COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JANUARY 11, 2017
7A
“Angel” Horse Saves Colt
“While my husband and I
were on vacation from our
horse boarding facility, Roy-
al Crest Ranch, we received a
call from the equine manager,”
said Christine. “‘Everything
is fi ne’, she began, then added
that we had a new ‘arrival’. I
was not sure what she meant
because we had an average of
25 boarders, who brought their
friends, family and horses to
the ranch.
One of our boarder’s horses
had foaled (had a baby) but,
sadly, despite an emergency
C-section the mother died and
we had an orphan colt on our
hands. The cute as a button,
big, brown-eyed, not-so-lit-
tle, chestnut and white, had an
adorable topknot for his fore-
lock. ‘Knick’ was born just in
the ‘nick of time' and he had
the cutest little horse knicker.
Knick needed around-the-
clock bottle feeding and a lot
of TLC. It was easy to fi nd his
stall because of the amount of
spectators and helpers gath-
ered around it. And! The "It's a
Boy!" sparkling balloon.
The poor little fellow not
only lost his Mommy, but
was born with crooked front
legs. Luckily the vet said that
Knick's legs could be straight-
ened manually and that the colt
would grow strong and sound.
The vet arrived, put Knick's
tiny legs into splints, and gave
him an IV in his thin neck --
while all our boarders lined
up. They couldn't wait to take
bottle feeding shifts (which
there was going to be many),
spelling someone else from
the cherished chore, or making
coffee for the all-night crew.
It was wonderful having so
many ready, willing and ca-
pable of caring for the orphan
especially since the old adage,
"He eats like a horse" is also
true for a colt and Knick was
no exception! Bottle feeding
is not a 100% substitute for
Mommy's milk, but where do
you magically fi nd a lactat-
ing mare? Let alone one that
would accept a strange little
guy wearing horsey body ar-
mor?
How we found a surrogate
mom for baby Nick demon-
strates how unseen angels
work on our behalf. Numerous
trainers, instructors, compet-
itors, vets, boarders, generic
animal-lovers, etc. began shar-
ing the colt’s plight in hopes
of fi nding help. The power of
word-of mouth reaped a mira-
cle. Way down the network line
someone mentioned a friend’s
horse had lost her foal and was
so grief-stricken that she was
sleeping on her baby’s grave. If
it hadn’t been for networking,
who knows how Knick’s story
would have ended?
The distraught mare was
driven over to meet Knick in
the hopes of her being his new
and easier milk dispenser (and,
of course, his step-mommy).
Nobody knew if the mare
would accept the orphan or
not. This kind of introduction
is fraught with dangers based
on the foal's size and agility.
If a mare does not like a baby,
then it does not stand much of
a chance of getting out of her
way if she expresses a negative
opinion about raising an instant
child. Especially little Knick,
with his legs splinted. He
could be in grave danger.
The mare was unloaded from
her trailer. She turned around.
Everyone held their breath, not
able to guess which way this
introduction was about to go.
The second that the mare saw
‘our baby’, instead of pinning
her ears back and striking out
at him with one of her powerful
front legs, she stopped, sniffed,
whinnied, softly knickered,
and licked him! It was a match
made in heaven for them both!
And for us. We had a pleth-
ora of people willing to help
tend Nick in his time of need,
but this new Mommy was the
healthiest answer for Nick.
The mare's name? Angel.
She surely was living up to her
name!
It was obvious as the days
rolled by and little Knick grew
bigger and bigger with the gift
of Angel’s milk and attention
that Angel and Knick loved
each other.
When Knick's splints came
off, weeks later, he had to re-
learn how to walk without stick
legs, so - understandably - he
took quite a few horsey nose
dives.
Over the years his legs grew
strong and straight and much
longer as predicted.
There is a little caveat to this
tale: A 90 year old man had
three horses that he could no
longer care for, so he had to
sell them at auction. He loved
them so much that he made a
point to meet each person who
bought his horse to tell them
about that individual. He told
the buyer, who bought one of
his beloved mares, that she had
Lane County Road con-
struction
I-5 @ Beltline Interchange
– Unit 4 (MP194 to MP195.75)
Project Summary:
Building a new bridge over
I-5 to accommodate a reconfi g-
ured onramp
Building a sound wall south
of Beltline and east of Coburg
Road
Adding an additional lane on
eastbound Beltline from Coburg
Road to I-5 on ramp
Extending the multi-use path
for bike and pedestrian travel-
ers. The multi-use path will be
extended south, linking Harlow
Road to North Garden Way
912 meeting
The next meeting of the Cot-
tage Grove 912 Project will be
Monday, January 16th, 6:30
PM, at Stacy’s Covered Bridge
Restaurant, 401 E Main. We
will show Trevor Loudon’s
documentary The Enemies
Within, which profi les US
legislators and their ties to an-
ti-American organizations. The
meeting is open to the public.
been pastured with a stallion
and there was a good chance
that she was pregnant at age 25.
That mare is our Angel.”
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
Meet LCC fi nalists
Bring your questions and
prepare to engage in discussion
with fi nalists for the position
of Lane Community College
president at three community
forums each from 5:30-6:30
p.m. in Room 114 of Lane’s
Downtown Campus. The fo-
rums will be live-streamed at:
https://www.lanecc.edu/it/me-
dia/live-streaming
The forums will be held Tues-
day, January 17 with Dr. Peter
Maphumulo; Wednesday, Janu-
ary 18 with Dr. David Rule; and
Thursday, January 19 with Dr.
Margaret Hamilton.
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