“Not for two weeks.”
I frowned. This wasn’t great news. There might be something wrong with the foal. The mare was restless, her muzzle thrashing from side to side. She was trying to lie down, but she wasn’t far enough along. We needed to keep her walking until the vet could get here and locate the position of the foal.
“Auggie?”
I turned and saw Liane headed toward me.
“Sorry, Liane, not a great time right now. Why don’t you go up to the house?”
“What’s wrong?”
“We have a mare in trouble. The vet is on the way.”
“Where is she?”
I pointed to the birthing room, and Liane nodded and walked in that direction. I was about to stop her when I remembered she was a zoologist, and this wouldn’t be unfamiliar territory. Liane opened the door to the room and went in. She stood a few moments to let the mare get used to her and then approached, her hand extended. Liane took the reins from the hand who was walking the mare and I saw her nod, encouraging him to leave the room.
As I watched, Liane laid her head against the muzzle of the mare, petting her ears, her mouth moving. She was talking to the mare. As Liane talked, she slowly moved down the length of the distressed horse, her hand against her swollen flank.
The hand who’d been in there was standing next to me. “Look at that. She’s got that horse so calm you’d think she was eating a handful of oats.”
I knew the calmer the horse remained, the better chance she had of slowing down labor until the vet could arrive. Liane continued to stroke the horse, calming her with every touch. As I watched, the mare actually laid her head atop Liane’s shoulder, as though getting a hug. It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen a horse do. I heard the crunch of tires behind me and soon saw the vet jogging in, his bag in his hand. I explained what was going on, and he nodded and joined Liane in the birthing room.
The vet examined the mare, and his face was grave. He quickly emerged and told me that the foal was stuck. He might lose one or both of the animals. When he re-entered, Liane knelt down into the straw, the mare at her side. She ran her hands up and down the mare’s flank, massaging it. The vet positioned himself at the back of the mare, reaching in to guide the foal. Liane’s position was one of encouraging coaxing, and the hand opened the door enough for us to hear what was going on. We stood back a bit so as not to upset the mare. Ten minutes later, the first leg emerged, and the mare shook her head in pain. Liane was singing to the mare, and she put her lips close to the mare’s ear, stroking her, using her body to hug the mare in a rhythmic, encouraging manner. The vet continued to do his work and before long, a scrawny foal lay on the floor, encased in its birth sack. The mare was panting, but she fought to get to her feet and to begin to clean the foal.
The people witnessing this were shaking their heads. They’d never seen anything like that and had all expected to lose the animals. The vet emerged shortly thereafter, washing his hands and shaking his head. “She did it, the young woman in there.”
“That’s my future daughter-in-law, Liane,” I told him, feeling the growing pride in my voice. “She’s a zoologist.”
“Oh, that wasn’t something they teach in school,” he said, shaking his head. “That was a spiritual connection.” He continued shaking his head.
I followed the vet out as he was leaving and found Brandon walking toward the barn from where he’d parked his car nearby. I waved hello.
“Brandon! What a surprise. And in the middle of the day?”
He had a sort of silly grin on his face. Although he was wearing his suit pants, the jacket and necktie were missing and his top shirt button open. He was attempting to look casual. “Would you believe I just happened to be in the area and stopped by to see how things were going?”
“If you want me to, but I don’t,” I said, grinning and pushing my hair behind my ears. “You just missed all the excitement.”
“Oh, how’s that?” He was looking around, and I took a wild guess.
“She’s in the barn. Come on with me, but watch where you step,” I teased him and wondered if he caught the double entendre. “We had a mare foal this morning. The foal wasn’t in the best position, and she was in trouble. We thought we’d lose them both. Liane, Hawk’s fiancé, came by and completely took over. She seems to have some sort of affinity with animals, and she calmed the mare down enough that she delivered safely. Vet said he’d never seen anything like it.”
“Is that so? Well, hello, Lily.” He grinned as we walked into the barn interior.
Lily looked surprised. “Wore your riding clothes, I see,” she commented wryly and got a sheepish grin as an answer.
“Well, just was local and dropped by,” he tried again, and I gave him a look that told him it had been feeble the first time — just let it go.
“I heard Auggie telling you about the mare.” She walked up to him and gave him a brief hug. He seemed surprised and stiffened as he contemplated whether to hug her in return. I could tell by looking that Brandon was more than vaguely interested. “Here she comes now.” Lily turned as Liane came up.
“Liane, I’d like you to meet an old friend of the family, Brandon Knotts. Brandon, my future daughter-in-law, Liane Coventry.”
Liane nodded and smiled, her British reticence surfacing. “How do you do? I’m afraid I’m a bit of a mess right now.”
“You’re British?” Brandon asked. His tone suggested that he was a bit impressed, particularly after he’d heard our raving about her.
“Yes, both parents,” she explained.
“I hear congratulations are in order?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Liane turned to me. “Auggie, I’d come to talk to you about possibly allowing me to bring a small handful of children from the city out to see your farm and the horses. I know they can’t ride, but you’d be surprised how many of these underprivileged children in the city have never seen the equine country that lies only a few miles away.”
“Of course, Liane. I’m sure you want to go home and change clothes now. Why don’t you give me a call later with the details and we’ll set it up? You have no idea how much I appreciate what you did to help with the mare. You’re quite an unusual young lady.”
“Not really. Just a knack I inherited from my mom. Anyway, I won’t keep you, and you’re right. I do need a shower and some clean clothes.”
“If you like, you’re welcomed to go up the house and use my shower and grab something from my closet,” I suggested.
“Thank you so much, but I believe I’ll just go home. I have to be at the zoo in an hour and a half. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Knotts, and to see you again, Lily.” She gave me a warm hug as she left.