Horse Tales: ‘But Mom, why are you waiting?’

Recently I learned a friend named Wendy had purchased her very first horse, and with it came a surprise that I needed to see. Her story was interesting, and we decided to meet this past weekend at the farm to talk while Wendy was doing the morning chores.

She had first visited this farm in April 2025 after learning that the owner, a fellow friend, was awaiting the arrival of a mini donkey. Wendy wanted to see the mini donkey, as well as the farm’s standard donkey, horses, pigeons and chickens. The opportunity to be around horses was enticing – and so began her visits to the farm.

She fell in love with the beautifully colored horses, with their long manes and tails, feathered legs and friendly dispositions. A few months later, the farm manager said the owner had decided, after raising and breeding these horses for 20-some years, to downsize and that there were horses for sale. Purchasing a horse was not something she’d considered before, but after much discussion, she said she might consider a horse at the farm’s recommendation. They suggested Mary Poppins, a registered Gypsy Vanner horse born in January 2007, might be a good first horse, as she was quiet and friendly and had a sweet temperament.

While considering whether purchasing was the correct choice for the family, Wendy believed she would consider her as a friend and a pet. But without any facility at home to house a horse, she never thought she would actually buy one. She set the idea aside and was content to visit regularly, until her son said, “But Mom, why are you waiting?”

After further consideration, she signed a contract to purchase Mary Poppins in August. She went to the farm on weekends and after work. But little did she know she was in for a surprise – Mary Poppins was in foal when Wendy purchased her! She had been pastured with a stallion in late March or early April of that year, and as a horse’s gestation period averages 340 days (approximately 11 months), detection upon examination would be possible by August. After completing Mary’s exam, the veterinarian declared, “Yes, she’s in foal and its size is between a rat and a cat.”

(In equine terminology, three animals are used to describe the size of developing offspring. At about 90 – 100 days’ gestation, the developing fetus is only a few inches long, about the size of a large rat. At about day 150, it grows to the size of a small cat. At around day 180, the fetus continues to lengthen and thicken and reaches the size of a small dog.)

Wendy said, “I was thrilled to find out this news. The unexpected, unplanned fulfillment of my dream to be around horses became exponentially more joyous.”

She prepared the foaling shed in advance, cleaning it out, putting down layers of hay and gathering things that might be needed. Wendy put in for a day of “maternity leave” at work and was fortunate to have been present with her husband, Richard, when the foal was born. It was on March 24, early in the morning, and just 28º outside.

She recalled, “As horse owners know, it is very rare to witness a foal’s birth, and had we arrived seven minutes after we did, we would have missed this birth!”

The couple arrived at the farm and found Mary Poppins lying on the ground in full labor. They could see the foal’s tiny hooves were out. Its shoulder “got stuck” and Richard (a retired veterinarian) “jumped into action, got down and gently turned it just a little bit and pulled it out. We could see its face through the sac!”

She was grateful for their perfect timing, not only to witness the birth, but as she explained, “Foals will, theoretically, imprint at birth on those they first see, and we were in the prime moment to have the greatest effect on the bonding that could occur between horse and human.”

Everything went according to schedule, using the “123 rule,” a time-based guideline used to monitor a newborn foal and its mare which ensures both are recovering well from the birth. These crucial milestones are: within one hour, the foal should be standing and walking unassisted; within two hours, it should be nursing successfully and receiving the colostrum, which builds its immune system; and within three hours, the mare should have completely passed the placenta and the foal passed their first feces (meconium).

Wendy said that within the first hour he started nursing. He walked on his spindly legs from the shed to the barn, which took about 30 minutes. They led the mare, and her baby followed. She said, “From the moment I saw his tiny hooves, I knew he would be mine forever, and I would learn everything possible to ensure he and his mother had a good horse life.”

Wendy named the colt Suno Murre Ilesko (which means “dream of my heart” in the Romani language), and since his birth, she has spent nearly every day at the farm.

The days were spent following a routine of familiarizing Suno with human contact, starting with his withers and working all around his body, including touching his legs and gently putting her fingers in his nostrils, ears and mouth. This desensitizes the foal so that if she ever needs to administer medication or other treatments, he’ll allow her to do so. The best practice is to desensitize the foal to your touch and its new surroundings regularly, but only for a brief time initially.

Mary Poppins has had seven foals in the past, about one every other year. Suno is her eighth, so Wendy can rely on her experience. So far she is an excellent mother, and Suno is developing a good personality with obvious confidence. Mary trusts her new owner and often wanders away to graze while Suno and Wendy are visiting and training.

In the beginning, Suno thought of her as another horse: trying to chew on her, trying to rear up. She had to learn to deter him when he was coming in too close. He will now wear a halter and is used to her picking up his feet and touching his legs, working on a leadline and walking with a butt rope alongside Mary Poppins (with a friend leading the mare) rather than leading from his head.

Wendy knew the horses would need a secure but open-door shelter when they were finally brought home to her farm. The shelter, a run-in shed, is not a barn; the horses will only be secured inside during severe weather or for significant medical issues requiring containment for treatment.

Gypsy Vanner horses are known as easy-keepers: if they have proper food and shelter, they remain comfortable outside. Wendy worked at the farm throughout winter and witnessed the horses’ frozen muzzles and hooves caked with ice and snow, but despite these conditions, found that no horses stayed inside the shelters that were available to them. They were outside the run-ins, preferring to use them just as a block against the wind.

Richard began construction of their run-in shed on May 11, and it should be completed shortly. It will be adaptable into two stalls with interior movable gates and will have doors over the openings for the instances mentioned above. The finished size will be approximately 12-by-24 feet.

Horse Tales will report more on Gypsy Vanner horses (and Mary Poppins and Suno) after they are moved to Wendy’s farm.

by Judy Van Put