There are a lot of unknowns when purchasing a broodmare: maybe she’s a maiden mare which comes with its own set of unknowns, maybe the previous owner had a valid and scary reason for finding her a new home but didn’t see fit to disclose it. Maybe the mare isn’t a good mother.
And when your purchase of a mare goes like the purchase of Claire went, you have even more to worry about and question – because people can be dishonest and don’t always have the best interest of the horse at the forefront.
When we artificially inseminated Claire in early April of 2022, we were still cautiously hopeful that we hadn’t purchased a ‘dud’ of a broodmare. We were ecstatic when that first try resulted in a pregnancy.
Then Claire blossomed with some TLC and pretty soon she was wide as a barn, waddling around looking fit to burst.
And on March 18, 2023 she went into labor and the real worry set in. Would she be a good mother? Would she let us help if she needs help? Would she let us handle the baby?
Jolene came bursting into the world with her mother’s spice and big star on her forehead and we, including Claire, fell instantly in love. She showed us we had nothing to worry about, she let’s us spend time with Jolene, she let us assist with the birth when a shoulder was stuck.
Jolene even got to borrow Boost’s dog coat because it was so chilly – such a girl, already playing dress up!
We are so pleased that our first foaling season in Montana is off to a great start, we so smitten with Jolene already!
