The filly, Phoenix, rests in a corner of the stable. Her mom, Halfpass Midnight, circles when a visitor approaches. This is the mare's firstborn, so she's a little nervous about strangers.

The baby came nearly four weeks early.

Frank Niemeir/AJC (ENLARGE)

Phoenix was born at Westbrooke Farms a week after the fire. Her arrival, which was nearly four weeks early, lifted everyone's spirits.

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Phoenix, an Oldenburg, was born amid the sadness that permeated Westbrooke Farm, where 14 horses died in a fire that broke out March 20.

"Phoenix is doing really fine. She's really cute," said Jennifer Schwickerath, who tried to save the horses in the fire.

The horses wouldn't leave their stalls as lights popped, an arched window burst and flames engulfed the stables.

Phoenix's birth was a surprise. She came a week after the fire — several hours after many of the horse owners had been at Westbrooke, to grieve together.

The birth "just made you cheer up," she said. "Life has to go on. We have more babies coming. They just make you happy. I thought it was a great gift."

Phoenix and the birth on April 6 of Paparazzi WF, a white and tan Oldenburg, have brought a measure of joy to the stables.

Paparazzi's mother, Hallelujah, was in labor for hours and hours, Schwickerath said.

Hallelujah paced back and forth, leaned against the wall. She laid down, got up, laid down again and — finally — had the foal.

"She was dancing around all night long. ... She was exhausted," said Schwickerath, who steadied the colt's legs as he emerged.

Yet another baby, Panache, another Oldenburg, was born last Wednesday night. And three more foals are expected soon, helping Westbrooke get back to some kind of normalcy.

"There's more babies to be born. The boarders want to come back," Schwickerath said. "This is an experience that can either stop your life or it can make you stronger to continue with what you love to do."

Heather Polk, who lost Haarlem, a Friesian, in the fire "absolutely" plans buy to another horse and board him again at Westbrooke.

Nineteen horses, including two boarders, remain on the 25-acre property.

"We are horse people," Polk said. "We must continue, but we will never forget."

The cause and origin of the fire is undetermined, said firefighter Denell Boyd, a spokeswoman for Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services. An 8-month-old cat named Granite was also in the barn at the time of the fire. Granite's body was not found.

Schwickerath believes a bad lightning storm the week before may have compromised the electrical system of the barn, which was constructed in 2001.

The day after the fire, even the horses seemed to be in mourning.

Halfpass Midnight lost her brother, Hilton, and sister, Aprise, in the fire. Affirmation, Phoenix's grandmother and the mother of Hilton and Aprise, resists walking near where the barn used to be. But Affirmation and the other horses at the stables will approach where they are buried.

"If anybody could see horses cry ... ," said Schwickerath, her voice trails off a bit. "They seem to know. ... Some people think that's crazy, but it's true. They knew they lost. They all walked out sad. ... And they were like that for days."

As news of the fire spread across the Internet, friends and strangers in the horse world sent e-mails, cards, letters and money to Westbrooke Farms to help build a memorial for the dead horses.

So much so that Schwickerath asked that any correspondence be sent to a mailbox at: Westbrooke Horse Memorial Fund, 1720 Mars Hill Road, Suite 8, PMB 289, Acworth, GA 30101.

The horses were buried on the property. Their names are written on wooden stakes, and horse owners stop by regularly to leave flowers, share memories and plan for other horses.

Schwickerath plans a concrete circular walkway, markers and a horse sculpture for the memorial. Juniper bushes, Yoshino cherry trees and Diadora cedars will be part of the memorial.

The barn will be rebuilt. But Schwickerath, a horse breeder who started Westbrooke in 1984, wants another design, one with more exits in case of an emergency. She also wants a fire suppression system.

"This was one of those things — maybe when I am 92 it will make sense," she said.

If the fire made other horse owners take better care of their animals or double-check their barns, then some good came of the tragedy.

"But to me, the price was way too high," she said.