Chad kept talking. “It’s a bit of a tangle in there. Both foals are trying to make their way out at the same time.”
“What will you do?” Andi asked, wide-eyed.
“Well, I reckon I’ll try to untangle the little fellows and sort things out. Then I can push one back.” He paused as Taffy strained unsuccessfully to push out a foal. “But it’s not going to be easy. And it’s got to be soon. It’s been too long already. We might lose the foals, and Taffy too.”
Andi caught her breath. “No!”
Chad reached out and gripped Andi by her shoulders. His hands felt like two chunks of ice, even through her jacket. “Listen, Andi. I want you to keep Taffy standing quietly. Don’t let her go down until I say so. It’s important. Do you think you can do that?”
Andi nodded. “Taffy trusts you, Chad. She trusts me. I’ll just tell her it’s the only way. She’ll understand. She’ll stay up and quiet if I ask her to.”
“I sure hope so,” Chad muttered. Then he plunged his hands once again into the bucket of icy water. This time he was shivering as he scrubbed. “Ready?”
Andi kept her end of the arrangement. She talked to Taffy and stroked her nose—anything to keep the mare’s attention away from what Chad was doing. It appeared as though Taffy realized her human friends were trying to help. She never moved.
“I think I’ve got one of the foals lined up,” Chad announced at last in a drained voice. “Let her go, so she can lie down.”
Taffy immediately settled down in the straw, clearly exhausted.
“Please, Taffy,” Andi encouraged, “You can do it.” She rubbed Taffy’s nose, which lay flat against the ground.
“Come over by me, Andi,” Chad said from where he was kneeling in the straw. “Things should move pretty fast now.”
Andi rose shakily and stumbled to her brother’s side. He reached out and pulled her close. Then he took one of Andi’s shaking hands and gave it a squeeze.
He grinned. “Calm down, little sister. You’d think you were having the foals instead of the horse.”
Andi couldn’t calm down. She fixed her gaze on the huge golden body in front of her and prayed silently once again. Surely God knew how much she loved Taffy!
A ripple passed over the mare’s body. Two tiny hooves and a little nose appeared.
“Oh, I hope he’s alive,” Andi whispered. She shivered in the cold night air.
A tired smile replaced the look of worry on Chad’s face. “I think we did it.” He reached out to help extract the foal. Two pushes later, a small, chocolate-colored foal lay quietly on the stall floor. Chad wasted no time. He started rubbing the baby with straw.
Without a word, Andi grabbed a handful of straw and set to work helping break the tough sack that enclosed the newborn. She paused only when the little one sneezed and shook his head.
"Oh, he's alive!" Andi burst out. "He's going to be OK! He's just got to be!"
"Oh, he's alive!" Andi burst out. "He's going to be OK! He's just got to be!"
Taffy showed a brief interest in her baby, then concentrated on delivering the second foal. Once the first foal was out of the way, the second had room to turn on his own. He slid into the world without too much trouble.
“See if there’s any hot water left on the cook stove. I think a warm bran mash might perk Taffy up,” Chad suggested. “She’s been through a lot.”
Andi nodded and rushed off to do her brother’s bidding. There was just enough water in the warming tank on the stove to put together a nice mash. Andi stirred in a little molasses as well. She was relieved when Taffy perked up at the smell of the concoction and worked her way through a good portion of it.
A few minutes later, the mare shook her head and struggled to get to her feet, breaking the lifeline between herself and her foals.
A few minutes later, the mare shook her head and struggled to get to her feet, breaking the lifeline between herself and her foals.
“Good girl, Taffy,” Andi encouraged her. “You’ve got to get up for your babies. Come on, girl. All the way up.”
Taffy made it to her feet and stood, trembling. She shook out her mane and suddenly seemed to come to herself. Turning around, she approached the foals, sniffing them delicately. Then she began the time-consuming task of washing them down with her rough tongue.
Chad sighed and rose to his feet. “That’s a good sign. She’s showing some interest in the foals. It means she’s over the worst of it. She's going to be fine.”
Andi let out a long, deep breath. Thank you, God! Then she threw her arms around her brother and hugged him gratefully. “Thanks, Chad.”
“Take a look at that,” Chad said. He turned his sister around and pointed. The foals were trying to stand. Their heads were wobbly, but the chocolate colt had his back legs up. Then he fell over into the soft straw.
“It's amazing,” Chad said with a chuckle, “considering what they’ve been through. I think it would be a good idea to stick around and see if they need help with their first meal.”
Andi nodded eagerly. Wild horses couldn’t pull her away from the barn tonight, no matter how cold and tired she felt! I wonder what time it is, she wondered. It felt like hours had passed, but Andi knew it couldn’t have been more than an hour.
Yawning and shivering, Andi sat back against the wall and watched as the new family became acquainted. Minutes ticked by while she waited for the foals to nurse. It seemed that just as soon as one of the foals stood up, the other tried and crashed into him. Then they both went down.
Andi shivered. Now that the immediate crisis was over, she felt the chill night creeping in on her. Come on, little fellas! Nurse!
Andi rubbed her eyes to stay awake. Worry clutched at her stomach. The foals were so little. And it was so cold! How long would Chad wait before lending a hand?
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