So Far So Good

Meet our first noteworthy wild of 2021! Back on the 4th, just as we were approaching our mail delivery destination and preparing to call it a night, we spotted this guy:

(Also, I am probably way more amused than I should be by the two random chats showing here.)

He reminds me of Windfall, only less spindly and with a Taurus-like neck. 

He's fairly speedy and has a great personality, so we were fans right away. "Soozy" had to go ASAP, so he is now Capricorn. XD

We found this pretty pony two days later, again hanging out near the destination of a mail run: 

With such a high genetic stat total and fun coat color, we were really hoping for a pleasant personality...

...and we got it! (Aside from lacking in the bravery department, that is.) Her performance metrics aren't bad either, and while Pepsi is big on her, it's not comical.

Since we found her on Epiphany, that became her name! (Good thing she wasn't a stallion.)

For the record, here is the ranch she was hanging out near. (The wild Pepsi is riding was another captured in the same vicinity, but she was nowhere near as special.) Wilds seem to mosey up near people's ranches frequently. Bethany's theory is that these are the lonely ones that want to be caught.

Our buddy Gem and her horse Ham came across some wilds that were definitely not lonely. 5 or 6 of them were spread out near each other in this patch of fjord highlands. There was an albino elk in the mix too. You know you've got a great buddy when she alerts you to said herd and offers to let you lasso them all. (She was at her horse max at the time, but still!)

How's the weather up there, Gem?  Ham is so huge! XD

Gem has a pair of donkeys and also generously offered Pepsi their first foal! We've been pining for a donkey since they were introduced, but so far we've had no luck combing dark forests for them. So, we are now the happy owners of a donkey colt! Here was the little guy the day we got him!

Here's a look at his profile from back then:

It doesn't get much cuter - he makes goofy braying noises instead of whinnying - and we love that he has a fairly believable donkey personality. XD

He's gotten much bigger since then. We were hoping he might make it to 12 hands so we could ride him, but we're not thinking that's going to happen. He seems to take more after his dam than his sire. <3

Fortunately, he has no trouble pulling Pepsi in the pony cart! We were so excited when he turned 2 and could be harnessed!

We're calling him Toby, since he somewhat resembles Toby, the real-life donkey of This Esme (an equestrian YouTuber we all enjoy.) =) 

Lily was already less than thrilled that we were planning on keeping 3 new equines this month. Then what happens? She goes out and finds our first lucky find of 2020!

This horse does look suspiciously unlike either typical volcanic or swamp wilds...

We recently picked "Keen Eye" as our second specialty, which has taken a lot of the suspense out of wild horse ID. 

We knew within seconds that we had lassoed a Poitevin! I thought that this breed (AKA Mulassier)

 was one of the prettiest draft breeds on HI2, so it's really cool that we get one on HI3 too.

She has lovely feathering, but she's definitely more refined than our other two lucky find drafties, Clavius and Herschel. =)

Whoa, skittish much? Between this and the laziness, she's not exactly the most fun horse to ride. At least she's not ornery!

Since the Poitevin has a history of being crossed with donkeys to create mules, and since we happen to have a male donkey, I think she and Toby may be destined to have our first ever HI3 foal!