We brought Fiona home a week ago and unfortunately I have been crazy busy and not able to spend a ton of time with her. Regardless, we've picked away at establishing a relationship and I'm honestly waiting for the other shoe to drop. This mare is incredible. Seriously, how did she just fall into my lap?!
As previously mentioned, Fiona sustained a pasture injury and they chose to breed her after receiving a 70% prognosis for full recovery. She was sold to me as appearing sound in the pasture, but given that I didn't purchase her to be a riding horse I wasn't entirely worried about her soundness and didn't give it much thought. To be honest, I hadn't even really seen her trot before I bought her - lol! I saw a short jumping clip (below), and a video of her trotting with her foal, wherein her foal was at her side, so I really couldn't see her, and that was it.
Now that she's home, she's in a small paddock quarantining before she meets my herd. I have been doing my best to stretch her legs and get her out for a change of scenery, as well as get to know her in the process.
I've taken her into my barn for some grooming, and she's pretty darn chill. Her condition is still kinda 'meh', so I have been fairly reluctant to share much but beyond that, structurally I really like her. She's very much an "Old Type" Warmblood; she's heavy boned, big, long and angular. She currently has zero topline and a gut with some ribs visible in certain light, but I'm reminding myself (and evidently everyone reading this) that not only did she just wean a foal, she's had some serious life changes so that doesn't really surprise me. Structurally, she's proportionate and quite correct.
The previous owners had some reservations about her front leg conformation, but she is structurally quite straight, as is her 2021 foal.
I decided to pop her out on the lunge line and was honestly surprised what I found. For starters, she looks perfectly sound. She's very sure footed and has a fabulous trot! Canter I have a hard time evaluating because for the most part the circle is small and she's a big girl, plus she's sort of giraffing around lunging in a halter, but still, it appears balanced and uphill all things considered.
I'm honestly so excited for what she has in store for my budding breeding program, and I can't wait to continue getting to know her. Today I pulled her tail hairs and prepared them to send out to UC Davis to test for Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome (WFFS) to do my part in reducing the risk of passing that on while being an ethical breeder and just... doing the right thing, lol. Pending that coming back as negative, the boyfriend hunt will commence! Currently, I have a handsome man on my radar, but nothing is set in stone yet.
We have survived the first month of 2019 and as I expected, we were hit with both Snowmageddon AND Mother-Fcking-Cold-Mageddon.. and we were also hit with "oh my god it's nice, I wanna garden and play with ponies outside" as well as "it is so windy, I think my face literally got stretched off my skull".. We have literally had all 4 seasons in the past 30 days, and while some days were glorious, it also put a damper on my January goals . January Goals: Spend at least 4 Hours in the Saddle I'm going to call this a win. I had some issues with my Equilab app that required Technical Support and some of my rides were lost, so while I currently have about 3.6 Hrs logged for January, I'm thinking I hit 4, or just over. Continue with regular Stretching (on the ground) I definitely put a lot of time into this, and also introduced a new REMT who gave me additional stretches to do. At our 2nd appointment, she said there was noticeable difference! Sp...
While we all live in different towns, have different goals and different lives - but one thing that we all have in common is what a wild and wonky year 2020 was. The reality is, it's all affected us in one way or another, and with 2020 coming to an end it's time to reflect and look hopeful towards an improved 2021. What's the best thing that happened to you in 2020? Personal: Hands down, the birth of my daughter . After 4 years of fertility struggles, I'm beyond grateful and though some days feel like an eternity of struggle, confusion and pain, my heart has never been more full. Horsey: It's hard to choose. Despite hardly riding, I've had a lot of wonderful horsey-filled memories this year. From the birth of Phascinating BRR , my second homebred to date, to the few rides I got to enjoy and making a major investment in my breeding business, there's been lots to be thankful for. What's the worst thing that happened to you in 2020? Personal: It's...
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