foaling season

It's foaling season again.  Our first foal was born last week.  The mare was late - we had spent three weeks on foal watch.  The first two weeks we took turns getting up every two hours all night long.  The last week my daughter slept on the couch to watch the mare.  (We have a camera on the stall and can watch it on TV.)  Our other pregnant mare is due in a few days, so we're about to start foal watch again. 

Altogether, foal watch is a whole lot of boredom with an exciting and suspenseful ending.  Watching the mare on TV - mostly really boring.  The moment you realize she's gone into labor, throw on your coat and shoes (boots?) rush down to the barn to watch or help if necessary, then the birth - very exciting, amazing really when the first hoof emerges, then the other (in a normal birth, the foal is in a diver position), then the foal's nose.  The suspense doesn't end when the foal is born.  Shortly after it's lying on the floor, lifting its head and looking around, the foal needs to 1 stand, and  2 nurse.  Sometimes it doesn't take long for either of these to happen.  Other times - the waiting can drive you crazy.  But the first time they lurch to their feet on their long, gangly legs, the first time they stagger without falling down, the first time they actually start nursing - makes staying up half the night worth it, even if it was for many, many nights. 

We're not breeding any mares this year.  We decided that we need to take a break.  We'll still have horses, or course, and will probably breed again next year.  I'll miss having foals playing in the fields.  I might even miss foal watch.