Foaling season and we lose our mare Oeke
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Our 5 year old ster mare Oeke was due with her first foal on April 24. On April 9 I got a call from my sister and brother in law (my sister owns Oeke) to say that she had the baby early, during the day and Oeke was not getting up. The emergency vet was called and we managed to get Oeke and her foal, a colt, to Virginia Tech Equine Hospital. Unfortunately, Oeke had suffered a prolapsed rectum and bowel and the vets could not save her. So, at about 11pm Oeke was euthanized.
We are still working with the foal, who is not only an orphan needing a surrogate mom now to nurse him, but is also suffering from some ill effects of not initially nursing.
It has been a tough ime for our family. Losing a horse is always difficult, but losing a mare in foalbirth just seems to be the epitome of tragic.
Cori is due with her baby May 13. Wish us luck.
I published some photos recently of Oeke. One set was Oeke in training at age 3. The other is Oeke when she was at her keuring.
My Tara story
OK, I know I owe everyone more stories and videos from the stallion show, and I promise they will come. I have been traveling a lot lately and I am behind on everything. But now that the stallion show is over, all the breeders are pondering over what to do for the spring. What stallions are the best for our mares, what will the market be like in 2008 and 2009, how are our pregnant mares – due this spring/summer – coming along. Dahlia is due June 1 with her 2nd foal. Pregnancy is going well. I have kept her 1st foal for a while. That filly, Tara, is now 21 months old. This is my Tara story.
When Dahlia was pregnant with her baby in 2006 I was very anxious about whether the foal would be male or female. For some reason I was 100% sure it would be a male. And I desperately wanted Dahlia to have a girl. Still, I was so sure it was going to be a boy that I had a name all picked out for him. Since Friesian names must start with a letter based on the year they are born, I had to pick a name that started with the letter T, U or V (at least I think that is what it was). I was going to name him Tsjip (“Chip”). A good ol’ Friesian name.
In the winter before the foal’s birth – right about the time of year it is now – I had a vivid dream. In my dream it was spring and a very warm and glowing day out on the farm. My dad called to me to say that Dahlia had had her baby in the field and we went out to see the foal. The baby was sleeping by Dahlia’s feet and I pointed down and said “look Dad – it is a filly!”. At that the baby stood up and began to run around in the sunshine. I looked at my father and said “I am going to name her Tara”. When I awoke from my dream I called my parents to tell them the story. We all just sort of laughed, though with some surprise that in my dream I stumbled upon a name starting with “T” – a correct name for the year. But we discounted the whole thing – everyone was sure that when the time came, Dahlia was having a boy.
On April 19 of that year my parents phoned me at 6am. “Dahlia has had the baby”, they said. “And it is a girl”. I eagerly hopped in the car and drove an hour to get to the farm. The baby walked right up to me to say hello. She was friendly, brave and so curious. Just like a big dog. “What are you going to name her?”, my parents asked. My mind raced through various Friesian names I had considered. Then I realized how silly it was to even ponder the question – I knew what her name was supposed to be. “I am going to name her Tara”.
Tara will be 2 years old this April. Soon we can start teaching her to ground drive and learn what a bit and saddle are. Next year when she is 3, her real adult training can begin. One of my more popular videos is of Tara back when she was 4 months old. I took this to show the training dad does with the foals, and how amazingly effective he is with such training. Many have already seen this, but if you want, you can view it again.
Meanwhile, I am wondering if Dahlia will have a boy or a girl this year. The name must begin with A, B or C. I have names picked out, but who knows what I may dream between now and June 1.
2007 Keuring – Morristown TN [Updated with Oeke Video Link]
*** UPDATE 28-Sept: Here is Oeke’s Keur Video!***
We had a great day today. Wikke, the 3 month old baby, was named a 2nd premie. He was adorable and moved very well – just needs more lengthening in his walk. If they had had baby awards for “most beautiful”, “sweetest”, and “most personality”, I think he would have won all those! Sara, his owner, was really proud of him and so was I. Click here for a video of little Wikke’s keur.
The big news of the day was that Carole’s filly Oeke was 2nd premie star and champion mare!! She was absolutely wonderful. There was only one star mare there (Oeke) and one star gelding and that was it for the adults. It was a tough day for the adults, so that made Oeke’s achievement even more special. We were so happy that Walter and Gryt Bruinsma flew in from Friesland to see Oeke, a product of the wonderful breeding program the Bruinsmas have. We missed Ock, who so sadly died two weeks ago, and it was sweet to see Oeke joyfully carry the crown after the sadness of Ock’s passing. Good job Oeke!
Wiebe, Oeke’s trainer, and Richard, who Wiebe has as a runner and employee this summer, also came to see Oeke go. They were immensely helpful in getting her ready and taking her through her paces. We are very grateful to Dragstra Stables. They are tops – as trainers and as people.
I need to process Oeke’s video. Also, I’ll try to get a photo gallery up as soon as we get the pictures back from the photographer. I’ll update this entry as soon as I can.
The Happy Harness Horse
When Dahlia was just a little baby, dad tried to put a halter on her. They were in a 12 x 12 stall (with Dahlia’s mom) and it still took him 30 minutes to catch her. “I’d put my arms around her” he says, “and she’d jump out – like a bunny rabbit.” Later on it was typical to see her wander off all by herself in the pasture. Her momma would panic and desperately start to look for her. Dahlia would roll her eyes as if to say “holy cow momma, just chill out, would ya?”. We knew early on we had one fiesty, independent minded equine on our hands. She is still the same way. And that is why I love her.
You can go into Dahlia’s stall to find her lying down (a lot of the time) and if you wanted, you could probably sleep in there and use her as a pillow. But when it is time to work, you see a different side. If she sees a saddle, her face says “oh crap, I hate that thing”. She tolerates the exercise, but seemingly complains. On the other hand, if there is a harness there she perks up – looking like a kid about to get on the ferris wheel. Then she goes and you can almost hear her shout “wheeeeeeeee!!!”.
I took Dahlia to Wiebe Dragstra, her trainer in NC, about a month ago. She loves him because he is the carriage driver. Which means he is her buddy – they are part of the same fraternity that the rest of us cannot quite get into. Wiebe is exercising her for the IBOP test. They are not supposed to judge her on looks – just performance – but they have a hard time with that. Dahlia is a short, chunky mare. She really does look like a Friesian – one from 1950. She cannot seem to get trim, no matter what Wiebe does. So, I am not sure how she will fare in her scores. But that’s ok. If nothing else, for 6 weeks she gets to be a harness horse. And a happy one at that.
Today I went to visit Dahlia and watch as she and Wiebe played. If a horse could laugh, she’d be laughing. Or, at a minimum, she’d be yelling “wheeeeee!”
I have to brag on Dahlia’s grandma
This past winter while in the Netherlands I was able to meet the grandmother of my mare Dahlia. Grandma’s name is Wilmaa B and she is 16 years old now and has had 8 foals. Wilmaa B’s mother recently died. Her name was Hillie B. and she was a daughter of the famous stallion Hearke. Hille B. had a rating of Model + Preferent. Less than 2% of all mares will make the Model rating. Perhaps one half of those could also achieve Preferent. Wilmaa B. is also rated “Model”. The damline is unbroken (ster, Model, and/or Preferent) back to 1948. Most breeders in Friesland know of Hillie B, and Wilmaa B. For mares, they are pretty famous.
