Caledonia

Callie’s mama, Beauty, was a six-year-old maiden mare, meaning this was her very first foal. We were admittedly a little nervous leading up to the birth. We’d heard that Clydesdales can sometimes experience more foaling complications than other breeds, especially with a maiden mare. Thankfully, all of our worries disappeared the moment Callie arrived. Beauty handled everything beautifully, and the entire birth went textbook, exactly as we had hoped. It truly couldn’t have gone any better.

One of our favorite things about Callie is her beautiful coloring and unique markings. She is a bay filly with a bold white blaze that stretches down her face and four stockings. Interestingly, those stockings haven’t stayed quite the way they looked at birth. What we originally thought would be bright white markings have slowly started changing, becoming darker as she grows. At this point, we’re not sure if only her front stockings will darken or if her back stockings will change as well. They’re still in the process of changing, so we’re excited to see how her markings develop as she matures.

We like to think she’s the perfect combination of both her parents. Her rich bay coat is just like her dad, Oliver’s, while those darkening stockings seem to be a little gift from her mama, Beauty, our rare black Clydesdale mare. Whether that’s truly the case or not, we’d like to believe she’s carrying a little piece of each of them in her unique coloring.

If there’s one feature that truly reminds us of her daddy, though, it’s her gorgeous “butterfly” eyelashes. Just like Oliver, Callie was born with long, full eyelashes that seem to frame her eyes perfectly. It’s one of those little traits that makes us smile every time we look at her and a sweet reminder of the special horse who started her story.

As Callie has grown, she has quickly become one of the favorites around the farm. She has an incredibly sweet, gentle, and affectionate personality. She’s always eager to be with people and has the calm, kind nature that makes everyone fall in love with her.

Callie isn’t going anywhere. She is a permanent part of our family, and we look forward to watching her grow into the incredible mare we believe she’s destined to become. One day, we hope she’ll join Nattie and the rest of our Clydesdales as another trusted teammate here at Homestead Horsemanship, continuing Oliver’s legacy for years to come.

For now, though, she’s exactly what a young filly should be—happy, healthy, and spending her days racing through the pasture and playing in the sunshine with the other foals. As she grows, we’re sure we’ll continue adding to her story, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for this special little girl.