Week One Down- Not so Much

      It is almost 8pm here at the barn and I have been here since 6am, after being here until 11pm last night...ahhh the life of a vet student! I am past the point of exhaustion and can barely walk, but I was expecting this so I can't complain too much. No one ever said this would be easy, and everyone has said it will be the hardest year of my life and I am proving them right this week.
     Just like most working horse farms, weekends don't exist here. I will most likely be here until 10pm tonight, and I am due back in the morning at 6:30am. My mare from last night was induced this afternoon and had a beautiful chestnut foal. However, she is a very special case in which her foal cannot drink any of her colostrum (mom's first milk that contains antibodies). The mom has built up antibodies to the foals blood type, it is a very similar situation to people where the mom is a neg blood type and the child is positive! In fact I myself was born this way and had complications because Mom and I are different blood types! Anyways, so the foal needs to be checked and fed every couple hours to make sure she doesn't drink any colostrum, (she is separated from mom by a panel so they can see each other and still bond but she can't drink.) I also artificially inseminated my first mare today! Hopefully she will take and I will have a baby this time next year!
     Other than that it was just a work "horse" kinda day.