“But she followed me home,” my partner replied, when I asked him why he wanted to buy a several-month Lipizzan old filly. Well, not exactly all the way “home”, but we did find ourselves studied and followed incessantly by a weanling filly on one of our horse-buying trips to the Austrian National Stud. Highly independent at a very young age, the little Austrian filly seemed particularly enamored of Keith, leaving her dam to walk along the fence line, eyes on Keith.

We didn’t know her name, but we admired her conformation and her movement. She floated, twirled and skipped into our hearts. Later that afternoon, we asked the breeding manager if he knew her . “Not sure,” he said, but agreed that we could look for her, stable-by-stable.  We found her, with her mother, a short time later, the filly recognizable by her heart-shaped star. “Nein, Nein… she is not for sale,” he laughed.

Fabiola – 72 was her name, we learned, and negotiations were complicated because this little girl was Piber’s intended replacement for her mother, also called Fabiola.

Several months later and after relentless pressure from the Chief Horse Husband, we came to an agreement and Fabiola was on a plane for America. Long since settled into our farm in Connecticut, Fabiola is an elegant presence on our farm. And no, she never lost her curiosity – or her whimsy –  about her environment and the world! Fabiola remains one of the most interesting – and interested –  mares we’ve ever had on our farm!

Susan