Lipizzan colt causes a stir at Florida stable

It’s been seven years since a colt was born at Herrmann’s Royal Lipizzan Stallions in Myakka City.

So when Jagger was born Feb. 9, he caused quite a stir. Like babies everywhere, he is getting all the attention at the ranch these days. People can’t seem to take their eyes off the playful youngster, and neither can the other horses.

The mother, Contessa, a bay mare, and the father, Achilles, a white stallion, are doing fine, said owner Gabriella Herrmann.

On Wednesday, the frisky colt bucked, galloped, reared and nuzzled his mother as they were led out to pasture.

“You can see that he is growing every day,” Herrmann said of Jagger, named after the famous Rolling Stones singer.

Jagger has jagged markings on his hindquarters, and “moves like Mick,” said Gabby Herrmann’s daughter, Rebecca McCullough.

Each summer, Herrmann takes her horses to the northeast to entertain crowds, and each winter, they train at the Lipizzan ranch, 32755 Singletary Road.

The public is invited to attend the training sessions held at 3 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. Saturdays through April. A $5 donation is requested.

For the past seven years, Herrmann’s Royal Lipizzan Stallions have also performed a 90-minute show at the ranch on Singletary Road to benefit efforts to restore the community’s 1914 schoolhouse.

This year’s show is set for 4 p.m. March 6.

A bonus is attendees will be able to see Jagger, who like all babies, fills his day with play. Gates open at 2 p.m.

“First, we are letting him be a baby for a while. We’re out there with him constantly while he is playing, and we’re watching his maturity level,” Herrmann said.

With a stable of 25 horses, Herrmann’s breeds only what it needs, which explains why it has been so long since the last colt made a debut.

It’s 50-50 on whether Jagger matures into a white stallion like his father, or becomes a bay – a reddish-brown horse with a black mane, tail and lower legs – like his mother, Herrmann said.

“We are kind of hoping for a bay stallion. They are rare,” Herrmann said.

Marilyn Coker, president of the Myakka City Historical Society, said she is optimistic that the renovations to the school at 10060 Wauchula Road can be completed this year.

“We think we are closer than we have ever been before,” Coker said.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 12:25 AM with the headline "Lipizzan colt causes a stir at Florida stable."