*thuds head against computer desk*

Ooooh why oh why oh why!? My idiot horse Silkie is such a brat...I want to punch her. We decided to try and introduce Silkie and Max today, so we let Belle and my Big Boy out to the lower pasture. We then let Silkie out, and first thing she does is go flying down the hill toward them and starts trying to separate Max from Belle. Belle goes into kicking fits, Silkie goes into kicking/screaming fits, and Max is just stuck in the middle. That idiot chased the two around the pasture for a long time, long enough so that Max was covered in sweat when he came back in. Belle and the baby came into the barn, and Silkie trapped them in a stall and started kicking the fire out of Belle. Belle darted out, leaving Max stuck with Silkie. If we hadn't of run in there, he would've gotten his brains busted. I hate that horse! Goodgrief. You'd think she'd have more sense. Belle got two bloody cuts on her legs, and Max was scared. We separated them again...we'll see what happens. I wish Silkie weren't such an idiot.

My Big Boy Max

I took this video today when I went up to the pasture to switch the horses around. Max is growing stronger every day...so are his kicks. :) He's been trying to kick me and Nathan both! The little runt! We've had to take a crop to him several times. Oh, and guess what? Max has blue eyes! I don't know if they'll stay that way; they may be like a baby's eyes, turning as they get older. I hope they don't change, though...I love his blue eyes!!!

Love ya, Big Boy! (Thus is his official nick-name:)
-Hannah

Dear Lord,
Thank you for Max. Thank you that he's strong and healthy. Keep him, Belle, Silkie and Chester safe. Thank you for our land and our animals!

Videos of Max

And here's some videos from the birth up to today. :) Enjoy watching MY Big Boy!

Max at Three Days Old

Max at Two Days Old

...All he did was really sleep. :)

Max at a Day Old

Go to the bottom before you look at the pictures...their in reverse order!!!

Finally!!!

Yes! The pictures are up!! Here they are! Max is ADORABLE! I can't say it enough! He's the most beautiful, frisky foal I've ever seen. I love him! This morning, we let him and Belle out to walk around and get some air. Max had a blast! He went running around the pasture on those wobbly legs and kicked up his heels more than one time. He is so cute! Let me start at the beginning and tell you the whole story.
Saturday morning, Belle had "waxed up", and I posted about that. That evening, I went, like I always do, to feed the horses, except it was a little later than normal. I went up to the barn, shooed the horses out, and completely cleaned Belle's stall, seeing as she might have it that night. I put a bunch of fresh straw down, and then dumped the feed into their buckets. I was in there...maybe fifteen minutes. I then went and opened the door, Silkie walking in and marching to her stall, and then Belle after her. I noticed that Belle's tale was really arched, and thought it a little odd.
"Oh well...she probably just has to go."
I thought that to myself. Then I locked the stall doors, including Belle's, watching her. Mom had read that if a horse wasn't really interested in her food, she was probably going to have it soon. Belle dug right in. I sighed.
"Not tonight."
I turned to get Chester's food, and when I turned back around again, Belle was just...standing. Her tail was still really arched. My heart started throbbing when she turned and began to pace.
"Er...Belle?"
She finally stopped to urinate, except...this stuff was red!!! I went wide eyed and was like,
"Oh man, should I go tell them??? Is the baby coming??? Is her water breaking or is she just going??? ARG! Wait....what if it's a false alarm? You're overreacting, Hannah...NO WAIT!"
Her knees buckled and she LAID DOWN. I shouted and went taring out of that barn like I never had before, running faster than I thought I ever could down towards the house. By the time I simply made it to the end of the garden fence maybe forty some yards away, Nathan hailed from the front porch.
"Hannah! What is it!?"
I yelled back,
"AH! THE BABY'S COMING!!!"
He literally almost dropped the phone he had, racing into the house. I ran back up to the barn, and in that short, 30 second time period, YOU COULD ALREADY SEE THE FEET! She had laid down close to the wall, and I was going
"Oh no! She's too close!!!"
Dad came up to the barn by then. I could see the baby's two hooves, which was good, and soon his nose appeared. I was praising God! He wasn't twisted! She then got up, paced, and laid back down, this time in a worse position than ever. She was laying with her rear end pressed against the stall gate! The baby was coming through the gate! Basically, we were panicking. Bad thing to do. But then dad got the idea to pop the gate off it's hinges, so we did. The gate was removed, and the baby soon followed. His head was almost completely out by now, visible through the pale, slick sack he was in. His eyes were closed and his mouth slack. And...he was black! Woohoo! We didn't see him move, and got worried, but then he jerked his head a little. I got to bend down and touch his head. The sack was slimy! Soon the rest of his body followed, and he popped right out. They laid there for a long time, and he was so cute! We got the sack away from him, and I got to touch his wet little head. How cute he was! The labor only took 17 minutes or so at the max, (literally:), and then it took him about 10-12 minutes to stand. How cute is that!? We had to stay up there all night because he wouldn't latch, but now that he's figured it out, he's dandy and wild! He was frisking around the stall this morning, and then freaked out when we let him out of the barn. Max is a healthy baby! Praise the Lord all went smoothly! And now that you've been so patient, here are the pictures. :)

Liberty's Maximus!

We've renamed the little rascal to Liberty's Maximus, and we're calling him Max for short. He's adorable!!!!!!! And yes, he's doing MUCH better! Now he's nursing correctly, and he's so frisky! Yesterday, he fell asleep with his head in my lap, and likes to give me wet, sticky kisses. He's in great shape, and loves to jump. Already, at two days old, he's skipping around, doing little bucks, and jumping around the barn. He's "talked" to us several times, and he's got the most beautiful eyes. I will surely be posting pictures either today, (I'm not sure...we've got friends coming over), or tomorrow. I have a ton to post! He's SO CUTE! I'll give him kisses for you all...I've already delivered a bunch! (Trust me...I DO NOT MIND!!!)

Lots of Love,
-Hannah and Max :)

Sigh....

Things aren't looking so hot right now. The foal still won't latch, and it's been over 12 hours, the required time. The vet's been called to come out, but she's in the middle of an operation, which means it'll be a long time. Last night was very long. We (dad and I) got up every two hours to check on the baby and Belle. This morning, we went up there, came back, ate breakfast, mom, Nathan and Rebekah went to church, and we were back up there again and have been there ever since. I've just come down for a quick break. The foal is adorable! I hope all turns out well. He's rather spunky. And instead of the name Gates, we MIGHT be naming him something else, and we've almost decided on Maximus, calling him Max for short. :) Maybe.
Anyway...please pray. Belle is very tired, too.

Thank you.
-Hannah