Touchwood Stud Diary

January 2010

Well 2010 is now upon us and all thoughts of the festive season are firmly behind us for another year.

As is the case for so many people running equestrian businesses, Christmas and New Year always present even more work as you struggle fitting in the horses with everything else. Dave and I found ourselves up well before 6am to get everything done before joining in with the family celebrations…..the horses certainly don’t know it’s Christmas. The upside, of course, is a great excuse to catch up with everyone, and a good time was had by all at our Stud party.

In recent weeks of course, the thing dominating our (and most other people’s) lives has been the snow! Very pretty and great fun to start with, but I think it is starting to wear us all down now. Of course the important issue in this weather is to make sure all the horses are coping well with the temperatures and have enough to eat. Our broodmares (both in foal and barren) live out 24/7 over winter and, of course, our hay bill has shot through the roof. They are fed and hayed twice a day to ensure that they always have plenty of fibre going through their system and are not standing around in the cold, feeling hungry. The snow here has been very deep so, as they are not even able to dig through to the grass, it is especially important they have enough roughage.

Rugging, of course, is always another hot topic…..we generally rug all of the broodmares that are living out. I do believe that horses with adequate shelter and feed can easily live out unrugged, but when we have all these rugs at our disposal, why not use them and make the horses that bit more comfortable. Of course, as they near their foaling dates and come up to the foaling barn, rugs are a big no-no, but they are in at night by then, so protected from the worst of the elements.

I also keep a careful eye on the weight of all the mares at this time of year – a mare in foal, particularly, can drop off very quickly, and it is important to make sure she maintains a steady weight, and does not come into spring looking poor. It is always a constant balancing act with these mares, providing the right nutrients for mother and baby during pregnancy and lactation. By this stage in the year, the majority of the mares are eating their D&H stud nuts, and particularly over winter I like to add in a generous amount of soaked sugar beet. It is an excellent way of getting extra fibre in to them, and, without exception, all the horses love it!

In other news, our Groomsbridge May I foal, Tommy has been sold and will leave for his new home in Scotland in April. I’m always sad to see the babies go, but sadly, I can’t keep them all. I still have my Classic Juan foal, Frank, who is for sale but seems to be a victim of this slowdown in the market, which we will hopefully see picking up this year.

So, my next entry will come from mid-February, when we will have just attended the UK Stallion Expo at Keysoe. We are taking a trade stand at this exciting event, so anyone who wants to come along and say hello, please do. Laura and I will be there manning the stand while Dave gets left at home dealing with all the animals!

Following that, there are only two weeks left before foal watch starts….stud season is creeping up on us awfully quickly!