09 August-

Well we havent updated in a while so here we are all sitting around the computer thinking where to start :)

The 3 mares that went to Riverdale are going great. They have put on heaps of weight and are looking happy and healthy. We have not handled them since they have been there but they are due to be wormed so we will have to start thinking about getting them in to do that!

The other 10 kaimanawas settled in really well to their new paddock up the hill. Bryans newly made catching pen is great, made it a safe place to catch our kaimanawas. We have been handling them as much as the weather has allowed. We have found that the weekends are the most progressive kaimanawa working days as every one is home from work and school.

Our main aim was to get the kaimanawas relaxed at being caught and respecting fences so we could get them out of their small paddock and into a big one with GRASS! After a few weeks of semi-full work with them we felt they were mentally prepared enough to go out into a big paddock with "normal" fences. The first paddock we moved them to was the 'hay' paddock we did this by having soldier up front with Chandra riding and people on the ground putting pressure behind them towards the 'new' paddock. They moved slowly and stress free much to our relief and put their heads down and ate grass. During the course of that day syndod, scout and victory some how got into the neighouring paddock they had a run around then I think scout somersaulted back over the fence into the correct paddock- all remain injury free! They eventually ate all the grass in the hay paddock and progressed to the paddock next door we moved them the same way as the first time.

I cannot remember exactly how much work they have gotten over the last few months, but we have been working them as much as time and the weather allows. When they have come in to work we have been catching and handling them, brushing them and sacking some out. As with all horses some are better than others and a progressing faster. Ahi, Comet, Vue, Syndod and Magic man are probably the quietest out of the lot they can all be caught in the paddock, brushed all over, handled and led. Luna, Badger, Victory and Scout are also going really well they can all be caught in the yard and handled. Queen has proven to be a bit of a challenge, she is quite wild and very scared, BUT she is getting there and is a lot better than she used to be. She has a tendancy to kick and strike. I (Cheryl) have been taking her quietly, waggling ropes around her legs etc and she is not kicking very much any more and quite enjoys a face scratch.

We decided as a group that it was time for the 3 older colts to get gelded. We seperated them from the main herd for a few weeks and lived in the round yard paddock preparing for the castration. On the 29th of july the vet came and gelded the boys without any trouble or hassle. They lost a bit of condition but thats to be expected, they are looking better already! The next mission was to move all the kais except luna, vue and comet to the paddock on the hill so they could get on to more grass, we have been hard feeding them quite a bit so we got them easily down the hill with lisa in front with a feed bucket!!!!

 I think thats past caught up on... Today was a very productive day! We brought all the kais in from down the down the hill and the other 3. We caught and handled ALL the kais as it was a nice sunny day. We decided it was time to start introducing some of our kais to the main herd so they can go out in the big paddock. All the horses came down for a feed so we let Comet and Deja Vue out with them- this happened with out a fuss or a drama. Later on this afternoon we put syndod and victory out too.

We have decided to slightly change the way we keep our pages up dated by having a separate page for everybody to write their own updates on their kais but also keep our general diary updates going! Click on a photo below to find out what we are all up to!