Saturday

Had quite a busy day, starting with helping a friend give pony rides at the local Farmer's Market as a fund raiser for the RDA. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning but glad we are not trying to make a living from it. Still, the RDA will be a few dollars better off next week and the looks on the little kids faces as they got to walk around on the pony were priceless. We even had one little girl come back three times - methinks her mum's in trouble! Haha!

Amy had a birthday party to go to this afternoon and I decided to give Rory his second AB shot while Nick was out collecting her. So proud of my little boy who was not only perfect to catch but stood like a brave little soldier for his injection. That's my boy! He's the photo model today - some of Aine but most of Rory. In one or two of the shots you can see the lump under his jaw where his lymph node has swollen due to the infection. It hasn't stopped his appetite or his attitude!!!

We have someone coming to look at Aine tomorrow - I am half hoping she hates her because I am so loathe to sell her but it would be such a nice home that I had really better hope that she is on her very best behaviour and demonstrates just why I rate her so highly - we'll see ... She's the clown in today's photo shoot.

What's got up your nose then Aine?

Just a little bit bum high!!!
Love ya mum!

Gimme a kiss mum

Noice ar$e

Me and my Mum

Lean on me

TF Aine - FOR SALE

Aine is everything that you could want in a sport horse. Athletic, correct, eye-catching, uphill and sweet tempered and she'll change any preconceptions you may have about chestnut mares. I had not wanted to sell Aine (pronounced Ahh-nya) but with increasing cost of living plus the mammoth bill we are facing for Silas, I have no choice but to put her on the market. Hand on heart I believe this filly to have a huge future and I would love to see her go to a kind, experienced rider who will give her every opportunity to excel.

Aine's dam, Future (Maude), is a 16.2HH mare by the very influential RID stallion, Kingsway Diamond. Maude has been with us for 9 years and Aine is her fourth foal. Her previous foals are all in lovely homes where they are much loved by their owners and they are or will be embarking upon their ridden careers soon. Maude was a promising SJ/Saddle Hunter until an injury put her out of action and, she came to me. Maude will be re-bred to Reilly this season for her owner (who lives in the UK). This will probably be her last foal - she is 20 years old.

Aine's sire is our own lovely Mighty Heights son, Reilly. Reilly is a four year old 7/8 TB stallion out of a lovely mare by Light Spirits called What a Lark. Lark was full sister to Daylight who evented at advanced level in the UK. Reilly has proven to be a lovely even tempered stallion who happily carts me, his very novice rider, around the place. If you want to breed for temperament and type and be competitive on the circuit, I don't think you can go past the Irish.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Irish horses. Aine is basically 2/3 TB and 1/3 Irish Draught making her a superb cross for eventing and SJ but she will look very much at home in the dressage arena as well. She is a very tall filly and should mature well in excess of 16HH. Everyone who sees her remarks on her height so if you like them big, she's your gal!

Aine will be registered and branded with the NZ Irish Horse Soc. and available at weaning. She can be grazed here over the winter if required. Aine's sale price is $3000.

Please EMAIL or call (06 372 5922 or 027 246 1670) if you would like to arrange to meet Aine in the flesh. We can also show you her sire.

Video links:

Aine & Rory

Aine gets a new paddock

Random

Aine and Maude

Aine showing off

A week on ...

It is a week, to the hour, since we said good bye to our Angel Silas. I still cry when I think about him for more than a fleeting moment and have to steal myself and focus on something else. His loss affected us all deeply and we will never forget him or the love that he brought into our lives. His stall is very empty and his cover and halter are still lying, folded, in the corner, waiting for me to clear them away - I can't quite bring myself to do this yet.

I'm still not sure about what I want to do long-term with the horses and breeding but am happy to have secured good temporary homes for my breeding mares. Robbie may have found the perfect lease home but there are a few problems with distance and cost to get him there. Hopefully they can be resolved soon or I might just have to pop one of my girls with him - for now he is happy with his paddock and his view of the property and the horses. I don't think it is quite the same as having a mare & foal running with him but he seems to know that I can't provide him with that right now and he is very settled and calm in himself. He has a wise head on his broad young shoulders.

We're still receiving emails and phone calls from people who were touched by Silas' story. The help we have received both financially and emotionally is nothing less than astonishing and we look forward to the day when we can pay it forward and be there for others in difficult situations. If you are one of the wonderful people who has helped us please know that we are more thankful than it is possible to express in words and your help means the world to us.

My foalies

So it is a completely cr@p bit of video but I was bored this afternoon so made it. Might have to rope Nick into helping me actually get some reasonable footage at some point. Aine is for sale. It breaks my heart to put her on the market but needs must and we still have a large vet bill to pay. I am absolutely sure she has star potential and that is with my rose coloured specs removed. She's just spectacular to watch when she really gets going (none of that on video unfortunately) and, as for Rory, my little Rorror is everything I wanted and more - He may be small but he's got a great big personality to make up for his stature. I wonder, will he grow? His mum is not small (a good 16.1HH) and his dad is also a reasonable size (advertised as 16.1HH) but Rory seems so tiny. Perhaps it is just because his paddock companion is such a giant that he seems smaller than he really is? I just don't know but what I do know is that, I absolutely adore him!

Flower Power

The daisies are out in force at the moment so, what better thing to do with daisies than make daisy chains?

Rory & Hooty

Aine & Maude
Rory takes flight
Daisy chained Rory

Daisy chained Aine

This season's outside mares have presented their challenges, mainly because they have all so far been maidens - It is tempting to refuse maiden mares because so often they really can be tricky customers and can present a lot of extra work but, for Hamish in particular, he is very popular with people wanting to breed first foals from maiden mares so it would be a tough call to take them away from him - I can however understand why some stud owners stipulate no maidens!

I finally gave up on Girl today and put her in with Hamish. She has been teased every day, at least once a day, since she arrived nearly three weeks ago and NOTHING, nada, zip! According to her owner she was due to come in late the week before last but, nothing. Her owner does not really want the extra expense of scans and PG shots yet so, knowing how good Hamish is at talking his girls around, I introduced them today. She is clearly not yet cycling but they are running together quite happily and I will keep a close eye on them.

Grace, Reilly's 'puritan' maiden is due back in later this week and I have hobbles coming so, finger's crossed, this time we have some success (unless of course he managed to cover her under the cover of darkness and she is in foal but I am not holding my breath on that!).

Bella will be ready to be scanned in a couple of weeks so, finger's crossed and Maude will be bred to Reilly on her next cycle. Busy times.

Jesse James

Nick is a member of the local folk club/group and they were recently asked to perform at the local Farmer's Market. They have been performing there every Saturday from about 9.30 until 12.30 & Nick seems to be the main act, bless him. Next week he gets a week off as they have a prior booking for the Market's 2 year birthday party but we will still be headed down to help with pony rides. His dad video'd one of his songs on Saturday so, here's a bit of music for y'all to tap your feet to.

and, here is Nick in his new birthday hat ...

Why?

We realise that it is only natural to be curious and a couple of the emails we have received recently have asked us what exactly happened to Silas so I am beginning to feel it necessary to write this blog.

Firstly, I can tell you that nothing dreadful or devastating happened to him before he was put to sleep - he didn't suffer any catastrophic injury or succumb to colic and he was very comfortable and happy at the end and just drifted off to sleep.

What happened is that it became very clear to us that, whilst he had made some definite improvement, he was not improving as a horse that had not suffered permanent injury would and, as much as we did not want to acknowledge it, he was already beginning to go backwards again. As all horse people know, horses without good limbs/joints are unable to 'be' horses and in the end Silas didn't even have one good leg and was continuing to grow and put weight on to limbs that were finding it increasingly difficult to cope. We spoke in depth with our vet about his future and, when it became clear to us all that Silas was never going to be allowed a comfortable life we had no choice but to make that most difficult of decisions - we owed it to him to do so before life for him became unbearable and we were forced to make the call in an emergency situation.

In the end there was no other truly humane option and whilst we would have given anything to be able to keep him with us for longer, it was his best interests that we had to put first, over any emotional attachments that we had formed. I can say, hand on heart, that it was the most difficult decision of my life to date but it was not a decision I made alone but was a decision that was made unanimously by those who knew and loved Silas.

Silas left this world as he came into it, with all of our love focussed directly upon him and we have buried a little piece of ourselves alongside him. Life without him and without Debi will never be the same but our lives are the richer for having shared time with them ~ they will live forever in our hearts and minds.

We will always be grateful to those people who helped us give Silas the very best chance, more grateful than we can express in words - we just wish that the fairytale ending that Silas deserved had eventuated but clearly he was an angel, merely leant.

Don't stand by my grave and weep,

For I am not there.

I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond's glint in the snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn's rain.

In the soft blush of the morning light,

I am the swift bird in flight.

Don't stand by my grave and cry,

I am not there,

I did not die.

Mary Frye