Best Mom Award Goes to....

Tess got serious about having her baby at about 7:40 last night and he was on the ground by 8:10.  Everything went perfect and I never felt the need to interfere.  Once both she and baby were standing, she even moved around to put him in just the right position to nurse and nudged him into place.  She broke all of the maiden-mare "rules" and did better than some old broodmares I've seen.  She has clearly been memorizing the Foaling and How-to-Raise-Baby textbooks. 

Tessa is double registered TWH/SSH, her pedigree name is Daisy's Irish Jig.  The sire is Clyde's Gallant Fox who you can see here:  http://www.clydesgallantfox.com/

It's a killer combination:)

(As a side note, I have to give a shout out to Clyde's (aka: Ted) trainer/handler Tabitha Holland of Signature Equine and my excellent vet, Dr. Laura Rath and the staff of Midstate Vet Clinic.  Breeding mares, especially using shipped semen, can be a stressful nightmare.  However, Tabitha was a real pleasure to work with.  She was knowledgeable, pleasant and provided clear, timely communication which is the key to success in getting babies made over long distances.  With her very competent handling of the stallion on her end and the help of Dr. Laura Rath and her colleagues on my end, everything went as seamlessly smooth as is possible.  Tess was knocked up so fast I barely had time to agonize over it😁😕)

Tessa is gaited and so is baby.  He is still getting his sea-legs, but I have already seen him do an amazing running walk.  From what I have seen so far, and from what Tess can do, this guy is going to be an absolute dream to ride.  When he gets around to it in a few years.

He has a long way to go to grow into those legs:)

The lighter colored spots on his belly just kill me.

He is super healthy and already making poor mom tired.  The vet was out this afternoon to give him a checkup and she declared him absolutely perfect.  She checked his IGG levels to make sure he got a good dose of immunity from mom and he was well over the 800 mark, which means Super-Mom Tess knocked that out of the park as well.

He has already discovered some of the great joys life has to offer....

...such as a good butt scratch.

Tomorrow, he is going out where he can really stretch those legs out and Tessa gets to eat GRASS.

I told her that while she is feeding baby she finally gets to eat all the grass she wants (as long as she doesn't gain any weight, but....ssshhhh....Let's not mention that to her unless we have to😉)

My vet wants to name him Sullivan, which I like, but I'm not so sure about Sully and we all know that would happen.  I've thought of several fancy pedigree names, but nothing has stuck to him yet. I had a girl's name all picked out (even though I was certain it would be a boy), but not a single boy's name.

 Something will stick to him eventually.  For now, he and Tessa are both healthy and happy!