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May 5, 2021: Hrimfara’s Ninth Birthday

It seems like yesterday, I was upstairs, we’d just finished watching a blues movie (“Cadillac Records”). Pete decided to go out and check on Signy – I told him that this wasn’t all that important. We’d tested her colostrum levels a few hours before, and as I understood it, the results indicated that she’d have her foal in the next 48 hours. I thought this meant that we had time before she foaled.

She was well overdue and had not bagged up, which was a cause for concern. We’d contacted several people about their giving us goat colostrum, just in case. I don’t remember if anyone came up with any.


Signy and young Hrimmi

A few minutes after leaving the house, Pete comes in the door and yells up to me “It’s a pinto!” My immediate thought was, of course, that the sire was not Prudar, the North American champion stallion, but rather Skjor, the other guy. We later had Hrimfara DNA tested, and yes, the other guy was her sire.

I followed Pete down to the shelter. And yes, there behind Signy was a pinto foal. I lifted up her tail to see what gender she was. “It’s a filly!” I crowed. I was pleased because I didn’t want to have to have a colt gelded. There was one change we had to make, and this was to rename the offspring. We were originally going to call her Hrimfari, the male version of frosty traveler, but being a female, we put an A on the end of the name.

Frosty Traveler, this was most fitting. She’d been conceived the day before we took Signy on, and it was a cold trip (read about our 2011 trip here). Hrimfara was with us the entire way.

We soon adopted the adage, little horses do as big horses do, and this worked well for us. Like her dam, Hrimmi learned to stand quietly at the hitching post, tie, give her feet, and in time, take a bridle and saddle. It was all very easy and without incident.

Hrimmi has always been quite mellow, even under saddle. She has never been very forward – but this year she has finally come into her own as a riding horse. She’s moving now in a more energetic fashion, and lately, she has been my favorite riding horse. I have always felt very confident on her.

She’s only taken to one other rider besides Pete and me, this being my friend Sarah. Hrimmi will move out if the person takes charge. She’s not inclined to do this herself.

This mare is also the herd mediator. When all three mares are in the shelter eating, she’s the one in the middle. She’s also the first to go to her target when I enter the pen.

Signy died shortly after our second trip. A foal could not have had a more gentle and caring dam. We still miss her something awful. But we are glad to have her offspring. I sometimes wish that I had another of Signy’s offspring. But at least we have Hrimfara.

Next: 125. 5/6/21: Riding on Pete’s (hopeful) shirttails

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