2018 foals

Izvestia · Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:24 am

Sure, but you are saying he’s siring some attractive foals - but at this point they all are, aren’t they? They are just babies!

Treve · Fri Apr 06, 2018 2:23 pm

Izvestia wrote:Sure, but you are saying he’s siring some attractive foals - but at this point they all are, aren’t they? They are just babies!

I don't know about Ridan but personally...

I don't know how old the foal I remarked on is but notice he has no white except for a tiny star so chrome was not a factor in his good looks

I like his shoulder which you can already see has a nice wide angle, and his his strong loin/hip attachment. He also seems to be well balanced between his front and hind, and though he isn't standing square his legs that are placed correctly have nice clean angles. The lines are where they should be. To the eye he seems harmonious and proportional. That's what I mean when I saw a foal is attractive.

Even at that age some things are visible. You can calculate the approximate height potential of a foal based on the length of their legs (can't remember the exact formula) relative to the length of their canon bone and body. Some foals have bigger engines than others from day one, some are definitely longer bodied than others, some shorter bodied... etc. etc. It's why you can generally tell the difference between an Arabian foal, a Tb foal, a QH foal, a draft breed foal... And if you're a long time, experienced breeder who has foaled many foals you start being able to have a good idea right from birth of whether a foal is what you were hoping for or not.

Another example of this (i.e. conformational characteristics that are visible early), a lot of the Speighster babies I'm seeing in this thread seem to have inherited a flatter, slightly longer loin (when compared to the colt I was commenting on anyway). I went to check Speighster and Speightstown's confo shots and they both seem to have the same type of hip/loin attachment. The difference is of course they as mature horses now have plenty of flesh and muscle on their engine which the babies don't yet.

Or that Cairo Prince filly upthread with the gigantic ears! (But she'll probably grow into them up to a point anyway)

Also... I don't think a breeder is ever going to publicly complain or make negative comments about a stallion's get, especially if they're posting photos

And certain things especially like front/rear angles (as seen from the front or seen from the back, less so from the side alignments) can be wonky at birth from being squeezed through a tiny birth canal and correct within a few weeks of the foals being born.

So while I agree some things are not immediately visible or entirely predictable because certain aspects of a horse's confo will change due to genetics, environmental factors (including human intervention) you can get some early clues about the skeletal build.

Ridan_Remembered · Fri Apr 06, 2018 7:49 pm

Izvestia wrote:Sure, but you are saying he’s siring some attractive foals - but at this point they all are, aren’t they? They are just babies!

I guess most babies are cute, but not all are attractive. Here's a link to the Taylor Made "first foals" page where you can see some foals by Chrome, Mshawish and Not This Time: http://www.taylormadestallions.com/first-foals.html. They are all attractive, good-looking foals. I have seen one filly by Chrome who, about 24 hours after birth, was a plain Jane type. Adorable but kind of thin and spindly, standing awkwardly. And another foal, a colt by Chrome also about a day after birth, who looked gorgeous but was very over at the knee. I assume those legs will straighten as the foal grows and gets stronger.

All foals are cute, sweet and innocent, but we know from Jockey Club stats that about a third of the entire crop will never race. Of the 60% who do, only a tiny, tiny fraction will become the stars we follow. For those of us who are fans of particular stallions, all we can do is hope they beat the odds.

Ridan_Remembered · Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:42 am

About 7:40am Eastern, it looks like a vet is doing something with La Verdad's filly. Hard to be sure, but maybe an ultrasound around her right shoulder area. Then they turned the foal around and are doing the same thing on the left side. Does anyone know what the procedure might be? Foal is not a happy camper. Did not want the guys to touch her again, but now they seem to be working on her feet. Once they are done working on her, the filly goes directly to mom for comfort.

Retrospectiv · Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:15 pm

Just checked in on them, and the feed is down.

Bold Carma · Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:28 pm

Ridan_Remembered wrote:About 7:40am Eastern, it looks like a vet is doing something with La Verdad's filly. Hard to be sure, but maybe an ultrasound around her right shoulder area. Then they turned the foal around and are doing the same thing on the left side. Does anyone know what the procedure might be? Foal is not a happy camper. Did not want the guys to touch her again, but now they seem to be working on her feet. Once they are done working on her, the filly goes directly to mom for comfort.

When I worked at HnD (a million years ago!) they routinely scanned the lungs of all the foals for any evidence of lesions caused by Rhodococcal pneumonia.

Ridan_Remembered · Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:38 pm

Bold Carma wrote:
Ridan_Remembered wrote:About 7:40am Eastern, it looks like a vet is doing something with La Verdad's filly. Hard to be sure, but maybe an ultrasound around her right shoulder area. Then they turned the foal around and are doing the same thing on the left side. Does anyone know what the procedure might be? Foal is not a happy camper. Did not want the guys to touch her again, but now they seem to be working on her feet. Once they are done working on her, the filly goes directly to mom for comfort.
When I worked at HnD (a million years ago!) they routinely scanned the lungs of all the foals for any evidence of lesions caused by Rhodococcal pneumonia.

Oh, thanks for the potential explanation, Bold Carma. The filly was not a happy girl, but she seemed strong and healthy to me, although I'm admittedly not very knowledgeable about foal behavior.

@Retrospectiv, it's 8:39pm eastern as I type this and the feed is still down. I hope all is well with them.

lurkey mclurker · Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:14 pm

AFAIK Hill & Dale is doing them a favor having a feed up, so it's probably not 24/7 like it will be when they're back in New York. I haven't been able to see them at all since I've been back at work, it's always offline by the time I get home.

Bird Town is keeping me entertained, though. How that girl loves her sleep.

Ridan_Remembered · Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:15 pm

Deleted and replaced below

Ridan_Remembered · Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:17 pm

lurkey mclurker wrote:AFAIK Hill & Dale is doing them a favor having a feed up, so it's probably not 24/7 like it will be when they're back in New York. I haven't been able to see them at all since I've been back at work, it's always offline by the time I get home.

Bird Town is keeping me entertained, though. How that girl loves her sleep.

Bird Town is such an interesting mare and yes, very entertaining in her way. I hope she has a smooth delivery and lovely foal.

There's a live feed of Colerful Bride, the mare who is carrying the foal for The People's Horse/Taylor Made experiment in crowd-sourcing ownership. Feed is here if you want to watch: https://peopleshorse.com/pages/horsecam-1
They have sound in addition to video. I find the mare's sounds soothing. Right now, 10:15pm eastern, Colerful is eating the feed in her tub. She's due this Friday.

Sparrow Castle · Tue Apr 10, 2018 4:16 pm

Runnymede Farm
1 hr ·
Big news at the farm: Bizzy Caroline, our MGSW and half sister to champion Lady Eli, has given us a stunning filly by Lane's End Farm's Union Rags. We couldn't be more excited -- she is definitely one of the very best foals of this year for us. She's big, she's strong and she's beautiful!

Della · Tue Apr 10, 2018 7:03 pm

Congratulations, Sparrow Castle. That is one stunning filly foal. Enjoy!

Ridan_Remembered · Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:59 pm

Huge congratulations, Sparrow Castle. The filly is gorgeous. I'm a Union Rags fan, so wish you enormous luck with your filly. She's big, she's strong and she's beautiful...and her mamma, Caroline, obviously loves her.

Sparrow Castle · Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:27 pm

Oh she's not mine. I just posted a picture from Runnymede Farm's Facebook page. Been looking forward to this foal because Bizzy Caroline's a half-sister to Lady Eli by Afleet Alex, and there aren't many foals bred on this cross. Should be interesting to follow this little girl.

Treve · Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:23 am

What a sweet photo!

Sparrow Castle · Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:24 pm

Coolmore America @coolmoreamerica
3h3 hours ago
Yet another quality colt from the first North American crop of Champion Australian 2YO Vancouver. Bred by Jack Swain out of Gilded Miracle #CoolmoreSires #HomeOfChampions

Sparrow Castle · Wed Apr 11, 2018 9:44 pm

Buckland Sales @BucklandSales
11h11 hours ago
Wow. Talk about chrome...Beautiful, leggy CONGRATS colt born last night o/o Simply Stylish... mare will visit OUTWORK in ‘18. @WinStarFarm @Liamontheloose @SeanTugel

Personal Ensign · Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:20 am

Bird Town seems to be a very active sleeper, she is stretched out but moving one of her hind legs like she is running

but she also has been lifting it up like maybe she is having a leg cramp so I'm not sure.

serenassong · Thu Apr 12, 2018 10:00 am

Ridan_Remembered wrote:
lurkey mclurker wrote:AFAIK Hill & Dale is doing them a favor having a feed up, so it's probably not 24/7 like it will be when they're back in New York. I haven't been able to see them at all since I've been back at work, it's always offline by the time I get home.

Bird Town is keeping me entertained, though. How that girl loves her sleep.
Bird Town is such an interesting mare and yes, very entertaining in her way. I hope she has a smooth delivery and lovely foal.

There's a live feed of Colerful Bride, the mare who is carrying the foal for The People's Horse/Taylor Made experiment in crowd-sourcing ownership. Feed is here if you want to watch: https://peopleshorse.com/pages/horsecam-1
They have sound in addition to video. I find the mare's sounds soothing. Right now, 10:15pm eastern, Colerful is eating the feed in her tub. She's due this Friday.

Thanks for that, I will be checking in

It seems that Via Veneto is a cribber- or is that something else she does?

Sparrow Castle · Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:19 pm

Runnymede Farm
2 hrs ·
A beautiful blessing this week: the newborn half sister, by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, to G1 winner Collected! This chestnut beauty is both winsome and well-conformed -- everything we hoped she could be. Congratulations to our partners in this foal and her dam, the Johannesburg mare Helena Bay, who has a knockout yearling colt by Hard Spun and is due to visit Curlin this spring