All The Pretty Little Horses

I saved my favorite for last. The last day we were home I went back up to see if Carrie had delivered her foal yet. Of course the answer was no. She undoubtedly heard that I'd be leaving soon and decided to wait until I was gone. Last I heard, she still hadn't foaled. Here is Carrie, "great with child." That looks miserable! She runs around at a full gallup too. How I don't know, but she does.

The other three mares had their foals before we got home, Lajar being the most recent to deliver. And I was up there in the evening with perfect sunlight, and they were unusually cooperative. (the bucket of grain helped) So I had a hay day with my camera.

This is the foal out of Rachelle's appaloosa mare, Bunny. I can't remember if its a filly or a colt, but I think a filly. She was the most cooperative and photogenic out of the bunch. Three of my favorite shots of her....

Justine has a mare named Sunny. She is a full registered Mustang, with the number freeze branded on her neck and everything. Sunny hasn't foaled in several years, but her daughter, Misty, is still a member of the herd and this year Misty gave birth to her "twin." This adorable little filly has a very curly mane and tail.

This is Rachelle's yearling filly that she kept. Twister, named after the blaze down her face that looks like a tornado, is half sister to my two boys, whom you met in an earlier blog. She started out a nice buckskin, but seems to be fading into a roan color. Her mother was an appaloosa, Rachelle's an appaloosa person, and Twister doesn't have spots, but she has the appaloosa eyes.

And last, but not least, is Lajar and her colt. He was born in mid-June and is the youngest of the bunch for now. He is dark now, but will be a blue roan like his brother, Reb. In fact they have the same hind leg sock and a single star on their forhead. Don't be fooled by his cuteness. This little fellow hauled off and kicked at me several times, almost getting me once when we had Lajar in and haltered. He looks sweet, but I somehow beleive he got his mamma's attitude.

The stud had been delivered the day before I took these shots. He lives at another ranch part of the year. He is surprisingly gentle and friendly. I've never been around stud horses much, but from what I've heard of them, this stud seems really easy to be around. He was the first to come see me and the bucket of grain, and for a stallion that's not handled much, I'm surprised that he's so gentle and even lets me pet him some. I tend to be less wary of him than I think I should be. Last summer I got really comfortable with him and all the mares crowed around me to get grain, when someone got mad and the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a kicking, biting, squealing mob of horses. Luckily I was able to slip away from the main brawl and didn't get hurt, but I'm a little more watchful now. I have an incredible shot of the stud, one of my favorites, but I accidently deleted it off my computer. Its still on my camera, thank goodness, so I'll have to download it again, and I'll post it another time. And I keep referring to him as "the stud." He's a registered quarter horse, but I have no idea what his name is. I just call him "hey you," "big guy," or "studdly," depending on what mood strikes.

This was my parting shot. After the grain was gone, the mares got tired of me and decided to leave, with the stud trailing behind. The sun was setting and it was time for me to leave too. We were heading out the next morning, and I still had some packing to do. It was a good way to end our stay at home.