OMG OMG OMG it’s almost that time again!!! The first mare “up to bat” is officially at 300 days gestation today, which means that theoretically we could have a foal on the ground in a month or so. That means, of course, that it’s time for my favorite annual tradition – the Willow Tree Warmbloods Baby Bets contest!
First off, the prize package. The winner of this year’s Baby Bets contest will receive:
- a $50 Riding Warehouse gift card
- a Willow Tree Warmbloods hat and decal
- two containers of braiding wax from Spot on Braiding Wax
- a copy of the book Core Conditioning for Horses from Trafalgar Square Books
- a 24oz bottle of all natural grooming spray from Unicorn Grooming Spray
Money, swag, and practical items… hopefully we’ve covered all the bases!
This year we have four foals coming – the biggest crop yet at WTW. We’ve got two eventers and two sportponies, including the first two Usandro foals in the US (side note, frozen semen will be available for purchase this year from Usandro as well!).
We’ll do the rules just like always. All you have to do is exercise those psychic powers and comment here with your guesses for the following, for each foal:
- Foaling Date
- Foaling Time (doesn’t have to be to the minute accurate, just to the hour is fine – ie 2AM. If it happens in the 2AM hour, you get the points.)
- Gender
- Color
- Face Markings
- Leg Markings (again doesn’t have to be specific – “one sock”, “none”, “four socks”, etc will work)
So your submission should look something like this for each mare:
Peyton: 3/22 3AM bay filly with a stripe and two socks
But filled in with your actual guesses, of course. Everything you guess correctly will earn points. 10 points each for foaling date and time, and then 5 points each for gender, color, face markings, and leg markings… each foal can potentially net you up to 40 points. So even if you get a few things wrong, there are still ways to rack up some serious points. If there are any ties, I’ll put them all in a hat and get Michelle to pick a winner.
Submit your entries via a comment here on this post or you can message them to me on the blog’s facebook page. Just make sure you leave a link or an email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win.
The “Due dates” I’ve listed below are based on the average 340 days gestation, but keep in mind that average gestation can be anywhere from 320ish to 360ish. I’ve included pictures of both parents and whatever info is important so you can make your best guesses.
PEYTON x RAMIRO B
This will be Peyton’s first foal so I don’t have any historical data on what her gestation tendencies might be. Early, late, or right on time – it’s anyone’s guess. 340 days (average gestation) would put her “due date” at 3/17. As far as color genetics, both parents are obviously bay, but they also both carry the red gene. For those who want to get really specific, Peyton’s genetic color panel is Aa/Ee. (psssst… here’s a foal color calculator if you want to look at the chances for each color)
DAISY x USANDRO
Again I don’t have any historical data on what Daisy’s gestation tendencies might be, but 340 days would put her “due date” at 4/8. The color possibilities with this one are a little more fun – Daisy is a grulla with a color panel of aa/Ee D/D. Usandro is bay/brown and homozygous black (EE).
STORMIE x USANDRO
Another sportpony! Stormie’s “due date” is 5/8, although last year she foaled a few days early. Stormie was originally grulla and turned gray, with a color panel of aa/Ee/Gg/Dd. Usandro is bay/brown and homozygous black (EE).
SADIE x WISE MASTER COOL RUNNINGS
Another Presto half sibling and I’m SUPER excited about this one. The sire shares the ancestor Heraldik with Presto’s sire, so they’re a little more related. It will be interesting to compare them! This will be the sire’s first foal. Both parents are bay, and Sadie’s color genetics are Aa/Ee. I’m not sure if the sire has a red gene or not… both of his parents are bay but there is chestnut another generation back so it’s possible. Sadie’s “due date” is 5/17, but she usually foals a little bit early.
I’ll leave entries open through 2/21, so that gives you 2 weeks to get your guesses in! The contest winner will be revealed after the last foal is born. Obviously I have no idea exactly when that’ll be, hopefully mid-May, so you’ll just have to stay tuned.
Who’s really excited for baby pictures?
breedrideevent.com 
I love this guessing game, always so fun!
Peyton – 3/20, 9pm, bay, colt, star, hind sock
Daisy – 4/12, 7am, grullo, filly, no markings
Stormie – 5/1, 3am, filly, black going grey, born with hind sock and snip marking
Sadie – 5/12, 2pm, colt, bay, stripe and front leg coronet marking.
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Fun fact, 5/12 is Sadie’s birthday!
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Peyton: 3/25, 4 am, bay filly, star, 2 socks
Daisy: 4/12, 2 am, grulla colt, stripe, 4 socks
Stormie: 5/5, 1 am, true black colt, star, snip, 2 socks, 1 stocking
Sadie: 5/12, 9 am, bay filly, stripe, 2 socks
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These are always so much fun! I love guessing these:
Peyton – 3/10, 1 sock, bay colt, 11pm
Daisy – 4/6, 1 sock, grulla filly, 2 am
Stormie – 5/4, no white, black colt, 3 am
Sadie – 5/12, bay colt, star, 1 sock, 4 pm
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PEYTON: 3/15, 1p, bay colt, star & snip, 1 ankle/sock
DAISY: 4/2, 4a, Grulla filly, nose snip, 1 ankle/sock
STORMIE: 5/5, 10a, Gray (Black) filly, nose snip, no socks/stocking
SADIE: 5/12, 3p, bay colt, star & snip, 1 sock
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Peyton: 3/17, 4am, bay filly, 1 sock and a star
Daisy: 4/10, 11pm, grulla filly, 2 socks
Stormie: 5/11, 8am, grulla colt, no white
Sadie: 5/15, 2am, chestnut colt, 1 sock, 1 stocking, stripe
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Someone’s on team grulla 😂
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Side effect of growing up showing Paints and QHs – I love “weird” colors
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Peyton: 3/17 at 2pm bay colt with one sock
Daisy: 4/22 at 2am grullo filly with two socks and a star
Stormie: 4/29 at 11am black filly with no markings
Sadie: 5/15 at 6pm bay colt with one sock and a snip
If I “foal” at the same time as one of the mares, does that mean I get a special prize?! LOL 😂
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I think if you manage to rocket that baby out the same day a mare does, you def get a special prize
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Peyton 3/20 noon, Bay colt, one sock, no facial markings
Daisy 4/8 6am, Grullo, filly 1 sock, no facial markings
Stormie 5/1 2am, Black colt, 4 socks, stripe
Sadie 5/10 9am, Bay colt, one sock, star
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Peyton: 3/23 6am bay colt with a stripe and two socks.
Daisy: 4/10 10am grey colt no markings.
Stormy: 5/4 9pm black (grey) colt. Star.
Sadie: 5/16 7pm bay filly. 2 stockings.
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It’s my favourite time of year again!!! And that book looks amazing. Here’s my guesses:
Peyton’s foal – bay colt, one sock, born 3/14 4AM
Daisy’s foal – grulla filly, no markings, born 4/20 11PM
Stormie’s foal – black filly, two socks and a snip, born 5/4 6PM (my birthday and hour!)
Sadie’s foal – bay filly, star and 3 socks, born 4/10 4PM (maybe this year Presto will *actually* have a sister, haha!)
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Peyton’s foal – 3/22 at 4 am, bay filly with one sock and a star
Daisy’s foal – 4/6 at 4 pm, grullo colt with one sock and no face markings
Stormie’s foal – 5/5 at 5 am, black filly with two socks and a snip
Sadie’s foal – 5/13 at 3 am, bay colt with one sock and a stripe
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Peyton: 3/21 9PM chestnut colt with a stripe and one sock.
Daisy: 4/13 2AM grulla colt with a couple forehead hairs and one sock.
Stormie: 5/7 3AM gray filly with a stripe and three socks
Sadie: 5/15 6AM bay filly with a star and snip and two socks
I’m hoping for louder colored colts bc I’d like to imagine I could take them home. Esp that first cross! 🤩
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Peyton’s foal – chestnut filly, one sock, born 3/20 6:30PM
Daisy’s foal – grulla colt, no markings, born 4/12 10PM
Stormie’s foal – gray colt, no socks, born 5/2 12:00AM
Sadie’s foal – bay filly, star and 1 sock, born 5/01at 4PM
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Peyton: 3/18 5am bay colt with two socks
Daisy: 4/1 at 5 pm grullo colt with a blaze and two socks
Stormy: 5/5 2pm gray filly star with one sock
Sadie: 5/12 at 11am bay filly with star and stripe and three socks
Is Stormy’s foal up for grabs as the prize??
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Nope but it’s for sale. 😉
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Peyton: 3/18 2pm bay filly with 2 socks and a star
Daisy: 4/6 1am grulla colt with 1 sock
Stormy: 5/5 5am grey filly with 2 socks and a stripe
Sadie: 5/13 10am bay colt with 3 socks a star and snip
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I won last year, so I’m going to sit out this year… but I kinda want Daisy’s foal.
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Sold.
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Peyton: Bay Filly, Small Star, 1 Sock. 12 AM 3/18
Daisy: Bay Colt, Solid, 5 AM 4/10
Stormy: Grey Filly, born black turning Grey. 2 Socks 11 PM 5/0
Sadie: Bay Colt, 2 Socks, Star. 2 AM 5/5
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Stormie Super Pony–5/4, 9 pm, Black colt, star
Daisy–4/9, 12 am, filly, Grulla
Peyton–3/20, 4 am, chestnut, strip, socks
Sadie–5/13, 11 pm, chestnut, star
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Forgot–Peyton colt and Sadie filly
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Peyton: 3/10 4am bay colt with a star and one sock
Daisy: 4/10 11pm grulla filly with one sock
Stormie: 5/3 6am black going gray colt with a snip and two socks
Sadie: 5/11 3am bay filly one sock and a stripe
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Peyton- 3/10 6am, bay filly with 2 socks
Daisy – 4/10 11pm, grulla colt with a star
Stormie – 5/5 4am, black (gray) filly with no markings
Sadie – 5/15 8pm, bay colt with 1 sock and a stripe/snip
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Peyton: 3/15, 3 am, bay Filly, Blaze, Two socks
Daisy: 4/5, 12 am, Grullo Colt, No face markings, One sock
Stormie: 5/5, 5 am, Grulla going grey Filly, Star, Two socks
Sadie: 5/13, 6 am, Bay Filly, Star, One sock
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