Fée Rêve - Cara-Jean

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Name:	Fée Rêve
Age:	4 months
Height:	EH: 14.2
Gender:	filly
Breed:	Mustang
Colour:	bay

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Day One
≥♥≤
The Birth

I had arrived at the equine clinic with Miranda early enough that the two of us could bring in the horses who slept in the barn. We were both puzzled that Rikke, the Mustang mare that the two of us have nursed back to health over the past few months, was not out in her yard. We found her standing in her stall, a little irritable, but not seeming ill so that she had to remain in.

Leaving the mare, we continued with the barn chores and went into our stall (where we would be spending the night), to talk. I was taking a stab in the dark, and grasping wildly at straws in the pitch black, but I suggested that the mare might be pregnant, and Miranda and I took it from there as though she was. When we mixed her mash for dinner, I added a pregnant mare mixture of herbs to the feed.

It wasn't much longer before we realised how close to actual foaling she was and after I had wrapped her tail, we got a bigger stall ready and moved her. It wasn't much longer before her water broke and Miranda and I watched the birth of a perfect bay filly (which we found out later). What I thought was the afterbirth seemed to follow the foal almost instantly - which is really nothing to worry about - but it was the white membrane that became visible, followed by a pair of black feet, that began to set alarm bells off in my head. At this stage, Rikke was tired and there was no way that she was going to be able to push another foal out.

Miranda and I jumped to action and after washing our hands, we entered the stall. I moved the bay - her name is Fée Rêve (Fairy Dreamer), or just Fée (Fairy) - but that is to come... I picked the little foal up and moved her to the side of the stall so that she was out of harm's way. I then went to Rikke's head and comforted her, and every time she had a contraction, Miranda pulled the little black feet until the foal was free. Miranda did a great job with the baby - her name is Tanya - and before long the baby was breathing.

Fée struggled to her feet, followed by Rikke, and the mare walked over to her first foal and once she had herded the bay toward her sister, she inspected the tiny black. Mir and I then left the mother and her twin daughters to get to know each other.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but we went back to check on them and with the mare at the back of the stall and the foals alone, it wasn't hard to see that they hadn't fed. We entered the stall and with me holding the mare's head, Mir got the two fillies to drink that first precious colostrum, and they feed well.

Rikke expelled the afterbirth and I checked both of them and bagged them for Dr Carr to check later. We the left the mare and foals alone, Rikke had walked away from her daughters as soon as I had released her and the fillies sank into the straw for a sleep - it was now that Mir and I named them. And this is also when Dr Carr appeared - I couldn't believe that it was morning already!

After we had put blankets on the babies, to stop them from catching a chill due to the lack of motherly care. We, Miranda and I, are going to take over the care of the foals. Both from milking Rikke and also from supplementing their feeds with milk-replacement formula.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

≥♥≤
The Wide World

After the fillies had had a chance to rest and get over the trauma that comes with being born, and we'd been given the go-ahead by Dr Carr, Miranda and I found halters and leads in the tack room - I found a nice soft grey halter with a burgundy trim - I went in to find little Fée sitting on the ground, her legs curled up under her. I took my time showing her the halter and letting her sniff it all over and jiggled the buckles around so that the sound of them wouldn't spook her as the halter was put on. She was a little angel as I fastened the halter. I looped the lead through the ring so that if she pulled back, the rope would just feed out rather than forcing her to a stop.

Once she was on her feet, we followed Miranda and Tanya outside the barn. Walking from the dimness of the barn into the brightness that outside offered spooked Fée enough that she almost lost her footing as she shot back - with me moving with her - and then she calmed down so we could continue on our way.

Miranda chose the closest yard for the sisters to use and held the gate open for the bay and myself. Fée however had other ideas about going through the scary looking gateway - cause it looks so different from the stall door? - and dug her tiny hooves into the ground. Yes, I know, I could have just kept walking and dragged her in, but that would have taught her nothing other than to be terrified of what happens when she has the halter put on. Giving verbal encouragement, I wrapped my arm around her hindquarters and applied pressure. As soon as she stepped forward, the pressure was gone and she was given verbal praise. It took another couple of goes with the pressure but then she had passed the gate way and she was happy. To further reward her for her good work, I removed the halter. Yes, I understood that later when I wanted to bring her inside I could have issues with catching her, but I wasn't too worried.

Once Miranda had Tanya in the yard as well and the gate was secured, the two of us sat down and discussed the future of the twins' dam, as it was obvious that she didn't care about the babies. However, she would need to remain at the clinic for at least another month so we could get enough milk out of her to be able to freeze and store it to supplement feed the fillies.

It was magical watching the small bay filly as she explored her new surroundings, although she didn't move too far away from her sister. Her tiny ears were pricked forward, her eyes almost as wide as they could go and her nostrils were flaring in and out as she took in the scent of everything.

Just as I thought she was about to pluck up the courage and walk to the other side of the yard, instead, she walked over to where I was sitting, curled up not too far away and drifted off to sleep, even if her ears were moving like little antennae

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

≥♥≤
Learning the Basics

Teaching Fée to drink out of a bottle was probably one of the easiest things ever, as she'd only been on her dam once (and it was the foals that you had to reteach how to drink that you had problems with), and she quickly learned that the teat of the bottle was her source of food.

As Miranda predicted, milking Rikke was as easy as milking a house-cow. She had enough trust in us that we would touch her anywhere we liked, which included her udder, and she would placidly stand there as one of us held her and the other milked her - personally, I think she just liked the extra attention. The foals have been on the bottle for a couple of weeks now, a mixture of their dam's milk and mare replacement (of course, the liquids aren't mixed, we just alternate the feeds).

Even though she's still really young, I have already started Fée's training. I'm leaving teaching her to lead for another couple of months, as right now she's happy to just follow me around even though I still put a halter and hold the lead every time we walk from the barn to the yard and back again. I have however been working on getting Fée to let me touch her everywhere.

The clinic resident mare, Beauty, took an interest in the fillies when she was in the yard that Miranda and I talked it over with Dr Carr and the next day we put Beauty into their yard. The Thoroughbred mare couldn't have been happier, she instantly began nuzzling and lipping the foals and they took to her like she had taken to them. So, even though we are bottle feeding the foals, they have a surrogate dam who will teach them the ropes of being a horse - the one thing I know I can't do for Fée.

Although I have started Fée's training already, I am not going to push her, I'll work through things with her slowly to make sure that understands. However, I won't take things so slowly that she grows bored and starts looking for something fun to do - which is how "naughty" horses are created.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

≥♥≤
Wings of Time

It has now been two months since the night of the sleepover, it's hard to believe that that much time has gone by. We said good bye to Rikkie a week ago. We sold her to a lovely family who needed a companion for their daughter's competition horse, who had just lost his old friend. And the foals are on one bottle of mare milk once a day and the rest of the bottles are replacement milk.

Fée's dark brown foal coat fell out a month ago and she is now a couple of shades lighter, and because of this I have changed her colour from burgundy to turquoise, as the deep red is now much too dark for her coat.

The little filly's personality is now beginning to shine, she is quick and inquisitive, and she seems to love learning. No matter what I plan to teach her, she absorbs it like a sponge and wants to know more. In fact she reminds me a little of myself, where she always wants to know more than what I offer her. I have begun to teach her how to lead and tie up. She has picked up the leading thing quite well - rather than having the lead rope clipped onto the ring of the halter, I have tied some bailing twine onto the ring and have the lead clipped into that, so if she gets a fright and pulls backward, the string will just snap rather than her coming to a sudden stop. Although she leads well, Fée isn't so keen on the being "tied up" part and has gone through quite a bit of twine. However, she loves being groomed and will stand still blissfully as she is groomed. I have found her a Roma Grooming kit that is in the perfect colour.

I have found that the best thing about me handling Fée and Miranda handling Tanya, and them having Beauty when they are outside, the foals don't go into a blind panic when one or the other is removed from the yard. They now also have a colt to muck around with as Dr Carr picked up a Thoroughbred mare and foal at an auction and the mare had to be put to sleep, leaving her colt also needing bottle feeding - which is done by Annabelle Archer - and he also shares their stall too. Hmm, good thing we didn't paint it pink.

I have been worried that I am pushing Fée too fast and using one of the Academy computers I did some searching on the internet. I found a site that break youngsters in at six months. This information made me sick to my stomach, as a foal's bones have only just started firming up and they are far from ready to carry a rider - which I also saw on the site. I voiced my concerns about pushing the filly too fast to Miranda and also told her about the web site, and she was as shocked as I was. We both agreed that we weren't pushing the fillies beyond their limits.

The fact that I'll be graduating High School at the beginning of summer has also been plaguing my thoughts lately and I finally asked Miranda if she would continue Fée's training for me when I leave the Academy - because I have no doubt in my mind that I won't be allowed to remain in Blue Ridge once I finish school and my social worker has complete control over me for the next year and a bit.