So, today I was late getting home from the camp...and totally buggered because its a long drive from Kindillan to home, plus I had to stop off at Nathaniel's place to feed his animals/collect all the eggs ect. I completely understand that he only lives a few kilometres down the road, and its not far, but after driving for 3+ hours, it takes all the effort I have to stop in at his place and take care of things.
Soon afterwards though, I was coming along the 'home road' and just about to pass through the property gates, when I noticed my herd of horses standing off to one side. As I approached them, I saw that Harkin (my 12 year old mare that I bred) was standing well apart from the other 5. When I got even closer I was UBER surprised to discover that she had a little foal standing next to her!! *girly squeal* :)
Here they are after they'd moved off a bit:
*Please keep in mind that the foal is traversing a quite rough patch on the road, so it isnt really as spaz as what it looks in the photo*
Sadly, I didnt think to grab my (phone) camera til after they'd gone quite far away (to be honest, I was literally gob-smacked at the time and it took a little while for my brain to re-start), and the light is poor, so by the time I'd recovered the result was the photo not being stirling quality :(
It all happened so fast, I didnt even really note what sex the foal was, but I think its a girl - I'll check properly tomorrow :)
The most astounding part of all of this was that I didnt know she was pregnant!! (seriously!)
Soon afterwards though, I was coming along the 'home road' and just about to pass through the property gates, when I noticed my herd of horses standing off to one side. As I approached them, I saw that Harkin (my 12 year old mare that I bred) was standing well apart from the other 5. When I got even closer I was UBER surprised to discover that she had a little foal standing next to her!! *girly squeal* :)
Here they are after they'd moved off a bit:
*Please keep in mind that the foal is traversing a quite rough patch on the road, so it isnt really as spaz as what it looks in the photo*
Sadly, I didnt think to grab my (phone) camera til after they'd gone quite far away (to be honest, I was literally gob-smacked at the time and it took a little while for my brain to re-start), and the light is poor, so by the time I'd recovered the result was the photo not being stirling quality :(
It all happened so fast, I didnt even really note what sex the foal was, but I think its a girl - I'll check properly tomorrow :)
The most astounding part of all of this was that I didnt know she was pregnant!! (seriously!)
13 years ago, after having a successful pregnancy and birth of Spirit, I decided to breed from my mare, Lady, again. This was in Grade 11, so by the time Harkin was born, I was in year 12.
Fast forward to present day, and I've never quite gotten around to selecting a stallion for Harkin. Thus the surprise of the foal standing next to her today! LOL!
I do have stallions, but they are minitures, and quite frankly, they wouldnt be able to 'reach' to do the job, so I havent ever had concerns that she 'might' be pregnant.
However, within minutes of the new discovery today, I remembered that around this time last year our neighbour brought a couple of horses in to agist (next door), and the fence was down for a period of time (until Dad and I could organise a day off to fix it, as the neighbour never does any maintenance work on the fences). I now suspect that they werent all geldings... LOL!
So cute! And so exciting :)
ReplyDeletexo Tammy
lol What a wonderful surprise! :) Do you usually have to pay a fee to get your mare pregnant? Do you have a name yet?
ReplyDeletexoxo