Splitters Creek
Arabian Sport Horse Stud
‘take your passion and make it happen’
Stewarts
Rd, Walbundrie NSW 2642, phone 0260
299 100, mobile: 0428 299 100,
e-mail: splitterscreek@bigpond.com
web: www.users.bigpond.com/splitterscreek
Newsletter – September 2003
Welcome to the September 2003 news. As I write I wonder cautiously whether the drought of the last 2 years has truly broken – many inches of rain have arrived in the last 2 months and the crop is fairly leaping out of the ground. It’s certainly looking optimistic but I still doubt that feed prices will change much in the medium term as nationally farmers attempt to fill their depleted shed and silos.
We’ve survived with hard work and perseverance. The horses look fantastic and I look forward to a group of healthy foals this spring. I think the biggest stressors of the drought for me are the monetary cost of feeding the horses; the time cost and the ‘what ifs’ that come with uncertainty about when it will end.
The monetary cost means the majority of my salary income goes into buying feed. The time cost is the sourcing and buying of feed, the mixing of feeds and relentless hand feeding. Decision making also becomes high pressure and seemingly never ending. Here we have X dollars to spend. What is the best value for that money bearing in mind the different nutritional needs of different paddocks of horses –all needing 100% of their roughage provided. You get it all sorted but the problem is that 3 or 4 weeks later, the whole ration may need to be altered as prices increase and supplies dry up. And then the uncertainty. The ‘what ifs’. What if it doesn’t break this spring - what if I don’t have crop stubble this summer - what if I don’t get a crop…how can I buy hay for the following winter…
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when everything I do with the horses seems to revolve around organising feed and doing the feeding. It seems so many other tasks don’t get done when the focus is survival, and that can be very frustrating. It can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
So what successes in the last 6 months? In July I celebrated my 40th birthday; 3 years on this property in Walbundrie and 4 years operating as SC ASHS. My oldest stock are now rising 3 yo and I look forward to starting young horses this time next year and hopefully sell some.
In February I produced my first CD with video clips and received a lot of favourable feedback. In fact on occasions when I have sat staring out at dusty paddocks and diminishing rolls of hay along the driveway I have felt encouraged by comments I have received about the horses I am breeding.
With the DNA typing of 8 horses recently, all of my paperwork with the AHSA will be up to date and all pending registrations will be finalised. That is a pleasing achievement for me.
As usual there have been a few comings and goings since my newsletter last summer. Splitters Creek Lucky Boy (welsh cob x arab) was sold locally to Deanne and Tony Hosie, who purchased him as a pony club mount for their niece and general all rounder. It was a very interesting trailer that Lucky Boy left in. Basically a box trailer with a stock crate. Lucky Boy walked up and in like he’d done it all before – it was certainly well air conditioned!
2yo SC Providence aka ‘Pete’ (Cudglebar Raksha x Omani Stylist), found himself an ideal home with endurance riders Carol Layton and partner Rob on the mid NSW coast. Due to an earlier injury, Pete’s soundness is uncertain so he was taken as a companion horse for their horse no.3 – company for when horse no. 1 and 2 go to a ride! As it turns out, Carol and Rob have a colonial bred stallion Leshal Ikon who is by Iberia (Razaz x Calliope [by Sala]) out of Cudglebar Kaffiyah (Helicon x Cudglebar Ayesha). That was a coincidence.
Aloha Arctic Gold went to Ann Nyland in Armidale to be used as her pleasure riding horse and breed one or two foals from.
My Aloha Power of One geldings SC Power Play ‘Jim’ and SC Power N Passion both went to a local eventing/dressage home with Linda and Jayde Porta. ‘Jim’ is now broken and apart from a tendency to drop his head when getting over excited, he’s coming along steadily according to Linda.
Who arrived in the last few months? A number of newies are here. From Ann Nyland comes the two grey colonial fillies Hyksos Abbey and Amber. They are full sisters by Cudglebar Rasuli (exp NZ) x Hyksos Flourite (x Cudglebar Caleb), 3 and 4 years old. They are ‘thick as thieves’ not having been separated during their lives. It should be interesting when the older filly leaves shortly to be broken…
From Cudglebar comes my weanling filly SC Persian Princess (Cudglebar Persian Prince x Cudglebar Mira) and the rising 3yo anglo filly Cudglebar Dream of Gold. Both have settled in well, with Princess voting with her feet (jumped over the fence) to join the weanling group instead of staying her travelling companion, Gold.
In a recent trip to Cudglebar (my first in 9 months) it was great to see all the horses in beautiful condition, with much credit to the donation of feed from a group of endurance riders and an overseas sponsor. Les has recently sold two fillies to unrelated homes in Tasmania. The first, a 3yo filly Cudglebar Kinda Cute (Cudglebar Ishmael x Cudglebar Cazala) was sold to Alf Ellery (no relation to Les!) of Sidmouth, as an all rounder for his grand daughter, and is said to be working with a saddle in long reins and coming along nicely.
The second purchase was the weanling filly Cudglebar Burada (Cudglebar Manak x Cudglebar Judith), who went to Penny and Ian and should be arriving this weekend. Penny and Ian came over to strap for friends at the Quilty in NSW this year, and were able to visit Cudglebar and also here on their way back home.
My first foal of the season has arrived. Aloha Royal Lady ‘Lizzie’ foaled on 26 August at 10:30 at night a nuggetty chestnut colt by Cudglebar Raksha ‘Demon’. I watched him being born and that always inspires you no matter what the season. The timing was perfect as I was due for a trip to Melbourne for work the following evening. Too good to be true in fact – he’s made up for it by twice going over a fence and getting separated from mum (once during my absence). Thankfully no other horses were involved!
I think that’s about all the news. Visitors are welcome especially during daylight savings months - come and see how everyone is growing. My veranda is a pretty pleasant place to be in the dusk of a hot summer’s day with a beer or red wine in hand… I’m sure looking forward to it this year.
Catherine.
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Cudglebar Burada (x Cudglebar Manak) just before leaving Cudglebar for Tasmania |
Hyksos Abbey (left) and Amber arrive at Splitters Creek |
Leilani and Cudglebar Kinda Cute in her new home in Tasmania. |
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Leshal Ikon with Carol Layton. Ikon is a 9yo yellow book endurance horse. Available at public stud. |
Pete arrives at his new home with Bob. |
First foal. Chestnut colt Cudglebar Raksha x Aloha Royal Lady |
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SC Lucky Boy, shortly after arriving at his new home. Below: weanlings - trotter crosses SC Anastasia (left) SC Bundy |
SC Lucky Boy |
Foal SC Provocative right, 18 mth SC Juliet left. Below: weanlings - SC Xena (left) SC Briana (cob cross) |
‘who’s coming when…’
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Aloha Royal Lady |
Cudglebar Raksha |
28 August 2003 (foaled 26/8) |
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Aloha Kurils |
Cudglebar Raksha |
13 September 2003 |
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Jirrima Ultra Minx |
Cudglebar Raksha |
19 September 2003 |
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Aloha Minuet |
SC Fortitude |
27 September 2003 |
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Jirrima O’Dear |
SC Fortitude |
6 November 2003 |
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SC Lucy |
SC Fortitude |
1 December 2003 |
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SC Claire |
SC Fortitude |
2 December 2003 |
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SC Molly |
Jirrima Unbeleivable |
6 December 2003 |
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Cudglebar Dream of Gold |
Cudglebar Raksha |
8 December 2003 |
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Jirrima La Syn |
SC Fortitude |
9 December 2003 |
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Omani Stylist |
SC Sultan |
4 January 2004 |
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Cudglebar Rebecca |
Cudglebar Raksha |
28 January 2004 |