“What do you think you’re doing in here, Ellie? You know this is private!”
Ellie was oblivious to the accusation in the other woman’s voice, too busy concentrating on what she was doing.
“Blaze - the horse - it’s foaling, in trouble… need to call the vet…”
She found the number and punched it into the phone, ignoring Cora, who was still stood there looking disapproving, with her hands on her hips. Stupid woman just didn’t understand the emergency here, and Ellie didn’t have time to explain it all.
Thankfully, Tono picked up on the second ring.
“Tono, it’s Ellie,” she panted, trying to regain her equilibrium, and talk in a calm and rational manner now that she finally had him on the phone.
“Ellie?”
“It’s Blaze, she’s gone into labor and she’s in trouble,”
“Are you sure? How much do you know about foaling?”
“Enough, I was checking on her and saw the first leg, but then… just nothing. I had to leave her to come and use the house phone but…”
“Ellie! This is a private space,” Cora’s strident voice even carried through the wires.
“Be quiet, Cora. This is an emergency!”she snapped back in irritation.
“Okay, calm yourself down a moment.”
Tono’s reassuring voice made her realize she’d been babbling.
“Iwas on my way to a call in Yaak, so I’m not too far away. I’ll detour to the Triple C, but it will still take me a while. Where are the boys?”
“They’re all out in the far pasture, moving one of the herds. I can’t get hold of them.”
“Okay, explain to me exactly what you saw.”
Ellie took a couple of deep breaths and regulated her breathing while she recounted everything, and Tono estimated that he’d be with her in about thirty minutes.
“I need you to do something for me if you’re able.”
“Anything,” Ellie agreed immediately.
“First off, you need to get Blaze onto her feet, do you think you can manage that?”
“Umm… I can try.”
“Good girl. If we can get her up and moving, the foal might correct its position. It sounds like the retention of the head. Nothing that can’t still have a favorable outcome if we act quickly enough. I need her in the foaling stall anyway, so lead her there if it’s possible and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Yes… yes, I’ll try to doall that.”
With that she hung up, rushed past a scowling Cora without a second glance, and ran back to the stable to help Blaze.
It seemed like forever until Tono got there, and Ellie was sure she counted every single minute.
With some effort and trepidation, she managed to finally get Blaze up and walking. She was just settling the horse into the foaling stall when Tono pulled up in the yard. There had been few times in her life when she had been so relieved to see someone.
“Well done, Ellie. You’ve done a great job!” Tono was enthusiastic in his praise.
“I just hope I found her in time.”
“Believe me, you’ve probably saved this foal. Walking reduces the pressure and encourages the foal back into the uterus. If we’re lucky, that might be enough to correct things. If not, I might have to perform a caesarean, but it probably wouldn’t have survived without intervention and by the time Cody and the others get back tonight, it would have been much too late.”