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Whispering Winds Ranch
Northfield, WI
The story of “Sparky” the Orphan Foal
“Sparky’s Version”
HI --- It’s me again “Sparky”…
While I was in my mom’s belly she would tell me stories about life. She said that I have 2 brothers and 1 sister that I would be able to meet. Both of my brothers are stallions and are really good looking, just like me. My oldest brother is a buckskin and had 6 babies this year and those are the foals that are in my pasture. My other brother a pal amino, and a grandson of “Hollywood Jac 86”. He is almost as impressive as my grandpa, but no one can be as great as “Rugged Lark”, cause I said so. Mom told me lots of stories about how nice she is treated and how my human parents are really nice and treat her and all the other horses really well. She really loved our human dad and mom.
Now I’m going to tell you all about what happened to me during my 2nd and 3rd months (May & June) in this big, big world. So much has happened I’m not sure where to start.
I have had a lot of visitors. It is so nice to have people visit as the only time I can be out of my stall is when my mom or dad are with me. The big mares pin their ears at me every time I get next to their babies outside and that scares me so I run away and go to my dad. Dad takes me for long walks, which he calls “walk abouts” in the pasture. The other babies and mares come and visit us and that is nice as they are good to me and let me smell the other foals when dad or mom is around, this makes me feel very special.
Mom and dad let me out in the green grass up by the big white house. I don’t know why but all I wanted to eat was the dirt and not the grass. The vet came out but didn’t know what to do with me as I had diarrhea, mom and dad were pretty upset they were afraid that I would do something like colic, I don’t know what that is but they said it was very, very bad. My mom e-mailed (whatever that is) to my grandpa’s (Rugged Lark) mom (Carol Harris) and she called my mom back on the telephone. Mom said she was a very nice lady and gave us lots of information on how to help me. I am still on the bottle, so they had to change my milk. A nice lady, Ann, came and looked at me and brought some new milk for me, it is really good, she also brought me some real food to eat but I would rather have my milk in a bottle. I guess it is okay to drink from a bucket as long as I get small portions and don’t get a belly ache from drinking too much at one time, but I miss my bottle. Now mom and dad are coming every 2 hours during the day and twice during the night. When I hear them come down the steps I jump up and greet them with a whinny, they always seem to like that, they say that my mom did that whenever she saw mom and dad. I remember her telling me how she used to do that and they said she was special because of it, so I want to be just like my mom. Finally my diarrhea is gone, my butt doesn’t sting anymore when I poop, it feels so good.
Across the stall from me is a mare names “Charmin Buckbar” one day she started to get really sick. The vet came and saw her and gave her some shots and said she will have to have shots for the next 3 days. I am not sure what a tick is but I guess one bit Buckbar and she got really sick with something called “Ehrlichiosis”. She was really sick and did not want to move around much at all. Poor little Charmer, she was all upset as her mom was so sick, she was really glad when she started feeling better and was able to go outside and get some sunshine again. Charmer is a pretty buckskin, just like me, I was really glad that her mom got better as I know how hard it is to be without a mom.
Next thing I know dad was not coming out to the barn for 3 days, only mom was taking care of me. She tried to explain that dad had to go to the emergency room and was very sick. He had the same thing Buckbar had, “Ehrlichiosis”, Mom said he was really sick with a temperature of 102.5 and that was really hot for a human. Funny I never thought that people and horses could get the same thing. I don’t understand when horses get sick the vet comes right out to the barn for us but when people get sick they have to run to town and wait for hours, and hours to see a doctor, maybe they should use the vet! Dad is feeling much better now but it took him a long time to feel really good again, he spent a lot of time in the barn with me and that was the good part but I’m glad that he can now take me for our long walks in the pasture.
Then the mare down the hall “Pippi White Socks” banged her back knee on the wall and it got all swollen up, the vet came out again and said if she was kept in her stall and lots of rest it would be okay. Now “Duke”, a handsome golden palomino with white mane and tail, just the opposite of my black mane and tail, had to be in the barn all the time with me also. I was really glad to have the extra company but really felt badly that his mom was not feeling well. Duke and Charmer were so lucky that their moms finally got better and they are able to get outside and run with all the other foals.
Puss N Boots likes to come and sit on the top board of my stall. Well one day he was trying to play with me, and was putting his paw on my head and making some really cool purring noises. Well I wanted to let him know how much I enjoy his company so I picked him up by his ear and put him down on the other side of the stall, he didn’t seem to like me playing with him very much, but he keeps on coming back but now doesn’t get close enough for me to pick him up anymore.
I have been getting out in the green grass up by the big house a lot now that I quit eating the dirt and try to eat more grass. One day there were a lot of people and I went over to one lady and she gave me some “Coke”, it was really sweet and I liked it, it was almost like drinking out of my bottle. Everyone laughed and said I was taking the “Pepsi” challenge. I enjoy being out with people but mom and dad are starting to talk that I really have to learn how to be a horse. I like taking naps in the nice soft green grass around the house. Mom takes lots, and lots of pictures of me, I got all brushed up one day and looking my best as my mom and dad said that I needed to be registered as an American Quarter Horse, what a great honor. I will promise to make the organization proud that they let me become a member like all of my relatives.
Another day when I was playing in the grass dad jumped into the barn to get something. I just wanted to be with him and ran and jumped in with him. It was pretty scary as it was 3 feet off the ground, I got my front feet in and then had a little hard time with my back legs but I made it. I was so proud of myself, it was fun seeing what was in the top of the barn. It was filled with lots and lots of hay but I couldn’t stay long to check it all out, mom ran and got my halter and lead rope and dad put it on me. They weren’t sure how to get me out but dad jumped out and I jumped out with him. That was a lot of fun, much easier than jumping in. Everyone was so happy that I was able to do that and they did not have to carry me out, I’m getting to be a big boy and not a baby any more.
One day dad decided that I needed my feet trimmed. I followed him out to the truck and then back into the barn, and dad put on my halter and my little friend Stacey held my halter and talked to me. Dad picked up my feet like he does every day but today was different. He brought out something called a rasp and started making funny noises and feelings on all 4 of my feet. Mom took a lot of pictures and said I did really well, they said that I have to learn how to stand really still and be good and hold my feet up by myself. Dad said that when I get much bigger that it will be much easier if I learn how to do it right now, so I will remember that and keep trying hard every day to hold my foot up really good for dad. Dad did all the other foals feet also, but of course I was the best!!
Sick again! Mom was home alone and I got really sick, she called the vet right away, then made me walk outside to the round pen as I did not want to get up and that scared her, sorry mom. The vet came out and said that he was worried because I had pneumonia. I guess that when they milked my mom for me they could not get enough milk and that my immune system is not as good as it could be. I miss my mom so much especially at times like this when I am not feeling so good. I am 3 months old and I still miss mom very much even though I just remember her from the stories she told me when she carried me. The vet was really nice and gave me some shots and gave mom some medicine to give me with some applesauce. I was glad when dad came and I tried to play a little when I saw him, but I was really glad to get back into my stall and lay down and go back to sleep. The medicine the vet gave me is really working, as I am really tired.
A lot of things happened in 2 months. I will work much harder at trying to keep up on my writing.
Gotta go it is feeding time and I don’t want to miss any feedings.
Read more next month about our trials and tribulations with “Sparky” The Orphan Foal.
Whispering Winds Ranch
Northfield, WI
The first mare “Miss Leo Ship” that we bought to start our venture into the world of AQHA horse breeding was about to have her 4th baby for us. We could not be more excited as we had bred her to a son of the great Rugged Lark. Having 6 mares bred and 4 of them already had their babies out of our buckskin stallion “Leos TopDeck Buckeroo” we were really excited. Gary went down and checked out the all of our horses before we retired to try to get some sleep. Knowing that Sparkle was getting very close to delivery we were anxiously awaiting our new arrival, hoping for a buckskin but just wanting a healthy baby.
At 1 AM on April 24, 2006, Buckeroo our stallion started to make an awful ruckus, as he is just outside our bedroom window, Gary jumped out of bed and ran to see what was wrong with him. Little did we know that he saved our little “Sparkys” life. His mother was giving birth and having a hard time. Gary went down in the field to check her out and came running back up the hills to have me call the vet as Sparkle’s intestines were hanging out and one foot of the foal was out. Just having moved to the area we had only had the vet out once the day before, lucky for us as he was the same vet that was on call that night. I called Nate and he said he would be at the house ASAP. I told him we would be in the pasture. It seemed like an eternity until he arrived. He drove through the pasture while I closed the gate and ran after him.
We were lucky as we had taken on line classes from Dickinson College in ND, one of them was about problems with foaling. Gary was able to push the foals fool back in and with the help of Sparkle he pulled him out as she pushed. Little Sparky was born and trying to get up. I told the vet I had a baby bottle and sterile jar in the house if he thought we could get some milk from Sparkle. He told me if I could get it and be back in 10 minutes we might be able to keep him alive. I started running up the hills to the house as Nate yelled at me to bring some towels also. I don’t remember when I ran so fast. I drove our pickup back down and was back in less than 5 minutes. I know I’ll never be able to do that again! I held Sparky by his mom’s head, while Nate held her neck and rubbed it and talked to her while Gary was able to milk almost a quart of milk from her before it started having blood in it. Then Nate did what he had to do and gave her a shot as we all said good bye to our beloved mare. Sparky was picked up and put in the back of the pickup with Gary holding him as we rushed to the barn with the milk and Sparky wrapped in our good bath towels. We got him in the barn and started giving him some of his mothers milk in the bottle and teaching him to suck on the bottle. I was never happier to see a baby start sucking on the bottle. Then Nate gave him his first shots to help him out.
We had milk replacer at the house but that is one thing I could not find so I drove the 10 miles following the Nate to the Vet Clinic to pick some up. The next few days were pretty hectic. Sleeping in the barn was not an unusual sight for us. We were getting up every hour on the hour feeding our little man. I remember calling my daughter at 2am (her husband is in the military and they were stationed in Hawaii) she asked me if I was awake and I said I was calling her so she could keep me awake and talk to me as I fed Sparky and talked to him. (I had also called her while I was waiting for the vet to come. Waiting for him was really difficult.) It was good to have someone who cares to talk to when you are tired and just want to talk to stay awake.
For the first 3 weeks we were up every hour on the hour feeding Sparky. Poor little man had no one to help him learn how to be a horse. The first few days Sparky would not lay down by himself. We figured that it hurt the first couple times he tried it himself. We would help him lay down until he figured it out. Then we had a really cold spell and bought him his first blanket. Poor guy, we had it on just a little tighter than we thought and he could not get up after he laid down. Getting everything right the first time is really difficult. Of course after buying the blanket I read an article about how a lady used an old sweatshirt with a zipper up the front, would have saved a bunch of money for sure and made just a really nice blanket for him.
Read more next month about our trials and tribulations with “Sparky” The Orphan Foal.
Hi, My name is “Sparky” I came into this world on a cold night. It was really difficult getting here. First my one foot came out than something happened I’m not sure what it was, but something was pushing my leg back into my mom. I did not understand it but then I felt something pulling me out and my mom pushing. Wow! That was really scary. Next thing I know there were 2 other people and one was trying to hold me by my mom’s head and another one holding my mom down while the 1st person (who I’ll now call my dad} was holding a bottle by my mom and getting me some milk. I know now that is the reason I am still in the world. I had my first truck ride my human mom drove real careful so dad and I would not get bounced around too much but it was something I will never forget. Dad carried me down to the barn and put me in a big room and they rubbed me all over with towels I got my first drink of milk from a bottle and it was still warm, I miss my mom already but the humans are taking good care of me. Someone poked me with needles and said that he needed to do that to all babies. I guess I am glad that I am not the only one around getting poked.
It is pretty hard being a baby. I don’t have anyone to show me how to stand up, walk or even lay down. I keep hitting my head when I would first lay down, so my dad would pick me up and lay me down. After a few days I got the hang of it, thank heavens as my head was hurting from hitting the ground.
One night it was really cold and they put a new blanket on me. Talk about scary. I had it on before and walked around, it was the kings purple and I looked really great in it. I would prance around the stall and show off to the other colts in the barn. The blanket fit really nice until I laid down then I could not get up. Thank heavens that my mom and dad were coming to feed me every hour on the hour or I could have been laying down for a long time. Dad fixed the blanket and that made me feel so much better.
Dad takes me for long walks in the pasture. The other colts are with their moms and when I get too close the mom’s put their ears back at me. I have learned that they are telling me to stay away. Dad is really good as he keeps the mares away from me. I can’t wait until I am old enough to play with the other foals.
Every morning while we are on our walk my dad picks up my feet one at a time. I have been getting pretty good standing on 3 feet for a few seconds, which seem lots longer.
Dad plays with the other foals in the pasture, there are 5 others and they are all different colors. There are 2 girls the same color as I am dad calls me a buckskin just like my mom. There are 2 little boys that have white mane and tails but other wise look like me, someone said they are palominos and the head mares baby is a really dark liver chestnut. I really have a lot to learn about life, how to play but most important to be good and drink all my milk up when I get my bottle .
I watch dad when he brings the other horses in the barn, it is fun to say hi to everyone when they come in at night. During the day I am all alone in the barn, but at night I have lots of company. People are always in and out of the barn during the day to feed me and give me lots of loving, but at night it is really quiet. I like it when I get my bottle at night as all the other foals have their moms with them. Mom and dad are pretty good at taking turns coming to the barn to feed me.
What a surprise! Dad lets me walk around the barn when he is cleaning it out. I get to go in and out of all the stalls and smell all the different smells in the barn. The other day my mom went out of the barn up some steps and I heard her say my name so I went up the steps to see who came to see me. I like going up the steps but going down dad had to sort of carry me. That made me feel like I was going to fall on my head, guess that is something else that I will have to learn
Gotta go it is feeding time and I don’t want to miss any feedings.
Read more next month about our trials and tribulations with “Sparky” The Orphan Foal.
