GONE GOLD
Foal to two years of age photos

"Roadie" trying to get up. He literally came out of Topaz trying to get up! He was on his feet in about 15 minutes and nursed shortly thereafter. October 27, 2002, about 7:30 AM.


Topaz's ears are following Roadie wherever he goes. Nursing stimulates uterine contractions so she is having some cramps.


Here you can see he is not quite "red".


An hour or so later, Roadie is taking a quick nap. He is a weird apricot shade that often changes to palomino later. The roots of his mane are white. Chestnut foals are usually redder than this, but sometimes you don't know for sure until the foal completely sheds its foal coat at around four months of age.


Here is Roadie on Day Two.


I was trying very hard to get a picture of his lovely head, with the little, curled-at-the-tips ears (just like Daddy's!), but he is SO friendly he keeps coming right up to me. A plastic bag at the end of a lunge whip drew his attention enough that I got this shot. Topaz proceeded to check the bag for carrots!


Day 3. He is filling out a bit.


Roadie and Topaz playing, day four. He is beautiful to watch- does the softest stops, with his front end elevated and hindquarters tucked perfectly.


Roadie, now one week old, meets Luna through the fence. Luna is fascinated by him.


Here is Roadie's pretty head. He was sweaty from running around- he is a very active foal! He is one week old here.


Day 12. Roadie's eyes were blue at birth, typical of many creme gene dilution foals, and now they are darkening to a grey-blue. Soon they will be brown or hazel.


Roadie runs in big circles around his mom, over and over again. Right before he comes in for a landing at the milk bar he does a few airs above the ground!


Roadie gets a visitor, my friend Cassidy Evans. He is two weeks old here.


"That's the spot!"


When they are one month old I integrate my foals and their dams back into the main herd by adding one horse in with them at a time until all are OK with each other. With Roadie, I began by adding my mare Willy Remember Me, who is the "herd leader", a very self confident mare who gets along well with everyone. Here Roadie meets "Mimi" for the first time.


Here is the handsome young man at one month old. He is standing with his butt uphill here so he looks a bit rump high, but you can see the lovely "series of curves" that he is becoming.


Roadie at age seven weeks, December 2002. All the pictures I took that day were so good- I had a very hard time picking just one! You can see he is shedding- from right above the eyes to the nostrils- to a sooty gold. Right above his blaze on his forehead is also shedding to gold. There is a lot of white hair in his mane which does not show in these pictures.


There is no mistaking what breed Roadie is!


Roadie really likes Frosty, our silver dapple filly. Frosty is seven months old and Roadie is 9 weeks old (December 2002). You can now easily see his white mane coming in. The roots of all his hair is light- even the cowlick on his neck is gold. Here he is whispering sweet nothings in Frosty's ear (she remains unimpressed!).


March 2003, Roadie is now five months old and is officially a weanling. As he is shedding his "red" winter coat, the lighter palomino hairs give a sort of roany effect. I see faint dapples and sootiness under the remaining fuzz, and at this point thought his final palomino shade would be quite dark with dapples, like his sire.


Roadie and his "bestest" friend, Frosty. Initially, Frosty put up with quite a bit of coltish shenanigans from Roadie, but as time goes on she has laid down the law- which keeps him mannerly as he adores her from a respectful distance.


April 2003. Roadie (who is not quite finished shedding) and Frosty (who is just about finished shedding- isn't she a cool color?).


Roadie in late July 2003, about a week before he left us for his new home. He is nine months old here.


I don't have many pictures of Roadie in the year that he was gone. Janine sent me this one in July 2004. Roadie was turned out with two young geldings and one older mare, Lady, who he had grown quite attached to. Lady managed to slip away from the little herd on occasion and head back to the barn. Once Roadie noticed this, he would head off as fast as his legs could carry him to find her. Here he is trotting the quarter mile to the barn in search of his Lady Love. I like this picture for the athleticism it shows, especially the degree of engagement and the beautifully even diagonals.