This is it folks, the last edition of Foal Friday for our 2023 foal crop. We’ve been doing this since Rihanna was born in February, so I feel like we’ve really stretched it out as long as possible this time around.

On Monday sBs (the Belgian Sporthorse studbook) was here to get everyone’s registration stuff done, so we brought all the foals up to the smaller front paddocks to make them easier to access. They’ve never been up there before but everyone handled it like a champ and they were all quite well-behaved for having their hair pulled for DNA testing and standing still to have their markings drawn for their passports. After the sBs folks left we went out to take formal pics of them one last time. Here’s how everybody is looking now!

Rihanna is the oldest at almost 8 months now, and she is a also our chunkiest member despite having so much Thoroughbred blood. She’s a laid-back girl that loves snacks and naps and Rue is her BFF.

As you can see, Rue is already incredibly gray heading into her first winter – she wasted no time with that! She’s a bit more sensitive than Rihanna, but also very clever… you can almost see the wheels turning in her brain sometimes. My favorite feature is her very square bottom lip that looks just like her dam’s.

Rhett is a spicy little meatball, but also really darn cute. He’s sensitive but also very friendly both with humans and horses. He’s the social butterfly of the group for sure, and also a big-time Momma’s boy. He might be the most sad about being weaned.

My not-so-little Andykins! I love this dopey kiddo so much, he’s sweet and smart and just kind of a total dude. He’s down for whatever and doesn’t get upset about much. His mom is quite dominant, which has had the effect of making him quite submissive, but I think that’s his natural personality anyway. He’s a no fuss kind of guy.

Miss Lucy is emerging as our definite alpha mare of the baby herd, despite being the youngest. She is SASSY and quite sure of herself, the world, and her place in it. She is also turning gray, like Rue, but as you can see she’s been much slower about it – she’s currently more of a pinkish shade.

Next week we’ll wean the three younger kiddos – they’re all 6 months old now and it’s time! It will be interesting to see how their herd dynamic shakes out without the mares as a factor.

Unfortunately we don’t have any foals coming in 2024 so this is the end of Foal Friday for quite a while. We’re going to try to go hard and heavy at breeding in the spring though, so maybe I’ll do some other kind of series that chronicles all of that process? We’ll see!