This is Bellissima Farms Pipken, and we call her, “Pipken.”

I mentioned previously that a large part of our Gypsy Vanner Horse efforts last summer went into broodmare improvement.  Sparrow and Maggie started that, and Pipken continues this for us.

Some of those that we visit know that we often haul a two-horse trailer when we pick up horses from other states.  They’ve also experienced us taking home a second horse when we show up to pick up one horse.  It’s happened more times than we’d like to admit.

We always know what it is that we’re looking for, and, sometimes, what we’re looking for ends up being right there in front of us.

Jen’s “chase” horse for some time has been a small silver dapple mare.

When we went to pick up Bruiser, there was a gorgeous silver dapple mare there.  We were told, “can’t have this one, but I have to show you another one.”

Pipken was jaw-dropping beautiful.  On top of that, she was in foal to one of the finest specimens of a stallion in the breed.

A deal was struck, and Pipken joined Bruiser on the trailer ride home.

On top of being gorgeous, and being pregnant with a guaranteed similarly beautiful foal, she also, when tested, has one of the coveted H2 genes (and we somewhat suspect that the daddy of her current foal may have had one based upon his and his other progeny’s sizes).

Pipken could very easily give us a Silver Dapple Sabino Mini foal.  She could also give us a full-sized chestnut sabino foal that would outgrow her size within a year, since Pipken is a short stack at an inch or two over 13hh.  The one certainty is that it will be sabino.

Pipken is a super sweet and passive mare.  She completely avoids all the drama in the pasture with other horses.  She does know which other horse is her best friend, though, and she has that one where she currently pastures.  She’s also warming up to the other horses in the pasture with her as time goes by.  She’s not as avoidant of them as she was when she was first placed in the pasture.

One of the reasons I really pay attention to social dynamics is that I need to know what’s going on in the lives of my horses so that I know that all horses get everything they need.  There should never be unfair competition amongst the horses for resources.  That is the sort of thing that engenders a foul temperament on a horse after they learn that they must be nasty to compete for food, drink, or their place in the pack.

I have two pastures now with extra-sensitive, passive mares.  Those two pastures are always stocked with two round bales so that the passive mares get a place to stand and eat without being in constant fear from the “higher ups” in the pasture.  They all still sort things out eventually, but it’s a slower, gentler way to do it, and it even keeps the bossiest of them from getting too aggressive with the others.  Also, when you’re dealing with a pregnant mare, you really need to make sure that they’re getting everything they need to support that foal that is coming.  I even sneak the passive, pregnant girls extra bites of grain out of sight of the others just to make sure that they’re getting everything they need.  A lot of thought goes into my daily feeding routines and its order of operations.  I know which order the horses will park in when fed, when that bossy mare will move along to displace a mare, which mare will circle back…they’re creatures of habit and they do the same thing day after day with only slight variations in their timing and patterns.

In the order of things this year, Pipken will most likely be second or third to foal.  We can’t wait to meet her little one.