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On May 23, 1997, Tanya found Happy had already foaled at 5:30 am. The baby was against the back wall and the birth sack was by the door. Tanya's Mom , Shirley, got dressed, rushed out and tried to tend to the foal.   (Note-the mare was only 321 days along. The filly had hind legs that did not point down and her head had been wrapped around her right shoulder in utero. Consequently, the foal could not stand up on her own even though she desperately wanted to.)

At 8:30 am, Dr. Rich Sanford came out and examined the foal. He gave the foal a shot. At 6:30 p.m., Chris Brown and his kids-Colin and Aubrey-came out to help with the foal.(NOTE: The baby had to be fed from a bottle laying down for the first 24 hours. After that two people had to hold her up to nurse and to learn to walk.)  Shirley's regular vet, Dr. Susan McCartney, came by the next day. She gave the foal a vitamin shot to help straighten her legs. During the next two days all of us slept and took turns with the baby. She would lay next to us with her head in our laps until she wanted to get up and eat again. We all hope that she will live.

All the cats were in the stall a lot trying to see what was going on. In the next couple of weeks, as the filly tried to learn to walk by herself, she tried to get a drink of water and fell in the water barrel. Aubrey was trying to help her and she got hit o the lip with the foal's head. Aubrey was OK and so was baby. Tanya would bring carrots for Happy so we could hold the baby up to nurse off of her. Happy is part thoroughbred and part Appaloosa too. She has spots on her nose and eyes, too.

One morning at 9:15 am the manger and stall got swarmed with a bunch of wasps. Shirley's husband took care of them. If she cannot start to walk by herself by the end of June, she might have to be put to sleep.

As the days go by she is soon trying to walk by herself. We have all stayed and took turns and we are all pretty tired! It's June 24th and the baby is walking by herself and trying to run! She is doing good and Shirley says that she is going to keep trying to make her like a regular foal should be.

THE END

Colin's art....