Hey, don't even worry about it. You literally can't rain on this parade. We are just too excited.
Plus, you were helping me to choose so you were just expressing your opinion! No problems at all.
We figured starting with a sweetheart was easier for us with limited experience than starting with a more unsure baby. 2/3 colts were unsure(not crazy or wild). The buckskin was more willing to come up to you and interact, but he didn't seem to care for his halter and lead too much at all. The sorrel was so, so lovely in person, but he never let me pet him. He would come up and sniff me but was still quite unsure, and the chocolate and white was way more timid. Not scared outright, just unsure and shym the breeder hadn't had the time to work much with the colts but was starting to. The fillies seemed way more used to people. The black was a total love after the initial shyness. She came up and sniffed me a bit and I slowly petted the tip of her muzzle and worked my way up her face. By the time I got to the top of her head she was putty in my hands and let me touch her everywhere. The pretty champagne filly in the ad was a bit more shy than the black, and the classic champagne was a sweetheart like the black. The classic champagne was a much smaller filly tho, even tho she was the same age. She had had a slow start since her mom was a first foaler and didn't have a lot of milk at first. We decided against that sweetie simply because she was small and we figured we were going with a small, but still full sized breed so better to not get a small individual.
In the end the decision was between the black, the sorrel colt, and the buckskin colt. They were all absolutely stunning animals(the photos do NOT capture the colors of these animals well), but we decided to go with the taffy lump rather than the buckskin or the sorrel. Again, the sorrel was just a bit too shy as yet for me to feel confident choosing him, and the Buckskin, tho willing to come say hi, was frisking around trying to get off his halter and lead. Another thing we had to consider was access to our farm, afterall. The dirt road "driveway" we have would no way let a loaded horse trailer not get stuck, so we will have to have the breeder bring the foal to a cross street around 1/4 ish of a mile away and walk the foal up thru our neighbor's field. A horse who is unsure of the halter yet, or one who is shy would not be an easy animal to lead up thru the field. Butters walked it easily when we first got him(with a little bit of jack donkey trying to nip us along the way), I'm sure this filly will too. But we were on the fence about the buckskin doing it or the sorrel. The breeder said his lines calm down real quick, and he did seem to be speaking the truth, but we decided the black was probably the best choice. Plus, SHE IS SUCH A SWEETIE!! He did say they tend to calm down after a trailer ride. IDK how true that is, but he was saying his next step with the colts would likely be trailering them and going for a ride or two.
We did not tell him exactly when we would be coming in the window he gave(he drives the school bus for the local high school and needed to do the afternoon driving). When we got there he was in the barn working with the chocolate and white colt on the halter. He didn't really know when we pulled up(he had a tractor idling nearby), and he was using very gentle techniques to gentle the colt. Even kissed him right on the nose, after talking quietly and breating in his nostrils.
He was not ingluencing me talking to the babies. In fact, he and hubbs got distracted talking about security cameras as I went around interacting with the babies. Apparently he has had people steal horses from him several times. Just pull a trailer up, load a group of horses in, and take off. One time they even came up to his barn and stole horses right out of their stalls!
As for a name, maybe Strawberry(Berry for short), but we are not set on that. Probably will decide after she has been here for a little while. It took us a couple weeks to settle on Butters' name if I remember right. Today the plan is to do a bit of pasture work and organizing of supplies in the house. We figure tomorrow we will be glued to the farm doing horse things, and then in the first half of next week we will finish going to stores and then be done and just here. We have plenty of projects to do here anyway, so nbd.
Yesterday got some information about where to take a soil sample to get some advice on how to improve the soil and what types of grass we should plant in the pasture. I also ended up getting a painful tick bite on my back that is still sore and itchy this AM. Hoping that turns out to be nothing, but we kept the tick in case we need to have it tested for any tick borne illnesses. Yipe!
And a balanced barefoot farrier finally got back to me, so we will try to figure out a time to have her come out and trim Butters and maybe do a little desensitization on the baby. Butters had his feet done a couple of weeks ago, but by someone who knows horses better than donkeys. He had some thrush and toe separation going on(horse feet are left longer than donks, so he hasn't had a proper trim in ages). Hopefully this farrier can get his feet the right shape for a donk and give us some advice on trimming and feeding. We have cut Mr. Butts' sugar waaay way back, and are putting in a "gravel"(creek rock. lol the stuff is free, we just have to move it) pen for him to keep him out of the mud and off the spring grass. Thankfully he isn't foundered or anything like that, but he did seem stiff and sore for a little bit. We have been using 3 products in rotation to clear up his thrush, and it does seem to be working, but his feet are too long for a donk and it is trapping material. The sooner he has a proper trim, the sooner we can fully beat out this thrush.
