a large paddock filled to the brim with lush green pick and trees for shade and a stable for when it decides to rain.
One of the hardest things that we have, (hang on, I should say "I" instead of "we" as this is about me) I have to do being a breeder of Thoroughbreds is to be able to let go of our "kids" when the time has come for them to leave the nest and go on their merry way into the next exciting stage of their grand adventure on the road to becoming a race horse.
There's a pretty strong attachment that comes from seeing a youngster born, making sure that it bonds with mum, growing up and making sure that mum is teaching them everything they need to know for their next step, weaning. Weaning is the next stage where we become pretty intimate with the youngsters. We get to find out exactly how their personalities are developing, what little idiosyncrasis they have and its at this point where we have to stop all the bad little habits from developing.
After weaning comes more lesson time, learning how to be a young horse, learning how to lead, how to behave for the farrier and the vet etc etc.
So as you can imagine, a lot of time is spent with each individual to make sure that they find themselves on the right road for the rest of their lives.
It certainly does make the parting easier to know that these "babies" have gone to a great place for their next stage of life, where they will get every opportunity to develop to their full potential.
Max has certainly landed on his feet and as you will see from the below photos (courtesy of Max's owner), he is certainly in equine heaven.
So, happiness is .... being Max.
:-)
One of the hardest things that we have, (hang on, I should say "I" instead of "we" as this is about me) I have to do being a breeder of Thoroughbreds is to be able to let go of our "kids" when the time has come for them to leave the nest and go on their merry way into the next exciting stage of their grand adventure on the road to becoming a race horse.
There's a pretty strong attachment that comes from seeing a youngster born, making sure that it bonds with mum, growing up and making sure that mum is teaching them everything they need to know for their next step, weaning. Weaning is the next stage where we become pretty intimate with the youngsters. We get to find out exactly how their personalities are developing, what little idiosyncrasis they have and its at this point where we have to stop all the bad little habits from developing.
After weaning comes more lesson time, learning how to be a young horse, learning how to lead, how to behave for the farrier and the vet etc etc.
So as you can imagine, a lot of time is spent with each individual to make sure that they find themselves on the right road for the rest of their lives.
It certainly does make the parting easier to know that these "babies" have gone to a great place for their next stage of life, where they will get every opportunity to develop to their full potential.
Max has certainly landed on his feet and as you will see from the below photos (courtesy of Max's owner), he is certainly in equine heaven.
So, happiness is .... being Max.
:-)
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