Roulette
Roulette's story is a pretty simple one to start. Firstly, she is a stunning young (approx 5-6 y/o) mare who is guessed to be an Arabian x, possibly Hackney. She was slated for slaughter, but luckily instead, came into the rescue on August 29, 2011 from the stockyard. She arrived as an un-broke mare who had recently weaned her foal. She was shy and cautious, but overall, a very nice girl. She was only at the rescue for a week or so before being adopted out by a lovely Mother and Daughter who have had her home with them since October 4, 2011. When they got her home, they let her settle and immediately searched for a trainer who started Roulette under-saddle and coached both her and her adoptee, Karen.
The Unexpected
On March 6 (five months after adoption), Karen discovered that Roulette was in fact, pregnant! And, as it turned out, very far along. Miss Roulette has been getting noticeably rounder. After much debate at their barn that it could be a hay belly and bets that she was pregnant, the vet and adoptee decided to preg-check her to be on the safe side... Turns out, it was positive. So it looks like we might have to change our motto to "adopt a horse, save three lives"!
Once this possibility surfaced, we found out from someone who used to know Roulette, she was in fact bred back around August but the initial pregnancy check had come back negative and then she ended up at the auction house. We got Roulete on August 29, 2011 and our vet and Karen's vet had both checked Roulette when she came into the rescue and went home (on October 4, 2011) and didn't suspect a pregnancy of any kind, just that she had recently weaned a foal.
In light of this unexpected news, Karen has decided that the baby will be named "Oh My Goodness" regardless of gender because "OMG, Roulette is pregnant!" I still can't believe it myself! I talked to Karen about this at length last night getting the story on what she had found out (still no information on who the stallion was), and I am pleased to say that not only is Karen planning on keeping this foal, but she has a fantastic support group in place at her barn and neighboring barn of trainers, vets, a warmblood facility and friends who all want to pitch together to make this babies life as happy as possible.
While Karen is still in shock and a little upset about the set-back to Roulette's training that this little surprise has brought, she feels that this is a gift and that sometimes, you get the horse you need - not necessarily the one you want. We know that the world is over-crowded with horses as it is, but nonetheless we are excited that this baby will get a chance to live his or her life and we couldn't have picked a better mom and family for him or her to have ended up with.
In light of this unexpected news, Karen has decided that the baby will be named "Oh My Goodness" regardless of gender because "OMG, Roulette is pregnant!" I still can't believe it myself! I talked to Karen about this at length last night getting the story on what she had found out (still no information on who the stallion was), and I am pleased to say that not only is Karen planning on keeping this foal, but she has a fantastic support group in place at her barn and neighboring barn of trainers, vets, a warmblood facility and friends who all want to pitch together to make this babies life as happy as possible.
While Karen is still in shock and a little upset about the set-back to Roulette's training that this little surprise has brought, she feels that this is a gift and that sometimes, you get the horse you need - not necessarily the one you want. We know that the world is over-crowded with horses as it is, but nonetheless we are excited that this baby will get a chance to live his or her life and we couldn't have picked a better mom and family for him or her to have ended up with.
Oh My Goodness!
Oh My Goodness was born on May 9, 2012 approx 3-4am! He is an absolutely gorgeous dark bay colt with four white stocks and a wide blaze - just like Mom! The vet says he is healthy and strong! He has superbly long legs and is huge for a newborn. The thought already is he could get up to 15.3hh-16hh, which is a lot taller than his 14.2hh mom! It is unbelievable to think that his adorable little face and four white legs might not have ever hit the ground... At least now he is safe!
