After a morning of watching Olympic Eventing, I thought it would be fun to share some photos of thoroughbred foals from this spring. One of my favorite things about being out photographing foals is interacting with these fresh souls. They are curious, playful, and you HAVE to watch your back, or it might get nipped! The mares are patient with their babies, and with us being around them. The foals of Bleu Valley Farm, a thoroughbred breeding and foaling farm on the east side of the Twin Cities, are especially friendly because they start their lives in the care of Deborah Hilger, who loves and cares for them as if they are her own. My friend Nanci Fulmek, a very talented equine portrait artist, joined me this day, making it this adventure downright perfect!

Tentative at first, the foals hide behind their moms and peek at us.

We stuck around long enough to infringe on nap time. This guy didn’t let our presence stop him from drifting off. He’s going…

Going…

Gone. Shhhhhh!

At this age, their legs are longer than their neck, so they have to get creative about grazing. ;)

My friend Nanci, sharing a sweet moment. :)