JC Julio

4-12-04 (AM): Happy Easter to all. The night has been a long one! Lucy went into labor at last night at 10PM. All seemed to be progressing well until the foal presented itself. One foot... still just one foot. Scrubbed up and dove in to find one leg and one muzzle. No second leg! For 25 minutes we heroically had Lucy up and down, the right leg that was deflected back wouldn't budge. What you read in books doesn't prepare you for the moment when you are pushing and reaching and searching in a space so tight you wonder how anyone could possibly manipulate the foal from the outside world. Lucy was exhausted and we were running out of time. Ben hooked up the trailer and we were prepared to take Lucy who had now been in labor almost 45 minutes with no progress other than successfully pushing the foal and wedging its knee more against her pelvic bone to the clinic in Charlottesville, meanwhile the vet was on her way. Lucy seemed to be going into shock and our only goal was to save our precious mare. All foal movement had stopped and the helpless feeling was overwhelming. Trailer hooked up and ready there was nothing on God's earth the 4 of us could do to get Lucy to stand, With what would have looked like torture to anyone looking in we somehow got Lucy in sitting position, foal head hanging out. In an exhausted moment Lucy just collapsed, she fell to her side, the fall positioned the foal in such a way that I was able to reach in and finally feel the knee I had been grasping for and unable to get. I was able to pull the leg up where it belonged and with one push the foal was almost completely delivered! Amazingly despite and extremely long labor (almost 1 hour) the little foal was healthy and rearing to go... a complete miracle after so much time. Lucy was exhausted and there were several scarey moments where in prone position her eyes glazed over and her breathing almost stopped. The vet arrived as our little boy was attempting to take his first steps. Lucy is doing excellent after a much needed and deserved rest. Once standing everything proceeded along faster than any foal I have raised, as if to make up for lost time, he found his food and was sucking away within minutes of his first steps! Lucy and baby boy are doing wonderfully. A reminder of how precious and sometimes fragile life is, and what a miracle to have success when it feels like all is lost. Back to the barn, maybe sleep awaits at some point down the line

4-13-04: JC Julio is doing wonderfully. He is as sweet as can be and went for a quick romp today in the arena since the pastures are muddy and slick from all this rain! Got to see him really move out for the first time and figuring out where those legs go at a "foal gallop" is pretty tough. He's a pretty mover and fun to watch. Playing out in the rain was only fun for about 20 minutes, then Lucy and Julio were both ready to go back in their freshly cleaned stall for yet another well desreved rest. Julio is a rambunxious little fellow and loves to show his airs above the ground to his mom, especially when she wants to sleep. The joys of having a colt ;)


	(Above) 1 month old (May 2004)

36hrs old! First romp in the real world!	Already giving interviews!	What the? Frog???

	Pure Spanish Andalusian colt born at 11PM on Easter Sunday (April 11, 2004) Teonado x JC Andaluza
	4-12-04 (AM): Happy Easter to all. The night has been a long one! Lucy went into labor at last night at 10PM. All seemed to be progressing well until the foal presented itself. One foot... still just one foot. Scrubbed up and dove in to find one leg and one muzzle. No second leg! For 25 minutes we heroically had Lucy up and down, the right leg that was deflected back wouldn't budge. What you read in books doesn't prepare you for the moment when you are pushing and reaching and searching in a space so tight you wonder how anyone could possibly manipulate the foal from the outside world. Lucy was exhausted and we were running out of time. Ben hooked up the trailer and we were prepared to take Lucy who had now been in labor almost 45 minutes with no progress other than successfully pushing the foal and wedging its knee more against her pelvic bone to the clinic in Charlottesville, meanwhile the vet was on her way. Lucy seemed to be going into shock and our only goal was to save our precious mare. All foal movement had stopped and the helpless feeling was overwhelming. Trailer hooked up and ready there was nothing on God's earth the 4 of us could do to get Lucy to stand, With what would have looked like torture to anyone looking in we somehow got Lucy in sitting position, foal head hanging out. In an exhausted moment Lucy just collapsed, she fell to her side, the fall positioned the foal in such a way that I was able to reach in and finally feel the knee I had been grasping for and unable to get. I was able to pull the leg up where it belonged and with one push the foal was almost completely delivered! Amazingly despite and extremely long labor (almost 1 hour) the little foal was healthy and rearing to go... a complete miracle after so much time. Lucy was exhausted and there were several scarey moments where in prone position her eyes glazed over and her breathing almost stopped. The vet arrived as our little boy was attempting to take his first steps. Lucy is doing excellent after a much needed and deserved rest. Once standing everything proceeded along faster than any foal I have raised, as if to make up for lost time, he found his food and was sucking away within minutes of his first steps! Lucy and baby boy are doing wonderfully. A reminder of how precious and sometimes fragile life is, and what a miracle to have success when it feels like all is lost. Back to the barn, maybe sleep awaits at some point down the line 4-13-04: JC Julio is doing wonderfully. He is as sweet as can be and went for a quick romp today in the arena since the pastures are muddy and slick from all this rain! Got to see him really move out for the first time and figuring out where those legs go at a "foal gallop" is pretty tough. He's a pretty mover and fun to watch. Playing out in the rain was only fun for about 20 minutes, then Lucy and Julio were both ready to go back in their freshly cleaned stall for yet another well desreved rest. Julio is a rambunxious little fellow and loves to show his airs above the ground to his mom, especially when she wants to sleep. The joys of having a colt ;)
	Julio is named after the Spanish journalist Julio Parrado who died a year ago in a missile attack in Iraq. Click here to read the Spanish article about Julio http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2004/04/07/comunicacion/1081327975.html Translated to english: For some reason google translates Ben's name to horse radish tree! The translation is in general a bit rough, if you speak Spanish I recommend the first!