The following pages contain pictures of the birth of ” Holly ” to the Trakehner mare ” Hawaii “.
Hawaii lifting her tail, as contractions sets in. She is restless and constantly walks around.
Hawaii lays down, as labour begins.
The first leg has now appeared.
Hawaii has got up and now two legs are just visible
Hawaii is down again as the contractions take hold once more. Finally, the nose of Holly can been seen. We now know that the foal is in the correct position to come out .
Holly is out, her legs still rest inside Hawaii. Human help is given to gently pull Holly’s legs out in order that she does not damage Hawaii’s insides whilst trying to get up.
Holly is still trying to get up and the afterbirth can be seen coming out. This normally takes between 20 minutes to an hour after the birth of a foal, but on this occasion it happened whilst Hawaii was still recovering from giving birth.
Hawaii is up and looking at her daughter. Her instinct tells her to eat the afterbirth to clean up after the birth. However we do go in and clean up after Hawaii , in order that she can get on bonding with her foal.
Holly is now up and trying to find milk.
Still very wet and only an hour old, she has managed to find out where to go for a drink.
Not looking too impressed with the outside world.
2 1/2 hour after the birth and Holly is completely dry
Holly is a bit shy, but a beautiful little girl.
3 hours after Holly was born, she is happy and content. Time for a nap.
At 1 Month Old
At 3 Years Old