Nature’s natural grooming session………

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by

Rolling in the mud has many benefits for horses, not only acting as a barrier against insects / bugs and the weather (warmth in winter and sun block in summer) it is also an ideal method of natural grooming, removing hair, dead skin and aids relief, from those out of reach itchy spots.

It’s been noted that Catori the “leader” is sometimes the first to start rolling, it’s very contagious! The fields recreational activity requires “order” that allows the other horses (not always) to wait for Catori to finish. They then roll nearby or in the same spot! I do witness the most amazing “herd” traits.

Watching them roll, I am sure its their personal “treatment plan”, a massage that helps stretch out their muscles and joints…..yet us humans can pay a fortune for it?

After yesterday’s rain the herd certainly made the most of it….

Well at least they are consistent with their camouflage!

It’s not just a social event but its “Nature’s natural grooming session”.

ONWARDS and UPWARDS…….

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

Since the arrival of Blu we have been very busy, against the daylight hours of work and school runs we have now completed the weaning of Ben and Blanc, introduced Blu to the herd and put closure to the awful sad loss of our beloved Easter, lost due to colic on the 13th November 2015.

Moving forward it was essential to isolate Blu on his arrival, not only ensuring he didn’t develop any health issues but allowing him to recover from his journey and slowly introduce him to our routine, feed / forage and the herd.

Prior to his arrival Ben and Blanc were weaned…..

Taking the weanling’s to another field locally meant they were out of sight and ear shot depending on the direction of the wind. It was unbelievably uncomplicated and stress free….Two’s company as they say!

When the time was right, over a period of a week we put Blu in an adjacent field to the girls, not a lot happened but after a little showing off the novelty wore thin everyone was able to say hello over the fence.

 

                                      

 

Back in the weanling field we introduced Blu to Ben and Blanc. The three “B’s”,  Blu, Ben and Blanc quickly became “three peas in a pod”. They say “threes a crowd” and it was Blu who soon stamped his authority and became “top dog”. Although he is smaller, he is nearly sixteen weeks older than Ben and has the advantage of his developed social skills coming from a larger herd.

    

After they settled and the pecking order established, it was time to take a walk down the lane to the big field.

 Head collars on and off we went…….

Catori, PP and Evee were stabled and the three youngsters were let loose.

No running around as they were content grazing….

    

Until O’Deer!

This time it was Blanc that “sparked off”, let’s just say they all stretched their legs…… at least Blu realised where his boundary was? Obviously an essential element before being introduced to the rest of the herd.


 


      

     One lap of the field and they settled and they were all left wondering what was Blanc’s problem?

Until next time the deer appears……..

One thing I am certain about, we don’t introduce a youngster albeit a stranger ie. Blu to an established heard if at ALL possible, limiting the damage of any accidents we introduced one by one. Although long-winded it seems to be the safest way in my opinion. There is no doubt the introduction of a strange horse is an upset for all concerned, I always fear the worse and will ensure to the best of my ability safety comes first. None of the horses have shoes on but a kick in the wrong place can have devastating consequences. The ground is dangerous with surface water making it slippery, running around building up a sweat in the cold weather is not ideal either.

Being a weekend, I had plenty of time to “watch”, early on a wet Saturday morning we introduced Evee to the babies…. Evee is at the bottom of the pecking order amongst Catori and PP, allowing her to show her character with the babies was let’s say “different”. She just stood on her hind legs a few times screaming….No running about just standing tall, making it quite clear she was the boss and it worked. What she didn’t know was it was a temporary position.

                                           

When all settled it was PP’s turn to be introduced.

Blu certainly gave the wrong impression to PP,  I cannot even suggest what he was thinking but PP was very happy to meet him (maybe she thought it was Easter from a distance) but with one sniff of the new arrival she established her thoughts and chased him off….Blu knows were he stands with PP now!

    

Again, as the rest of the herd were now bored, they ignored all the goings on and grazed but constantly checked their surroundings. By the time Catori was introduced, the dominant mare that keeps all in order, nobody was bothered. True to form she came into the field showing her dominance, head down, ears back and spinning around but no body was interested, Blu was quick to work this out and one look from Catori established a distance between them.

The horses have redefined their hierarchy, they are well covered for the winter, have thick dirty coats but are safe, happy and relaxed. Our Foundation Appaloosa’s have freedom, they are “friends” and their physical and mental well-being catered for, now we can move “ONWARDS and UPWARDS”.

ONE mare, two progeny with International status……

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Peyres Catori Cat

There is no doubt Peyres Catori Cat has a special place at Redheart Appaloosa Stud, not only my very first Appaloosa but a correct mare with an outstanding amount of intelligence.

In 2012 her first born, Hevans Ev Catorrius or Redheart Catorrius aka Reus. He won his first Top 5 International status as a two-year old colt.

We are delighted to announce his full sister Redheart Cateaster aka Easter is on the score board in 3rd place for the Top 5  International Yearling Fillies……

The Appaloosa Journal, November 2015

What an accolade this is….

I must give a special THANK YOU to my Mother, Katie Lynch, Crystal Radford and Margaret Lawrence who also played their part in showing Easter in her début showing season of 2015.

      

Taking a first place at each venue of her four shows, our little Easter has an International status from One mare who has two international progeny at Redheart Appaloosas.

The future is Blu with Redheart…….

/in /by
Redheart Appaloosa Stud is enhancing the Foundation Appaloosa Blood line with every generation born. With a view to improving it, it is essential we introduce higher Foundation Blood to move forward.
  
Concentrated on the mating of DREA Bluhawks Pataha (90.625% FAHR) and DREA Fire Frangelica (95.3125% FAHR) at the Double Forest Ranch (DFR) in Switzerland owned by Dr Franz & Daniela Renggli. Both are 100% FPD giving rise to a GAP 5 foal over 90% FAHR. These horses were imported by DFR from the well-known American Foundation Breeder Milton Decker at Decker’s Red Eagle Appaloosas. These horses have some serious old Foundation blood lines and I quote “This is some of the very best Foundation blood we have been fortunate enough to collect and breed on from” Milton Decker.
Frangelica delivered a healthy black snow cap colt, now named DFR Patahas Redheart, aka Blu. Needles to say we did not hesitate to secure a sale for this new born….and later we found out he is homozygous for PATN1, BONUS!
                      
    
Photographs courtesy of Daniela Renggli
 
It’s been a crazy 10 months at Redheart’s, despite the show season, despite the foaling season and then organising our trip to collect Blu,ensuring all fell into place has been a headache worth having.
 
Our family adventure was organised, departing Friday 23rd October to collect Blu. Travelling from Dover to Calais then heading for Reims, Nancy and the Swiss / French border at Basel. The trip coincided with my 40th birthday, one birthday venture I will never forget. My mother and her husband Kevin drove their own car and their gift for my birthday was to book some kind of accommodation near DFR.
 We set of during the evening to Dover, ensuring we missed the heavy burden of M25 traffic, not only a Friday but the start of the School Holidays. This was perfect, I drove and despite my fear of six lanes, I owned the motorway and our journey was unbelievably uncomplicated.
 
The crossing from Dover to Calais was very smooth and my children were so excited on top deck, too much Titanic viewing I guess? Departing from the docks at Calais we slept in the lorry at the first service station to catch up on some sleep, continuing our journey at sun rise.
 
Not realising our Sat Nav did not update to drive in the EU, relying on the map, our route was changed when we realised we had missed an exit at Nancy and we found ourselves not too far from Strasbourg, not Epinal. This was my error as Antony was driving and taking full directions from me….Oops! 
Although, this meant a wonderful scenic route via the tunnels through the mountains heading towards Colmar via another Sunset…. None the less we eventually found our way to Sissach when Mum and Kevin took the lead to the Hotel they had booked.
A few pictures en route…
 
 
 The route to the Bad Ramsach Hotel was through some very narrow lanes that were nearly vertical, in the dark the approach was lit by small road side lamps which gave the “WOW” factor when the hotel came in to view. An amazing birthday treat…..I really do have the best mum! It was too dark to capture an image but this photo was taken the following evening.
The food was just divine, the accommodation was excellent and the swimming pool was the ideal way to relax. The night was cut short after dinner as not one of us could keep our eyes open except the children of course who had slept pretty much the whole journey and at this point were on a high….
 
The views from and around the hotel were breath taking….
  
 
After an early breakfast, we walked the hotel grounds before heading off to Double Forest Ranch, only 20 minutes away!!!
 
Again, relying on the good old map…..DFR was literally over the other side of the Mountain…ok large Hill, but it was like a mountain. Do you think we could get there? With very little reception it was difficult to stay in contact with Franz. We managed to bypass DFR on several occasions, over two hours later we arrived with the aid of Franz waving in the distant field…….  It is so funny now but at the time I can tell you the pressure was rising in the lorry..…with sheer frustration we kept by passing villages that were not on the map?

The entrance to DFR

 
 
Our eventual arrival at DFR was met with open arms from Franz and Daniella, they made us feel so welcome and our time at their ranch was just awesome. We met all the horses, enjoyed the gorgeous views, made a big fuss of Blu and his parents. Enjoyed lunch and a good old chin wag about Foundation Appaloosa……
                                  
                           

DREA Fire Frangelica

  

DREA Bluhawks Pataha

We left the lorry at the Ranch as Franz very kindly offered to drive us back to the hotel and collect us in the morning. This really exceeding our expectations of hospitality but given our current record of getting lost I think he was so right to do so.
 
Back at the hotel we made the most of the spa facilities, enjoyed the evening meal and planned in detail our route home (the original planned route) ensuring NO missed exits, although expensive the most direct routes were using the toll roads or “vignette” to ensure Blu’s first journey in a horse box was as pleasant as possible given the fact we were travelling across country, up and down dale…..
 
Up early, Franz was there to collect us….we had breakfast at DFR and sorted paper work. The lorry was in position and Daniella and Franz went to get Blu, straight up the ramp, no hesitation, no panicking, no neighing for his friends as he just munched away at his hay and we all said our goodbyes. 
 
Pataha and Frangelica both came to the fence as we started the lorry……a little surreal….of all the horses it was Blu’s parents that came to say goodbye to their little lad, off to another country! 
 
“Be a good boy and you will always be well looked after” …………….“Go and sow your Swiss oats my son”
 
The journey back to Calais was as planned, schedule stops were made for rest and to check Blu. With adlib hay, water and the whole box to him self he travelled loose in comfort. Here’s a few more pictures of route out of Switzerland and across France.
  1 (16)    
 
 
There were some moments I will treasure…
 
The relief that our old lorry made the 2,325KM round trip with no problems.  Driving on the “wrong” or “right” side of the road, depending on how you view this subject but for me although totally wrong felt right. The moment I saw the hotel….I was prepared to sleep in the lorry but knew mum was sorting a bed and breakfast out or similar, a fantastic memory of my 40th. The long pause from Pataha when he wanted to meet me….a stranger in his paddock of girls where stallions are in charge and protective, a pure gentleman. Driving through the sun rises and sunsets and the most important the moment when Blu walked down the ramp into a Redheart Appaloosa stable…..we did it!
This picture was taken from that car that continued to follow us!
A sense of reassurance and support as always 
Courtesy of my mother.
The future is Blu with Redheart…….
 

 

Foals Of 2015….

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

 Redheart Appaloosa Foundation Foals of 2015

Redheart Royale – Colt  &  Redheart Regal – Filly

Our proven broodmares have produced quality foals again.

The Foundation Appaloosa bloodline is growing and we are delighted to enhance the UK’s unique gene pool.

Ben and Blanc now have their own pages, complete with all certificates and documents.

Quality Foals Of 2015….

 

 

Every day they look the same …..

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

Having a horse, you develop a routine, the way you work and handle a horse, the way you muck it out, feed it, groom it and everything in between is your personal preference that works for you and your horse.

Here at Redheart Appaloosas I am also set in my ways, there is no right or wrong way or order but a horse needs 365 days attention and commitment.

Seeing a horse every day you do not notice their development. It’s a time period that “one day” stops you in your tracks and you say “I can’t believe it”! I guess this is why I like photography so much, a picture cannot lie……

The developmental growth of the 2015 foals have snuck upon me, today these two photos show how big and strong they actually are when stood alongside their dams.

  

 

They have grown so much but Every day they look the same …..

Time OUT…..

/0 Comments/in , /by

  This is just a personal thing……..

At the start of the year there is so much prep work that goes into a young horse. Before you know it the show season is upon you and every weekend or every other weekend is consumed. After assessing each show, gaining your goals or not, the show season has then finished.

 

   

Just like humans a change is as good as a rest so to speak!

I believe, turning a young horse away, allow them to become horses, settle in their “working clothes” is a huge asset to their future mentally. Allowing them to digest what they have learnt (as long as it’s on a good note) and switch off mentally is almost like a huge relief for them. Pushing a young horse can encounter problems and stress for a horses owner / handler alike. Although Reus is a strong-looking colt I must take a recheck, he still is only three years old and still has a lot of maturing mentally and physically to do. It is very important to allow him to grow up mentally and gain more strength physically.

  

It is generally thought good practice to turn a young horse away over the winter, he accepts the saddle, will walk around with me on his back and that’s enough. We have built a great relationship and left some positive happy memories with no issues for 2016. I am already looking forward to the Spring when we can continue.

I will be honest, the most Reus has done now is having his feet picked out. No brushing, no washing, no walks, no plaiting, no work and no education, may be a little fuss and a chat but that’s it….

Reus is now totally calm and relaxed, totally dirty and totally care free. He is turned out all day, waits at the gate at dusk to come in and looks forward to his evening meal in peace as the pressure is off.

     

He looks like something out of a horror movie with his rough dirty coat and spiked mane and tail, slowly growing back from the intense pampering over the year but he is happy, content and in a new routine……so am I!

I don’t think horses have a sense of time, one week off or six months off is still a break for them but six months fits well with the dark winter months and my personal life.

It can only be beneficial to us all at Redheart Appaloosas as we enjoy our Time OUT……

O’Deer……

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by

 

  This is the deer that lives around here…..a wild beautiful creature that we see quite often. It’s never that close to the horses but if she see’s you she’s gone! My daughter captured this gorgeous photo a few weeks back and as you can see she fits in quite well with the Appaloosa’s, although she does have more spots than most of the Redheart Appaloosa’s!

 

 

 

 

 The horses are all settled BUT when the deer is hiding in the hedge, then it only takes one horse to convince the other horses there is a lion, tiger, or bear hiding…..

 

 

 

On this occasion it was Evee….

 

         


*******************************************************************************************************

Tail up, snorting and running around the other horses aimlessly until they agreed….run for your life !

    

It wasn’t long before they were just trotting around wondering what they were running away from?

 

PP and Ben stayed close…..

    

So did Catori and Blanc……

 

I adore seeing the 2015 foals move, it doesn’t happen very often but when it does it’s just lovely!

They show the extent of movement they have, hold them selves and look outstanding.

                                                                                        

                                                              

 

 

It’s not long before the adults take charge and set the example, back to grazing thank you Evee.

 

 

 

 

Easter the yearling was the only one that was either prepared to stay and fight or may be she saw the deer and was confused why Evee was so scared?

Either way, she is so laid back neither a deer or her half sister was going to disrupt her grazing.

              

Despite the horses seeing the deer most days, they usually don’t bother to even acknowledge it but some times, just sometimes it’s O’deer….

The Redhearts Meet & Greet……

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by

After weaning Evee and Easter were back with their dams with no problems, the pecking order was established and each horse respected the others place. Since the birth of Ben and Blanc earlier this year, Evee and Easter have been in an adjacent field.

Now the show season has come to an end, it’s time for Evee and Easter to re-join the herd, they will be turned away for the next six months to mature mentally and physically.

A mares bond with her foal is strong and I question the reaction of the mares when they are re-introduced to their previous foals? Although all the horses have talked over the fence the surprise to see them in the same field was extraordinary….Camera ready!

 

Catori, Blanc, Ben and PP watched the new arrivals enter their “territory”.

 Evee and Easter stayed together in their comfort zone…until Catori chased them, exercising her dominant trait, as head of the “herd”.   It was PP who was the first to say hello to Easter, Catori was having nothing to do with the new arrivals and was determined to keep her foal Blanc well away.

 

PP immediately greeted Evee, her 2013 foal and their affections for each other confused Ben her 2015 foal…

Then the fun began….the 2015 foals became excited and started to show off….

    

 

 It was no surprise, Ben would be the first to approach the girls, so submissive yet so brave…

 

 

It wasn’t long before they all settled, lovely to see the “herd” establishing and learning their social skills. Catori keeping her herd in order and having nothing to do with her previous foal? Everyone knows their status in the pecking order and they happily graze….

 

       

  

***********************

Ending The Season’s Round Up On A Good Note…..

/0 Comments/in , , /by

How do you make the decision to end a showing season?

It’s the horses that tell you……

With so many shows still available, the horses still look good in their coats and although experiencing their growth spurts, they have all held their top lines and condition. But last night we decided to make The British Appaloosa Society National Show at Hartpury our last show of 2015.

 

Redheart Pascalius is experiencing the two- year old tantrums, trying to test and push her handler’s boundaries. We have also experienced a different side to her during her season but sometimes this is just part and parcel of having a filly. Either way a break is exactly what she needs and deserves. Winning the two and three-year old filly class with Margaret Lawrence at our last show of 2015 .

  

 

 ***

 

Redhaert Cateaster has completed four local shows in 2015 and pulled another win in her yearling class with my mother leading today. This filly is delightful, nothing phases her, everything is taken in her stride and she always looks professional. A fantastic start to her showing career with so many positive comments from the Judges it is only responsible to turn her away.

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***

Redhaert Catorrius has now finished his in hand young stock days. He has finished the season with the Champion Young stock tittle and Reserve Champion Male taken from all ages of colts, geldings and Stallions. Reus is at a stage where I can confidently say there is nothing for him to prove, he is a licensed stallion who deserves to move on into the ridden side of showing. His break will be appreciated before we start to ride him away over the winter months / early 2016, after we get his semen tested.

 

 


 


A super show that was attended and supported enormously, I can honestly say the competition was of a high standard exceeded by quality turn out of  horses and handlers alike.

 

I feel the Redheart young stock have excelled themselves in 2015 and have Ended The Season’s Round Up On A Good Note…..