Sometimes it comes flying in quite unexpectedly – or better said clattering – and gets a little bigger every day!
Every horse girl has it: The dream of owning her own horse!
For years, the top priority on my wish list for Christmas was my own horse. We already had one in the family, but the Icelandic mare Lukka belongs to my mum – and that’s just not the same. At some point it was clear to me that neither Father Christmas nor my parents would make my dream come true in the near future. So I decided to be able to fulfill my biggest wish myself at some point. From this ‘someday’, I knew, I was still light years away.
But as life goes, it should suddenly turn out differently, and I am now already the happiest horse mum in the world!
The reason for this unexpected turn of events was actually not so nice, because two years ago, Lukka suddenly started to stumble and within a week there were two falls, thank God without any major injuries. The vet suspected a painful inflammation in the front leg and recommended a little rest on soft ground after the treatment before we could ride her carefully again to see if the problem was resolved. So for now, Lukka was released to a meadow for a temporary break.
However, “for the time being” soon turned out to be unrealistic. Although everything developed perfectly and Lukka was ridden by my sister, a friend and me without any problems, my mum did not feel safe on her anymore. Since my sister and I didn’t live nearby anymore because of our studies and our friend had too little time to ride Lukka regularly, we had to reconsider. Retiring an 18-year-old, fit and motivated horse felt wrong somehow.
Therefore, we looked for a solution where we could continue to have fun together.
Again it was my dad who finally brought the idea of breeding into play. This is not really surprising, because already with our first foal he was the one who dreamed of experiencing the birth and rearing of a foal live – amazing enough, since he has nothing to do with horses in everyday life except to enjoy our enthusiasm. In this way, we have already bred a foal that is now a riding horse and that we all like very much. But why should we continue breeding? – At the moment, we actually did not need another horse.
Rather jokingly, I brought the suggestion to the family council that it would be possible to breed two foals from Lukka – one for my sister and one for me. If everything goes according to plan, the two would be ready to ride at the age when we would have finished our studies. A great present for the exams, right?
I never expected that my dad would jump on this train and immediately began to forge concrete plans. – Or maybe I could have expected it? After all, when I was little, he had also allowed me to have a domestic pig, goats in the garden and an old gelding that hasn’t been ridable for a long time. My mum had (fortunately) managed to prevent all this. – The really surprising thing in our family discussion was my mum’s reaction: She was not at all averse to my suggestion this time and my dad hardly had to do any more convincing until my mum was also in the boat.
During the next weeks, I searched WorldFengur and YouTube for a suitable stallion for Lukka. Should the foal be four or five gaited? Which building would best complement the mare? Is the colour important to me? These were all questions that were buzzing around in my head. In the end I decided to go for Teigur from Kronshof.
About a year ago, all four of us together delivered our Lukka to Kronshof, where she spent a few weeks in spacious pastures with Teigur and his other mares.
We were all happy when the news came that she had taken in, but we were even happier about how good she looked when we picked her up. She seemed to be really enjoying her free time!
“Hopefully, it’ll be a black mare”, I thought. That was my biggest dream!
But the closer the calculated date approached, the less important these outward appearances became to me. A mare would be great, but a chestnut would not be so bad, was the first compromise in my thoughts, but soon I said goodbye to that too. And in the end it was the same as in real life and I thought like most parents-to-be: Whether boy or girl, the most important is for the foal to be healthy!
The foal was scheduled for the beginning of April, but it took time. We had been waiting for two weeks when finally the news came that Lukka seemed to be getting ready. From that day on I checked my mobile phone first thing every morning and wished so much to be released from this gruelling wait.
But nothing. Nothing for days and weeks. I was starting to get nervous. Could it be that something had gone wrong during the pregnancy?
But then, on May 1, 2018, my dad called me in the afternoon. I was just in the library to study for my upcoming exams and was glad that I answered the phone at all. Because when my dad called me at five o’clock in the afternoon, I didn’t expect it could be Lukka and her foal.
But my dad told me immediately that the foal had just been born and that he was on his way there with my mum. Meanwhile, a friend of mine came to meet me in the hallway and excitedly I hopped from one leg to the other: “The foal is there, the foal is there!” My whole circle of friends was waiting for the baby horse almost as impatiently as I was. So we jumped up and down the library corridor together for joy.
“It’s a chestnut”, my mom said into the phone. “Oh, there are beautiful chestnuts, too”, was on my lips, but then my mother had to laugh and said that it was a black horse. But whether it was a stallion or a mare, I had forgotten to ask in the excitement. A few minutes later came the message from my dad: It’s a mare!
So the little foal turned out exactly as I wanted it and is really the biggest present I ever got!
The decision for a name was difficult for me and I had to look at the little one myself before I could commit myself.
After my exam, I could finally go see her and after some back and forth I decided to go for Lóla. Lóla vom Freyenberg.
Of course I am very enthusiastic about Lóla. I think everything this little horse does is great and I could watch her for hours – just like real parents. I have also become a bit of a mummy.
It is also touching to see how caring Lukka is with her little daughter. It seems like we’ve found just the right job for her.
Thanks Lukka!
