've planned for this foal, our hopes, our dreams will not be wasted.  We take comfort knowing that the Lord is leading the way. 

Punkin with her 2012 filly by Frenchmans Guy.

Punkin with her 2011 filly by Frenchmans Elvis.