My mare, Bo, obviously hadn’t been nursed in a while as indicated by her full udder. This occurred on a Wednesday afternoon a couple of hours before dark. I had seen both mom and foal the previous morning but not since. This group of horses had the run of approximately sixty acres, so the search wasn’t going to be easy.
I walked in the area closest to the herd until dark but didn’t see or hear anything. The next morning, my husband and I drove through the fields, but still no sign of the missing foal. Bo still hadn’t been nursed and did not appear to be looking for her baby. The situation appeared grim.
Early Friday morning, buzzards were circling by a tree at the far end of the pasture. With a heavy heart, I walked toward the tree dreading what I might find. The pasture grass was higher around the tree than the rest of the field, but as I came to within about six feet, I could see a hole in the ground. We live in an area that is located above a vast cave system, and as a result, there are several sinkholes. This was a new sinkhole right at the base of the tree approximately eight to ten feet in diameter. The tall grass had fallen over the top of the hole making it difficult to see unless you were right on top of it.
I lay on the ground and tried to peer over the edge of the sinkhole but could see only blackness and heard nothing! With the buzzards circling above, I was sure that Bo’s baby was at the bottom of the sinkhole......Dead.
Due to an afternoon appointment, I didn’t get to share this disappointing discovery until early Friday evening. When I told my husband, he asked me if I had actually seen the foals body. I replied that I hadn’t, but that I was sure that he was dead. A friend had stopped by, and the three of us grabbed a flashlight and went to confirm the foal’s tragic demise.
Our younger friend peered over the edge of the sinkhole and much to my amazement said that he could see the colt, and that he was lying down but his head was up! Bursting into tears, I sobbed that he must have broken his legs as a result of the fall and would be in horrible condition if we could even get him out of the deep, narrow hole.
Despite my outburst, our friend tied one end of a rope around himself with the other end anchored around the tree and held by my husband. Our friend lowered himself into the hole and managed to loop another rope around the neck of the colt. Then he and my husband quickly pulled the foal to the surface. My part in all of this was to cry about the horrible condition that the poor baby was sure to be in!
Much to everyone’s amazement, the colt was actually standing (although choking due to the rope around his neck-which was quickly loosened). In fact, he started fighting to get away, and when he was released, he took off running!
That baby had been in the sinkhole between 48 and 66 hours. His mother and the other horses had given him up for dead and so had I! It was August, and he had been without food or water for over two days.
“Lucky” (Wonder where he got a name like that!) is now six months old and is the prettiest little colt that you’ve ever seen!
Lessons to be Learned:
* Keep looking until you find what you’re looking for.
* Don’t give up or lose hope.
* Younger, thinner friends can come in handy!
Post Script: Lucky was sold, and is now a three year old gelding living happily in Tennessee.
