Good for you! She is a lucky horse to have found you.

Well done griffo.girl. It is an amazing experience to find out how join-up will work even in a larger area. Congratulations!

Griffo.girl that is great! Here's to a much happier life for one more horse :-) Are you in Tasmania? or have you sent her there to have her foal? I ask because i am in Tassie and to date know no other monty followers here lol!
Janelle

Hey everyone - thanks for your comments. Sorry for not responding sooner - have been overseas. My lovely mare is now half way through her pregnancy and doing well so fingers crossed she gets through the second half ok. Janelle she is up near Launceston at stud which is where I keep her but I live in Dover in the south of Tassie - I travel a lot so keep her with the mares on the stud. She is very happy there and being a very good girl for the lady who cares for her day to day. She has not had a problem catching her and is willing to come to get her feet done, worming etc. Good luck to all of you with your horses also.

Just an update on my mare - she gave birth to a really lovely, big colt last Wednesday morning and he is beautiful, very correct and strong - endurance lines on Dad's side so he will make a lovely riding gelding for me in the future. Mum is doing really well and allowed me to catch her straight away and also was not perturbed that the little fella came up for a snuggle. I wondered if the protective instincts of a new mum along with her terrible history of violence before I got her would set her back for a while, but no. She has proven to me yet again that you can retrain these damaged horses with patience, kindness and consistency in training methods - there is never any need for force. One very proud owner here. Cheers Jan

Great news Griffo.girl. All the best for the fun ahead.

Thanks Maggie - loving every minute of it. Has been a little while since I bred a bub - had almost forgotten how great it is :-) Jan

Congrats on the new colt, it's been many years since I raised an Arabian colt but I remember how much fun he was.

Thanks so much Kleinne. I had a lovely Arabian stallion till he was 30 years old and this little fella is going to be my next main man (don't tell my husband lol) although I will geld him as I do not have all the facilities at my property for raising a stallion but a lovely gelding to ride for the future is exactly what I want. Arabians are great companions and friends when you understand the breed. Cheers Jan

Hi!
Thanks for the encouragement about the Join-Up!!
And Congrats on the little colt!!!! Must be so exciting for you!
Have you named him yet?
I too love Arabians! Ive never seen a young one though - must be Gorgeous!!
All the best :)
Charlotte
Gauteng, South Africa

Thanks Charlotte and yes he is beautiful, very strong and correct with a lovely nature. I am naming him Faraj which is Arabic meaning 'freedom from grief' as he arrived just after losing my 15 year old staffy dog and her name was Aja - these letters are in his name and it is a tribute to her and the long and wonderful life she had. I am so grateful I had my dog for so long and she got to be my shadow and best mate for all those years and now I have this lovely young horse to be my new companion over the coming years. Cheers Jan

Thats great Jan - sorry about your dog :( i have an Alsatian who is 14 so i know it must have been hard.
Enjoy the company of your new best friend: Faraj :)

Thanks Charlotte. I hope you still have many good times to share with your Alsatian ahead. Most certainly am enjoying my time with Faraj. All the best, Jan :-)

That is fantastic, Jan! I remember when my little boy was born (4.5 years ago but seems like last spring!)
Wishing you all the best with the new prince. The next couple of months will be filled with sooo many things.

Thanks Kicki - we are having a lovely time. Every day is a new adventure lol. I'll bet your boy is a big man now !!!! Cheers Jan

You can see him in the avatar pic. He is only two years there, but pretty much the same - except heightwise. :)

Hi griffo.girl - so pleased your mare is responding so well too. These abused mares seem to mellow so much once they foal. So many of my horsey friends told me to never breed my abused broken down Pie as she would be too dangerous if she had a foal to protect and her genes would be too vicious. I waited 12 years before I did let her get in foal and it is one of the best things I have done in my life. I always thought Pie's viciousness and hatred of people, especially men, was environmental more than genetic and that proved to be the case. Like your mare Pie she was just such a wonderful gentle and docile mum with both me and her foal, Tricka. She trusted me completely and let me play with Tricka whenever I chose. I always left Pie in the menage or paddock with us while I was playing with Tricka and teaching her the basics and she just looked on calmly and never interfered. All the best with yours - I still get excited when I think back to those wonderful first few weeks of Tricka's life - great, precious memories. For those of you who have read my entries over the past couple of years I am pleased to say that I am back riding Tricka. Her back is holding up well and I have recommenced her dressage training after almost 18 months.

Thanks so much Maggie - I am so pleased you had such great success with Pie and also with Tricka - that is really great news. I have been rescuing and rehabilitating horses for a lot of years now and I agree that time and patience works wonders with these horses. Some take longer than others depending on the horse and the abuse but it is very rare that you don't find a path that will work with them without any need for force, violence or confrontation. Wishing you great success with the dressage training and most of all lots of enjoyment for both you and Tricka. Cheers, Jan

Thanks heaps, Jan. Hopefully we will get back there. I think I jinxed her with the above entry as next morning she couldn't walk on her near front leg and her knee joint was swollen up - very scary as similar to Pie's years ago after the vet inserted a pain killing needle, hit her cartliage and rendered her lame for life - same knee too!!!. She paws at things and it looks as if she pawed a rail off and then jabbed her knee with a nail. Straight to the vet and for the last four days she has been confined, on bute and penecillin and her knee soaked for 10 minutes with iced twice a day . It is getting better which is really positive as Pie's didn't - she remained very lame for the remaining 17 years of her life. It did calcify as she got older so she could even manage to canter on it in her old age. Tricka is walking pretty well on her knee to-day so I am really hopeful that it will come right again and I will be able to ride her again. X rays this week will let me know more. She is a horrible patient as she gets so bored in the little yard and insists on having both Uggs (QH) and Chester (shetland) right next to her at all times. Bit hard on them but she gets too upset if they wonder off in the paddock.

Best of luck with Tricka - I do hope she gets back to full health for you and you will be back riding again soon. Best wishes, Jan