I am so, so sorry for your and Gracie's loss. My first foaling of this season ended in a terrible tragedy as well. I had a total melt down and about decided to totally get out of the minis that I love so much because as is stated so much on here, "breeding minis is not for the faint of heart". Well, I get very faint of heart when something happens to one of my animals, especially the precious little babies, it is very hard for me to take. Let Gracie know that I was questioning God myself. I was not blaming Him (I totally blamed my self and my mare). I did not even question why the foal had to die, but why it had to happen in such a cruel way.
Here is what happened to me:
I knew my mares were getting close to foaling, especially one mare, so I had been watching them all very closely, checking the bags every morning before I turned them out and every evening when I put them in their stalls for the night and even throughout the day if I felt like I saw any other signs. Well, I had just checked all my mares out in the fields and all were fine, acting completely normal. My mother-in-law had suprised us by making dinner for us, and my first thought was that I wanted to stay with my horses. I had not left my house for more than 15 minutes at a time just to take my kids to school and pick them up in the afternoons for about 3 weeks and everyone was getting really grumpy with me and tired of hearing the, "it's foaling season, I can't leave". I did not want to be rude and really and truely believed no mares were ready to foal before I could get back. So, we went and ate dinner and when I got home, I immediately went out to get my mares in for the night. It was later than usual and already dark outside. As soon as I went out, one of my mares, "Kisses", was waiting for me at the gate. I went ahead and let her in to her stall and fed her while I got all the other mares' feed ready. I got all the mares settled in and started my regular evening check of bags, vulva, and belly shapes and to oberve them for a while in their stalls. When I went into the stall with Kisses, I checked her bag and could tell a noticeable difference in it. I looked under her tail and all looked normal (not relaxed) and was dry. I did notice that the foal had dropped into position and thought, Hey, I may be staying in the barn tonight. Well, I took a sample of her milk and tested it. Her milk was yellowish, clear said thin and tested no where near ready to foal. I was suprised so I observed her for awhile and she was acting completely normal. So, I decided to go in for the night but thought she would foal within the next 2 or 3 nights. When I went out to feed and check on the mares the next morning, I went into the stall with Kisses. I immediately checked her bag and could tell that her milk had come in ALOT more. I looked at her and then it suddenly hit me - THIS MARE IS NO LONGER IN FOAL! I ran out to the fields praying not to find a dead foal. I finally found the sack and placenta by one of the hay sheds, but no foal. I ran around the fields looking until I spotted my female beagle dragging something under the fence on the far side of the field close to our driveway. I ran over to my dog and she had a dead foal.I jumped the fence and my dog ran. The foal was a gorgeous black appaloosa colt with a large blanket with big black spots and he had a beautiful star on his forehead. BUT MY DOG HAD CHEWED THE FACE OFF! I cannot tell you how horrible those first moments were, but they just got worse. The little colt had to have been born the evening before. Kisses obviously foaled him without a problem and then left him and came on down to eat dinner. She never called for him or even acted any different other than she was the first one down by several minutes to eat. She was still very large because her stomach had not contracted down yet and she definitely did not act in any pain that hour and a half I was out in the barn with her. I HAD NO IDEA! I DID NOT SUSPECT A THING. I EVEN MILKED HER AND STILL COULD NOT TELL THAT SHE HAD ALREADY FOALED!!! (that is the part that is so hard to accept!) The worst part was that when I found the colt the next morning, he was not even stiff yet. He was not even very cold. He had to have made it through most of the night, all alone, just out in the field on a very cold night, until he got weaker and weaker and finally died just before dawn. Then my dog feasted on his face!The next day, Kisses acted like she felt great! She ran around and played with the other mares, picking at them and nipping at their back legs. She never acted like she knew what happened.
That was the morning of April 1st, April Fool's Day, and I thought that was the most horribly, disgusting joke that could be played on someone. I was so upset and felt so much guilt. I did not understand why God would let that happen in that way when He knew how vigilant I had been and He knew how I would blame myself. But, bad things do happen and even though, God allows them to happen, he does not cause them to happen. God did not create horses this size, but He allowed us humans to breed them down to this size and we have to accept the responsibility for the bad consequences that go along with it. Miniatures do have a lot more complications, but I do get so much joy from them. God is merciful and He gives me much, much more joy than the pain. I now have 4 beautiful, healthy colts on the ground and I am enjoying playing with them and watching them play together so much. So, the pain has lessened and I have realized I can go on. I just get too much happiness from them to give them up. Tell Gracie not to give up! Maybe you guys could consider buying a mare with a foal already by her side for now? I will be praying for Gracie and you.
