Stormy’s Story: The Surprise Birth of a Colt

Joe, the owner of the horse stable, called on March twelve, nineteen ninety-four, which was a cold and dismal morning. He stated that my horse Lucy had given birth to a colt in the middle of a sleet storm. A field hand was looking for another horse and by chance found Stormy. Astonishment flowed throughout my body. I did not know Lucy had been pregnant.

The air was filled with anticipation on the drive to the stables. When we, my parents and I, arrived, there was Lucy standing in a stall and beside her was a wet furry mass. Immediately we named the colt Stormy.

Dad said, “He wouldn’t stand up, his back leg was bad, and his eye was closed. I thought he was either going to be blind or lame.”

Two hours elapsed before the vet inspected Stormy. My dad went to the store to buy some foal formula. After his visit to the store, he went back to the stable.

A couple of women, who were boarders and had a mare give birth, told dad that he was doing things all wrong. They noticed that Stormy had problems nursing from Lucy and said that the colt should receive assistance. Both women volunteered to milk Lucy in order to feed the foal.

Episode II – The Foal’s Recuperation

When Mom and I arrived at the stable, the veterinarian was examining the foal and made the confirmation that Stormy was a male. Lucy and the foal were taken to a less drafty stall. The vet suggested that we buy a heat lamp and water bottle for Stormy. Both women continued to milk Lucy and feed the colt his mother’s milk. Nursing without assistance was still a big challenge for him. After a while, I milked Lucy and fed the foal. He was too weak to get up. The average time that a baby horse gets up to feed from his mother is 57 minutes from birth. It took Stormy considerably longer accomplish that task.

Before my dad arrived with the heat lamp, we put a blanket on the foal to provide warmth. Stormy was also supplied with his mother’s milk. The colt’s temperature was below normal. He would get up for a few fleeting moments and fall down. Four hours passed before Stormy would be able to stand up on his own. Even after that, the foal was guided to feed from his mother. I observed that one of the colt’s back legs were too unstable to stand on.

We left the stable at six o’clock that night and returned at 5 o’clock in the morning. My state was of utter surprise when I saw Stormy nursing by himself.

Episode III – The Foal’s Progress

After two weeks Stormy and his mother were ready to make an excursion out into the outside ring. Happy to be free of confinement, he jumped up and down. The colt galloped at a very fast pace in sporadic jolts. He also knocked down barrels and started rolling them.

For the next couple weeks, we visited them at 5 a.m. The vet gave us eye drops to put into his bad eye. A decision was made to put both horses in a small yard because we thought Stormy, being an equine youngster, could not defend himself against other horses.

During the course of time, Stormy became a little biter. When another horse would peer over the fence, the colt would bite it. I guess it was his way of saying hello.

Stormy grew big enough to be released in the border’s field with his mother. The other horses were curious and ran after them. I was concerned but things worked out.

As Stormy grew, so did his exuberant personality. The horse’s tendency to test me became quite evident. For example, he would toss his head and fling the feed bucket from out of my hands. Today Stormy is a happy healthy eleven year-old. He is tall, sixteen hands, and towers over his Mother, who is small in stature. Never having any experience breaking and training horses, I accomplished these tasks with Stormy. Life can surprise you.