10/26/2024
We shared Summer’s All-American photo shoot yesterday but to have summer you must have winter… and here she is; Unlimited Winter!!! And much like the seasons these mare are very much different but both beautiful in their own right. Despite these mare’s being half sisters, both Sired by Rockin Bentley, they are a great example of the difference a mare makes. Summer is a little bit smaller snappy lead mare type and Winter is a BIG wheel mare but impressively the quality and quality of motion are still there too even with her size and you would be hard pressed to find a big mare with a more beautiful set of hocks or better hock action!
A little funny story to go alone with Winter and how she got her name. Our daughter Justice had named Summer a few years earlier after a friend and she had been asking me ever since to name a foal Winter. Foaling season 2019 we bring the first mare of the season into foal and it’s a big solid black mare with not one whit hair through her coat and she’s bred to Bentley who is Dark Bay. Once again the “Winter” question comes up. I proceed to tell her that we would have to see but it was highly unlikely that this foal was going to be right for that name. The foal we named Winter would need to be a filly and should have a lot of white…. I’m pretty sure that’s the exact moment that the man upstairs said “Watch This” 🤣. A few days later Melody lays down to foal and her come the white legs… ok pretty common with Clyde foals and then the here comes the head and an abundance of white continues. As the birth continues to progress I laughed out loud and before she was completely out of the mare I look at the her and say well if you are a filly I guess I know what your name is. A few minutes later I was able to check if she was a filly and she was instantly named and I had a very happy little girl!
Winters favorite pastime when she was younger was following Justice around like her shadow and Winter continues to be a favorite of Justice.
One more thing. I would like to thank Gracie Sullivan for helping me take pictures. Anyone that has taken quality horse pictures knows that they are not alway the most willing participants and sometimes it’s like they are just trying to mess with you 😂😵💫. Winter may have sided more on the side of messing with you. Especially because she will stand perfect in the barn when you are getting her ready. Oh yeah and the there’s the crazy perfectionist lady that keeps having you move all over the yard. Give you the camera to takes pictures, takes the camera and gives you the horse so she can take pictures…and 2000 pictures later… your thankful the sun is going down so I have to quit 🤣🤦🏼♀️. Thank you for your patience.
Winter: Oh you want my hocks together… ok well look they are together but now I’m going to relax and not stand on the one… oh ok I’ll stand on all 4 legs but your not getting my ears forward so you either get ears back or donkey ears out to the side… ok I’m standing perfectly but only for a split second and then I’m moving a leg 1/2 a step. Oh did you catch that? No… we’ll try again
