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!
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!
posted by Ann Nyland at 9:39 PM
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