Well, that was the easiest weaning we have ever had…
Maybe because we have four foals, maybe because our new stables have “windows” for them to interact?
Minimal “calling” from the mares and foals, quite honestly, we don’t know why the foals were actually not bothered, so we are just going to go with it!
All done…
We have 1 x 97% FPD, 3 X 100% FPD, 1 x GAP 5 and 1 x GAP 6 registered foals.
Our breeding plan is slowly getting there, 10 years later 🙂
Its been twelve days since our stallion DFR Patahas Redheart entered the Stallion AI centre, they collected from him seven times and he’s averaged 8 doses per collection, his semen is of a small quality being less than 10ml per collection, seriously concentrated!
It is a long process to get the health papers, both pre and post, we have two weeks to wait before he can have his first post collection CEM swabs taken, a further seven days before the second post CEM swabs and then a further seven days before we have the results. Only then will his frozen semen be validated for sale and shipment for the UK and Europe.
He certainly looks very well, the Stallion AI Team have taken great care of him. We are very happy to have him home although I believe from the staff reports he certainly enjoyed his holiday and behaved impeccably, as expected.
On his arrival home, he certainly had a lot to tell Reus…
Everyone likes a goody bag, such a nice touch 🙂
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.
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!
We all know a foal inherits 50% of its genetic make up from the sire and the dam, we constantly post about the foals and occasionally about the mares, I suppose because the foals are funny, unique and very NEW!
But, let us not forget our stallion DFR Patahas Redheart.
We have come a long way with Blu, from Switzerland at 6 months old in fact 🙂
Since his arrival Blu has been so easy to do, he’s kind and gentle, he has the most affectionate personality and that’s just a tiny contribute to his qualities as a stallion. His genetic make up is perfect for breeding and his one copy of cream adds the 50/50 chance of his foals being Buckskin or Smoky Black, not to mention his performance record in the ring!
His 2018 foal Ru has already won her first Championship and his 2019 crop are just quality with the same high level of intelligence with that soppy affectionate trait.
Blu was broken to ride earlier this year, although he turned 4 in January he needed something to focus on after the long winter, he was ridden away and took every day of learning as expected, not a bother or care in the world. None the less that doesn’t mean we are heading off in the ring under saddle, we like to give our horses time and time is what he shall have.
Out by day and in at night Blu is very chilled and enjoying a year off, time to grow mentally and physically.
He’s slightly run up at the moment in my eyes probably due to all the mares recently coming into season, we anticipate this cycle to continue unfortunately, well until our new paddocks are available, its a constant working progress here at Redheart Appaloosa Stud.
We are not breeding with him this year, we are a small stud that breed quality not quantity and we certainly don’t want a herd of young stock while the supply and demand is very unbalanced!
We are not allowed in the orchard with the horses, only for photo shoots 🙂
DRF PATAHAS REDHEART Sunday 23rd June 2019
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…
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.
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.
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…
Homozygous black (EE aa) few spot (LP/LP) colt with one copy of the Pattern gene (PATN1/patn1).
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).
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).
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!
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…
Redheart Appaloosas
Redheart Relentless
Redheart Rookie
Redheart Revelation
Redheart Reflection