by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner, media relations manager for Harness Racing Communications, has embarked on a new adventure. Weingartner will foal watch at Perretti Farms in central New Jersey. He will provide details of his weekly adventures in an occasional column, Foal Patrol.

Freehold, NJ — A farm is a peaceful place in the middle of the night.

I’m alone, standing among a dozen or so broodmares that soon will give birth. I’m as quiet as possible, not wanting to disturb them; I know this is important. All but one of the horses ignores me. Her name is Malfalfa, an 8-year-old bred to Windsong’s Legacy. She seems to enjoy attention.

After petting Malfalfa’s forehead for a while, I silently walk up and down the wide aisle between the stalls looking at the mares. The only sounds are the rhythmic chomping of hay, occasionally interrupted by snoring. Yes, horses snore. And some are not very ladylike, to say the least.

So a farm is not always a peaceful place in the middle of the night. But overall, it’s very serene.

Pepe, the man responsible for foal watching at this hour, sits in a small room at the end of the stalls. He occasionally comes out to check on the mares; none are likely to give birth tonight.

I’ve never been present for a birth, other than my own and I can’t really claim to remember much of it. So this will be a whole new experience. Will be, that is, whenever it happens. Apparently, I’ve probably come too close to the full moon. Also, a storm front is approaching, which makes it less likely a mare will foal. And it’s a Tuesday, and they’re really not crazy about that day of the week, either. (OK, I made up that last one, but you get the idea.)

Denied, for the moment anyway, my chance to witness the miracle of life, I returned to Perretti’s the next day to learn more about the whole process. Perretti Farms is home to some of the sport’s great stallions, like Rocknroll Hanover, Windsong’s Legacy, Muscles Yankee, Revenue, Matt’s Scooter, and Red River Hanover. The farm expects 172 foals this year, and less than one-quarter have been born so far; roughly 100 will drop in April and May.

Given the numbers, I’d say my odds of seeing something happen soon are pretty good. Lindsey Taylor, who is the farm’s broodmare and healthcare manager, says I will be “blown away” when I do get to witness a birth.

Foaling almost always takes place at night. This is for the safety of the baby.

“Horses are herd animals,” Taylor says. “In nature, on the plains, they foal at night so the baby has time to learn how to get up and nurse and move with the herd in the morning. That way they can escape predators. Whoever isn’t up and able to run is going to get eaten.”

Thus, one reason it’s believed a full moon is an unlikely time to foal — it’s too bright, leaving the mare and baby vulnerable.

“We’ll have a few that will try to sneak them out during the day; usually the maiden mares when it’s their first one and they don’t really know what they’re doing,” Taylor continues. “Usually the foals are up on their feet able to walk and nursing within an hour of being born. Which is really amazing when you think about people; you have infants that can’t walk until they’re a year old. These can go out the next day and keep up with the mare going across the field.”

The mares don’t like a lot of attention, either. I can’t say I blame them.

“Mares can hold off their labor; they’re one of the few animals that can do that,” Taylor says. “If people are bugging them, they’re like ‘forget it.’ They wait until it’s quiet and peaceful, and then they will have them. The other thing that’s funny, sometimes one will foal and it will trigger the other mares, so you’ll have three in a row. I don’t know why, but it will happen a lot. The whole process is neat. You’re going to be blown away; they’re just incredible little creatures.”

Three in a row? Pepe, I’m ready.