Copyright © 1997 by Anna Freeman

NOTE: This page was formatted and first published in 1997 by the The GreenTree Group, for the "Arabian Horse Interactive, the Internet's Arabian Horse Magazine". This page is now on the Freeman Arabians website with permission from the owners of The GreenTree Group. If your publication would like to reprint this article, please contact the author and copyright holder, Anna Freeman, for permission first.

Beau Free (Niga Free x Witeza Quatra Croce, a.k.a. "Tezzy") was foaled on May 22, 1997. His birth was normal and easy on the mare. The notation I made on Tezzy's record was, "Bay colt, small star. He is tiny." 

On the day Beau was born, my husband Ed and I were working night shifts. We checked Tezzy and her new baby just before leaving for work, and both seemed fine. When we arrived home the next morning I immediately went to check the new foal, expecting to see a bright-eyed, frisky colt. Instead, I found a very sick baby lying in a pool of blood which he had passed from his digestive tract. Beau was 22 hours old and critically ill.
 

Beau Free at one month of age. This photo was taken just five days after the turning point in his illness. He was not completely re-hydrated and still very thin. 

We immediately got our vet to come see the colt. Our first thought was that the foal had been stepped on or had been kicked, but Dr. Paul Neilson could not find injuries to explain the bleeding. The colt was in a lot of pain, so Paul gave him a shot of banamine. He told me to try to get some fluids into the colt, get him up on his feet and nursing. Paul would return in the evening and check on the colt. 

I worked with the colt all day, milking Tezzy and feeding him with a 35cc syringe. Once in a while, I could get him up, but he wasn't strong enough to nurse. By the time Paul returned at 6 p.m., our colt was in real trouble. Paul gave the colt a gallon of electrolytes by stomach tube and gave him another shot for the stomach pain caused by the large amount of liquid. We started him on penicillin and the marathon was underway.

For the next three-and-a-half weeks, I spent every hour I had free with the colt. On the third day, "baby boy" had become "Baby Beau," and that is how Beau got his name. Around three weeks of age, Beau was going through another crisis. He was unconscious and barely breathing. I finally gave up on him and began saying goodbye.

Beau was starving right before our eyes. At his most critical, he looked like Yoda in Star Wars with his little pointed ears, big eyes with huge circles around them, and dimples above his eyes big enough for me to put my thumb in them up to the first knuckle. 

At one point, I began rubbing his tummy like I used to do with my babies when they didn't feel good. This went on for about five minutes, and suddenly Beau's ear moved back toward me. I rubbed his tummy a little more firmly and Beau opened his eye. I was really getting into this tummy-rubbing, increasing the pressure and the area I was rubbing. Beau lifted his head and looked back over his shoulder at me. Now I was excited! I continued with the rubbing until Beau rolled up onto his chest. There went the tummy -- he was now resting on it. I then moved to his flank and rubbed him there. Beau heaved a big sigh, as big as a tiny sick baby can heave, and got to his feet! 

That was the turning point for Beau. I got some Foal-Lac powder from our veterinary clinic and fed Beau as much as he would take, every hour around the clock. He started with only one ounce, then two, three, and up to 14 ounces at the end of 36 hours. Each day saw continued improvement. 

When Beau finally began to eat, we could see improvement hourly. As his dehydration was controlled and reversed, the deep folds around his eyes smoothed out and the dimples filled in. 

It was at this time that I turned to the group on the arab-l mailing list and asked for help. Everyone there was so supportive and helpful. I never realized how important it is to have feedback from people who really understand what I was going through and how important my little foal was. Several had gone through similar situations and had specific answers to my questions. List members Michael Bowling and Charlotte Newell were especially helpful with suggestions on how to mix and feed the Foal-Lac. 

All the time Beau was sick, we had tried to keep Tezzy's milk flowing. She was nearly dried up by the time Beau started to get well, so Tezzy and I made a deal. She would provide the "warm and fuzzies" and teach Beau to be a horse, and I would keep him fed. Beau did us one better. He began to nurse Tezzy as soon as he was strong enough to stand and suck. He brought her milk back! 

Tezzy did not regain enough milk production to completely feed Beau, but with Foal-Lac liquid, then Foal-Lac pellets and finally Omolene 300 supplementing Tezzy's milk, Beau is finally a healthy and happy little horse. 

Tezzy is the most remarkable mare I have ever worked with. Not once did she get upset by the people around her sick baby. She was never haltered during Beau's illness. All the time I was crawling around in the stable working with Beau, Tezzy was right there, moving out of my way and never once stepping on me or any of my equipment. I would sleep with Beau, and Tezzy would stand guard over both of us. 

We still do not know why Beau was sick. He may have been premature. The weather was rainy with windy, cold nights, and although he was in a dry place, the low pressure systems seemed to affect him. He was sickest when the barometric pressure was lowest. 

Today, Beau is a beautiful Arabian colt. He is still very small compared to his brothers and sisters, but he is growing quickly.

My mother is a resident in our local 29-bed nursing home. I had been telling the staff about my "Wonder Colt," and they'd been trying to get me to bring him to the home for the residents to see. I was putting the visit off for obvious reasons, but I finally felt that Beau was ready, even if I wasn't. 
 

Beau entering the nursing home
through the sunroom. 

Beau rode into town to the nursing home in our big four-horse stock trailer, all alone. We left Tezzy, his dam, at home. When we arrived at the home, Beau hopped down from the trailer and followed me across the street. I was hoping that Beau would be a gentleman and stand in the grass so the residents could see him and maybe pet him. As Beau, my husband Ed and I entered the garden, a beautiful area full of flowers, a sun shelter, a fish pond and a waterfall, we were met by nearly all of the home residents at the doorway to the garden. 

Beau did not even hesitate. He looked at all the people, nearly all in wheelchairs, many with oxygen bottles and breathing apparatus attached to their chairs. (Admittedly, a pretty scary picture under the best of circumstances.) 

My mother was already outside on the grass and was the first person Beau encountered. She uses a walker, which Beau is already familiar with since Mother and Beau have met at the ranch a couple of times. Beau got his "love and scratches" from Mother and then proceeded to introduce himself to everyone else. 
 

Beau nuzzling his new friend, Clara
Belle, who used to catch wild horses
and train them. 

For the next 45 minutes, I was as entranced by Beau as everyone else was. Beau walked up to the first person in her wheelchair, reached out and nuzzled her hand, got a couple of scratches, some softspoken compliments, and then proceeded to next person. By this time, Beau was inside the nursing home, walking among wheelchairs with only a couple of inches clearance on either side, softly touching people and being touched. In all, Beau worked his way through 12 wheelchairs, a dinner table, a lounge area and sunroom, a piano, water fountain and several members of the hospital staff. 

One of the residents of the nursing home was a young man named Merle who grew up with horses. Because of a terrible accident ten years ago, Merle was totally disabled with severe brain damage that left him confined to wheelchair that was more like a mobile bed. The nurses wheeled Merle down the hall to see Beau. 
 

Beau and Merle. This was the first time any
of his caretakers had seen Merle smile. 

When Beau saw Merle coming down the hall, he pricked his beautiful Arabian ears forward and proceeded to walk up to Merle. Beau put his head on Merle's abdomen and nuzzled his tummy, then sniffed Merle's hand and face. Merle's eyes opened in amazement and he produced a tiny little smile, the first most of the nurses had ever seen. Magic! 

If this was all that had happened, it would be more than any of us could have hoped for, but Beau was not finished with his visit. He followed Merle's chair down the hall until he came to a room where a man was dying. His wife was telling him about the horse out in the lobby, and needless to say, the gentleman thought his wife was losing it! Beau peeked in the room, saw the man lying in his bed and walked right up to him. Beau then tried to pull the bedding off the man -- and it looked as though he was smiling when he did it! The man was very surprised, and after figuring out that he really was seeing a horse and not having a weird dream, he reached out and touched Beau's velvety nose. More magic! 

After saying goodbye, Beau left the room and proceeded down the hall in the direction he had last seen Merle's chair travel. He next came to a room with two ladies -- one was asleep but the other was awake. The one that was awake had heard about the horse in the lobby but was unable to get out of bed to come see Beau. Beau walked up to her bed and proceeded to nuzzle the woman's tummy, something he was getting very good at. She began to laugh, reached out and scratched his head, rubbed his ears and said a lot of very nice things to him. He loved it. When their visit was finished, Beau had to back out of the room because there wasn't enough space to turn around due to the equipment and wheelchairs present.

Back in the hall, we came to two more rooms where there were residents in bed, but they were asleep. Beau seemed to know they were resting and did not even offer to enter these rooms. 

We moved down the hall until we finally got to Merle's room. Beau walked right in like he belonged there. He went up to the bed, nuzzled Merle's side, took another step forward and nuzzled his arm. Merle had gone to sleep, but he awoke when Beau nuzzled him. Although very tired, Merle tried to reach out and touch Beau's nose. When he couldn't quite reach Beau, Beau stepped closer and touched Merle's hand. Merle looked up at Beau, took a deep breath and went quietly back to sleep, seeming very much at peace. 

By this time, all the nurses and I were in awe of what we were seeing. None of us had ever experienced anything like what was happening. When Merle went to sleep, Beau quietly backed up, turned and went out of the room into the hall. 

Beau traveled back down the hall, putting his head into the two rooms where he had made new friends and said goodbye to each one. Then he entered the crowd awaiting him in the sunroom and revisited each resident and all the hospital staff who had gathered in our absence. Two of the ladies who were somewhat afraid of Beau when he first arrived were now eager to greet him. Both said "sweet nothings" to him, gave him a couple of scratches, and bid him farewell. 

After Beau's visit, my mother told us that her fellow residents talked of nothing else, so we plan to visit again. The old saying, "There is nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a good horse," is really true in this case.