You Made Us Wait Long Enough! | First Foal Birth

What this episode is about

The content documents the tense birthing process of a foal, detailing the mare’s labor, the crowding and positioning challenges, the foal’s feet and sac status, and the caretaker’s decisions on when to intervene. It highlights the patience, timing, and occasional manual assistance required during the delivery.

Key takeaways

• Pregnant with drama: live narration turns lambing into reality TV, complete with foot detectives and wall avoidance.
• Foal birth clock: time limits emerge when sac ruptures; crowd wisdom vs. instinct—who really knows?
• Placenta choreography: proactive tying and Banamine flow underscore hands-on veterinary pragmatism over mystique.
• Baby economics: big foal, loose membranes, and roan guesses reveal how birth surprises rewrite what ‘normal’ looks like.
• Maternal focus: the camera-adjusted care routine—encouragement, positioning, and safety—outshines dramatic excitement.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Lindsay (Guest)
• Matt (Guest)

What is discussed, and when

1. 15:00 – 20:00: Alex & Jaclyn Lindsay, Raven, Matt
2. 20:00 – 25:00: Raven, Banamine
3. 25:00 – 30:00: Banamine
4. 30:00 – 35:00: Raven, Matt

Notable quotes from "You Made Us Wait Long Enough! | First Foal Birth"

• It’s good luck. You found it. We found it. We’re going to save that for later. We’re going to make Lindsay touch it. Your baby is gorgeous. Raven, why don’t you get up, honey? I’m going to let her do her thing.

  about Raven · at 15:30

• Either ill towards their baby or they won’t let them nurse and things like that. And so generally if they pass it, I go ahead and give them some Banamine to alleviate some of…

  about Banamine · at 25:32

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Raven — Person · Subject animal (mare) being addressed during foaling · 3 mentions · first at 15:37
  Raven is the mother giving birth; the speakers coach and manage her labor, post-birth care, and bonding with the foal.
• Alex & Jaclyn Lindsay — Person · On-site participant / helper (part of the group observing the foaling) · 2 mentions · first at 15:30
  Lindsay is part of the group asked to weigh in on the foal’s sex and is referenced in a playful moment about touching the hippomanes.
  It’s good luck. You found it. We found it. We’re going to save that for later. We’re going to make Lindsay touch it. Your baby is gorgeous. Raven, why don’t you get up, honey? I’m going to let her do her thing.
• Matt — Person · On-site participant / helper · 2 mentions · first at 16:09
  Matt is asked to guess the foal’s sex and is briefly involved physically when the foal bumps into him (“Mr. Matt”).
  What do y’all think? Before I go check, I’m going to check. Boy. You think it’s a boy? It’s a boy. What do y’all think? Girl, Matt? boy. Boy, what do we think it is, Lindsay? I…

Products & tech

• Banamine — Product · Medical treatment · 2 mentions · first at 24:28
  Used to alleviate pain in the mare after passing the placenta, ensuring comfort and care post-birth.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:28 Now she’s just kind of chilling. You can get in. She’s going back down. There she is. Oh. Oh. And feed her out. We’re going in. Feed her out. It’s go time. Feed her out. I see a white foot. That’s so I see a white foot.

1:33 Okay, mom. Okay. It’s okay. I think that’s the wall. Mama, why don’t we move? Why don’t we make room? That was magical. No, I think it was too loose. I think she had had it in for so long and it was too loose. I only really see one foot.

4:04 Stay put, baby. Stay put and push right there, honey. Look at all the steam coming off of her. She’s so warm. It’s so cold now. Up against the wall. All right, baby. If you don’t move, I’m going to come move you because you can’t have it up against the wall. Why don’t we get in a different spot, honey? Why don’t we get in a different spot?

5:37 That’s better. That’s better, baby. That’s better, baby. Yeah, you can do it right there. It’s a bay, baby. At least at first. I see how the feet are placed. Do we only see one foot? I see the other one. It’s not too bad.

6:47 Once that sac breaks, we have a time limit. It’s okay, honey. It’s okay, honey. Lay down and push. It’s been about 19 minutes since that came out. So, we’ve got about 5 to 10 more before I help. How long? Like 19 minutes.

8:26 The feet just don’t look right to me. The feet just don’t look right to me. That’s the foal alert. I should be getting a phone call here in a minute. I’ll give her a couple more minutes, but if she doesn’t do anything else, I’m going to just go a little, probably a little pressure. I want her to do it by herself. I don’t want to have to help her, but it’s been almost half an hour and not really much is happening.

9:33 Easy mama. Easy mama. Easy, mama. No. Don’t get up, honey. Now push, baby. There you go. Good girl. Good girl. Easy. Stay down, mama. Stay down. Push, honey. Push, honey. Push, honey. Push, honey. If you didn’t let it cook for an extra two weeks, maybe it wouldn’t have been this big. That’s a big old baby. Easy. Easy. You’re okay. You’re doing good. Easy. You stay right where you are. You need to get up a little bit.

11:53 You want to try this way? Why don’t I help you? Want me to help you like this or do you want to lay down? Why don’t you go lay down? Go lay down, honey. Don’t do it in the wall. Please, I know. Honey, lay down. Good girl. Good girl. Let’s get this baby out.

12:48 That’s a big one. Look at that big face. It’s a big baby. Let’s get it out, honey. Yep. Yep. Stick it under there. All of it. I know. It’s a big freaking baby. I don’t want to be back there. Really don’t want to. Beautiful baby.

13:45 Easy. Good girl. No, mama. Good girl. Holy moly. Baby’s alive. Go down with it. Go down this way. Oh, that’s a big baby. Good girl. Don’t get up. Don’t get up. Whoa. Easy, mama. You stay. Oh, you stay down. You stay down. Good girl. You stay down, mama. You stay down. Make sure you get it away from her back legs. Good girl. Push the rest of it out. Huge baby. Huge baby. Good job. Good job. Good job. Good job, girl. Good job. Good job. Good job. Easy. All right. She’s about to break the umbilicus if she gets up. And that’s okay. She can get up. Let her. Good job, mama. Baby’s cold. You need to go lick on him. What is that? The hippomanes. The hippomanes.

15:30 It’s good luck. You found it. We found it. We’re going to save that for later. We’re going to make Lindsay touch it. Your baby is gorgeous. Raven, why don’t you get up, honey? I’m going to let her do her thing.

16:04 Oh, he’s really cold. Mama, why don’t we get up and go talk to him? Her or him? What do y’all think? Before I go check, I’m going to check. Boy. You think it’s a boy? It’s a boy. What do y’all think? Girl, Matt? Uh, boy. Boy, what do we think it is, Lindsay? I think it’s a boy. You think it’s a boy? Well, you guys are right. I knew it. It’s a boy. I called it so early. We’re going to have to see after, but I bet my bottom dollar that he’s gray. Really? Like he’s bay right now, but I bet he’s gray.

17:01 That’s your baby, baby. He’s cold. I’ll let you do that quite a bit and then we’re going to get him warm. Good job. Looking clean. Oh, go sit on him, mama. Where’s your baby? Oh goodness. Is he talking to you? Look at those long legs. He said he’s already moving. Get his booty clean.

19:25 Good job. Um, is he roan? I forgot that it was even possible for him to possibly be roan. Is that baby roan, Nate? Hard to tell. Huh? Because he’s closer to the butt. It’s really hard to tell. Is that a roan? A bay roan baby. It’s okay, mama.

20:46 You’re okay. Come tie this around underneath it. Hold your tail up for me. I can’t have it tied to the tail. Cut that perfect. So, the reason I wanted to get that is because she ripped a good bit of her placenta off and it’s been a nightmare in years past where when that happens, I don’t address it quick enough and then they’re like dragons and they won’t let me back there and then you have no gravity bringing that placenta out even when she’s contracting and then it’s a whole thing. So, I wanted to make sure that there was some weight. Okay.

22:28 I love it when mama’s mama. Look at him. Oh, milanta. No, no, this is the placenta. She’s doing what she needs to do. Sometimes I’m having to do it and she’s just being a champ. We’re back here. We’re not bothering you. I would love if you got out from underneath your mama. Good girl, Raven. Good girl, Raven. I think she wants to lay down and push. Oh, that’s already starting to come out some. Oh.

23:46 I bet he’s going to be lax in his pasterns from being in there so long and being so big. Oh, beautiful. Her placenta is about to pop out. And then I can give her some Banamine. Oh my goodness. Why don’t you go ahead and stand up? Your mama’s doing her job. She’s licking you. She’s pushing her placenta out.

24:55 Oh, that terrified. There you go. Grab it. Grab it. That one leg’s under. All right. So since she’s passed her placenta, like she’s going to keep contracting because she passed it pretty quickly. And so what I’ve seen with mares before is when they pass their placenta quickly, which is good, that’s a good thing, they keep contracting and they are like in such pain that they’re pretty either ill towards their baby or they won’t let them nurse and things like that. And so generally if they pass it, I go ahead and give them some Banamine to alleviate some of that pain. The reason you don’t want to do it before is because they’ll actually stop contracting if you give them Banamine before they’ve passed it. So you’re contradicting yourself. Okay.

26:13 Look at that. Look at that. Big baby. Huge baby. It’s a boy. What a shot. I’ll let go. She goes right back. It’s okay. You can keep him there for just a second. I’ve got a shot to make her feel a little bit better here in a minute. I’ll let her do her thing though until then. He’s like a bunny rabbit like how Millie was. He’s very relaxed in his pasterns. He’ll be up for a couple weeks probably. But do you see how big his pasterns are? That’s why. Because he’s freaking huge. Here, hold her. I’m hoping she stays down while I give her this shot.

27:24 Oh, wow. Quick, which is why I went ahead and gave it to her because I knew she’d be miserable for another two hours. They’re both cold. You look. Good mama. Good mama. You going to try to get up? Mama’s taking a breather. I might get her a little alfalfa. Yeah. Yeah. Cross those legs. Look at his face. Okay. So, this little boy is almost an hour old, I would say. You stay down. I got to show them his feet. So, he has the cutest little fairy slippers. He’s got no teeth. Oh, he wants to get up. He said he wants to get up, but he’s got no teeth. Can you see that? No teethies. Just gums. Just gummy boy. And his Do you want to let me do this or not? You just hit Mr. Matt. Okay, maybe we’ll wait because he wants to be up. He’s in the prone state at the moment. Well, now you just got yourself wet. Oh, wow.

30:36 Oh, goodness. Look at you. Look at you, big boy. Now, you just wait till he stands up on those pasterns, he’s going to be like three inches taller. Like, he doesn’t even look as big as he actually is. Like, he’s so laxed down that when he stands up. Monster. Are you coming in here to investigate and try to get some stuff? Mama’s going to get mad at you.

31:33 So, we’ve just been letting them chill for a minute. She’s kind of probably still mildly contracting. But he has been trying to nurse up on his feet pretty well, but he still hasn’t latched on, but he is shivering. Like, it’s cold out. And so, I think he would do better if he wasn’t quite so cold. So, we’re going to blanket him. I have a brand new little blanket saver that has his name on it. So, it doesn’t actually, but it’s brand new. It’s blue. Last year all my boys had pink on, but I’m going to put this on him and then if he looks cold still by the end before we leave him, I have another one to like layer. So, Hi, mama. Can I put a blanket on him? Hi, mama. Can I put a blanket on your baby? It’s to keep him warm. She’s like, I don’t know about that. Why don’t you get him to get up and then I’ll put this on him. He did so good. You did so good. Hey, big boy. I think I can get you warmer. Why don’t you go ahead and get up?

32:56 He’s for sure roan now. Like now that I’ve gotten up close, he’s 1,000% roan. That’s not to say he won’t gray out. But right now, his base color is for sure bay. I can’t put a blanket on him if he’s not getting up. Hey, I can’t put a blanket on you if you don’t get up.

33:35 Big boy. He’s not going to like it. He’s not going to like it. I can tell you that. None of the babies do. It’s still a little big on him. It’s long enough though, which is the good thing. There we go. Oh, look at you, dapper Dan. Look at you. See, you get a little warmer now. I might put another one on you. Oh, look at you. Look how big he’s not even upright yet. Like, his pasterns are so relaxed. He’s so big. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Perfect. Are we fine? Oh, we’re in the right neighborhood. We’re on the right end of things now. Oh, Raven, it’s okay.

34:53 He’s been so good. We’ve just been letting him do his thing. You’re in the right spot. No, go right. It’s a good thing she’s got her alfalfa she’s munching on. Get underneath there. He’s getting, he’s in the right arena. If she moved her foot back one step, I think he’d have a lot easier way in there. Oh, good boy. Oh, good boy. Good mama. Good boy. Good boy. Oh, wow. That was awesome. You got some good milkies. Good job. Get back on there. Oh, that’s beautiful. Yes. Yes. Boy, you got poop now. Enema. Enema. Wasting. Oh my god.

36:47 My father has put it in my brain to shut lights off. Hey, baby. Will you come hold onto him while I Okay. So, we dip their umbilicus twice. So, this is iodine. It’s just to keep him nice and clean because that is where they’re most susceptible to get infection. So, Yeah. Hold him just like that for me, baby. Hi, mama. Easy. Get up underneath here. Where even is it? Oh, mama. Baby, hold him. Where is it? He did not like that. Not one bit. Hold on. She’s such a good mama. All right, we’ll do that again. Oh my gosh, the pants came unbuttoned. Oh, a turd. A turd.

38:13 Okay, he got one. Oh, no. I got to take this. Hey, I know you’re going to hate this. I know you’re going to hate this. It’s okay. I need a man. I need a man. Come. Just hold him where I can. Yeah. Hi, honey. It’s going to help a lot. I know. Okay, we didn’t get all that much in there. I’m going to do another one. But it was spewing out. Okay, there they go. We just had our first poopies. We got more. Oh my gosh. Do we have more? Okay. He’s had his umbilicus done. He’s pooped. He’s eaten. His mommy is still being dramatic.

39:35 Oh, wow. We are like so close to him just being ready to be done for the night. So, this little boy was just born and one of the many amazing things about newborn foaling season is all of the things that God thought of that needed to happen. So, as these babies are coming through the birth canal, they don’t need to perforate the rectum. They don’t need to rip anything. Their little hooves can be quite sharp when they’re hardened and when they’re outside of their mama. So until they are outside and their hooves meet the air and they walk around on them, they come out looking like this. So look at these little fingery, imitation crab, spongy type little feet. So this layer is called the eponychium and this comes on all mammals that have hooves. So calves, goats, horses, like anything where they’re coming out of their mama and could hurt them with the sharpness of their hooves. So this also, like look how spongy

40:50 it is. It can actually act as a little bit of a cushion to their feet as well because in the wild, these babies need to be able to get up and get away from predators. They need to be able to be in harsh terrain. And so from rocks, hard ground, this can actually offer a little bit of cushion as well. And so that is just one of the amazing things I love to see. Some people think it’s weird, some people think it’s gross, but I think it is so miraculous. And it usually dries up, hardens up, goes away within 12 to 24 hours. So probably by this time tomorrow night, you won’t really be able to see it. But it’s just amazing. Thought I’d share. That’s such a beautiful sight. I’m so happy. I mean, other than him being gargantuan and her putting her butt in the corner for the birth, everything else went so smoothly. He’s sleeping. He’s got a full belly. We’ve been able to clean his navel and she passed her placenta and I was able to give

42:00 her some pain medication. So, she’s nice and comfortable. And I think we’re about done. I think we can leave them alone just to be. So, I think all we have to do now is meet the vet in the morning. We try to meet the vet 12 hours afterwards just to make sure he gets all the antibodies from her milk that he needs. But I’m so thankful right now. This is amazing.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "You Made Us Wait Long Enough! | First Foal Birth"?

Lindsay (Guest), Matt (Guest).

What is "You Made Us Wait Long Enough! | First Foal Birth" about?

The content documents the tense birthing process of a foal, detailing the mare’s labor, the crowding and positioning challenges, the foal’s feet and sac status, and the caretaker’s decisions on when to intervene. It highlights the patience, timing, and occasional manual assistance required during the delivery.

What is mentioned in this Katie Van Slyke episode?

4 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Raven, Banamine, Alex & Jaclyn Lindsay, Matt. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "You Made Us Wait Long Enough! | First Foal Birth"?

The episode runs 42 min; the transcript is about 2,766 words in 30 timestamped sections.

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