How far would you go to save the life of a horse? Breeder Stephanie Moore has gone so far as to move one tiny little filly into her house in the effort to save its life. On January 21st, one
of Moore’s mares had twins and unfortunately the bigger one died shortly after birth. Fortunately, the surviving twin decided
she was going to stick around. It was five degrees outside in Veedersburg, Indiana when she was
born, and she was so small she couldn’t even reach her mother’s udder. Moore
decided to bring the black filly into her house to live in order to give her the
best chance of surviving.
“She is just as cute as can be and is
so precious. She does this soft little nicker when she sees me,” says
Moore, who owns and runs Sure-A-Winner Farm which breeds hunter under saddle prospects. “She
weighed around 30 pounds and was about 25 inches tall when she was born.
When she came out, I could tell she was full of spit and vinegar,”
Moore says laughing. “I haven’t named her yet since I wasn’t sure she
was going to live or not. It seems like it is harder to let one go once
they have been named. However, she is now doing very well, so, I guess
it is time to come up with a name for her.”
[NPI
Float=”left”]/Media/4/jpg/2013/2/c3047240-155d-40d6-965a771f6602fa72.jpg[/NPI]The
feisty little preemie filly is by Moore’s stallion, Truly Priceless. The filly is just over three weeks old and Stephanie says that she is improving day
to day. “She is still on ulcer meds and has braces for her front legs
as they appear to be either too soft boned or the tendons are too loose
to support her–either way, braces will help,” Moore states. “Like a
human baby, she had problems holding her head up. She would be looking
at you, then, her head would loll backwards over her back like it was
broken, quite gross and freaky. When she was born, the hair on her head
was normal, but the rest was like one of those wrinkly hairless cats.
Her tail looked like a donkey’s as there was minimal hair on top and
just a little poof at the bottom.”
Moore continues, “Since she
wasn’t able to get herself up and down on her own when she was first
born, I slept beside her on a foam mattress. Unfortunately, she ended up
on my bed half the time. So, thinking I was clever, I put a cardboard
barricade around my bed while I slept. She thought that was a lousy idea
so she stood there pawing and pushing on it all night.” (shown pictured left)
[NPI
Float=”right”]/Media/4/jpg/2013/2/c2efc308-155d-40d7-917f9d3c851f528f.jpg[/NPI]The
filly was eventually moved into Moore’s living room where they put up a
dog fence, then used puppy wee wee pads, interlocking rubber mats and
sawdust to protect the flooring. “Now she has room to bring down the
house, quite literally,” says Stephanie, who has grown quite fond of
this little foal. “It has been tiring but makes it all worth it every
time I hear her nicker for me or I look over the dog panel and see her
adorable face. She very much likes human interaction and has this tongue
that she sticks out the side of her mouth then rubs it all over
everything. She is sweet but a fussy little thing. She is trying to get
me to believe she is really an angel, not the ornery little devil that
she is!” (pictured right in the living room)
The
black foal has also become close friends with the cat named, “Kitten”, says Moore.
“Someone dumped her down the road, and I found her in the pasture
sitting with the horses,” Stephanie says. “So I guess them being buddies
kind of fits.”
Best wishes to the little black filly. We will keep you posted on her progress and hopefully Stephanie will come up with a great name for her. Feel free to comment if you have any suggestions for a name!
