The Herd are Happy……..

The Bank Holiday weekend gave me time to capture some up to date pictures of the Herd…

Peyres Catori Cat aka Catori, confirmed in foal to Kiss My Finest Heart!

Catori and her 2015 foal are happy and confident to be separated but a great mates within the herd!

There is no doubt Catori remains at the top of the pecking order!

Redheart Regal aka Blanc is out of Peyres Catori Cat by  RDF Ti Kha Atta Rain, developing in to a fine filly!

Princesse Pascale aka PP, confirmed in foal to Hevans EV Catorrius!

 Redheart Royale aka Ben is out of Princesse Pascale by RDF Ti Kha Atta Rain, quite a character!

  

 Our imported future Stud DFR Patahas Redheart aka Blu is our DREAM!

MAY SUNSHINE 209

                    

Ben & Blanc

The Herd are HAPPY!

TWO OF A KIND….

Since our mares Peyres Catori Cat and Princesse Pascale were imported at 6 months of age they have been inseparable. Their connection / bond was quickly noted as a problem when they were at the same show. The lack of concentration in the ring whilst the other mare was calling was frustrating. None the less we dealt with it, keeping them well apart or taking them to different shows.

Since being brood mares their concentration has solely been focused on their foals and nothing else until weaning, only then do they reunite their bonds. After a year off from foaling, something they both deserved their “closeness” had brought about something quite rare…..synchronised seasons!

 


    

Whether this is nature working at its best, whether this is something mares (like human females) living together do or whether it’s just coincidence I don’t know….they have made my life easier this year and if I could show them my gratitude I would….

Both mare’s were admitted to Three Counties Equine Hospital on Friday 6th May for Artificial insemination, I had notification on Sunday 8th May to say both mares were coming along nicely and they would be looking to inseminate the next day. As it happens both mares ovulated between 9am and 1pm the next day and were artificially inseminated. RESUT!

Our breeding plan…. So both mares have great conformation, blood lines, and gaits backed up by their  show records but there is always room for improvement, no horse is 100% perfect…..

Being registered with Appaloosa Horse Club, Appaloosa Horse Club UK and British Appaloosa Society it is with complete intention we ensure the stallions used enable the foals to also be eligible for the same registrations.

Peyres Catori Cat  x  Kiss My Finest Heart

Catori is an intelligent, spirited and precocious well-built mare, we have used Heart’s semen again (imported from Spain) because the foals from this pairing (Hevans EV Catorrius and the late Redheart Cateaster) proved to be fine animals.

 

Princesse Pascale  x  Hevans EV Catorrius

PP is a very quiet reserved mare with an adorable personality, she is very well-built and stands over 16hh. Hevans EV Catorrius should complement the foal with a more compact build and pass on his outstanding intelligence, scope and bravery. Keeping the 100% FPD in mind and keeping the correct confirmation is a high priority.

 

 

On Monday 23rd May,  we saw the result of their 14 day scans, we can confirm that both mares have been successfully scanned and are both in foal.

Princesse Pascale X Hevans EV Catorrius

Princesse Pascale X Hevans EV Catorrius

Peyres Catori Cat X Kiss My Finest Heart

Peyres Catori Cat X Kiss My Finest Heart

 

 

 

14 DAYS

We are always striving for our desired goals,  to get there we would appreciate two more fillies, any colt’s will defiantly be for sale but the fillies we will keep for our future breeding plan using our imported future stallion DFR Patahas Redheart.

We all know breeding is a gamble and there are no guarantees but the end result is always a surprise with Appaloosas, let’s see what arrives in 2017?

They really are TWO OF A KIND……

May Sunshine at the May Foreign Breeds Festival….

Redheart Pascalius’s second show of 2016 at Onley Equestrian Centre, Rugby.

Lovely day at the May Foreign Breeds Festival under the United Saddlebred Association’s.

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Being an Open Show for ALL Foreign Breeds we gathered a 4th in the Broken Coated any age or sex and we won the Appaloosa Horses & Foreign Breeds 3 years and under.

We have our work cut out for indoor showing, there is just something Evee is uneasy with? I feel her tension and we will try and over come this with more shows in doors, especially before our National Breed Shows later this year! We are not sure if it is the “echo” of the spectators, especially when they clap or the horses in the adjacent ring? None the less, Evee is three now and it’s time to grow up!

Very educational day for Redheart Pascalius during the May Sunshine at the May Foreign Breeds Festival….

British Appaloosa’s at Royal Windsor….


The start of Redheart Pascalius showing campaign has begun, Royal Windsor. I adore this show, it’s a great family day out and my girls certainly spent the prize money!!!

A bit of a disaster the night before as Evee decided to rub her mane, something we have not experienced before, none the less with at least 8” destroyed it made my decision to hog her quite easy!

As we relaxed outside the ring we talked to a few spectators about the Appaloosa breed, here is a moment captured….

Speaks volumes!

A notorious picture spot at Windsor Show for the equine competitors….

Evee and I waited for our photo behind the British Appaloosa Society in hand and Ridden Champion Megan Share with Desired Edition, many congratulations to you Megan, well deserved.

2016 Young Stock Winner

 


We had a great day, the line up in the over four-year old’s and the ridden class was a beautiful site, the Appaloosa “spots” really stood out at Royal Windsor….

 

Such progress…..

DFR Patahas Redheart aka Blu, registration certificate has arrived from the USA.

The GENERATION ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM (GAP) level 5 printed on the top right of the certificate is  recognition “Blu”  is from two FOUNDATION PEDIGREE DESIGNATION (FPD) parents at 100% .

Over 30 horses in Blu’s pedigree are pure Appaloosa x Appaloosa’s.

In January 2012 the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) announced  “Five Appaloosa’s enrolled in the Generation Advancement Program (GAP) in 2011”. It’s now 2016 and we have the first three here in the UK .

One day Blu will sire a foal with Redheart Pascalius who also has a GAP 5 status, we will then have our first GAP 6, how exciting!

Such progress…..

 

Each to their own…..

There is no doubt at the present moment we seem to be just “living”, ensuring the horses are properly cared for and that seems to be about it!

 

 

 

 

 

Every night there is a prime moment that makes me smile, as I drive in to the yard and see this!

 

Yes, I would like to think they are waiting for me….but in reality I know they are waiting for their dinner!

I do not get them in because they are waiting, in fact I don’t get them in until one or two of them “take a walk”……Personally I don’t like to give them routine, mainly because my life style doesn’t allow it. I believe a horse can be stress free with minimal anxiety when they can only expect the unexpected but there are some horses that thrive on routine! Each to their own……

 

 

The First Foundation but Not The Last…..

In our aim to breed Foundation Appaloosas we are delighted to announce;

Redheart Royale is the first Foundation Appaloosa to be born within the UK.

Princesse Pascale x RDF Ti Kha Atta Rain

 

Redheart Royale, aka Ben is the first foal born (April 15) within the UK to be registered with the Foundation Appaloosa Horse Registry, above 75%, he has a GAP 5 status and 100% FPD.

He is confirmed homozygous for the Pattern Gene (PATN1/PATN1) and is bay (EE Aa).

Certified negative for PSSM and the Grey gene.

We love Ben…….he has an adorable personality!

It will be a few years before we achieve another foal of this status but it is in the “PLAN”.

He is the first but certainly not the last……

Nature’s natural grooming session………

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”.