Baby horses at Mississippi View Farm!

Spring 2007 brought three new foals to Mississippi View Farm. Kate is standing a new stallion, Don Courage, an unregistered son of the Dutch warmblood stallion Donnerhall. Kate's been training and showing Don, so we knew he was sweet-tempered and talented, but we really wanted to see how his offspring would turn out.

Inspirada, Sara Magee's registered Andalusian mare, was due to foal first. Sara planned to ship her mare to Siete Lenguas for 24-hour pre and post natal monitoring. Now, NC is a big girl at the best of times (Sara says she has the typical Andalusian large barrel) but when it came time to load her in the truck it did seem to some of us that NC was taking up more space than usual -- like, say, the entire width of the two-horse trailer. Demiurgo wasn't born in the trailer, but he arrived on the ground soon after NC's arrival in her deluxe birthing accommodations. He's a friendly, confident little guy and likes nothing better than to play with his sister, DeeDee.

Destiny, Kate's mare, has given birth to many beautiful foals. Her time came and Kate moved her "up front" to keep an eye on her. It seemed weeks went by, with many of us checking Destiny every two hours, day and night, with no sign of any immanent birth. One Monday, Kate looked in on Destiny before she went shopping. While Kate was shopping, Theresa stopped by after work to give her dog a run. Theresa thought maybe Destiny's child had been born over the weekend, and took a peek in the stall. She found Destiny on the ground with a foal behind her, still encased in the amniotic sac. Theresa went flying to find someone else who wasn't dressed in her best clothes to provide assistance. She wound up giving a helping hand anyway, and her blouse has never been the same since. Dee Dee is a strong, healthy girl with a sweet temperament.

Zephyr, Kate's draft horse/SWB mix mare, took matters into her own hands. She foaled in the pasture the day Kate planned to bring her "up front" to a stall. The only witness to the birth was Zephyr's faithful companion, Thor, the demon pony from hell. Dyna is a beautiful girl, black like her mother. She's younger than her siblings and prefers to stay closer to mom.

Updated 16 September, 2007

Posted 26 August, 2007