(Originally posted to the KBR Wild Horse and Burro News)
  Mother Nature can be rough!
February, 2006
Another Horse in the House!
Mother nature can be pretty tough on newborn foals. During the afternoon of February 14th motorists had to turn on the A.C. to stay comfortable in their cars. That night the temperature plummeted to +4 F. A newborn foal appearing early in the season didn't have much of a chance making an appearance on a night like that.

Such was the case in Stagecoach, NV. A local band dubbed "The Stagecoach Seven" bedded down in the valley for the night just north of US-50. A pregnant mare foaled and before daybreak the temperature fell like a rock. When local residents started stirring and the band headed off to more remote pastures for the day, the foal was too hypothermic to stand. When it was clear to the stallion that the foal couldn't walk, he pushed his mares off towards the foothills.

A local resident who had earlier observed the band happened to notice the foal lying on the ground. After a couple of hours the band continued to move off into the distance so the resident investigated and found the foal to be alive. He then reported the foal to Lyon County Animal Services.

Officer Nonie Higley responded. As she approached the foal, the foal raised her head and nickered but couldn't get up. The foal was very cold. Officer Higley's dog van was in the County Garage for service, so she carried the foal to her motor pool sedan, seat belted her into the back seat, and took her to the animal shelter.

Officer Higley tried to warm the foal and give her some goat's milk, but she remained lethargic and still could not stand. Lyon County Animal Services called the State Virginia Range Estray Horse Manager who in turn contacted Shirley Allen of Least Resistance Training Concepts (LRTC) to see if she could save the foal. Having raised numerous orphans, Shirley and LRTC accepted the challenge and the foal headed for "Shirley's House of Horses" in Dayton.

Heading from the shelter to Shirley's

Cover the floors with quilts and beach towels... there's another horse in the house!

Shirley typically brings the little ones indoors when it is excessively cold. Once in the house and having taken some colostrum and warm milk replacement the little foal started to revive. Eventually she could successfully stand up on her own and wobble around. She would utter little chortling whinnies like she was yodeling, so she was dubbed "Heidi."

(The following photos were taken the morning after Heidi was rescued, when she was two days old.)

Starting to explore this strange new world.
Helping Bruce pick out a name from 10,001 Names for Horses.

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