New Hokkaido Blood

I have been thinking for several months about adding some new blood to my Hokkaido band and finally bit the bullet and sent away to Japan for a lovely young colt. 

It was a bit scary as I bought him sight unseen, but I scoured the pedigrees of many different horses and knew this was the pairing I wanted a foal from.  I was thrilled that they had a colt available, as he has the potential for producing many more foals than a filly would have.  And I already have a lovely imported mare that he will be a perfect match for, although she is going to be about 19 when Titan is old enough to begin breeding. 

So, without further ado, here is my new boy, Titan! 



Titan

Isn't he handsome!?  He will grey out with time, but he is heterozygous for grey, so has a good chance of passing on that lovely chestnut color to his foals.  He is also completely clear of GD, so I can pair him with any mare on the ranch.  So far, he has a good temperament, although he was a little unhappy by the time we got him out of quarantine.  They take good care of the horses there, but there are so many in and out that they just can't give them the personal attention we will here at home.  Everyone is so excited to have a new baby to play with that I know he will be mellowed out in no time at all. 

I am giving him a bit of time to get used to his new surroundings and he has taken a shine to our pregnant Ardie mare, Mabel, so he is hanging in the pasture with the expecting mamas and enjoying himself while she learns to mother a bit, as she is a maiden.  I will be starting his training at the start of next month and expect it to go well from what I have seen of his temperament and personality so far.  For now, I will just be spending time with him in the pasture and getting him used to coming when I call and being touched and played with.  And Lucas is spending a lot of time with him.  Now that he and Kayley are starting their own little family, it is good fathering experience for him.  ;)  I love that she is due the same time as the mares.  So we will be on foal and baby watch!  Although she says she does NOT want to be on a webcam.  Guess I can't blame her for that, lol! 

So, check back here for updates on our new little guy.  I will try to keep y'all posted on how he's doing.