Phoenix Needs Your Help to Heal
Hello to all. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read our story. I hope whomever is reading this right now has never had to go through an experience such as the one I'm about to tell you about...
For those of you that own horses yourselves, you know that some days can be super hard. Yesterday was just one of those really tough days for me. Back story: We welcomed a mare & foal into our family over the weekend. Momma and baby were doing wonderful at first. It was such a miraculous thing to witness the connection between a mother & her newborn foal. We had a great evening introducing our kiddos to momma and baby and just watching the two of them bond. It was truly something beautiful & all was well, until it wasn't.
Yesterday, the colt took a huge turn for the worse. It was such a miserable day outside here in western North Dakota. Definitely not the sort of weather you would want to be brought into as a tiny baby foal. We spent all day doing checks and monitoring mama and baby's conditions. Bringing baby inside and warming him up, taking him back to mom, and so on and so forth. But despite all of our efforts, the baby foal declined, and he declined quickly. He's currently fighting with every ounce of life that he has left in him at the vet clinic in Sidney, MT.
What he has been faced with was truly unpredictable. For reasons we are unaware of, his mother was unable to produce enough colostrum for him, and his condition declined significantly in such a short amount of time. When we were able to get him to the vet, he was super lethargic, his temp was unreadable with a thermometer, and he was unable to nurse or even stand on his own four hooves. We'd been trying so hard to keep his temp up without success, but with the help of one amazing veterinarian, four huge heating pads, a hairdryer, a good four hours worth of massaging, six bags of fluid, and a plasma infusion, we were finally able to get him back to borderline stable. I spent all night by his side reassuring him that he was gonna pull through this and get back to his mama. There were a lot of tears but even more prayers while I laid there in the stall with him hoping for a miracle to take place.
This baby is loved beyond what words could ever describe. My family is heartbroken by what's happened, and we're trying to do everything we possibly can to bring him back home to his mama. Mama "Pudge" is absolutely beside herself with fear of what has happened to her foal. I wish there was a way we could tell her that we're doing everything that we can to bring him back home to her. She has this look in her eye that only shows a glimpse of the sadness that she is experiencing. Our hearts are broken right now and they won't truly ever be whole again until we're able to have Phoenix back home, where he belongs.
As you all can imagine, the financial hardship that this has brought on our family is quite significant. We have had family and friends ask us how they can be of any help. We've been encouraged to make a GoFundMe to share his story with others that may be willing to bless us with donations towards the cost of veterinarian care and to ensure that we are able to give him the best possible chance of pulling through this devastating ordeal.
He's quite a little fighter. I gave him the name of Phoenix last night. It just seemed so fitting. I believe that with time and all the love that we have to give him, he WILL rise from the ashes and be reborn into a new life here with us on the farm. He deserves a fresh start and a new beginning. I'm not giving up hope. If he's willing to fight so hard to pull through this, we will keep fighting too.
Please pray for him, pray for us, and if you feel led, just share this story with others. It means so much to just have the support from all who are willing and able. May whatever is meant to be made from this experience help others and bring those of us closer to eachother during time such as these. Just a reminder to always be grateful to the ones that show you love. Thanks for reading our story. Blessings to all. ❤️
Any donations can also be sent directly to High Plains Veterinarian clinic in Sidney, MT. Just be sure to mention my name (Jessica Smolinski) when you call. They can be reached directly @ [phone redacted].
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