Chapter 39
We’d been lucky with the weather so far but, on Sunday night, a band of low pressure moved across the north of the country, bringing heavy rain overnight. By the morning, the intensity had eased but there was no sign of the rain stopping.
With Willow no longer working on Monday mornings, Jude offered to help me poo-pick and check on the horses.
We donned our waterproofs and ran to the stables to get the equipment out, dodging round puddles.
The temperature had dropped but not significantly and there was no wind so, with the horses having coats which naturally repelled water, there’d been no need to have them in the stables overnight.
Seeing as it was my first heavy downpour here, I was curious as to how the pastures would handle the rain but it seemed to be mainly seeping into the ground and, so far, there was no sign of flooding or churned-up mud.
‘Would you mind me coming into Berwick with you this morning?’ Jude asked as we were putting the rakes and wheelbarrow away in the storeroom a bit later.
‘I’ve run out of contact lens solution – thought I’d put a spare bottle in but I haven’t.
I can pick some up while you’re collecting Maddie’s paint. ’
‘I meant to ask if you wanted to come anyway and have a quick look round the shops. We’ll aim to be there for opening time.’
As we left the stables, my eyes were drawn to the main farm track. A 4x4 pulling a horsebox was heading away from the farm at speed.
‘That’s strange,’ I said, frowning. ‘Wonder what they wanted.’
We set off towards the farmhouse but, as the main gate came into view, I slowed my pace, squinting. Was there something tied to it?
‘No!’ I cried, realising what it was and breaking into a run with Jude hot on my heels.
A chestnut and white Shetland pony was tethered to the gate with an old piece of rope. The gate opened inwards meaning I couldn’t open it without pulling the pony so I clambered over the top and cautiously approached her.
‘Hello, beautiful,’ I said in a calm and gentle voice as I stroked her neck. ‘What are you doing here?’
My stomach lurched as I looked down at her torso. ‘She’s heavily pregnant.’
Jude clambered over the gate to join me. ‘Who’d abandon a pregnant pony? That’s disgusting.’
‘Can you get Caleb for me?’ I asked, untying the rope. ‘I’ll lead her to the stables – if she’ll move, that is. If she’s already in labour…’
‘On it!’ Jude held the gate open so I could carefully lead the Shetland through it, then she ran off to get help.
Shetland ponies typically gave birth in May and June and we were six days into July now so a birth had to be imminent.
I couldn’t bear to think about her being transported in a horsebox while she was pregnant but if she’d been in labour, that was even worse.
And to abandon her without alerting us? In this weather?
What if we’d decided not to poo-pick this morning?
What if we hadn’t spotted her until it was too late?
The walk was slow but at least she was moving. We’d just about made it to the stables as Caleb pulled up in his van and he and Jude jumped out. The exertion had evidently been enough for the pony as, the moment I led her into one of the stalls, she settled down onto her side on the straw.
‘Welcome to a safe place,’ Caleb said, his voice soothing as he stroked her. ‘Aren’t you a stunner? Let’s get you checked out…’
* * *
It transpired that Newbie – our temporary name for her – was in labour.
I was furious about the risk to life that had been placed on both mother and foal by transporting them goodness knows how far but I had to push that aside and focus on the fact that they were in a safe place and getting the care they needed.
Because we didn’t know anything about Newbie and what she’d been through, Caleb wanted to stay with her.
It was a veterinary practice day for him but, as we were now clients of his, it didn’t make it difficult for him to stay with us as an emergency.
We’d have hoped for a natural birth but Newbie got into some difficulties and Caleb needed to intervene.
At 2.17 p.m. a healthy female foal arrived and it was a beautiful moment seeing Newbie cleaning her up before the foal took her first feed.
Mother and baby both had skewbald colouring – a term given to irregular white patches alongside any colour except black.
Newbie had more chestnut than white and her foal’s colouring was the other way round.
‘What are you going to call them?’ Caleb asked as we watched them.
‘I think you get naming rights. We might have lost both of them if it wasn’t for you.’
‘What about Haddock and Edam?’ he said, winking at me and sending the butterflies scattering.
‘Maybe not fish or cheese names.’
Caleb studied the pair for a while. ‘The foal’s the first birth of your new start on this magical farm so I think there’s one perfect name. It has to be Hazel.’
‘I love that.’
‘And continuing with the magical theme, how about Rowan after Rowanbridge for Newbie?’
‘Perfect!’ I said. ‘Rowan and Hazel, welcome to your new home.’
We’d moved out of the stall to give them some space and were resting on the stable doors.
Caleb wanted to stay close as Rowan still needed to pass the placenta – something which would usually happen within an hour of foaling.
He also wanted to ensure that Hazel was getting plenty of colostrum from Rowan in order to give her essential antibodies before her own immune system developed, as well as ensuring she was passing urine and faeces without problem.
Our arms were pressed together and the touch of Caleb’s skin against mine had my heart racing.
‘You were amazing today,’ I said. ‘Thank you so much.’
‘You were pretty amazing too.’
‘I’ve never seen a foaling before. I’ve seen lambs, calves, puppies and kittens being born but never foals, despite working with horses for years.’
There’d been foals born at Silvervale but always during the night. Foals could be born at any time but more typically arrived between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. with it being so peaceful and quiet then. With Rowan’s unusual arrival at the farm it was perhaps no surprise that she’d gone against the norm.
‘Extra-special moment for you then,’ Caleb said. ‘First foaling at the farm and first one overall.’
‘She’s so beautiful. They both are. I wonder where she came from and what’s happened to the dad.’
‘Rowan isn’t chipped so, unless she’s local and rumours spread, we’ll probably never find out. I’d say it’s best to just accept it as one of those things. Even though her owners went about it completely the wrong way, she’s in a good place now where she’s safe and cared for.’
‘It’s funny because I’d just been saying to Jude that I think we need to have more animals here, particularly smaller ones that might appeal more to younger children.’
I told him about the little boy who’d been scared of the horses and how it had taken me down the guinea pigs route.
‘Shetland ponies would have been next on my list but I wasn’t expecting a pregnant one to appear at my gate a few days later.’
‘It’s the magic of the farm,’ Caleb said. ‘You ask for something – even indirectly – and it’ll give you it.’
Even though his eyes were twinkling as he said it, I knew from our conversation on Saturday evening that it wasn’t because he was joking – it was because he believed it.
And so did I. Maybe I should directly ask the farm to send me the reason why Laurie had left so that I could move on.
Because, despite all my protests that I wasn’t ready for someone new, the pounding of my heart every time Caleb was close by told me that I was ready and that he was the one.