Tracey, Cricket's looking great....did I miss something, I don't remember the introduction of William. How did you acquire him? He is beautiful by the way.

Oh Yes! William is my new OTTB. I got him in March...there was a long thread about it and a discussion about his name and pedigree ( nickeys had done some research for me too). Sadly, I ran his tattoo through the Jockey Club last week and learned of his new/real identity so the name doesn't have any meaning anymore...except that just like William Shakespeare, the are some issues with mistaken identity, Hah!...
but he's still an amazing animal and I'm thrilled with him. Thanks for the comment :)

Gosh Tracy, your grass is SO green and lush! Do the Minis ever get to taste that grass or is there too much worry about being overweight/founder? Great shots of the "kids". Who is that taking a nap lying down? William is sure a looker. Do I remember that Secretariat goes all the way back to Man 'O War? I was amazed that to find out when I read Seabiscuit that Man 'O War was man-killer--literally! I believe he killed 2 grooms and severely wounded another. Jockeys took their lives in their hands being on board. Anyway, it looks like William is an angel.
Take care,
Carla

Actually Carla, the mini's have a small paddock of their own and the grass iisn't nearly that lush as the "big horses" get...simply because it's smaller and they eat it down so darn fast. The horse taking a nap is a boarder (Trakhener named Thiba).

I'm embarrassed to say I know nothing about Man O' War...I don't think Williams pedigree has him in it....his pedigree is on the link below (BTW, his sire is standing at stud right now for $60,500.00! And HIS sire was Deputy Minister, whose stud fee was $100,000.00 when he died just recently...and of course his sire was Secretariat).

Here's a shot of Wiliam trying get close to a mini for the first time. When he arrived, he thought they were goblins and was terrified! You can see one of the mini's in the background, just rolled out of bed...LOL.
{{gwi:33703}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Williams pedigree (Gorham Hall)

Yup, you're right. Secretariat and Man'O War aren't related. Just Seabiscuit and Man. If you haven't read that book, it's very interesting. Dang, what riders went through back then! Certainly an inside look at early racing.
Is that your pond? My old horse Luke would have gone swimming every day if he'd have had access to a pond. He thought he was a Labrador when it came to water.

Tracy, gorgeous horses...all of them. Those minis are precious!

Suzie

Hi Tracy, I bet you were amazed to find out you had a totally different horse! Doesn't really matter as long as you like him. That is a nice pedigree. I think the best part is Northern Dancer on both sides. Isn't it amazing how much those stud fees are? And remember they live cover. Have you ever gone to Kentucky and toured any breeding farms? It is so much fun. My husband and I went to Kentucky for our honeymoon, I know very romantic...but it was soooo much fun. Keeneland is beautiful. Are you near any race tracks? We still have 2 horses racing. They are at Prairie Meadows now. If they go to Ellis Park I'm going to try to go. I'm glad your enjoying William. Your place is beautiful

Nickey

Tracey, I went back and found the old post on William....I must be having brain farts, I commented on how lovely I thought he was maybe it is time for me to start taking centrum silver!!!

Well I am late to the party but enjoyed the pics of Cricket and William! Don't give up on Cricket developing some color - doesn't the Appy varnish roan pattern tend to come in more white each year like a grey? My 20yo TWH mare started showing some snowflake spots at age 18, hope you won't have to wait quite that long :)

Our part Appy gelding was born solid bay. By the time he was 8 years old he was very much a red grey, He changed color with the seasons.

Nickeys...:Kentucky would be something we would do for a "romantic" vacation. We were married standing in a creek in the Smoky mountains - with our dog. DH was in shorts and a flannel shirt and I was in overalls. :)

Everytime I groom Cricket I notice more spot-type patches. She's definetly changing right before our eyes! Yesterday I noticed she's getting some interesting gold patches on her face and muzzle.

So it will be so interesting to see how she developes :) My farrier says he's seen appy's change like you said cheribelle - when he was a kid his dad called one "that old black mare" but she was almost white. He'd called her that for years because she was black for about 8 years.

Oh, BTW, her mane doesn't lie down like in that picture...I had had it in braids for a week or so and Just took them out in that shot. After a couple hours it went back up :) It's sort of cute to see 6 inches of mane flopping from side to side.

The mane standing on end is a typical Appy trait. My mother had an appy (my fav. horse breed by the way), that had the funniest mane. He always had a mohawk.
Pics are gorgeous!

Erin, we joke and say we have a Fjord ;).