Dispatch from Allie Rutledge, Horse Trainer/Wrangler on our 2023-24 Work Crew, Patagonia Frontiers
“To say we didn't have quite the same resources as my former equine hospital is vast understatement (John said we were fresh out of nasogastric tubes and plasma infusions).”
We knew Gitana was pregnant, and we knew she had never accepted a foal before – one of her previous foals died, and she rejected the other one. We decided to keep her in the pasture so we could keep an eye on her and step in to help the foal if needed. She foaled within a day of us bringing her in.
And somehow, the baby managed to roll under the fence and become separated from her. When we found Taragüi, he was small and weak, and his prospects of survival were uncertain. We rolled him back under the fence and got him reunited with Gitana, but he was too weak to walk back to the corral.
John Hauf carrying Taragüi the foal back to the Patagonia Frontiers corral.
My last job involved working in a foal NICU in New Zealand, so I'd seen a lot of sick foals in the last year. And Taragüi had a lot of the symptoms we saw in the hospital – he didn't know how to nurse, was getting progressively weaker, was unable to stand on his own, and was shivering with a fever. With a foal that young, getting weaker rather than stronger is usually a sign of impending doom. We were determined to do our best to save him, although we worried we might just be prolonging the inevitable.
To say we didn't have quite the same resources as my former equine hospital is vast understatement (John said we were fresh out of nasogastric tubes and plasma infusions). We rigged up a hospital bed out of sleeping pads, wash tubs, saddle blankets, and hot water bottles. The idea was to help keep Taragüi warm, upright, and fed until he either got stronger or passed away.
For about a week, Heather and I stood him up and helped him nurse every two hours day and night. And finally, incredibly, Taragüi started getting up on his own.
Image of Taragüi standing on his own
Image of Taragüi and mom, Gitana
Today he's out in the valley with his mom and all the other horses, but he visits us regularly for his daily dose of attention. He is now the Prince of Lago Plomo and we will pause a workday to go see him when he comes by.
Image of Taragüi in the valley with herd.
We are currently booking programs for the upcoming season and invite you to contact us to plan your trip.
Allie Rutledge, Horse Trainer/Wrangler
Founded in 1999, Patagonia Frontiers connects people with wilderness through education, conservation, and adventure. We offer education and mountaineering programs as well as multi-day trekking, horseback trips, and climbing in the heart of Chilean Patagonia.