Sisters

In the spring of 2003, I took Josey to California for her last breeding to Richwood. Josey was getting up there in age and I don't look at mares as foal factories, but the first foal from Richwood was extremely nice and another would most definitely be the same. Josey would foal out our first foal on the new farm the following spring. So far we had surmised it was probably going to be a chestnut, as Josey was pretty dominant for the color red. Her bay base coat was just her colors she wore for the world to see, inside she was a chestnut making machine. She did produce color on her babies, she did not need any assistance in that department. Her first foal had been a very loud snowcap by an ApHC stallion, Jewel was a soft chestnut, almost fawn colored with a nicely frosted butt. So, we were pretty sure this impending foal would be just as red and highly colored.

With the new barn up and the stalls in place, Josey had a lovely suite in which to have her last foal. We had always foaled our babies out on the green grassy pastures when we lived in California, so having a huge foaling stall was a luxury. But Josey would have none of it. She waited it out, having her breakfast first and then at 9:30 am on May 25, 2004 she circled the center of her paddock, laid down and had the most lovely little spotted, blanketed to the withers chestnut filly you ever saw! She was 40 inches at birth and symmetrically marked everywhere!!

Princess at one week of age

She was every bit as cute as her full sister Jewel, just bigger and more flashy! There was never going to be any doubt about her Appaloosa heritage. This little girl was all the elements F1F was looking to put on the ground. She truly made her mark here at the farm, being the first foal on the new land and a very striking one too!

After Princess was born, lots of work and effort went into promoting the farm, Casper and readying the other horses for showing. Breeding stopped, as we knew it would until Casper came of age. Horses grow up so fast and Princess was no exception. She surpassed her sister in height by the time she was 3 years old. They made a lovely pair in the pasture, grazing together or racing around. We were amazed at how very different they both were. Same dam, same sire and the two were as different as night and day. Jewel was bold and personable, Princess was more edgy and shy. But watching them frolic together is an image I will always carry with me.

Full sisters, Princess and Jewel

Princess is undersaddle now and on a big learning curve. She is 4 years old and coming along very nice. I hope to have her out to a few Open shows next spring. She is not the jumper that Jewel is, Princess is very much a Dressage horse. I love this learning about each horse. They are all as different as people are. Each has their own skill set, habits and personality. No two horses can ever be alike, no matter how much you try to make everything the same for every horse, they all have their own interpretation of us humans and what we are about.

We are very happy to have had the opportunity to enjoy the sisters here on the farm. The day may come in the future when we get that chance again with another pair of lovely little fillies. For now, it is training, training and more training for this lovely filly who has grown up to be very tall and still very lanky, but will fill out with time.



next blog.............We're off to the Show