Hope

Somethinaboutmaggi was the kind of thoroughbred mare you don't get to see very often. She was
stunning to look at, towering over me at a true 16.2 hands- and large bodied enough to look far more
like a warmblood mare. Maggi raced quite successfully, and recovered from a series of injuries to race
again. She had the heart of a champion and the sweetest disposition. When she went into labor with
her second foal, we were so excited. Maggi delivered a perfect little filly with mile long legs. It soon
became apparent though that things were not progressing normally. From the start, the labor seemed
more difficult than normal, and Maggi's contractions continued even after she had delivered her
daughter. In a series of complications, Maggi's uterus prolapsed and then her uterine artery ruptured.
We lost her just a few minutes before the vet could arrive. We were stunned, everything had happened
so fast. Our hearts were broken, and we didn't really even have a chance to grieve- not with this
precious baby depending on us now to take care of her.

The vet gave the foal a 50% chance of making it, and we had to start fighting right away for this little
girl. We milked what colostrum we could from Maggi and fed it to the baby in a bottle, every drop of
that helped to improve her chances of survival. The amount of antibodies that a mare passes to her
foal in colostrum has a tremendous impact on that foal's health. The vet did what he could for her, and
then we began the most sleepless week of our lives. Someone had to wake up every 90 minutes
around the clock, mix up a bottle and go down to the barn to feed the baby. At some point in the
middle of that first night, we decided that the baby's name should be Hope.

The vet came back the next day to test baby Hope's antibodies. If adequate transfer occurs, foals
should have 400-800 mg/dl IgG or more in their blood stream. Hope had just under 700mg/dl, and the
vet was amazed. You couldn't tell from the antibody count that she was an orphaned baby, and we
became hopeful that our little miracle would survive. Over the next week, Hope got stronger and
became more active.

We were concerned that she wasn't gaining enough weight though. Her appetite had improved and she
was guzzling bottles as fast as we could make them; but bottle feeding just cannot take the place of
nursing and Hope was not gaining as much weight as we would have liked. We started taking her for
walks around the barn yard when she was three days old, encouraging her to follow us around just like
she would her mother. As soon as she heard our voices, she would start calling for us- hungry for the
next bottle and lonely from being left on her own for an hour. We were exhausted, but madly in love
and very determined. Every time the alarm went off in the middle of the night, I pictured Maggi
struggling over and over to stand up and get to her baby. No matter how little sleep I got, I was
resolved to fight as hard for Maggi's baby as she had.

Once it was clear Hope was going to make it, we started making plans for her future. We knew that it
would be critical to find a nurse mare for Hope- for several reasons. First, Hope needed more round the
clock care then we could provide, she needed to be able to nurse at will instead of on a 90 minute
timer. Even giving up 80% of our sleep, we still couldn't make up for a full time mom. Second,
orphaned babies that socialize with people instead of horses learn all the wrong skills. They grow up
thinking they're human, and can become very destructive as adults. It was important for Hope's
physical and psychological well-being to have an equine mom.

Hope was a late baby, and at mid-Summer we couldn't find any nurse mares nearby. We could bring
one in from out of state, but that is expensive and can be dangerous. Mares are very protective of their
own babies; they need to be in order to keep them safe. Trying to get a mare to accept a foal that is
not her own can be very difficult. We spoke with people who had had foals injured by their nurse mare,
and the vet cautioned a long and slow introduction process. It would take two people to feed Hope this
way- one to restrain the mare and one to be ready to snatch the baby out of harm's way. We made the
decision to try to wean one of our own mares slightly early, and see if we could get her to adopt Hope.

Tavi is another retired racehorse, one with an impressive lineage. She's also the best and most
attentive mother we've ever seen. Her baby Cora was Hope's half sibling, the amazing Friesian stallion
Keegan is the sire of both fillies. Cora was a little younger than we normally wean, but old enough for
it to be safe for her. We made arrangements for Cora to go and stay with Keegan and his owner Emily
in order to try and get Tavi to accept Hope. We were really nervous about the whole process, and so
afraid that Hope might get injured. As it turned out, we didn't have any reason at all to worry. When
Hope was a week old, we were taking her for a walk around the yard and Tavi saw her over the fence.
Tavi called to the little baby, and Hope called back. Tavi came trotting up to the fence, Cora in tow,
and continued to nicker to baby Hope. We decided to let Hope approach and see what would happen.
Tavi amazed all of us by sniffing Hope from head to toe, and then beginning to lick her. After a few
minutes of introduction, Hope started calling back to Tavi, and Tavi swung around sideways to Hope,
clearly encouraging her to nurse through the fence. We couldn't believe it!

I put a halter on Tavi, and Julie led Hope into the pasture. It took Hope a very long time to figure out
how to nurse- she could smell the milk but she kept looking for a bottle and seemed very confused!
Eventually Hope figured it out, but this entire time Tavi stood patiently still, waiting. She did not
display any of the aggressive behavior that the vet and others had cautioned us about. Tavi just
seemed to look at Hope, say 'where's your mother?', and then adopt her as her own. For the next few
days, Tavi nursed both Hope, and her own foal. We continued to supervise, because although Cora
loved her little sister at first sight- she was so much bigger than Hope that she could easily knock her
over without meaning to. She was also big enough to push Hope out of the way while she was nursing.
Because of this, and because we were afraid that nursing two foals would be a drain on Tavi, we did go
ahead and send Cora off to stay with Emily and her Dad for a while.

Within two weeks after Hope was born, she had a new Mom that loved her very much and she began to
fill out overnight. A month later, you couldn't tell Hope apart from any other baby her age. Except that
maybe she's friendlier than most. Baby Hope has been a miracle and a blessing for us. We still miss
Maggi, but we are thankful to have so much of her still with us in her daughter Hope. The older she
gets, the more Hope looks like her birth Mother. She has become best friends with her sister Cora, and
her adopted Mother Tavi still looks after her in the field. We look forward to all the amazing things
ahead with Hope, and for now her home is here with us. The pictures below show baby Hope with her
adoptive Mother and big sister Cora, and hanging out with the family. We'll add more photos as she
grows up. Hope's story has been an inspiration for us, which is why we wanted to share it with you.