The Boys are Back

Welcome back. Blog post nine, it’s the first week of March, and despite waking up to a small flurry of snow on the ground Saturday morning, the daffodils are out, and spring is in the air - always the tone of optimism!
 
It was a surprise to us all waking up to find a sheet of snow covering the farm early Saturday morning. But the milder temperatures soon sorted this out, and the snow had melted away by lunchtime – thank God. Despite the wind and the rain, earlier on in the week we saw glimpses of warm sunshine, and in some cases – dare I say it – t-shirt weather. A very welcome sight and a chance for us all to remember what life is like on the farm during the summer months, which we so long for this time of year. The weather, however, does not depict our mood, as there is good camaraderie among the team this year. It feels like we’re in a good rhythm, and everyone’s hard work and unwavering dedication is a credit to the exceptional behaviour of the foals.

Speaking of the team, it was another busy week on the road with lots of mares going back and forth to the covering shed. Kirstie had her first trip to the covering shed this week after taking a mare to Overbury Stud on one of our ‘local’ trips. Matt takes a lot of responsibility for transporting the horses back and forth into training, as well as walk-ins to the covering shed. He has already put a lot of miles on the clock this year, with a total of 13 mares covered.

​And with mares covered, comes the exciting, yet nerve-wracking prospect of pregnancy scans. Lucky for us, we’ve hit the ground running with our first positive pregnancy scan! A special shout-out goes to Tessa Hamer our excellent stud vet, who, without you, this wouldn’t be possible. PS. We love your homemade brownies.

We also welcomed two new arrivals in the maternity ward this week, and finally two colts! Our dry spell of colts has come to an end. First up, was a Land Force colt out of six-time winner, Broadhaven Honey, born at the reasonable hour of 9 pm, who we've already nicknamed Louis. Next, it was over to maiden mare Sanfelice, who set the standard for all first-time mums and adapted to her new role instantly. Standing like a saint and treading carefully around her newborn foal, Sanfelice took like a duck to water after foaling a colt foal by Mayson, who reached all milestones within the hour.
 
It was Shahid’s birthday over the weekend, so the baked goods for the week came in the form of Kirstie’s home-baked lemon cake – Shahid’s favourite. A nice surprise for Shahid on Monday morning, although, we had devoured the cake by lunchtime... I'm not sure how much of the lemon cake Shahid had to eat himself – oops!

Thank you to Vicky for her blog takeover last week. I have already pried my next victim to help step in during Cheltenham Festival week in March.