Notes from Maine - 2025/03/23

On Wednesday evening, after a long day of waiting, Maybelle (spotted draft) gave birth to a beautiful little filly (pictures below). For more than a month, Maybelle has looked ready to deliver. The vet who examined Maybelle at the beginning of February said she was getting close. But we had to wait, and wait, and wait.

When it was time, everything went very smoothly. In anticipation, I let Maybelle into the barn where her stall was already filled with straw. Shavings can cause lung irritation in newborns, so they’ll be on straw for a while. The whole process took less than twenty minutes. I had to help the baby to her feet after an hour of semi-successful attempts, but she has been strong ever since.

Maybelle is an amazing mother. With every movement or step, Maybelle accounts for precisely where her baby is. She’ll let her little angel run circles in the paddock, but if the baby strays too far Maybelle will give a little vocalization to remind her to return. It’s such a joy to sit out in the barn and watch them. Earl (the father) poked his head out from his stall to peer around the corner. For the first day or so, Maybelle would give him the hairy eyeball and he would disappear back into his stall again. Now she lets him see his daughter from a safe distance. When I turn Earl out into the pasture, he stands near the barn most of the time instead of eating his hay. He has to adjust to spending some time alone again. In the course of a normal year, he’s on his own for about 5 days out of 21. But for the last year, with Maybelle pregnant, they’ve been together every day. They’re in adjacent stalls in the barn, but Earl is now spending time outside alone for the first time in a year.

This is her second baby—the first was born in 2021. I’m going to put pictures of both sisters below. It’s incredible how similar they look. One of the vets came and did a postpartum checkup on Maybelle. She’s doing well, but the vet recommends that this be her last baby. Maybelle’s age is unknown, but she’s up there.

The baby is a little angel. We’re calling her Lilly. She’s curious and energetic. Mother and daughter get very limited turnout, per the vet’s instructions. Lilly uses every second outside to run and jump. Lilly has three modes—play, nurse, and sleep. She cycles to the next mode every couple of minutes. It’s a busy, busy life.

Little baby horses grow up so fast. It’s amazing to go out each morning and see her already looking bigger and sturdier than she was when she was born. She’s less than 100 hours old and she has grown so much.

By the way, if a vet ever invites you to join them in examining the placenta, a good answer is a quick, firm, “NO.” You want to have that image stuck in your head? I wish I hadn’t looked, and I typically like gross things. It was bad enough having to tie it up so that Maybelle didn’t step on it. And it was even worse to have to collect that giant, cold jellyfish to save it for the vet. A close examination the next morning was completely unnecessary for me to be a part of.

That’s the story of sweet Lilly. I would write more about her but I’m going to go sit in the barn and watch her.