Let the Nostalgia Begin!

Not entirely sure what got me going on this...probably partly that my sweet mare is coming up on her 9th birthday next month, partly that I've been spending so much time with her trying to bring her through her laminitis episode as best I can (will be sharing more on that in upcoming posts), and partly because once I came across some pix of her that I'd forgotten about I set out looking through lots of old pix of her :D

So allow me to set the stage a bit: I had been away from horses for a number of years when I heard about a breeding stable very near my home. After a first visit just to see the place, I ended up befriending the owners and ultimately spending loads of time there. I was actually in the enviable position of being able to go out there and ride at any time I wanted without any of the financial responsibilities! But that would change...I had never been around a newly-born foal...or really any foals...In March 2004 there were two mares due to foal at the barn. The Andalusian mare was actually due first...she was the one I'd been riding....but the Quarter Horse was also expecting an Azteca foal (dad was full-blooded Andalusian, mom full-blooded Quarter Horse, making baby an Azteca D--interesting registry 'rules' use letters to distinguish between horses with different percentages of the foundation breeds).

While I wasn't there to witness the birth, I was there within about 4 hours. Canola Solana, BTSF was born March 25, 2004 at about 2:00 a.m.  These pictures were taken later that day: