It was a cold February evening as the wind blew heavily outside. Quickly, I finished up my chores in the barn. I could see every breathe as my body shivered. My body was completely numb from the cold and to make things worse it was snowing outside. All I had left to do was to get Maya in for the night. I watched as her stomach moved back and forth. Something about her appearance did not seem right, but I shrugged it off as just being due to the cold. I grabbed a slice of hay and finished up in the barn for the night. I hustled inside to warm up my shivering body.

About a half hour later, my dad came running into the house. I sprang up off the couch because I thought he was hurt or something. “Maya’s having a baby,” He said huffing and puffing.

“What? Stop playing jokes on me,” I said confused. I really didn’t understand what he meant as I had no idea she was pregnant.

“Maya’s having a baby. Call mom and get the vet’s number.” I scrabbled to my feet and searched for the telephone. I grabbed my jacket, scarf, hat, and mittens, and rushed out to the barn.

Maya was lying down in her stall with her eyes as wide as can be as she gazed up at me. As I walked around the stall, I could see two legs sticking out of her rear end. “Stay right here. I’m going to go get some old towels. Try to get a hold of either Mom or Mark,” Dad said as he ran out of the shed. I grabbed my cell phone. As I dialed the number, my fingers froze up as if they were frost bitten.

“Hello,” Mom said on the other line.

“Maya’s having a baby. What should we do?” I exclaimed.

“What?”

“Maya’s having a baby. What should we do?”

“Call the vet. I am on my way home.” I quickly dialed the number but there was no answer. Maya began to start to go in to labor. My dad rushed back in and handed me a pair of gloves and a towel.

“You need to get in the stall to make sure she isn’t having any problems.” Hustling, I sneaked into the stall and made sure not to scare her. She moaned and groaned as she pushed the foal out. Slowly, the foal came into the world. He was covered in a jelly like substance, so I wiped the crap off of his face so he could breathe. I heard him make a squeaky snort as he began breathing. His face was so tiny. His eyes glimmered in the light. He was so little. His tiny body laid still as the blood ran through the umbilical cord. All I wanted was to have this horrifying dream to end, but to make things worse I could barely feel a muscle in my body. Even though he was adorable and cute, I wished he would had been born on a much warmer night. All I wanted was to go inside and snuggle up in my warm bed.

“Isn’t he cute?” I gleamed as I wiped his body down with the towel. His whole body shivered as he lay in the soft straw.

“Yah, I can’t believe we didn’t know she was pregnant. “ Dad said. He looked at me with surprise. The door slammed open.

“What’s going on?” She said, utterly confused. Her face was pure red as she shivered in the shed.

“Mom, come see the foal.” His body lay shivering in the warm straw as my mare tried to stand up. Instantly, the umbilical cord was free. No longer did his body belong to her’s. Slowly, Maya walked over to smell her little foal. Her instincts kicked in and she began to lick him clean. Slowly he tried to lift himself up. Quickly, we placed pitchforks full of straw in the stall to make sure he didn’t get hurt trying to stand up. With all his strength, he lifted his body off the ground. Wobbly, he stood all on his own. But just as fast as he went up, he fell down on the soft straw. My eyes opened wide as I quickly ran into the stall to make sure he was okay. He got right back up again. His long legs wobbled as he stood up. His body stood still as he looked around with curiosity. He felt around Maya’s tummy for her nipples. Lifting his lips off of his teeth he tried to find her nipples between her front legs. I laughed. I no longer felt like I was dreaming. From that nigh on, I called my little surprise baby Leo.
Looking for twenty minutes, a slurping sound came from his mouth. In amazement, I could not believe a baby foal lay in Maya’s. For whatever reason, little Leo was meant to be mine. I found him another home after 6 months, but I really enjoyed watching him grow. Life happens and it is one crazy roller coaster.