Well, it's been a while....but it feels great to be back in the saddle again! Red is back in work, nice and slow, absolute gent. And the exciting news is: Rococo is now started under saddle! We have had a few nice 'little' rides out and he is a totally different horse to sit on. Very much like his sire. Soft, powerful, extremely athletic and very sane! Was a big decision to take this step, but I felt we needed to have a degree more education before Spring. And he is a big boy! The next big thing is - to geld or not?! Rococo has some lovely bloodlines on both the jumping and dressage sides. His Dam is Glamour Girl (D WB, Cuddles) a delightful old girl who is retired and living out her days in the Equine Valley for the Perpetually Bewildered (out the back). By The Immigrant (Formateur), Cuddles is also the Dam of several highly successful NZ dressage horses bred by the JK Holsteiner Stud, including JK Lonestar and JK Lucazen. Sired of course by JK Rodin, Rococo shows all of his athleticism and incredible nature. I was devastated to lose Rodin earlier this year and am reminded of what a special horse he was when handling his youngstock. Rococo should mature at around 17hh, and is very well put together which will make him a lovely ride.
I can also add to 'the team' Duchess Dorothy Spot. Dotty is a wee coloured filly, rising (very slowly) 2yrs and keeping everybody amused. As soon as the sun comes out and I can chip some of the filth she is encased in, off, I will get the camera out. But right now, she resembles something that looks like 7 goats in a sack.
Did I mention the autumn calf? Heidi-Moo? Heidi has grown far too fast is is not a cute calf any more. She is a vile wildebeest of a thing, which terrorises me at 'dinnertime'. I have to take a stick to her as the witch is growing horns and uses them to her utmost advantage when I am upside-down mixing feeds in the tack shed! Red will occasionally allow her to share his feed bowl but remains Boss. However, Heidi can totally intimidate Dot and I have to say that witnessing a spotted hissyfit in 6" of mud with a mad cow circling the feed bins is definitely good for laugh.....only if you are on the right side of the fence! Throw in 15-20 marauding chickens, a Prozac dependant fox terrier and a control freaky 5 year old boy that wants to be an animal trainer and you get the whole picture.
So watch this space. As we drag our knuckles towards Spring, the whole place should start to thaw, and maybe even dry out? I can't believe that soon enough the ground will be hard enough to break bones on again. (We have the first days docking done with plenty more to go. ) Funnily enough, I had to buy a new pair of wellies this winter as my old ones had split. And to be fair, that probably happened last year....but with the drought...didn't notice!
Global Warming My Foot!
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