Braeberry's Cocoa
Braeberry's Poppy had her first foal, a bay colt, on 10 June 2010. He was sired by Copperbeech Casper.
Cocoa arrived about two weeks early, like most of our foals in 2010. He loved being handled, was easy with our son, and very friendly. He would have been a nice looking Fell wannabe when he matured.
He was adorable, very friendly, and easily handled. He liked to be groomed, sprays didn't bother him, had ropes all over his body with no problem, didn't mind tarps (chews on them), and trailered easily.
We had Cocoa in Seal Rock, Oregon where our pastures are bordered by fast flowing creek. Late summer the ponies started crossing the creek to get from one pasture to another. We think he tried crossing the creek to eat grass on the other bank, slipped, fell in and couldn't get a footing on the banks to get back out. He was still alive when we found him, no obvious broken bones and we got him out with the kind help of neighbors and a tractor, but he was just too cold. He made it through the first night, and loved the attention we lavished on him throughout the next day, stretching his legs as if to say 'that feels good' to the warmth of my hair dryer and all the warm blankets, but he didn't make it through the next night. We have no idea how much water he might have taken in, nor how cold his internal organs were or for how long. He was unable to stand after we got him out though all his legs looked like they should have been able to. He was uncoordinated, as if he was a foal all over again. He was a trooper to the end, never fighting the blankets, bales of hay around him, styrofoam insulation over him, hot water bottles and heat packs, he took it all in stride and continued to have mostly a bright eye. We suspect it was hypothermia that took him in the end. We miss him.
Video of Cocoa and Braeberry Jasper in the round pen for the first time.