What We Missed....

Of course, I would have loved to get a video of Komma giving birth. But I missed it.

But all is not lost.... there is a nice video on YouTube of an Icelandic horse giving birth and I thought that I would link to it here so you can at least see what a birth is like.

The video was taken by Evelyn Kuhne on her farm Lýtingsstaðir (Lytingsstadir) showing their mare, Kvíka, giving birth. Evelyn has written me that "It was a great experience to sit beside Kvíka while she was giving birth. An unforgettable moment. Be welcome to put a link to my video of Kvíka. I´m happy to share this great moment with many people around the world."

This is what I love about the internet -- the connections we can make with people through the Icelandic horse.

By the way, Evelyn told me that she, in turn, watches the videos of Hágangur on my website, hestakaup.com. "I really love this horse (he is the grandfather of Kvikas foal!)".

So, it's a small world, all the more so when we cooperate with each other!

Arrival!

We went down to the barn to check on Komma before turning in. We knew she was due around this time, but she was not "waxy" and was her usual friendly self. Just in case, though, we kept her in the paddock by herself with a good supply of hay.

Sarah had a hunch, maybe women's intuition, and she went back down at 5 AM. She rushed back up to wake me enough to grab the camera and to let me know that it was a boy.

This is the first picture I took of "him" -- the name search started right at that moment.

In the dawn we barely made out the shape of a wobbly, but walking, horse.

So, of course, I had to rush back up to the house and grab my video camera. Here is the first shot:

Click to Play Video

We're all getting pretty impatient. We saw him walk, well, wobble, a while ago and now that we have the video camera we need to see him get himself up. Even Komma, pawing on the ground, is showing some frustration now.

Doesn't he know he needs milk?

Click to Play Video