Son of an Old Friend
Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for all the kind words and well wishes for the newest filly in the park. It means a lot that you all care for her as much as we do.
The stallion pictured below is her presumed sire, Arrowhead. He is a very unique stallion. Not only is he gorgeous, but he is also strong, smart, and just an all-around nice guy. I know how strange that sounds but he really is a nice horse who I personally feel, has a heart that is kinder than most humans I know. Here is one example of how kind he can be.
After I spent some time with his family and new baby the other day, I walked around to check on the other horses. There were five bands hidden in a large cove so since I was already there I decided to spend time with them as well. As I was photographing Copper, I looked over to Arrowhead’s band to see what the baby was doing and noticed that his band had too many horses. I quickly realized that little Applewood, out of Stormy x Ollie, was trying to spend a little one on one time with Arrowhead’s young mare, Velvet. He slowly worked his way closer and closer to her until finally, she pinned her ears and pushed him away. This caught the attention of Arrowhead who then walked over. What happened next was not what I expected. I thought Arrowhead would chase him off and Applewood would run as quickly as he could to avoid an interaction. Instead, Applewood stood there and waited for Arrowhead to reach him and the two of them began to play fight. Arrowhead would gently bite the back of his legs while Applewood would try to go for Arrowhead’s face. If you didn’t know the horses, you would think that Arrowhead was playing with his own son. He was so calm and gentle. What surprised me, even more, is that 7-month-old Applewood showed no signs of running and stood his ground. This went on for a short time before Ollie took notice and went over to intervene. He was joined by Sapphire and her filly, Aqua. Ollie and Arrowhead met, squealed a little, and then calmly walked away from one another.
Arrowhead would not have tried to hurt Applewood but most stallions would have quickly moved them along towards their own family. As I said before, Arrowhead is unique. Seeing the kindness he showed towards his old bachelor buddy’s son that day gave me a whole new respect for him and the amazing horse he has become. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Applewood trying to make the move on the much older, Velvet. He is 7 months and she is 6 years old. She is beautiful so at least he has good taste.
Arrowhead walks over to Applewood.
I love how Applewood is not phased by this stallion chewing on his back end.
Arrowhead lets him get a nip in probably to help his little ego lol!
Ollie looks up to see his son with Arrowhead.
Ollie, Sapphire, and sister Aqua run over to make sure Applewood is alright.
All is well as Sapphire keeps an eye on both kids. L-R: Aqua, Sapphire, Applewood, and Ollie