Fenella de Festina Lente: Paso Fino Filly, Daughter of Jesse el Rubio and Acuarella de Benji

Jesse El Rubio

Acuarela de Benji

Saturday, May 2nd, was an unusually busy day for us on our small farm.  There was a lot of work to be caught up on outside; from dosing a sick cow who was off her feed, to fixing a small pen in the front pasture.  I let Fannie out into the yard as usual to graze, after she ate her usual portion of Gestolac feed, with a special herbal tea added to it.  As I checked her bag, I thought she couldn't possibly be far from delivering her foal.  After all, she was bred to Jesse el Rubio, son of El Chino de el Batey, on May 4th, 2014, and now it was May 2nd, 2015.  According to my research, horses have a gestation length of 316-360 days, so she was a bit over due.  Her udder had distended to nearly twice it's usual size now; surely she must be close.

Photo taken 4/28/15

     Despite her big belly, she was still graceful as she walked off a few steps, then fell to grazing.  She seemed slightly less sociable than usual, but her mood had not been very predictable lately.  At least now she was usually very sweet, instead of grumpy, like she had been a few weeks previously.  Maybe the red raspberry leaf in her tea helped with that.

     I went on with my work, too busy to spend much time with her.  Most of the chores were done by lunchtime, when we walked over to the neighbor's to pick up some goats I bought from him.  The goats were extremely wild, and the trip down the road to our property was a miniature rodeo.   By the time we got back, Fannie had decided she was ready to go in, and simply walked back into the pasture.  Somehow the gate had come open;  probably someone forgot to lock it, and Mabel, my goat, had pushed it open.  I was too busy trying to get the terrified buckling I had charge of into the stall to realize that Fannie's behavior was rather unusual.  She generally likes to stay out in the yard and graze until 3 PM or later.  When all the goats, wild and tame, were safely back were they belonged, I quickly fed Fannie some alfalfa, then went inside to get some work done on the computer.

     She hung around the front of the pasture all afternoon, just relaxing on the shady side of our little milk shed.  Supper was later than usual and we enjoyed watching the Derby online.  During the meal, we discussed horse racing, various breeds of horses, and funny race horse stories we had read.  After supper, I went outside with two of my sisters, 12 year old LilyAnn, and 7 year old Emaline, to feed the new goats and finish a couple other chores.

     When I got to the milk shed, I never got a chance to check on the goats.  I could see Fannie's head and neck as she looked at me from around the corner.  She was lying down.  She always stands up when I come out to see her.  When I saw her lying down, I immediately remembered what Mr. Tony, trainer of Jesse, had told me:  "You won't see the birth unless she wants your help.  If she's lying down, and there is nothing happening, she will stand up because she doesn't want you to worry."

     "Maybe I'd better check on her", I told LilyAnn.  We walked into the pasture, came around the corner of the milk shed, and then we both suddenly caught our breath, for there lay a beautiful dun foal.  She lay half in, and half out of the amniotic sack.  The newborn was already looking around curiously, and her long face and neck were still wet.  Fannie scrambled to her feet, and bent down, nickering softly to her baby.  Then she looked up at me, with a new, soft expression in her intelligent face.  She looked even more beautiful with her new foal, as she gently dried her.

     My sisters wanted to dash off and tell everyone else, but I thought it would be best to give Fannie a little more quiet time first; and give them some more time to clean up the kitchen after dinner.       I took several pictures and videos, then handed the phone to LilyAnn and quietly approached.  I wasn't sure how Fannie would react to me handling her new foal, but I was determined that this baby would be handled early on.  To my delight, Fannie completely accepted my presence, and allowed me to examine and gently rub the foal all over, nuzzling both of us occasionally, and watching me with great interest.  She seemed glad to have her herd leader taking an interest in her baby.     I soon found out that the new addition was a filly, and rubbed her all over; face, neck, legs, ears, everywhere.  LilyAnn approached and gingerly touched her.  Then it was Emaline's turn to pet her.  Fannie stood guard, but did not resent their familiarity.  

     I approached the foal again as she was trying to untangle her long legs and get up.  I helped steady and support her as she scrambled to her feet and stood, splay-legged and wobbling, for the first time.  

     After another minute or two of handling her, I released LilyAnn and Emaline to go tell the others.  They were both off at top speed, and I could hear them excitedly proclaiming the news.  A few seconds later, there was a pounding of feet on our deck, and then a "Feldman Derby" across the yard as everyone stampeded out to see the new addition.  Twelve excited people can make quite a bit of noise racing across the yard, especially when most of them are children, but Fannie wasn't at all disturbed, and seemed to look on it as a matter of course that the whole family would want to come admire her baby.  By the time I got to the fence, I had helped the filly take a few steps out from behind the milk shed, so she was in full view.

"Who are you?"

     The next half hour was spent admiring, examining, photographing, and videoing the filly and her lovely mother.  I coated her umbilical cord with iodine, and finished drying her with an old towel, while Fannie divided her attention between her baby and a pile of hay one of my brothers brought her.  I also called Ms. Anita Weiss, the owner of Jesse, and a friend from church who has taught me a lot about owning and raising horses.  Several other siblings were busy notifying grandparents, and other family members and friends of the new addition.  We jokingly realized that there has been as much excitement over the birth of this foal as when my youngest sister was born!

     My 14 year old brother, Bo, helped me position the hungry newborn, and fed Fannie, who was not quite sure how to react to all the nuzzling and bumping going on back there.  She divided her attention between her grain and her baby; but the baby got the most.  

"I know the milk bar is somewhere around here...  If I can just find it!"

     Finally, the little filly was latched on and nursing well.  My sister Savana snapped a few last pictures in the beautiful golden glow of the dying sunset.  Fannie gently nibbled at her baby, then sighed in contentment and went back to her hay.  I rubbed her face again, told her what a wonderful mother she was, and followed the rest of my family inside.

     The next day, after church, Ms. Anita and a friend visited, and I was encouraged to hear their opinion of the new baby.  I have continued to handle her several times every day, and already she has followed me around a little, and I have observed her gaiting beside Fannie.  She also tagged alongside Bo for several minutes as we walked across the pasture, to his great delight.  She must know he likes her coloration, or maybe she remembers his help in assisting her to nurse.  The funny thing is that though he enjoys horses, he is not driven to spend a great deal of time with them.  Finally, she showed her good taste in coming to his other side so she could walk between us, with each of us resting a hand on her back.

    What to name the new baby was a serious consideration, and I had a list of several names to chose from once it was born.  After seeing her, I finally decided on Fenella de Festina Lente.  It is a mixture of languages, and none of it is Spanish, but the name seems to fit.  Fenella seems to be perfect for her, and the old Latin proverb "Festina Lente", " make haste slowly ", describes the Fino gait so well.
     I am so thankful to have such a healthy, strong, and beautiful little Paso, and I am also glad that we were all able to welcome her into the world.  As I realize that my work has only just begun with her birth, I am so blessed to have expert friends to help me, and look forward to watching her grow, and training her as we learn together.