Craziness!

I haven't composed a blog post in a couple of months because things have been pretty quiet around here for the most part.  Don and Will go to work each day, I teach the girls in the morning and go to school in the afternoon (which I am really enjoying, by the way!), and Don, Will and I take turns driving Rosie and Grace to their part-time jobs.  We're finally going to church regularly, again.











We've had some lovely weekend visits from special friends and family.

 














We planted our garden, expanding it as well.

Overall, life at Westbrook Farm seemed to have taken on a steady, comfortable rhythm after the "busy-ness" of maple season dissipated...

That is until yesterday...

For those of you that follow my blog fairly regularly, you may recall one from the fall, specifically October 23rd, when I shared how we became the "retirement home" for an older standardbred broodmare simply because Lexie needed a companion.  I mentioned that my thought, as I hauled this mare home from PA, was, "I must be crazy!"

One of our former neighbors from Pennsylvania was beginning to retire his mares because, at 86 years of age, he is finally ready to get out of harness racing.

Sassy Anna was one of his and his late wife's favorites, so we felt kind of honored that he and his daughter offered her to us.  You see, 50 years ago, Don's late grandfather owned and raced several standardbred horses, and Sassy's owner actually knew him!


So, the day we loaded Sassy onto our trailer, Diana mentioned in the course of conversation that their older stud had been out with the broodmares all summer, but he hadn't produced a foal "in a couple of years".  However, on the "off chance" that he bred Sassy, they didn't want the foal back.  Since we knew Sassy was around 20 years old, I had my doubts that she would be bred, so I chuckled and promptly dismissed the comment....until about 24 hours ago!

Now, it's not like Don and I have never done this before.  We've cared for pregnant mares, been there for the birth of a couple foals about 10 years ago.  Cognitively, we know all the signs of a pregnant mare.  In hindsight, all the signs were there...I saw Sassy's topline and shape changing...but I kept dismissing them due to Sassy's age....


Much to our surprise, Sassy gave birth to a colt just before 10am on June 1st.  And, the girls and I were present for the whole experience!

I'm so glad Grace decided to take her daily walk a few hours earlier than usual because she discovered Sassy was in labor.  Breathlessly, she burst into the kitchen and yelled, "Sassy's having a foal!  Get out here!"  Sassy was so calm and collected about the whole thing...probably because this is her 7th or 8th foal (John, Sassy's former owner, couldn't recall exactly when Don asked him during their phone conversation)!

Thankfully, Don was working only twenty minutes away when we called him, So he was able to join us to see the little guy's first steps! (I will try to upload a video or two in my next blog post!)




Ironically, Don, the kids and I have talked about how cool it would be to get the Westbrook family back into harness racing.  We'd dream up unique, creative "racehorse" names and imagine what our jockey's silks would look like.

We've even gotten Don's dad in on these conversations a few times!  It's pretty neat to hear my father-in-law reminisce about the time he spent around the track with his father and the horses they owned.  We've seen the old pictures, and heard about how much Don's grandmother adored the horses.

We've been to the races a few times, and every time we have a blast trying to pick the winners, placing a few small bets, and cheering for our favorites
......hanging on the edge of our seats when an outrider makes a daring rescue on that rare occasion that something goes awry.




So maybe its time....time to act on that dream?  Apparently, this little guy's sire, named High Tech, was a pretty big deal in harness-racing, both as a competitor and a sire to some very good racehorses. Well, only time will tell...maybe we have the makings of another Breeder's Crown winner! High Tech's last hoorah! Or, maybe just a pleasure-driving horse (Doubt that!  Look at those amazing legs and naturally balanced conformation!)

For now, we'll just enjoy this sweet little blessing and do our very best to keep him and his mama healthy, safe and sound.  That's challenge enough with a curious, inquisitive colt!

This summer just got REALLY interesting here at Westbrook Farm.

Watch for my next blog post - I PROMISE it will be full of foal pictures.  And, maybe even a name for him, although that's still in the "dinner table discussion" stage, until we get to know him better...

Sleepy colt this morning...entering the world yesterday was quite exhausting!

CRAZINESS!