When Ocala resident Irene Bryan first purchased Skippa Secret, she knew the mare had a surprise in store.
The 2-and-a-half year-old Appaloosa mare gave birth to Sarah's Secret Noel prematurely near the first of the year.
Bryan purchased the mare in December as a present for her granddaughter, Sarah Konemann, 10.
"The foal was just icing on the cake," Bryan said.
No one knew when Sarah's Secret Noel would be born, and the pair was rushed to UF's Veterinary Medical Center for treatment.
"Skippa Secret's foal was brought to the veterinary hospital almost immediately," said Dr. Amanda House, an assistant professor of veterinary medicine at UF. "It enabled us to give her every opportunity treatment-wise for her to make a complete and full recovery."
The foal and her mother were hospitalized for about 10 days at the Hofmann Equine Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the foal was treated for prematurity; not getting enough colostrum, or first milk, after birth; and septicemia, a bacterial infection of the blood, House said.
Bryan was a little overwhelmed by the animal hospital experience.
"When we got there, they had gurneys out there and everything like somebody was coming to the hospital-like a human being was coming," Bryan said. "It was impressive."
The facility is one of the most advanced neonatal intensive care units for horses in the world and the only comprehensive unit in Florida, said Dana Zimmel, chief of Large Animal Internal Medicine Services at UF.
The discipline at UF began in the 1980s as a partnership between veterinary faculty specialists and human neonatologists at the UF Health Science Center. The unit now offers 24-hour emergency service year-round.
The ENICU treats all breeds of mares and foals and usually admits 100 to 150 foals each season, which typically runs from December to June.
The mare and her foal are recovering at home.
The experience was memorable for Bryan's granddaughter Sarah, who says she wants to be a large-animal veterinarian.
"The baby is just adorable and just wants to be with people more than anything else," Bryan said.
