Education should be fun for foals and what ever we do is slow, repetitive and rewarding. The foals are now learning about pressure with ropes and they’re responding well.
Relentless is the eldest, so he’s the more advanced foal at 5 months old he’s learning to move his hind quarters away from the pressure applied with the rope, quick learner and a well deserved scratch was the reward.
Every day is a school day here at the stud, not only for the foals but me too.. Reading a horse is a gift and I try to read the outcome of a situation before it happens!
Teaching a foal to tie up takes time, we aim for stress free lessons with a positive result.
Here are our four foals at just over 16 weeks old, all happy and content being tied up!
Have a look just how chilled these foals are, videos on our Face Book Page.
These pictures are before we turned the mares and foals back to their paddock, but what was waiting outside was two air balloons, I don’t think the foals would have tied up after this event, great pictures with the sunset, they soon settled but they were all quite frightened by the noise of the burners!
There are many reasons for storing your stallions semen but our main reason, to make sure if anything should happen to our Stallion DFR Patahas Redheart (God forbid), then his blood line will live on. We plan to take more than required to enable us to offer his frozen semen for sale within the UK and Europe, after all his GAP 5 pedigree and genetics – homozygous black (with a copy of cream), homozygous pattern and homozygous leopard pattern gene make him surely a desirable stallion prospect, not exceeding his adorable personality.
Blu is already dummy trained and accepts the artificial vagina so all we needed to do is comply with the paper work involved.
We made contact with Stallion AI early last month to get the ball rolling, this establishment is familiar to us, not only from an educational point of view but also business. We experienced an exceptional service when Hevans EV Catorrius arrived there in 2016, we have his semen stored there and we’ve also enjoyed a few CPD events since 2016.
We arranged all the relevant appointments with our vets to comply with the EU Pre-Entry health tests, EIA, EVA, strangles, Flu and CEM. All test are negative and Blu’s holiday confirmed!
On arrival, Blu was professionally examined from ears to tail and instantly settled in his grand stable, we completed the paper work and said our good byes!
When the required amount of semen is stored, Blu will return home and again be subject to the Post-Collection Testing before we can confirm his semen will be for sale.
Blu at Stallion AI
Our 2019 foals by DRF Patahas Redheart have all now reached the milestone of 4 months, their characters are shinning through and they are developing very nicely.
Only by photographs do you appreciate and realise how far we have come in just 16 weeks!
We continue quietly and slowly with their education, using ropes around them, teaching them to lead, tie and stand.
We never leave head collars on without supervision, after our evening lessons (approximately 5 minutes each), we’ve left their head collars on and regroup for a lesson in standing still together, they completed the task which was quite entertaining, here’s a photo but videos are available on the Face Book page, quite sweet!
The British Appaloosa Society National Show was the end to our 2019 showing campaign, an extremely enjoyable show that proved our horses progress.
A huge thank you to all that helped run this show at Hartpury.
Reus and I executed the given pattern in the Open Ridden Class to perfection, I listened well, starting with exactly eight strides of walk and ending with walk to halt at the flags (the banner on the arena wall). This was the first time I actually felt Reus not just under me but also feeling what I was thinking, all his transitions were smooth, he went on the right lead and I felt extremely happy with our performance, we came 5th of 10.
Our stallion Blu, yet again proved his total respect for me under saddle, working around so many horses in the warmup ring and then standing in a line up of 7 in the ring, not once did he show any stallion traits, a very promising future for us. His performance was totally novice but considering he’d only been ridden for three weeks we were not their to compete, merely mingle. He’s only done large circles at home and unfortunate for us, the area was less than one-quarter of the arena so we did what suited us, NOT following the given pattern, I did laugh a lot when I heard the Judge say “do not follow this”, thankfully the other competitors didn’t!
Regent, yet again didn’t put a foot wrong, he spent the morning in the in-hand classes being placed in each one, we have high hopes for this chap, albeit in quite a few years’ time. He’s surely got a long of growing to do and although we knew he was looking rather gangly we took him for experience, there was no way we could compete with stock far more precocious than us.
So, Reus will continue throughout the winter, Regent is back out in the field and Blu travels to Stallion AI to be collected from in the next month.
It was November 2018 when our stallion DFR Patahas Redheart was in the company of his first-born, Redheart RU Chubarry, now successfully being shown under her new owner Wendy Fitzgerald.
Today was a very special moment, they met at the Appaloosa Horse Club National Show, Wendy and myself could not resist a picture to caption the moment.
The Appaloosa Horse Club UK National Show is one show we greatly look forward to each year. A place where the Club members meet and share a common passion – The Appaloosa Horse, whether it be Purebred, Registered, Part bred or on the Characteristic Register, we support, help and encourage one another and share the highs and lows of our Appaloosa lives.
A huge thank you to all the helpers on the day and the Directors Sue Feast, Auriol Thorne, Kim Tuscany Sands and Elisa Spivey for their continued hard work behind the scenes x
Here at the Stud we’ve been very occupied preparing the horses for this annual event. Regent and Reality our two-year-old gelding’s are experiencing a growth spurt, a time when they look very much out of proportion, so on this occasion we decided to leave Reality in the field and take Regent, Reus and Blu.
A very special thank you to Rachael Simmons, Katherine Pennels and Will Hunt for looking after the horses recently whilst we have been on our holidays!
Photography courtesy of Barbara Evans, Lian Wood, Virginia Rider and Simon & Anita Coates Simon Coates Photography xx
This was Redheart Regent second show and we eventually got him up to shower and braid and release him from his baby sitting task, we didn’t expect the day to unfold so well!
The first class was the “Most Colourful Other”, where he picked up a 2nd place, his next class, Part bred young stock on the triangle, we were absolutely delighted with our partnership, he moved very gracefully around the cones and won the class, later, he won his gender/age class and took Reserve Champion Part Bred. We couldn’t ask any more from this young man.
DFR Patahas Redheart first ridden show, anyone who follows us knows Blu was backed here at the stud late January this year, he was then ridden away by
a local friend Skye Houldsworth, at her premises for a few weeks before being turned away for 6 months. At the end of July we decided to bring Blu back into work, he was a total angel to get back on and continued to be ridden for two weeks by our very good friend Will Hunt whilst we were away on holiday, so, although only being in light work, we decided to see if Blu could replicate exactly what he was doing at home but under a “show” conditions.
Blu finished his in hand showing days last year, we decided to take part Saturday to “test the waters”, before contemplating riding him on the Sunday. He stood very quietly watching the world go by with a junior Amelie House. However he did persistently try to grab his chain in his Stallion Classes but the main aim was for him to ignore all those horses around him… he passed!
Sunday brought us pure joy, such a well-mannered boy, although very green he presented the Judge with his huge soft personality and filled the atmosphere with smiles, I will never forget the cheer we received when he won his Ridden Youngster Class, so proud of him. The next class was a Walk/Trot Equitation which he passed with flying colours in our book as he stood next to and walked passed two mares, a fantastic start to his ridden career as a stallion.
Working full-time doesn’t really allow you to run a stud and school the ridden horses but we do our best! Reus gets ridden as often as possible and occasionally schooled on a flat piece of common land on the Old Hills, so it’s not his fault he’s not as well schooled as he should be (we are desperate to get our manège constructed ASAP) but throughout the year we have made the most of any local clinics offering pole work and or flat work. It certainly has paid off, Reus is certainly starting to make a nice shape and gave us some nice moves.
Reus is in his second year, being ridden in English and Sunday was our first test in the ring over a jump, albeit only 2ft6 he certainly gave it some space! He won his class, executing a basic pattern before and after the jump. Happy Days!
Very much looking forward to next year!
Whilst the foals are still black and white, here’s some pictures before the change begins on Revelation!
When it comes to Appaloosas and you have a Stallion that can pass his cream gene on to his off spring, we do not take for granted what we see before us, we have to test.
The cream when inherited does not show on black, it’s quite obvious on a new-born bay’s as it turns the red pigment into a golden colour, evidently known as buckskin.
Our two bay foals Rookie (left) and Reflection (right) are both EE Aa and both have inherited the cream gene, making them buckskins.
Our two black and white foals Revelation (left) and Relentless (right), look black and white! You can not tell if they have inherited the cream gene. They are both homozygous black (EE aa).
Only genetically testing has confirmed our filly Revelation has inherited the cream gene, our colt, Relentless has not inherited the cram gene.
Revelation’s black markings will eventually turn a beautiful blue/grey colour whilst Relentless will stay with that sharp black and white appearance.
Sometimes black and white is not always black and white…
15th July
Redheart Relentless – 3 months old today!
Homozygous black (EE aa) few spot (LP/LP) colt with one copy of the Pattern gene (PATN1/patn1).
Peyres Catori Cat x DRF Patahas Redheart
Eligible ApHC – 97% FPD, BApS GRADE A, and ApHC UK – A Register, not eligible with FAHR @ 72.0704%
21st July
Redheart Rookie – 3 months old today!
Bay (EE Aa) with one copy of Cream (CR/cr) making her a Buckskin, she’s a few spot (LP/LP) with one copy of the Pattern gene (PATN1/patn1).
Princesse Pascale x DRF Patahas Redheart
Eligible ApHC 100% FPD & GAP 5, BApS – GRADE A, APHC UK – A – Register and FAHR – 83.5937%
26th July
Redheart Revelation – 3 months old today!
Homozygous black (EE aa) with one copy of the cream gene (CR/cr) making her a smoky black near leopard filly. Heterozygous Leopard Print (LP/lp) and heterozygous Pattern (PATN1/patn1).
Redheart Pascalius x DFR Patahas Redheart
Eligible ApHC 100% FPD & GAP 6, BApS – GRADE A, ApHC UK – A Register and FAHR 82.4951%
29th July
Redheart Reflection – 3 months old today!
Bay (EE Aa) with one copy of cream (CR/cr) making him a buckskin leopard. He’s heterozygous for Leopard Print (LP/lp) and homozygous pattern (PATN1/PATN1) with one copy of nd1 for primitive markings.
Caricks Redheart x DFR Patahas Redheart
Eligible ApHC – 100% FPD, BApS – GRADE A and ApHC UK – A Register, not eligible with FAHR @ 67.8711%
