New Face In The Barn

While my last attempt at acquiring a new broodmare was a total bust as I decided I wasn't comfortable with her condition or her suitability to broodmareship, my casual search continued from time to time (when I remembered).  Unfortunately after working to get the last mare healthy then subsequently deciding to exercise the buy-back agreement with the seller and 'eating' the costs of my inputs, plus a trying year of breeding and V never ending up catching, my horsey fund was seriously depleted, as was my hopes of adding a mare to my program for the 2022 season.

On a whim, I came across a mare I liked the looks of, but her ad had no price listed.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but was fairly confident it would be well above my measly budget, which fell in the southern region of 4 figures.  Regardless, I figured it didn't hurt to start a conversation, and one of the first things the seller said was that a good home was their #1 priority.  As the conversation went on, the seller seemed to take a liking to me, and advised me that their asking price was roughly $5,500 more than my sad little budget.  I thanked her for her time, and wished her the best in selling her as we were just too far apart to even bother making an offer, as it would have been offensive.  She asked what my budget was, so I told her and once again thanked her for her time, and wished her the best of luck.

Truthfully, I expected that to be the last I ever heard from them. The mare and the thought of her was long-gone from my mind, so I was utterly surprised when a week or so later, I found a message in my inbox accepting my offer (an offer, I didn't really make as far as I thought, I simply just mentioned my budget).  I was sort of scrambling. I had a moderate amount of information about the mare, but I still had lots of questions and wanted to see more video of her.  They had very minimal media as it was, and given that she sustained an injury a few years back and lost a lot of her condition being a pasture puff, the newer photos they took for me were less than flattering.  Regardless, I decided to take the risk and I sent a deposit to hold her while I arranged shipping, as she was 6.5 hours away on the other side of the Rocky Mountains.

Conveniently for me, we happened to be passing through the town she lived in and I arranged to briefly stop in and meet her in person.  I wish I could say I got to know her and fell in love, but the foal at her side was literally trying to climb inside my sweater and who can resist scratching a foal?!  Regardless, I liked her enough but her foal really "sold her" for me.  As a maiden mare, she produced a fabulous foal and really outdid herself - a huge asset in a broodmare to me.

She arrived in a nearby town 1.5 hours from us late last night, and hubby and I intercepted her and brought her home.  I had to work today, so I haven't had much opportunity to really get to know her yet, but she's been very laid back and chill, which I love.  The sellers warned me she can be 'rude' sometimes and I always find that rather subjective so I figured I would take it with a grain of salt, but this evening I brought her into the barn and quickly understood.  She's big at 17.2hh, and she knows it - evidently, sometimes pulling on her (like when she wanted to inspect a feed bucket) was like trying to pull a Freightliner rolling downhill in neutral.  I could see how she could use her powers for evil if she wanted, but thus far doesn't strike me as that type but time will tell.

So the gist, for those who are interested in the breeding side of things, here are some quick stats

• Her barn name is Fiona, and given how big she is it reminds me of Shrek's wife and I can't help but giggle.
• She showed in Hunters & Jumpers under a family of ammy's.
• She's registered Canadian Warmblood, but her lineage is primarily made up of Hanoverian, Rheinlander, Westfalen and Oldenburg.  Her sire is not terribly well known, but is quite well bred, primarily for Dressage.  Most notably, he goes back to Florestan I and Donnerhall.  She has a strong damside for Hunters, and carries a little bit of blood (IE TB) on that side as well.
• She's 17.2HH and very much an "old type" - very heavy bone, etc.
• She had a fabulous foal by Balounito in 2021.  She was bred with Frozen Semen and caught first try as a Maiden at 13.
• She was an excellent mother, and handled weaning very well for a maiden.
• She sustained a pasture injury resulting in soft tissue damage and bone bruising to her RF Fetlock joint.  After extensive stall rest, IRAP Therapy and injections, she came sound but after roughly 3 months it began to wear off and they decided to breed her instead.  Their plan was never to breed regularly, but she was very special to them and wanted to hold onto a piece of her for their next riding horse.
• They didn't necessarily want to sell her, but thought she may be of more benefit to someone else, as they didn't have plans to breed her again (or at least not regularly.  We have a buy-back agreement should she not work for me.  Apparently the mom was quite emotional when the shippers picked her up.

I'm really excited about her and she is a fabulous candidate for transitioning into the breeding shed both on and off paper.  I really hope things start to come back together for me in this game after a trying year with V, but i'm pushing on and looking forward to breeding season in 2022.  I have some exciting new things coming along in the wings, but I'll save those for a future announcement.