This is RMK Teiddwen Talulla who we call “Talulla.”

Another hairy, bigboned, tobiano mare in our herd.  She was the last Gypsy Vanner Horse that we’ve added to our farm.

I had spent an entire day virtually attending a horse auction in Ohio.  I had placed starter pre-bids on a dozen or more horses at the auction.  I actively bid along with several of the auctions until they surpassed the amount that I was willing to pay for those specific horses.  On that day, I was looking to add my final horse to the farm for the year, and if I accidentally added five or six, that would’ve been ok.

I was the high bidder on three of those auctions.

One horse didn’t show up to the venue at all and was removed from the auction at the last minute (and I’m not sure why because the seller had other horses at the auction that did go through).  So, no horse there.

A second horse never made it to the auction floor for unexplained reasons.  That’s probably a “don’t ask” situation.  Second win was not a win.

A third horse, the seller decided that they would only be willing to let go of the horse for X dollars higher than what I’d won the bidding at (33% higher than my high bid).  I wasn’t willing to pay those X dollars more, because I won the bidding at the dollar limit for what I was willing to pay for that horse.  Strike three, and I was out.

So…after a day of hustling, and not a horse won at that auction to take home, Jen had been secretly perusing another horse that had recently been put out there to be re-homed from an individual that we had previously done business with.  Jen was secretly hoping that I wouldn’t win anything at the auction so that we could spring for this specific horse as our final horse purchase of the year.  She got her wish.

And, truth be told, this gal was way more beautiful of a prospect than any of the horses that I could have won at the auction.  I was also very pleased with this proposition.

If we do business with someone, and things go very well, we are very likely to do repeat business with them in the future.  We have nothing but good things to say about everyone that we’ve completed business transactions with (some of those transactions/negotiations that got hairy and didn’t come to fruition are a different sort of story).

I knew of the original breeder of Talulla.  I admire that program.  I found out that Talulla was their first ever foal.  That endeared Talulla to me even more.  We have a special place in our hearts for the first foal that we produced, and I’m sure others have some of the same sorts of feelings for their first foals.  We’re dedicated to providing her, just like all our horses, with the best home possible.

We’re hypochondriacs with the health of our horses.  We’ve found that when in doubt, do all that you can, and the outcomes are often better than just flat-out ignoring possible issues hoping that they will go away.  They rarely do.

After a bit of time on our farm, Talulla was displaying a little limp on one of her front legs.  It turned out that she has some controllable health-related issues.  She needs to be on a special diet to help control her special health considerations, and we’ve got her headed in a good direction with the aid of proper environment and diet.

Talulla is an experienced mother, and she’s open for this winter.  She’s also an experienced show horse with some pretty good showings behind her.  She’s a very good candidate to be a future momma on our farm, and we plan to see if we can get her bred for a  2026 foal.

Talulla’s been with us a very few short months now, but we’re looking forward to someday having clones of her on the farm by her side.  Those blue eyes, bald white face, and black eyeliner are very flashy looking…just beautiful.  She’s also a super-sweet mare with a very passive disposition (bottom of the herd).  Her and our gray mare, both being middle-aged mares, are buddies out there in their pasture.