The Sultan Saga

Here is a pic of my Thoroughbred mare, the naughty girl had better not be in foal! Read on....

I sold now rising 3 y.o. colt Cudglebar Sultan to a stud W.A. in June 2007, and he was due to leave for his new home when EI hit. Consequently, he is still here 9 months later!

A few weeks ago I moved him under DPI permit to a 10 acre paddock 20 mins from here so he could run around. It is next door to my land where I run my mares and youngstock. I put electric tape standouts along the boundary fence, then for good measure, built an electric fence with several rows of tape on the mares' side, leaving quite a gap.

I have 7 horses here that I have sold but are still here due to EI, so I was thrilled as Sultan was supposed to leave today at lunch time for Western Australia, but the transport guy rang at lunchtime and said the driver had a tyre blowout, so will be here tomorrow morning at 6 am!

Last Wednesday morning I drove up with load of water and feed, to find that Sultan was not in his paddock. He had knocked the energiser to the ground (I didn't think he could each it), climbed over the standouts and the wire fence, through the electric corridor and in with my TB mare. He was standing next to her as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.
So I locked him in the stockyard, then drove back to town in a hurry and bought a roll of while tape and insulators, drove back, built a long fence line compound surrounding the stockyard and put a removable tape over the top of his gate. This took me all day in the hot sun, and meanwhile the mares had noticed him and were lining up, giving him the come-on, then I hooked up the energiser - it didn't work, so I raced into town to buy batteries, got back, put them in, it still didn't work, I drove back to town, had to buy new energiser, and the only one in stock in town was an expensive one!!
So I went back, hooked it up - it worked, then I had to drive back home and bring up 2 more loads of water - this in drums in my car boot! After the 2nd trip, my Arabian colt Ki had come up, so I locked him in the big yard I had just made of electric tape, a yard all around the back of the stockyard to prevent the mares getting near Sultan. I fed and watered Ki in there, as I had been planning to separate him soon. When I got back an hour later with another load of water, rising 3 yo Arabian gelding Trinity had broken in, broken an insulator, and put Ki over the fence into the neighbour's. So I got Ki and led him into Sultan's old paddock and fed and watered him there. Then I looked over my shoulder, Trinity had seen me feed Ki and decided he'd follow, but he went up a gap not wide enough for a horse between the neighbour's wire fence and the stockyard fence. So I tried to make him up back, but he decided to turn around and put all his legs through the wire fence, so while he just stood there dopily I had to fetch the wire cutters from the car boot and cut him out, lucky he is dopey quiet. Well I had left all the halters at home this trip, so had to lead him over the mesh grid and through the gate with baling twine and a bum rope made out of white tape, as the mesh grid did not look inviting to him, meanwhile trying to stop all the mares racing out through the gate over the mesh grid. I got home that night completely exhausted.
Then the next day the vet was coming at 4.30 pm to check Sultan for stallion registration with the Arabian Horse Society. Well, I drove up there, then got a phone call from the vet to say he was going to be late as he had a cow emergency down south. So after what seemed like long time sitting in the paddock in the hot sun I rang the vet surgery, and the receptionist said she'd see how long he'd be. When I rang back she said he'd be there within the hour.
So I rang her back and said I didn't live there, it was at least a 20 min drive from home, that I'd drive home and feed my horses as it was getting late, then drive back - she said I'd have enough time. Just as I was driving in my driveway, the vet rang and said he was on his way, so I turned around and drove straight back!!!!
Then I thought Sultan was going today, but now he's going tomorrow! The transport guy assures me that the driver is on his way!

Splitters Creek Visit

On my way back from dropping my daughter off at uni I enjoyed the great hospitality of Catherine of Splitters Creek stud. It was great to have a long talk, til the wee small hours of the morning! Catherine has stallion Hyksos Benjamin, whom I bred, and while there I saw a very lovely filly by Ben, owned by Tina Camm. I wanted to hitch up Catherine's float and take off with the filly! I was also very taken with an outstanding yearling filly by Ben from Cudglebar Mujeor. I used to own Mujeor. She was one of the original Kikkuli Experiment horses, and then went on to a successful endurance career, over 3,000 km and 20th Quilty with Lowest Heartrates. She is by Cudglebar Es Sahra, the sire of my head mare Cudglebar Riena. They both will be 20 y.o. this year and were both Kikkuli Experiment horses as 3 y.o.s. My 15 y.o. son's favourite was a very inquisitive colt foal by Ben out of Cudglebar Shamira. I saw my 26 y.o. mare Cudglebar Rabi's very nice daughter, S.C. Juliet. I also saw tall Anglo stallion SC Red Jewel, a big fave of Catherine's! He is typical of the Cudglebar Mameluke line temperament, super quiet and laid back. Here's a pic of Catherine with him. I saw lots of nice horses! I also liked a grey Aloha mare with very nice colt at foot.

Catch up Jan-March 08!

Well, a lot has happened the last few weeks. Sadly, my father passed away. I also had to drive my daughter interstate to start uni. Back home now. I was away from home for quite some time, but friends looked after the horses well - check out Esther's art blog HERE - also NSW was declared EI free, so horse movement has started again!

My camera packed it in, but before it did, I took this pic of my cremello Part Arabian colt.

Catch Up! Nov 06 to Jan 08!!

Well, I haven't posted for over year, and I have just deleted some emails from my Inbox which means I now "only" have 4199 to look through.
2007 was very hectic - my 4wd finally died. When it stranded us on the side of the road in 2006, the engine was under warranty - I took it back to the mechanic who kept it for over 2 months, and informed me that he had sent it back to the suppliers to be fixed. Well.... 2 weeks after I got it back, I was bringing back my 2 Arabian mares from their fast workout (they were soon to race in an Arabian race) when I heard a ghastly sound. I pulled over - and to cut a long story short, a piston had gone through the engine. It went back to the mechanic, who said he would complain to the engine supplier. He also said I must not contact the supplier, but to leave it to him. He was so adamant about this, that I got suspicious and phoned the supplier - and to my horror, found out that the engine had never gone to them at all! The mechanic had simply done a bandaid job on the warped head and given the car back to me saying it was a replaced engine. After much crooked dealing from the mechanic, I finally got a replacement engine for the car. However, it than sprang a petrol leak and an LPG gas leak at the same time, and the brakes went, so I got rid of it.
Meanwhile, I had sold my double float and bought 3 horse angle load, which I still have , but have nothing to tow it with.
Meanwhile.... both my parents became very ill.
Meanwhile..... Equine Influenza broke out in Australia. I ended up having all my horses vaccinated, that in itself was quite a drama, but I can only type with 2 fingers so it would take too long to recount that tale.
Meanwhile.... I also rediscovered my former pure Polish Arabian mare Kasztelanka and was able to get her back - her story is at my website http://www.hyksosarabians.com/ - go to "Arabian mares" page and then click on her name for her story.
Meanwhile..... I was hard at work trying to meet the publisher's deadline for a couple of books. Some of my books are now on Amazon, see the link at the right of the page.
Meanwhile... my lovely Arabian stallion Hyksos Arkhon had his first two foals, a buckskin Quarab filly (photo baiove left at 10 weeks), and a Dilute Black (photo above at 2 weeks), of all things, colt from my cremello mare.
Well that's about it. So much happened in 2007.
I will be posting on frequent basis from now on.

Road Trip From Hell

Last weekend my 14 y.o. son and I drove way down south to 1/2 way between Taralga and Oberon over ghastly scary roads to pick up Cudglebar Riena and her filly Hyksos Rowena from Montville Stud. The trip one way was 10 hrs 50 mins, although we called in on Les Ellery at Cudglebar on the way.
On the way back, all seemed to be well and we were making good time. I'd arranged for Les to meet us in Dunedoo as he was keen to see Rowena. We left Dunedoo, got through Gunnedah, then the car suddenly made a hideous loud sound, blew white smoke, and stopped while going up a hill on the busy highway. This was 4 pm and the weather was very hot. Eventually someone kindly stopped and phoned the NRMA (roadside assistance), and they turned up about 7 pm. Meanwhile, someone else had kindly stopped. I had a new engine and new radiator in the car only a couple of weeks earlier, and the problem!! The mechanic had put old radiator hoses on the new radiator! Consequently one had split open. The NRMA thought the head was cracked.
In a further twist, I had rung NRMA normal number despite having Premium Care cover - when they arrived I told the NRMA guy I was Premium Care several times, but he looked at me blankly. With premium care, they tow your car to wherever you want, put you up in a motel, give you a hire car, and it covers the float as well. However, the NRMA guy just towed us up to behind the petrol station at Somerton, a small town and left us there. (He was however a nice helpful person, he must just not have run across anyone Premium Care before?! I also didn't know I had to phone a different number for Premium Care, but no one from the NRMA on the phone throughout this told me.)
So I rang a neighbour to drive all the way down and tow us back, and we got home after midnight.
Meanwhile, poor Riena and Rowena had been stuck in the float since 7.40 a.m. We kept going in and feeding them and offering them buckets of water, and topping up their haynet. They seemed none the worse for wear when we finally got home, but Rowena wanted a very long drink from her mum.
It was a truly horrible experience - and what is wrong with people these days! Between 4 pm and 7 pm only 2 cars stopped to help us, - a woman, a child, a horse float with mare and foal, on the side of a very busy highway, and on the edge, with no room to get off properly, the bonnet up. You would expect more people to stop in the country, if not the city. Thankfully two very kind carloads of people did stop to help.

New Zealand foal born now, planned 1992

Pure Colonial Arabian colt KD Nitro has just been born at KD Stud in New Zealand. He's the result of several generations of planning. His sire is my former Arabian racehorse and Kikkuli Experiment stallion Cudglebar Rasuli*, and his dam is the double Santiago granddaughter Hyksos Nysa. The photo here of KD Nitro is taken when he was less than 24 hours old, and the photo of Santiago taken when he was 21 y.o.
Santiago was by the Malik by the Rakib* son NEMO who was out of the famous endurance progneitor SHALAMAR (bred by Cudglebar in the days before their prefix). Santiago's dam Loleta was by Baz, a full brother to Bahri, both sons of Rakib*. Loleta's dam Leto was by Sala* from the Jelbart mare Buraida who was intensely Shahzada* bred.
I bred my endurance mare Rose Park Lady Rakai (who also did the Kikkuli Experiment and was by Bahri himself) to Santiago to produce a filly to breed to Cudglebar Rasuli*, and after getting two fillies, Hyksos Trysting and Hyksos Red Rum (both exported to New Zealand), bred Cudglebar Symphony to Santiago in the hope of producing a colt (that happened, his name... Hyksos Vangelis) to put to Trysting when he grew up, with the hope that they would produce a filly (that happened, her name... Hyksos Nysa*) that could eventually be put to Cudglebar Rasuli* to produce a colt. Whew!! Well, that long-term plan has just been brought to fruition, in the form of KD Nitro.

Hand the vet my credit card?

I think I should hand over my credit card to the vet. Cudglebar Jasmine had another relapse. (If you haven't read past blogs, she ate Pattersons Curse when she lived at Cudglebar which caused liver damage, and so Les Ellery sold her to me to get her out of the area asap. Otherwise nothing could have enticed him ever to part with her.) Jasmine had just started on the liver drug but it hadn't had time to kick in, and she suddenly went downhill again. She is doing hugely better today and last night finished a 5 day course of antiobiotics. As of last night, she was only eating grass, and not drinking water or eating her feed or hay - and only drinking water in the form of warm molasses drinks. The first few days of her relapse she wasn't even drinking that, so I had to syringe molasses and water into her mouth, countless syringes of it went into her mouth.
Last night I started her on shots of B complex, and B12 and folic acid. This morning brought about a marked difference - she had eaten most of a biscuit of lucerne hay, and drunk the remaining (now cold) molasses water and quite an amount of normal water.
She is living on the front lawn at the moment, which, thankfully as I am on town water, I had been watering (no water restrictions here) and fertilising as a pick for the horses. She has been grazing the last few days but not greedily.
Nowe that the liver drug is starting to kick in, her coat has become incredibly shiny for the first time ever, and lies flat - a huge improvement. She has no more needles for another 2 days, which will make her happy.
Here's a photo of her - the view from my office window - when we had a cold snap the other day. Now it's back to hot and dry. There is rain on the horizon but nothing doing as yet.