A Day Showing At Royal Three Counties 2019

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We adore agricultural shows, so much to see, so much to do and the prize money is very generous 🙂

Entries for these big shows close months before and as every horse owner knows, anything can happen, one day your horse looks amazing and the next day it looks like a completely different horse!

We entered Redheart Reality in the Main Registered class and Redheart Regent in the Part bred class, but it was the night before the show that Reality was the chosen one.

The Appaloosa Classes at Royal Three Counties are usually affiliated to BApS, the support has slowly declined and with the risk of losing the Appaloosa Classes all together someone did something about it…This year they opened the affiliation to REGISTERED APPALOOSAS (BApS and ApHC UK) & BRITISH SPOTTED PONIES, so we had a right mixture, which was rather a spectacle but a tough one for the Judge!

All the Redheart Appaloosa’s are registered with BApS & ApHC UK so, I get to choose if we go English style (plaited with bridle) or American style (braided with halter). Given the choice, especially at County level its always great to dress up different, we attract a lot of interest from the public and I believe it represents the true history our Appaloosas (it’s also easier and quicker to braid than plait) 🙂

With all the recent rain it was no surprise for a tractor to meet and greet us, credit due, the work force at the show did an exceptional job giving the conditions they were working in. We experienced a slight hick up with our entries, the computer experienced a glitch which messed up my entries but thankfully with the downloaded email confirmation on my phone it was easily rectified and we continued the day, we accept these things happen and is all taken as “A Day Showing”.

Reality was pretty shocked by the donkeys in the ring adjacent, he was pretty scared when a horse flipped over in the ring parallel to us and I struggled to run in the deep conditions but he won his young stock class, his performance was exceptional. This horse could trot around the ring on his own, stop and back up and line up on voice command, I’m sure of it!

 

The Championship, Redheart Reality put in another outstanding performance, placed as Reserve Champion to Desired Edition and Megan Share,  we have been Reserve to Desired Edition many times and we are proud to stand next to Megan and her beautiful horse.

All In A Day’s Showing…

 

The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) UK Spring Show 2019 – A Father & Son’s Day Out

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1st June 2019, will not forget this day in a hurry…

Up at 4 am, bathed and plaited Reus and bathed and braided his son Reality who both had spent the night out.  On the road to Farnham in Surrey, we missed the exit off the M4 and then we got back on track we hit the diversions, annoyed but calm I drove very carefully as we negotiated roundabout after roundabout. I gave in to the fact we may have missed Reality’s in hand classes but we may just make it in time for the ridden with Reus.

Arriving at the showground the wonderful Matt Ayling, the top man for the ApHC UK First Aider very kindly opened the gate, how amazing does such a small gesture make you feel. From this moment the day unfolded remarkably well. Our first sight as I jumped from the lorry was our 2018 filly Ru, we sold Ru to Wendy Fitzgerald and Ru was having her first outing, she looked amazing and as I shouted her name across the car park in that stupid high pitch Ru Ru, her head shot up and a whinny called back to me, well my heart melted.

We quickly got changed, unloaded Reality and went straight into the ring, he had no time to look and never batted an eyelid at his new surroundings. Walk, trot and halt, perfect and so we continued in the soaring heat. He collected the first place in his age class in UK and USA, he went Male Champion, Young-Stock Champion, USA Champion and Supreme In Hand of the Show – What a superior horse he is without question.

Redheart Reality Male Champion

Redheart Reality Young-Stock Champion

Redheart Reality USA Champion

Redheart Reality Supreme Champion

We can not express in words how wonderful it was to see RU do so well, she also took the winning places in the female classes taking the Reserve In-Hand Champion.

Redheart Appaloosas

No sooner had the in hand finished, Reality went back on the lorry and Reus came off, tacked up, quick change and on with the ridden. We didn’t get chance to warm Reus up, I was not going to ask him to make a shape and look like a horse that was ready to compete for a show, we let him walk and trot around, using our first class to our advantage, make no mistake he certainly looked like a horse that had just come straight off the lorry! But, after our second show, I pulled him together, put my legs on and squeezed him up.  Well what a transformation, he carried me, he felt under me and so responsive, we actually did a half pass on both reins to get back to the rail, I felt a sense of happiness and fulfillment even if we hadn’t got placed I would have been satisfied that our transition from Western to English was coming together, albeit slowly.

Hevans EV Catorrius Ridden Champion

And there we go – Ridden Champion, could not believe it but I do believe the judge had seen a huge transformation and credited us with the potential Reus was showing and deserved.

We are not ones to hang around after competing, we have a lot to do at home and getting the horses back is always a top priority. We set off with an eta home of 5.30pm, brilliant I thought, I’ll do this that and the other…It wasn’t meant to be,  as that rumbling noise came we knew a tyre was about to blow, hazards on as we drove a few more miles at 20mph to junction 3 of the M3. With the rescue on its way, we parked on a lane under some trees for shade and gave the horses a haynet and offered them a drink whilst we waited for Mr. Tyre Man.

Reus and Reality without question are true soldiers, it was a few hours before we could set off again, our new eta was now 9.46pm. We arrived safely home, horses turned out, a large G&T for me and bed.

I never take for granted our horse’s success but sometimes it’s not what goes on in the ring but outside the ring that makes me so very proud of them.

 

 

The 2019 Foals Genetic Results…Surprise Gene!

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When breeding Appaloosas, part of the registration is parentage DNA testing. It involves pulling mane or tail hairs (with roots) and sending to an Animal Genetics Lab, the certificate is then sent with the registration documents and the results clarified with the dam and sire’s DNA on the breed association database.

For our own satisfaction, we like to know “for a fact” what Appaloosa genetics our foals have inherited. We requested the combination panel of Leopard Complex, Pattern gene, Base Colour, Cream and we decided this year to check for Dun!!!

So here are the results…

Redheart Relentless

Homozygous black (EE aa) few spot (LP/LP) colt with one copy of the Pattern gene (PATN1/patn1).

Redheart Rookie

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).

Redheart Revelation

Homozygous black (EE aa) with one copy of the cream gene (CR/cr) making her a smokey black near leopard filly. Heterozygous Leopard Print (LP/lp) and heterozygous Pattern  (PATN1/patn1).

Redheart Reflection

Bay (EE Aa) with one copy of cream (CR/cr) making him a buckskin leopard. He’s heterozygous  Leopard Print (LP/lp) and homozygous pattern (PATN1/PATN1). Reflection is the reason we chose to test for the Dun gene, his phenotype is quite unique in my mind and as it is with Appaloosas, they always surprise you!  Very much curiosity but the results proved his dam Caricks Redheart carries the gene nd1, a gene found in Dun’s that can show primitive markings (nd1/nd2) not to be confused with the Dun gene that affects colour dilution.

Now that’s a surprise!

April FOALS…

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Well, what a month!

Two weeks (from the 15th to 28th April) we’ve seen the delivery of four healthy foals!

At 344 days Catori gave birth to an unusually marked few spot colt, six days later at 349 days PP gave birth to a buckskin few spot filly, which we will keep because the odds for another is quite high (50% filly, 50% buckskin and 50% homozygous). This is the 5th foal born at the stud on the 21st of April!

Another six days passed and we saw just before midnight the safe arrival of Evee’s first foal, a filly born at 333 days on Friday 26th. With what seemed like only a few hours sleep…we sat waiting and watching our second maiden Myka deliver her leopard colt at 355 days (just past midnight) on the 28th.

All our mares are exceptionally well and being great mothers to their foals, all the foals are healthy and have all straightened up and now running around the field.

To be honest, April has been a blur, there are many emotions of foaling but the best sight for any breeder is the view of two feet and a nose!

From the delivery, the foals all managed to latch on and all the mares passed the placenta (all intact). We do consider ourselves very fortunate especially seeing what unfolded before us!!!

 

Redheart Reflection

Please see each page for more information…

April madness!

Are we due the 5th foal to be born On The 21st April?

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Princesse Pacale – 348 days gestation

Our lovely mare known as PP, is huge, she always carries very low and she has had enough…

Her udder is ready to burst with milk, her pelvic ligaments have certainly slackened off and her vulva is elongated and swollen. She certainly is ready but the foal is obviously not!

Tomorrow is the 21st April, we have seen four foals previously born on this day and by no means were any of them due!

Peyres Catori Cat delivered Easter at 342 days and Regent at 348 days, Princesse Pascale delivered Ben at 346 days and Evee at 336 days.

Will we see our second DFR Patahas foal tomorrow? 

 

 

Our First Appaloosa Foal 2019 – WOW

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Well, what can we say…

Peyres Catori Cat and DFR Patahas Redheart have created a beautiful healthy colt born early hours of Monday 15th April 2019 and what a striking foal that proceeded to unfold before my eyes!

 

   

Named RELENTLESS by my eldest daughter due to his relentless efforts trying to get up before he was actually full-out of the mare (quite scary as we quickly removed his hind legs from Catori for fear of him damaging her inside).

        

We are unsure if he’s inherited the cream gene from his, he could be a black or smokey black few spot, we also can not tell if he has one or two copies of the pattern gene so we will definitely test him but we will wait until all our foals are born as these features are not obvious to the eye.

Appaloosa Horse Club Register of Merit (R.O.M) 2018

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We were presented with a Register of Merit (R.O.M) certificate for Reus and his son Reality at the Appaloosa Horse Club UK Annual General Meeting yesterday.

Hevens EV Catorrius’s (Reus) achievement reflected his success in his first year under saddle for Western Pleasure.

        

Redheart Reality out of Peyres Catori Cat by Hevans EV Catorrius

Reality’s achievement reflected his success in his first year in hand for Halter.

We are very proud…

Appaloosa Mares Nightlife…

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Our four broodmares

They are all showing the right signs for foaling, some more than others but one thing we religiously do is watch them closely.

Our two broodmares Catori and PP (bottom left and right) are 342 and 341 days gestation. Our maiden mares Myka and Evee (top left and right) are 340 and 320 days gestation.

They’re all in a similar routine and enjoy a lie down for a few hours before midnight!