The Ultimate Broodmare Compliment
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It is a compliment from a broodmare when she allows us to see her young foal, since she can be expert in blocking a view with her body. And it’s even more of a compliment when she allows us to handle her foal, whether it is disinfecting its navel, teaching it to wear a halter, or any of the other early-in-life handling chores we may choose to do with foals. But in my experience, the ultimate broodmare complement is even more meaningful.
I was visiting with a veterinarian on a Sunday, so she had her young son at the clinic with her. We were talking about pony breeding, and she explained to her son that we rarely get to see baby ponies born. I agreed with her, as I have mares whom have never complimented me by allowing me to be present when they give birth. This year, though, all three of my mares complimented me with that experience.
The first was Willowtrail Mountain Honey. I had attended her first birthing experience a few years before, so I was hopeful I would again receive the compliment of her wanting my presence. This time I had been monitoring her and could tell she had chosen to foal on a day when I had to be away for several hours. If it had been a less-important event, I would have re-scheduled it, so I was terribly upset to be leaving. Sometimes miracles happen, though, and when I told a friend about my dilemma, she immediately offered to come out to the ranch to sit with Honey while I was gone. At a discreet distance from Honey, my friend read a novel in the spring sunshine, enjoyed tea in the shade of a tree, and struck up conversations with Honey occasionally. Nonetheless, Honey chose not to foal while I was gone.
Willowtrail Mountain Honey giving birth to Willowtrail Robert
I arrived back home in the late afternoon and took over watching Honey. Every two hours or so, I checked her waxing and behavior. I went to bed without her foaling, and I set my alarm for every two hours. Honey could have chosen to foal, then, when I had just gone back inside but instead she waited until I appeared at 1am to begin the last stages of labor. Willowtrail Robert was born not long after. (I always ponder when the actual moment of birth is, since it’s not uncommon for hind legs, for instance, to stay inside the birth canal for several minutes after the rest of the body has greeted air. Some foals try to stand before their hind legs are fully ‘born’!)
It might be fair to say that a greater compliment came to me a few weeks later when it was Drybarrows Calista’s turn to give birth. The previous year she had chosen, with help from my timed monitoring schedule, to give birth without me there. So I felt especially honored that she chose differently this year, giving me the great compliment of wanting me there. Rambler was born shortly after midnight.
Drybarrows Calista giving birth to Willowtrail Rambler
Mare number three was Bowthorne Matty. Matty had previously had seven foals for me, and I had been honored to attend birthing for many of them. This time I almost missed the birth of number 8, Willowtrail Rory, because I forgot to set the alarm for the two-hour check. Bless Matty for sending me a wake-up call so I could be there!
Bowthorne Matty and Willowtrail Rory when he first stood at sixteen minutes
I consider a mare choosing to have me present for the birth of a foal to be the ultimate compliment she can give me because it is such a major physiologic and emotional event for her. And as a breeder, it is an incredibly meaningful one for me. In Carolyn Resnick’s horsemanship program, she considers her ‘Sharing Territory’ exercise to be the most important. It is about spending time ‘doing nothing’ with an equine but the reality is that it is very much about being present which can be more challenging than ‘doing nothing’ for us humans! Carolyn says that when done correctly, Sharing Territory builds a strong bond between human and equine. The time I spend with a new mother and pony is very similar to Carolyn’s Sharing Territory exercise, and I credit it and all the other relationship-building that I do with my ponies for the compliments they give me back.
© Jenifer Morrissey, 2022
You can find more stories like this one in my book What An Honor, available by clicking here or on the book cover.
