September 2021 Issue

Page 26 September 2021 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN By Lois Szymanski On July 31, Maryland Horse Rescue held a birthday party for CAM, the yearling they didn’t even know they were saving when they brought his dam Cassie to the rescue in January of 2020. “His mom, Cassie came to us through an animal welfare orga- nization,” said Melanie Biemiller, Executive Director of the Mary- land Horse Rescue. “They had CAM, who was born to a mare rescued by the Maryland Horse Res- cue who had been turned out with two stallions, is shown at his first birthday party in July. He was the first foal born at the rescue. Maryland Horse Rescue Throws First Birthday Party for Surprise Foal called us for a mare, a gelding and two young stallions.” Because the rescue doesn’t take in stallions, arrangements were made for the horses to go to a transition farm where the stallions were gelded, and a pregnancy test was performed on the mare. “Two pregnancy checks, likely palpitations, came back in- conclusive,” Biemiller said. “We thought maybe she had miscar- ried because of neglect. But once she came to us, we had our vet check her again, and that came back inconclusive, even after an internal sonogram.” Biemiller said it wasn’t until April, after their farrier suggested they do another test, that a blood test was taken. It came back positive. The rescue had never delivered a foal before. “We didn’t feel like we were set up to handle foaling,” Biemi- ller said. “We are a busy rescue with 35 horses on the property. We’re 100% volunteer run and none of us were well versed in how to handle and train a baby.” That’s when Board President Tina Davis suggested taking Cas- sie to live on her farm in Smiths- burg, MD. “We had tossed around a couple of ideas of where to take her, maybe a boarding stable who specialized in that,” Davis said. “But I had it set in my heart that he needed one-on-one attention.” Biemiller agreed. “Tina was getting attached to the mare, a beautiful paint, so we sat down and talked about what was best for Cassie. We felt she needed to be somewhere small and quiet. They set up a big stall and a run-in where Cassie would feel safe.” Davis said her husband Eric was completely on board with the idea. To make room, two of their horses (a pony and a mini) were temporarily moved to the rescue. As the Cassie’s time drew near, Davis said she tested the mare’s milk daily. The test strips would show if she was within 24 hours of foaling. “On the 19th of July, BING, there it was,” she said. “All the colors lined up. We had set up a Ring camera in the stall to keep an eye on her. I kept checking it. Then, I looked at the camera and there was a hoof!” Davis said she and her hus- band rushed to the barn. The mare had laid down. She laughed when she shared how her husband sat in the stall, rubbing the mare’s head. “He was great,” she said. “He tried to tie her tail up, too, and he’s not a horse person.” It wasn’t long until Cassie de- livered a big strapping tricolored colt. When asked how the colt was named CAM, Biemiller explained. “Because of our former vet Megan Snyder (with Damascus Equine),” Biemiller explained. “She was not only our vet, but truly our friend. Her aunt had passed away and she made a sizable donation to us in honor of her. I texted her to thank her and asked if she wanted to have naming rights for the colt. Her aunt’s initials were C.A.M, so we named the baby CAM.” Davis said she and her hus- band have worked hands on with CAM ever since he was born. “He is just under 14 hands and he’s going to be a big boy” she said. “We did halter training and started with a little bit of leading so he could be gelded. He was gelded in January and now he is a perfect gentleman. He likes to have attention all the time. I got a compliment from a horse trainer recently that he is (Continued on page 38) Photo credit: Lisa Gr egory