In this blog post, the final part of 2025. The visit to the clinic with Incredible, the horses returning from the alms, dressage training with Infinity, and now, after all, the foal inspection with Wylano.

October.

After I noticed that Incredible’s leg wasn’t getting any better and discussed this with my veterinarian, I decided to take her to a veterinary clinic near Munich. A friend was going to come along, and we were going to pick her up from the alpine pasture and drive straight there. Credi doesn’t like getting on the trailer, so this way we’d save her from having to load up one more time. We had an appointment in the late afternoon and left early enough to pick her up from the alpine pasture. Thank goodness we did, because she flat-out refused to get in. We tried everything—being patient, offering treats, being a bit stricter, even getting angry (though that rarely helps). Moving the trailer farther away from the other horses, bringing it right up to her—nothing worked. What a frustration. What are we going to do... Finally, it occurred to me: what if we put Issy in, then Credi, and then Issy back out? We decided to give it a try. Issy walked right into the trailer. If Credi walked in too, we’d close the door immediately and then insert the bar. On the first attempt, she had walked in, but because it took too long to insert the bar, she was already back outside before we could even blink.

Our little plan worked out—after Issy, she finally stepped onto it, the hatch closed, and she stood there. Now we just had to get that bar in; after a bit of fiddling, we managed to squeeze it in. We quickly opened the gate again, let Issy out, and closed it once more. Without giving it much thought, I handed Issy over to the owner of the alpine pasture, and we jumped into the car as fast as we could to get on our way. Once we were driving, she calmed down and started eating from her hay bag. This was going to be a challenge when we had to head back home.

When we arrived at the clinic, Credi was allowed to rest for a bit in a pen. A surgery had come up, so we had to wait. Credi clearly needed that rest, because she decided to take a little nap.

Eventually, the vet came over to us, and we were able to find out what the problem was. We had to walk and trot on the hard surface in a straight line, and X-rays were taken. X-rays were taken of both front legs so they could see the difference.

The results weren’t good—and it was something I hadn’t expected at all. My 2.5-year-old horse had a significant leg deformity, along with osteoarthritis. But how could this have happened? According to the vet, she must have torn her ligaments and/or suffered a fracture. A serious injury, in other words, one that would normally leave a horse quite lame. Now, I’m no vet, but I’ve worked with horses long enough to recognize whether they’re lame or not. That wasn’t the case with Credi. The vet was very pessimistic and went so far as to suggest—though not quite saying it outright—that it might have been better to put her down. That was not an option for me; I certainly wasn’t going to leave her here now. We decided to inject the joint with corticosteroids. This reduces inflammation and alleviates pain and swelling.

I was absolutely devastated—how could this have happened? After the vet was done, she was still a bit groggy, so we decided to load her onto the trailer right away to take advantage of the sedation while it lasted. With the help of some carrots—which, of course, she was only allowed to sniff and not eat yet—she happily walked right into the trailer. Off to home, where I just had to try to come to terms with this news.

Back home, after a few days, I decided to ask the veterinarian—who had recommended that I have X-rays taken—if she might be able to come by. The clinic would also contact her and pass on all the information so that she could be my treating veterinarian. We had to go back for another walk and trot so that she, too, could form her own opinion.

The clinic had been quite negative toward her as well, saying that she was lame and very likely wouldn’t be able to serve as a riding or breeding horse. Fortunately, she took a slightly more positive view. Credi wasn’t limping, and she saw no problem with eventually using her as a riding or breeding horse—provided, of course, that she remained in her current condition. This made me feel a little better. It’s still incredibly upsetting that what is, quite literally, the best horse in the stable, is now dealing with this. But we’re going to make the best of it and take things as they come.

This year, I’m joining three other young breeders at the Day of the Young Stallions in Ebbs. It’s a long hike downhill—about 4 hours—but it’s definitely worth doing at least once!

I’m getting an upgrade at the stable. I’m finally getting some nice gates. One for the stalls so I can close everything off neatly, and one for the pasture, so I no longer have to close it off with a makeshift setup using a pallet and a stall door. I’ve also been getting creative myself and am building a new saddle cabinet in the shed with a friend.

November.

Credi had to cut her summer short, but Issy and Press were able to enjoy the autumn sunshine right up until November 1. But now it was really time to go home. Both were plump and round and ready for winter. Credi had also gained a little weight but now had the perfect figure. Aside from her leg, she’s incredibly beautiful and has developed well.

After getting home with the mares, I wanted to clean the trailer, but decided that maybe it was a good time to do some trailer training with Wylano. The last time on the alpine pasture wasn’t exactly a success, but he’s supposed to go to the foal inspection soon. I put together a bowl of all kinds of treats, made sure the hay bag in the trailer was full, and resolved to just give it a try, taking it easy.

I figured I’d see how it went. I walked with him to the trailer and let him take a good look; I held some feed out to him once, and soon he was standing on the ramp. He went back and forth a few times, but all in all, he was inside within 10 minutes. I stood there for a while and let him eat some hay. Then I slowly backed out again. I decided I wanted to try it one more time, even though there was, of course, a risk it wouldn’t work again. You can see the second attempt on the video—without much hesitation, he followed me right back in! I was incredibly proud and happy that it had worked out.

November 8 was the second foal inspection. This is where the foals that were unable to attend the first inspection are presented. No more stallion candidates are selected at this point, and the filly auction has already taken place, but the foals are evaluated, microchipped, and vaccinated and dewormed as needed. Normally, I present my foals on a regular halter, but since Wylano was already a bit bigger and could still be a bit unpredictable at times, I decided to present him in a show halter.

He showed himself off nicely, and we received the comment that he is a handsome little colt and will certainly become a good sport horse. That’s a comment I can only be happy about. During the microchipping, I was glad I’d put on the show halter, because on the first attempt, he decided to take a big leap into the air. That attempt failed, so we tried again—luckily, this one worked, and we were able to head home!

27 - 28 November.

I had signed up with Infinity for a dressage course taught by Melanie Manser. The course was held at Fehlehof in Aschau. Since it wasn’t far away, I decided to ride there. I had to ride on Thursday evening. It was extremely cold, so I bundled up well with a blanket and reflective gear and set off. Dad was there too and drove there by car; halfway there, he waited for me for a moment to see if everything was going well. Infinity was a bit nervous, which isn’t surprising, since I hadn’t been on a trail ride with her for at least three years. But she behaved very well—until we reached the bridge... She wouldn’t go over a small ledge by the footpath, so we had to take the road instead. By the time we arrived, we were nice and warmed up, and we had to wait just a little while before it was our turn. It was a very instructive but challenging lesson, for me and for Finn. We mainly worked on pace control and stopping her from shaking her head.

On Friday morning, the sun was shining, so we rode over to Fehlehof again. In this lesson, we focused on trotting over small bars and the canter. We both went home tired but satisfied, with plenty of homework to do.

Issy, too, had to slowly get back into the swing of things at work. We’re starting with some nice, relaxed lunging, just to build up her stamina again.

The year is slowly coming to an end, winter is on its way again, and the horses are being transformed into teddy bears once more. Wylano is jumping into the new year. Who knows what it will bring!

Love, Fabiënne