Another Youngster For Sale:

This is a lovely yearling colt by JK Rodin, out of a Tom Schu mare. Very well put together for a yearling and showing a maturity and attitude well beyond that of 12 months! This boy was bred by John Tulloch of Puketitiri, Hawkes Bay and is currently due to be gelded any day. He is very similar in type to RG Redman - I just LOVE the Holsteiner/TB cross that Rodin produces. This colt is straight, sound and unblemished. Very stylish with plenty of chrome, what a fantastic dressage/jumping prospect - and if showing is your thing? - certainly no wallflower. Weaned and ready to go:

Leave a message on the blog if you would like to be put in touch with John:)

Jack and I are having a lovely 'horse day'. Due to the lack of rain and hence the ensuing lack of grass, things are getting tight. We have moved the stallion and Cuddles into their new paddock. 15 Acres of tree-lined luxury complete with water feature! JK MY Penny and her filly will be moving in there this afternoon also, and that completes that happy family. Penny's filly has really grown....and am still a little puzzled over the final colour? Definitely NOT orange.....but possibly not bay either? Time will tell.

The TB broodies are all well out the back. Thriving on neglect! I have decided that it is to be "Lady' that I will sell. She has the best conformation and the most potential for life outside the broodmare paddock, being only 7 and un-fussed with. Apparently she has a good 'jump' in her and will enjoy regular routine when brought back into work. Ducky was the obvious choice, but I am unable to part with her. She is such a nice size, very sensible and will be a useful farm hack if nothing else. (She is also very snuggly, leads behind the 4-wheeler and comes to a whistle...)

Red has had a few well deserved days off. We will concentrate on happy hacking as soon as the school holidays finish. We are having a saddle fitting this weekend so should be all go. It has been so hot and dry that the ground is like rock. We are all being driven insane by the most annoying little fruit-fly-type-thingums in swarms, sticking to every last molecule of moisture they can find, which is usually either inside your eyeballs, up your nose or GULP, inside your mouth. You DO NOT want to get 'caught short' out there right now!

The river level is dropping and the brown slimy weed has taken hold. Still plenty of fish in the backwashes, but they will be starting to taste 'muddy' and aren't worth catching. The vineyard is enjoying this weather too. A wee southerly blew in yesterday, lowering the daytime temp from 29 to 15 in 2 hours. We will get another cool night tonight, then should be back to blistering temps for the weekend. If we hadn't lost nearly 80% of the Pinot Noir in the early frosts, we would have been laughing. Last weeks dilemna was being at the mercy of contractors for the pruning: As we couldn't get a spray on until we were trimmed. Now we just need to fight the powdery in the Reisling and get the bird nets up. It all sounds a bit doom and gloom - but it's really not! We don't rely on the vineyard as a sole source of income. Yes, prices have dropped, yes, the frost nailed the Pinot. But the Reisling is looking great and the winery has indicated it may be suitable for a single block label. It is also great therapy walking the rows. No smelly sheep (unless we need them for leaf-plucking!) or bolshy cows. Totally horse-free. Rabbit-free, however, it is not.

And it's a big welcome to the latest addition to the family: Little Bunny FruFru. >sigh<

We Did It!

Have just returned from the Wairoa A&P show with one tired horse and one befuddled and totally knackered rider! What a great way to learn about your youngster: Take him in company travelling, overnighting in yards, warming up and competing alongside other experienced horses surrounded by all the normal fairground attractions and topped off by multiple aeroplanes taking off and landing overhead! Absolutely brilliant fun. We crossed quite a few personal boundaries for the both of us and have come out better for it.

The dressage was a bit of an 'ask' for us. As the canter is only just starting to happen:) But we managed to enter AND exit at 'A' (was worried about 'M' for 10 seconds at one stage) and came away with some '7's....so not too bad. We managed a 4th place in one of the training tests - but definitely plenty of room for improvement. The only way is UP! Couldn't resist posting the pic - don't the faces just say it all?

It was lovely to see the last of the broodmares picked up today. Maddy and Alex off home. Alex returned a positive test on Friday morning....very happy about that. Rodin is tuckered out and turned out with his girls now. Once again, he has a 100% conception for the season! Not bad for the old boy aye?!

Kylee from HOT SPOTS thermal imaging came out today to check the 'boys' for me. Was really interesting to see what was 'hot' and what was not. What a fantastic business - wishing her all the best....and booking in for the HOY when she will be down next. I was particularly interested when we 'imaged' RG Rococo's face. Approx. 11 months ago, he sustained a blunt force trauma to the head - we think he jammed it between the walkway on the cattle yards. No lacerations, but extreme swelling, bloodied nose etc. His pretty wee face was quite sore and really hasn't ever gone down to normal since the 'event'. When Kylee 'photographed' his face, there was a large green area (manhand size) which indicated little/no blood flow/circulation? Fascinating. Am now researching lymphangitis cases and look forward to showing the images to my vet and discussing options.

Will try to update this a little more regularly, now that the breeding season here has finished. The vineyard is always calling....but we have been baking in 33+ degrees here...so the calls tend to remain unanswered by me! The river, on the other hand, has become a favourite spot to retire to....