Corki was known to carry her foals longer than most. The average mare carries her foal an average of 340 days - 11 months. With her previous three she had gone close to or over 12 months. That gave me extra time to hang on the stall front and watch her. She loved it when I brushed on her during that time, nuzzling me when I would pause. She actually would position her body so the brush landed in the spot she wanted brushed. Someone once said that she enjoyed the special treatment so much that she deliberately held out, stalling for time. I'm sure that wasn't the case but I surely did enjoy that special time we shared.
One evening in early May that uncomfortable feeling was tugging at me. I was hanging on the stall front, praying for God to watch over Corki and the foal (its name was already Sparky - filly or colt, Sparky it was). I truly felt Jesus there with me. I felt his hand on my right shoulder and I heard/felt him tell me that everything was going to be okay. WOW. That experience was so powerful that I gave my testimony of it at church the next Sunday. No.... I'm not a crazy lady, really. I just feel that I have opened my heart and soul to the Holy Spirit and He knows He is wanted and appreciated in my life.
A week or so passed. I've told the story before about my Father-in-Law being my day watchman while I'm at work. He called me home at noon a couple of times. Everything was okay the first few times and that's alright. I'd rather be safe than sorry. On May 21st he called again at noon. I figured it was another false alarm but she was three weeks over and each day could be the day. I couldn't, and wouldn't take a chance. For one, I do everything I can to make sure I'm there for the blessed event - to experience God's miracle of birth - to hear that first whinny. For another we have a pretty healthy investment involved and while most mares will deliver fine on their own there is always a risk.
When I walked into the barn I could hear her labored breathing. Entry into her stall showed me something very frightening. I didn't know at the time what I was looking at but later found it was her intestines sprawled out on the stall floor. Lord help us, please! The intestines were coming out her vagina! She was laying down so I stepped over the intestines and got positioned so that I could reach inside her - searching desperately for feet or a head but I felt NOTHING - no feet, no head, nothing. Immediately I called my vet and told her I had and emergency with Corki (she knew the mare was overdue). I called John, he had just sat down for lunch but said he'd come right home. Then I called my dear friend John Moyer. He was closest and I needed help NOW! He got there first, and then John. Dr. Cave had asked me to keep the mare up and moving but since I didn't know what I was looking at and couldn't tell her she thought it was a different emergency situation than what it was.
The guys were able to get her up and out in the shedrow but then she collapsed in pain. We decided it best to keep her down so we took turns laying on her neck and head until Dr. Cave got there, and that was pretty timely considering she was about 40 miles away from us at the time of the call. Once she arrived and quickly evaluated the situation everything kicked in to save the foal. John had the foresight to start milking Corki to get the colostrum (first milk) that is so important to the new born. Doc heavily sedated Corki to ease her pain. I stayed at her head trying to comfort her, or maybe it was to comfort me.... John M fetched the items that Doc needed going forwarded - two bales of straw, iodine for the navel, blankets, and whatever else she needed. Doc began to cut, performing what would be like a C-Section to a woman, John helped her where he could. Doc had told me that since the mare was sedated the foal would be also. She must have told me that so that I wouldn't be alarmed at what it looked like when it came out. John had not heard her and he thought for sure the foal was dead. It wasn't.
We used the two bales of straw to hang the foal over so that it was upside down, allowing the fluid to drain out of its lungs. Doc gave Corki the final shot that would euthanize her and I saw her blink her last blink with her oh so kind eyes. We worked as a team rubbing the foal, gently pounding on its chest and back, all the while with it hanging upside down. I'm not sure how many minutes passed but in time the foal started coming around. I don't think it liked being upside down too much. John took a minute to check to see whether we had a filly or colt. He proudly announced that it was a stud colt (boy). At that point I didn't care - I just wanted it to live. Within an hour Sparky was standing on his own. Doc took some of Corki's milk and tubed it down his throat to make sure he swallowed it.
John M had cleaned out Corki's stall so we put Sparky in it. He looked so pathetically small in there by himself. Dr. Cave had some powdered mare replacement formula at her office and John M volunteered to go get it for me. I went into the TSC in Marion to get a lamb's nipple. John was going to stay and get Corki moved out of the shedrow to behind the barn until I could figure out what to do. It was the Thursday before Memorial Day Weekend and it was warm - we couldn't wait too long. I didn't really want to send her on a rendering truck.... she was my friend, but we didn't have the equipment needed to bury her. On my way to town I called a couple of friends/neighbors that I thought had a backhoe. By the time I got back home another dear friend, Frank Payne was already there with his equipment. John had her moved to the spot and she was buried as quickly as Frank could dig the hole and they could get her in it.
The next task was to get Sparky to nurse on the bottle. The lamb's nipple was perfect in size for him but it wouldn't fit on a water bottle. After this very trying day I had popped a Corona beer (in a bottle)..... maybe the nipple would fit on it...... yep, it fit perfectly and he took to it like he'd been doing it all his life, well I guess this was all of his life, but he took to nursing very quickly.... the only problem being all the air that developed in the glass bottle. It wasn't like I could throw him over my shoulder and burp him. I felt like I needed to get him to drink out of a bucket, especially since would be going back to work after the holiday weekend. My buds didn't have much hope in that happening..... oh, ye of little faith......
The next morning I went into Marion again to get feed and pick up snacks for John's Indy 500 trip. Before I left I hung a little "blue bucket" on the stall wall at a level that I thought okay for the little guy. He had already drank all of Corki's milk so I mixed up some mare replacement formula and put it in the bucket. I asked God to help him figure out what to do. When I got home, maybe two hours later, it was all gone! Praise the Lord!!!!
So I lost my dear friend, Corki. She was the first foal born on our farm and when she was little I could scratch her belly and she would lay down on my lap like a dog. We were great buds. So you might ask how I can say that God was here during this tragedy but stop and think about it....
If my Father-in-law had not called me home yet again, we would have lost both of them.
All of my support people were able to get here in a timely manner - even my vet was not on another call but still the furthest away.
Dr. Cave, whose been our vet for over 20 years, is so knowledgeable in mares and foals.
Sparky lived and is actually thriving.
He was drinking out of a bucket on the second day.
We were able to bury Corki here on our farm. She will always be with me.
That night back in May, I felt Jesus tell me everything would be okay and each and everything is okay. Certainly not the way I would have liked for things to work out, but it is okay.I will NEVER EVER forget you Corki girl!
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