KING CITY — As Perfect 10 finally settles on the floor of her stall, Silver Duck Stable owner Tim Drake springs into action, his vast experience ready to help the mare have as easy a birth as possible.
Quickly he checks that the foal is in the right position, exhaling slightly when discovering hat the foal's head and front legs are to the fore, relieved that this could be a straightforward birth
Drake carefully attaches foaling straps to the newborn’s legs, ready to help the mare with the birth. Tim and Ashley McGibbon, a general manager at Kinghaven Farms who is no stranger to helping birth animals, then start the precise process of pulling on the straps in time with contractions. Pulling when the mare pulls, stopping when she stops, applying the right amount of tension, helping to make the birth as easy as possible.
The newborn foal emerges fully from her mother, lying in a pool of amniotic fluid, still partially wrapped in the sac. Perfect 10, lies exhausted, craning her neck to see her baby.
Drake leans back against the wall of the stall, a huge crooked smile breaking out across his face, the joy of the moment replacing the professional focus he displayed during the birth.
The mother and newborn are straining for each other and, after gently cleaning off the foal, Drake helps the foal get closer to her mother.
The connection is immediate, the mare continuously licking and nuzzles her newborn, the foal leaning into her mother’s affections.
Drake backs out of the stall to allow the pair to get to know each other, still wearing his crooked smile, still loving the moment when a new life is brought into the world.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025
Chris Young, The Canadian Press
