LABOUR, BIRTH & FIRST FEW HOURS

Laura dropped Whisper off at the stud on 11/02/13 when she was 322 days pregnant. This was so she could get all settled back there before she went into labour. Her due date came and passed with still no sign of the foal. At this point I was back at University in Oxford and constantly on edge in case I needed to jump into my Clio and drive back as quickly as possible so I didn't miss anything. As she became more and more overdue, I forced myself to put it to the back of my mind and focus on my work.

Laura and Whisper at 322 days pregnant

On 28th March, exactly a year and one day after Whisper was covered, I received a phone call from Laura telling me that Whisper had given birth at 8am that day. (Cue me throwing the contents of my wardrobe into a box and bolting out the door whilst simultaneously chugging caffeine drinks to keep me going after just 2 hours sleep the previous night!)

Apparently Whisper had 'bagged up' a little bit the previous night, so Phil (the owner of the stud) had been keeping a close eye on her since. He went off to do some other work and came back to check on her again a little while later, and the foal was just there. If you know Whisper, you'll know that sort of fuss-free behaviour is so typical of her. You have to laugh - even when birthing something she still stays true to character and doesn't make a big deal of it. "Yeah I just gave birth - and what?"

For the first few hours, Phil said she was a bit neurotic and she didn't quite understand what was going on - understandable! However, a while later she seemed to bond more with him, and became quite protective. (Basically, watch out for biting teeth and striking hooves if you dare try and take him from her!)

Whisper and the foal at 7 hours old

We arrived at the stud at 3pm and immediately rushed to see the foal. After congratulating a very proud-looking Whisper and telling her what a good job she'd done (yes, I do treat her like a person) I turned my attention to the ball of fluff on 4 very long and wobbly legs. I was surprised at how bold he was - stumbling his way straight over to us as soon as Whisper let him (she's a protective momma).

The foal at 7 hours old

Health-wise, Whisper was peachy. Like I said, she doesn't fuss. The only thing I will say is that I think her teats must have been a bit tender. Every time he went to suckle she let out a cross between a squeal and a grunt - but didn't lift her back leg or anything. What a trooper! The foal had some gunk in his eye and also had trouble passing droppings for the first 12 hours, but after everything got moving these issues seemed to resolve themselves. Phil text Laura the next day saying that he'd just seen the foal cantering laps of the stable with Whisper following him round. Being a tinker and annoying mom already, typical boy!

Tired baby - 7 hours old