Growing like a weed

Published on by Amanda C

​Who’s the cutest baby horse in all the land?

6weeks5
PRESTO!

Presto is 7 weeks old today, although Michelle took these pics for me on Monday. Can you believe how much he’s filled out??? Looking at him now (aside from all the hair missing on his butt and his neck) I don’t think anyone would ever know that he spent his first 3 weeks clinging to life at the vet clinic.

6weeks3
Peekaboo!

Even though he’s not at an ideal age to judge his conformation (if we’re following the “3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months” rule), I continue to be really happy with how he’s put together. He will never be the super developed, muscular horse that Liam is, and he’s not supposed to be. Liam will be a showjumper, all power, and Presto will be an eventer, a (hopefully) lighter and more streamlined horse. And right now, he REALLY looks like a baby eventer. I love how he’s put together, definitely still really happy with the cross.

6weeks4

Height-wise he’s catching up to Liam pretty quickly. When he first came home from the clinic Liam easily had a hand on him, but now they’re pretty close. He nurses pretty constantly, nibbles at grass and hay, and helps himself to Sadie’s food. I sent videos to his vet the other day and she was blown away by how great he looks.

He also seems to be having tons of fun at the breeding farm, playing with all the other mares and foals. It makes me happy to see him out there enjoying himself… I’d say he’s earned it.

On Sunday Sadie was bred back to Mighty Magic, so fingers crossed that we see a little black dot on the ultrasound in another week or so. I think some lucky buyer out there would be very happy to have a Presto full sibling next year!

6weeks1
who wouldn’t want one of these?

As for the rest of the Willow Tree mares, they’ve just gotten started on breeding season so only one has been scanned in foal so far: Laken to Diarado. I’m very interested in this combination… even though it’s really meant for the jumper ring, I’ve seen so many Diarado’s pop up in eventing lately.

 

And as for Liam… he’s doing Liam things.

ears are too heavy to hold both of them up at the same time

And of course, Liam and Presto remain the best of friends. It looks like Liam is sold to a GP jumper rider, which will be the perfect home for him. He’s a big, fancy chunk of a colt who knows 100% that he’s a BOY.

I won’t have time to head down there to see them this weekend, but planning on the weekend after. Hopefully then I’ll have more pics and videos (Presto will be almost 2 months by then!) and more positive ultrasound results to share. And maybe he’ll start shedding so his poor bald spots blend in a bit better…

20 thoughts on “Growing like a weed”

  1. He looks fantastic! It’s so great to see him catching up, especially to such a beefy colt like Liam. Am I the only one eagerly waiting for that 3mo picture? 🙂

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  2. I love that both our boys have chestnut playmates, I just wish Joey was as fond of his as Presto is of Liam. Have you had any issues with Presto’s tendons with him growing quickly? Joey is staying over at his knees at this point. :/

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    1. Yes, he’s a little over at the knees. If it doesn’t resolve itself soon or starts looking worse, we’ll do tetracyline. That usually fixes them right up. Check with your vet!

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      1. So far Joey’s have gone back and forth. They get better, then he hits another growth spurt and goes over in his knees again. My vet is out and I’m struggling with the one who is from the same practice. He suggested a cattle crumble for Copper’s lyme disease. :/ wtf.

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        1. Sometimes it gets worse too when they start grazing and doing all kinds of weird contortionist things to reach the grass. If it looks worse or doesn’t improve in a few weeks, the tetracycline protocol is very easy.

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  3. Aw Presto ❤ as he continues to grow and develop I'd love to hear more about your methods for evaluating him (or any foal), and what you look for when, milestones etc.

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    1. A lot of the basic bone structure you can see all the time – shoulder, hind end, etc. The growthy stages mostly affect the muscling, sometimes can make the neck and back look short or long, do weird things to the legs, make the stifle look higher or lower, etc. I’ll do confo shots when he’s 3 months and we can analyze him!

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  5. I know very little of conformation beyond “that one looks really good but I’m not certain why”, but wow is Presto a beautifully built colt! I want to fast forward to your first event with him ❤ And Liam already has a crest?! I want baby horses stat.

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        1. I was pretty ticked that so many comments were bashing eventers for being cheapskates and that we aren’t willing to pay for a well Bred or made horse and that we don’t have long term partnerships with our horses….grrrr

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          1. I mean it’s true that the average eventer generally has a smaller budget than the average h/j rider, but the market gets more and more $$$ every year. There are a lot of different factors, IMO.

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