After I finally published the blog posts for 2023, I started writing the posts for 2024. Now it’s already 2026, and I haven’t really made any progress. I urgently need to catch up on my backlog. I’m digging out all the photos again and bringing back memories. Because, really, just think of everything I’ve experienced over the past few years. Some things stick in my memory, and with other photos I think: Oh, right! In this blog post, I’ll be discussing the first few months of 2024.

January.

The first month of the year is always a bit dull. Since I see my horses every day, I’ve noticed that I’m taking fewer and fewer daily photos. After all, every day is pretty much the same. So usually, the only photos left are those of special moments—at events or important occasions. On days like that, I come home with at least 200 photos, which balances things out.

February.

This month isn't particularly exciting either. It's still cold, and there's still some snow on the ground.

March.

Things are slowly starting to change. The ski season is coming to an end, so I have more time for the horses again.

Issy’s due date was March 18, but the foal was taking its time. On March 29, I noticed drops hanging from her udder. I kept an eye on everything through the camera all night long. On March 30, shortly after 4:30 a.m., the moment had arrived. Issy went into labor. I was able to follow everything while on my way in the car. When I arrived at the stable, I was glad I’d gotten there so quickly. The amniotic sac around the foal hadn’t fully ruptured. I had to remove the sac from his head myself so he could breathe properly. After a quick look under his tail, it turned out to be a colt!

Every year it gets harder to come up with a name. This year it’s a colt, and since his sire is Amerigo, the name had to start with an A. Luckily, there are plenty of names starting with that letter, so I didn’t have to think about it for too long.

This handsome little guy was named ADYLANO.

April.

Spring has finally arrived, the weather is getting nicer, and I’m once again fully focused on the horses. I have a few things on my schedule for the coming weeks, namely the studbook registration and the yearling evaluation. I also need to practice for the lunging course I’ll be giving next month.

Isamiya, a daughter of Issy, has turned 3 years old and will therefore be participating in the studbook inspection this year. Of course, I’ll be there to see how she’s developed.

She looked very much like Issy. What a beautiful mare she’s become. She received a score of 7.59.

Breeding season is also in full swing. Issy gets to go to the stallion one more time; this year, the choice fell on Wotan. After seven foals by Amerigo, it was time for something new. So it will be exciting to see what comes out of it next year.

I decided to cover Impressive again this year. Since she didn’t have a foal with her this year, I had to have a swab test done. The results were fine, so I just had to wait until she came into heat. That turned out to be a problem, though. She simply didn’t come into heat. I decided to have her given an injection, and fortunately, she was then able to go to the stallion. I had Press covered by Stratos again, since that had worked out well with Incredible back then. He was standing in Zams this year. Adylano was a handsome foal, but not an easy boy. We obviously weren’t quite a good match yet, and he didn’t particularly like me touching him, especially not when I tried to put a halter on him.

The yearling evaluation took place at the end of the month. As always, it was held at the Fohlenhof in Ebbs. This year, it was Incredible and Iliyana’s turn. I had already picked up Iliyana from Corina the day before so we wouldn’t be in a rush the next morning.

Far from it… I ended up in a rush after all when Incredible refused to get into the trailer. Lots of patience, treats, and every trick in the book didn’t seem to help. Luckily, we got some help, and with five people, she finally got into the trailer...

In Ebbs, Iliyana and Incredible both showed their best form and received a rating of IIa+.

Here are two more beautiful photos by Bob Schouten to wrap up this month and this blog.

Love, Fabiënne