Second Annual Baby Bets Contest!

Published on by Amanda C

Another spring means another crop of foals coming soon to Willow Tree Warmbloods! It’s been fun doing these contests in the past, so let’s just make it an official annual thing. Ready to place your bets on the class of 2018?

PrestoSadie

First, you probably want to know what’s at stake here. The winner of this year’s Baby Bets contest will win a $50 Riding Warehouse gift card (everybody say thanks to Riding Warehouse!) and a super cute hat with the Willow Tree Warmbloods logo. Because everybody needs hats to cover that helmet hair. And swag. Always swag.

contestprizes

There are only two foals coming this season, a Laken x Diarado and a Sadie x Diarado. That should make it pretty simple. We’ll do the rules just like last year, since that seemed to work out well (even if it did cause me to have to make a spreadsheet like an adult). Basically all you have to do is exercise those psychic powers and comment here with your guesses for the following, for each foal:

  • Foaling Date
  • Foaling Time (doesn’t have to be to the minute accurate, just to the hour is fine – ie 2AM. If it happens in the 2AM hour, you get the points.)
  • Gender
  • Color
  • Face Markings
  • Leg Markings (again doesn’t have to be specific – “one sock”, “none”, “four socks”, etc will work)

So your submission should look something like this:

Laken: 3/20 3AM black colt with a stripe and two socks

Sadie: 4/21 8PM brown filly with no face white, one sock

But filled in with your actual guesses, of course.

Everything you guess correctly will earn points. 10 points each for foaling date and time, and then 5 points each for gender, color, face markings, and leg markings… so each foal can potentially net you up to 40 points. So even if you get a few things wrong, there are still ways to rack up some serious points. If there are any ties, I’ll put them all in a hat and get Michelle to pick a winner.

Liam3

Submit your entries via a comment here on this post or you can message them to me on the blog’s facebook page. Just make sure you leave a link or an email address so I can contact you if you win! Easy peasy.

Neither of the mares had fetal sexing done this year, so gender will be a complete surprise. “Due dates” are based on 340 days gestation, but keep in mind that normal gestation can be anywhere from 320ish to 360ish. I’ve included pictures of both combinations below and whatever info is important so you can make your best guesses.

Laken

LakenDiarado

Laken is a gray mare with two gray parents, although she has never been tested to see if she is homozygous or not. Her first foal was a filly, born brown and turned gray. Diarado is very dark brown, but does not carry a chestnut gene and therefore cannot sire a chestnut foal with any mare. Color possibilities are bay, brown, black (and then maybe gray on top of any of those base colors). Since we may or may not be able to tell at birth if the foal will go gray, please guess the base color. Laken was born chestnut and had a star with faint stripe and one sock before she grayed out. Her “due date” is 3/24, although last year she foaled at 325 days (which would be 3/8).

Sadie

SadieDiarado

Sadie is a brown mare that has produced one bay offspring and one brown offspring. Her only marking is a right hind sock. Color possibilities are bay, brown, black. “Due date” is 4/22, last year she went 339 days. So far she’s had two colts.

I’ll leave entries open through 2/23, that gives you two weeks to get your guesses in! The contest winner will be revealed after the last foal is born. Obviously I have no idea exactly when that’ll be, sometime mid-late April, so you’ll just have to stay tuned.

25 thoughts on “Second Annual Baby Bets Contest!”

  6. Laken: 3/10, 11 PM, black filly, star, one sock front
    Sadie: 4/20, 11 AM, brown colt, no face white, two socks hind
    Betsy in WI

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  14. Laken- 3/12 dk bay going grey colt with a star and 2 small socks
    Sadie- 4/21 dk bay filly with no face markings and 1 small sock

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  15. Being very familiar with Laken and very familiar with Sadie’s first-born son, here are my guesses:

    Laken: 03/06 at 7 am (because she’s an over-achiever who doesn’t need forever just to make a baby, but will insist that someone to stay up all night waiting on her); ostensibly a bay filly but in reality a grey flying squirrel born with a cookie addiction.

    Sadie: 05/01 at 4 am (because it takes time to cook a baby that size); supposedly a bay filly, but actually a baby yak with donkey ears who will need a yearling halter at 2 weeks old.

    😋

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  16. Oh, forgot markings. Laken baby, 2 socks and a star. Sadie baby, one sock and a few white hairs trying hard but failing to qualify as a star.

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  21. I love the Baby Bets! The anticipation leading up to Presto can’t be rivaled though.
    Laken: 3/9, 5am, brown colt. Four socks, no face marking.
    Sadie: 4/25 (she’ll make you wait), 6pm (no one needs dinner, right), brown filly (it’s about time for a girl!), 2 socks (try her), star (because she’ll be one!).

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