Elijah sees the light, against the odds
Outeniqua Moon, a haven for Percheron horses in Ruiterbos, has welcomed Elijah, also called a "miracle baby".
Elijah, according to Christine Watt, the owner of Outeniqua Moon, is the last of a line of king colts from mare Lucy and stallion Greystoke, full blood brother to other stallions bred on the farm Shadowfax, Vulcan and Thor.
"My husband, Peter, and I had been closely monitoring Lucy because we knew Elijah was on the way. Our veterinarian, Dr Susi Kok, did an inspection two days before he was born and told us that the cervix was softening up. We waited because no intervention is always best."
In the last twenty hours, it became apparent everything was not well. Dr Kok had to make the decision to intervene. "If your timing is wrong, then you stand to lose the foal and the mare, but on the other hand if you don't intervene and the foal is stuck, chances are the same outcome is possible."
Elijah was stuck, his head turned back and downwards. Thus began an extraordinary journey to bring him out alive. Dr Kok grappled with the chance of death for two excruciating hours.
Lucy was refusing to lie down, further complicating the whole procedure. Dr Kok pushed the foal back several times, battling to get his head lined up. If Lucy had laid down in a certain way, it would have helped enormously. Had she been an ordinary horse, everyone on hand could have laid her down, but being a one-ton Percheron mare, there was no chance.
"Having exhausted all our options of making her lie down, the sense of imminent doom was all around us. Peter and I were contemplating the awful question of sacrificing the foal to save the mare. But Susi wouldn't contemplate it and in those moments her will shone and she said defiantly, 'It is my job to save lives'".
Moments later the foal's head miraculously began to move into the birth canal and Lucy then lay down on the right side.
"When Elijah first came out I thought he was dead. Susi pounced on him and cleared his breathing passage and began rubbing him vigorously. I burst into tears; it was insanely wonderful. Thank you, Susi Kok - you were magnificent and you taught me something about faith."