The colt’s daddy is Jack Flash, a Gypsy cob stallion imported from the UK. This particular cross gave a 2% chance of producing a chestnut tobiano, yet that describes him!  He looks like a miniature war horse with a perfect chanfron-shaped blaze. The foal will be registered as a Gypsy Sport Horse.

We are tossing around name ideas, playing with baby and doting on mama,  We look forward to a future full of adventures in trail riding, medieval reenacting, dressage, eventing, and just horsing around. It all begins with a natural horsemanship foundation!

We wish you all a Happy April Foals Day!

Luna had been through four owners since April, through no fault of her own. Luna is a 4 year-old Spotted Draft mare, small despite her Shire blood. She’s sweet, sound and healthy, like so many equine victims of today’s economy.  A foreclosure loomed large in Luna’s recent past, as well as a cancer situation.  She was huge with foal and facing uncertainty with her now-trademark Mona Lisa smile.

We needed another horse like a fish needs a bicycle but Luna needed a safe place to foal.  As has become our mantra during this challenging season in our country, it’s not about what we need but about what needs us.

The sire of Luna’s baby is Jack Flash, a registered Gypsy Cob stallion imported from the UK.  (His owner took the original picture at their Dakota Winds Ranch, and Susan Gallien at Blue Moon Gypsies worked her magic to photoshop the wire fence out of the foreground.)

Both Luna and the foal will go through our foundational program in classical dressage and natural horsemanship before they specialize.  I can see Luna as a great little all-around mare- fox chasing, local shows and events, dressage… and of course donning garb for medieval reenactments.

Right now it matters not if we are just the open door to their happily-ever-after home.  Luna is happily munching hay on this blustery winter day, Mona Lisa smile keeping her foaling time secret, watched over by people who love her.

Flares in her hoof walls indicate laminar stretching and separation.  OUCH! The separation is also evident in the stretched water lines.  Subtle red marks indicate angry bruising. Overgrown walls and bars concentrate concussive and shearing forces with each step.  There is a Youtube video that illustrates this with revolting clarity–I’ll dig it up.

I just trimmed her front hooves.  The hinds can wait ’til tomorrow.  Healing is a process.

I asked Mark to walk her out to check the results in motion.  Tentative at first, Luna gained confidence in her newly found comfort as she walked.   Rebalancing the hooves caused a heel-first landing.  Her stride–and her topline–lengthened.  You could see the relief on her face!

Rolling the toe takes the pressure off the lamellar attachments, allowing them to heal.  Over time we’ll see the tubules begin to grow straight down.  The flares and resulting bruising will disappear.  The water line will shrink. The whole hoof capsule will tighten up, supporting the internal structures–and the whole horse–with the integrity for which it was designed.

The lighter coloration of the freshly rasped hoof is decieving.  To me it looks like there is a much greater difference between the heights of the structures.  In reality, the weight bearing surface is pretty smooth.  The bars and bottom of the wall are trimmed way down to help distribute the weight bearing load.

Note the extra toe length as seen in the left front-before shot cracked and broke off a few days before.

 I’m excited!  I think Luna has some darn good feet hiding behind the signs of neglect!