My First Cria Delivery!
“You have a sweet white boy!” exclaimed the farm owner. I knew that the white halter class was so competitive, but it did not matter just then. I just wanted to see my first cria! His head was up and he was alert so I knew he was healthy. I was so relieved! I gently dried him off. Soon the cria tried to stand on his wobbly legs. At first he kept falling on his head, but he finally figured it out! The farm owner dipped the umbilical cord into betadine to prevent infection. His mouth was moving because he wanted to nurse. But Schubi would not let him until she delivered the placenta which was used to nourish her baby. The placenta felt strange and warm! Yes, I actually touched it!
The cria still wanted to nurse. He aimed toward dark places – his shadow, the stall corner and even the water bucket! The farm owner removed the teat wax. Schubi clucked at her cria and nudged him toward her udder. Soon, he began to nurse from teat to teat to get plenty of colostrum to protect him from infection. Then, he licked his lips and it looked like he was smiling!
He was breathing and nursing normally so I knew he did not have choanal atresia. He weighed 16.5 pounds which is an average weight. He urinated and passed his first meconium without any difficulty.
I named him Knight Shine because his fleece was so shiny bright white. I am planning to train Knight Shine for youth performance classes and animal-assisted therapy.
I am so excited about my first cria delivery! Sierra
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