Lexington Ponies - Part 3

This is the final chapter to my story of the Lexington ponies. I hope you have read the other two posts earlier this week. If not, please read them and come back. Yes, I’ll wait for you. 

OK, are you all caught up in the story? The owner of a thoroughbred horse farm invited us to do some impromptu photography of his newborn foals - the “wee ones” (said with an Irish lilt). He was on his way to run an errand, but he instructed us to tell his staff to let us in the security gate and show us around.

We hightailed it back to the farm and said the magic words. In the gate we went!  It took us a little while to work our way back to the foaling barn. We stopped at several places to ask directions, and the staff was calling ahead as we went. At one of the stops was this precious pair!

The little colt (tag name: My Way) was only 15 days old and cuddling up. 

We pried ourselves away from this scene and headed up to the foal barn destination. We arrived while the staff was in the process of turning out several of the “wee ones” with their mothers in the field. And the mares were carefully watching us strangers, making sure that we behaved. 

You may remember this photo that I featured on Mother’s Day. The mare tenderly nuzzled and reassured her colt (tag name: Nobility). 

This little fella was less than four weeks old. His halter tag said “Lettre Spirituelle,” which means “invincible spirit.” 

He showed a lot of confidence, standing away from his mom for a while and presenting us a charming profile. 

Then he resumed a close stance, in case he wanted to nurse. I could have photographed him all day long with the delightful poses he was giving us! 

This colt was quite a bit wary (tag name: Midday Runner), but I managed to get this lovely tight shot of him. Aren’t those furry ears and long eyelashes precious? 

One appeared to be a filly (tag name: Dancing Alone) and her mom seemed to be a little anxious about our presence. 

We were attempting to be as unobtrusive as possible while taking the photos. We also tried to be quick about it, so we would not interfere with the staff’s chores. But we couldn’t help but slow down and enjoy the magical moment when they brought out a colt that was only three days old! 

He was placed in a separate pen from the other horses, I suppose because he was so tiny and still unsure of his world. Look at those long legs! 

His self-assured mom soon joined him and she struck a regal pose for my camera. 

It was a treasure to see these exquisite animals up close and witness the tenderness they had with each other. And the youthful promise of the foals was inspiring. One of these could very well make horse racing history some day! 

We are so grateful to the horse farm owner who invited us to witness and celebrate the beauty of his thoroughbred horses. Hopefully, the images capture at least some of their endearing character. As a token of our appreciation, we mailed him several photo enlargements and a thank you letter. It was the least we could do to repay a gentle act of kindness that will long be remembered.