"So it's been a while since my last blog. I have some good news to report - we xrayed the filly foal again, and on my super vet Ali O'Brien's advice she is now allowed out in the field for a few hours a day. I'm not sure whether the foal or the mare is more grateful to be out and about! There isn't much grass for them after the weeks of blazing sunshine we've had, but that's no bad thing as lush grass could have caused its fair share of problems too. After all she has been through, and taking her sire's name (Adonnis) into account, we have decided to call the foal Ammiracle ZD. Have a look at the photos - I think she is enjoying herself!

I didn't get a chance to mention the ridden horses in the last blog. I have two fabulous mares in work at the moment. They both had foals last year so have a had a bit of a late start. Negrescha (or Twiglet as we call her) is a four year old by Negretto x Don Schufro, and Amore is a five year old by Troy x Mephistopheles. They are both graded with the BWBS. I am a huge fan of mare gradings and believe that more people should put their mares forward for grading when considering whether they are going to breed from them. The evaluators will give you good tips as to what type of stallion might best suit your mare too. Sadly my Hotline mare Dessa is not in foal after a second covering and we have decided not to try again this season. Hey ho, some things are just not meant to be.

Both mares started work at Christmas time, after their foals were weaned. Amore has been going great guns. She is a small powerful mare who is very confident in her own abilities. If you over use the leg she gives you a quick flick of the tail as if to say "Yes I understand the aid for canter thank you very much, you don't need to overdo it!" She came off the lunge very quickly and I have since taken her out to Patchetts Equestrian Centre for a couple of arena hires. She is great as she is very reactive to the rider, but not spooky, so she has no problems with seeing new things and being asked to concentrate at the same time. Bodes well for her competition career which I am hoping will start this weekend with a couple of prelims.

The other mare, Twiglet is a bigger mare. She is an absolute sweetheart and very much a people person (I have been told she has "RSPCA eyes" because of the cute pathetic way she looks at people to try and encourage them to come over and give her a cuddle). She is progressing more slowly as she is not quite so confident. She takes more confidence from her rider than Amore and I do not want to rush her. She has fabulous huge paces too, especially her canter, which is typical of the Negro line and absolutely ma-hoosive! She is going to be a very special mare and we will give her all the time she needs to do her job confidently.

I also measured my three year old recently, something I have been putting off doing. She is by Faberge 50 x Rubels - both of which are reasonably small stallions - and I bought her as a foal from James Burtwell. She has always been quite small, but I didn't think she was that small until we put the stick on her.... she is 15.1hh! She has recently started her education (see main photo) and as with everything else is taking it in her stride and loving the attention. I have never known such an easy going horse that is so much fun and easy to handle, that's why she is called Fabulous!"