THE  HORSES  PART  II

SERGEANT  PEPPER.

Sergeant Pepper was born in 1998, another wrong side of the blanket liaison to a mare some local people owned. The children named him and he was wonderfully handled and did absolutely everything without a problem. The children loaded him on his first ever horse float, ours, and he travelled as if he had done it every day of his life. Up here he is seriously bossy in the herd and is horrible to all horses under him in the pecking order. Nothing phases him, just one of life's relaxed characters. When he is very, very good we promote him to Captain. If he is less than perfect he gets demoted to Corporal. He LOVES children, and Water. His permanent girl friend is Chile.

DUSKY.

Dusky is our 9/11 baby. Her mother Darky had a wrong side of the blanket pregnancy and finally gave birth late one September afternoon, just before dusk. Our previous foal was born at dawn and called Sunrise so we called this late baby Dusky. Once back inside I was too excited to sleep and was listening to Talkback Radio and, later in the night, they were telling us about the World Trade Centre being attacked. Dusky was imprinted, rubbed all over, within five minutes of being born so she has always been very quiet to handle, but she is as bumptious as her mother used to be, another very good doer and difficult to keep where you want her as she strolls through any fence with ease. She lives with Big Glen and Auntie Ellie and is one of Rod's two guide horses.

SCOUT   -   [  ROLY ]

Scout was found in private ownership in Kaikoura. He was very fat,  very bossy, and somewhat lacking in the manners department and exploded off the float like a shiny Sherman tank. The herd quickly put him in his place, at the bottom of the pecking order, and once in his correct position he settled in nicely. He was easy to back and just sort of evolved into being ridden and has been problem free. He has been treated several times by the chiropractor, is a good doer and now one of our main weight bearing horses. Scout is nearly always with his brother Perkins, two peas in a pod lookalikes.

PERKINS   -   [  PERKY  ]

Perkins  came from a local trainer and, quite by accident, I was offered him while Rod was away, but only if I picked him up at once. Friend Angel came to tow our horse float and we brought Perkins home.  Rod was quite surprised when he arrived back to find we had two peas in a pod lookalikes. The Harness racing NZ site showed that they were full brothers, Perkins a year older. They definitely knew each other. Once again our chiropractor has been kept busy putting vertebra back in place and Perkins lost a lot of weight several winters running before he settled in and adjusted to life in the High Country. He is now our quietest trekking horse by a huge margin and just about as bomb proof as they come. Doesn't mind large gaps in the trekking line  -  just plods along.

ROCKY   -   [   NATROCK  ]

Rocky is a slightly older horse who was already rideable when he got here. He belonged to a friend of ours at Takaka and they were running out of grazing. The only place she could send Rocky was to ours as he was a very special favourite and needed loving on a regular basis. He is a pretty smart horse. If someone can ride he gives them a really pleasant trek. Non riders get stuck with parking brake on or an alarming tendency to turn for home at inconvenient moments, so Rocky doesn't get used as often as some of the other horses.
Update 2016.  Good friend Tina has taken Rocky on as her special horse after her Jack was put to sleep last year. Rocky is learning new skills on the guide horse front and is just loving all the extra attention.

ROSIE   -   [  ROY  ELLA  ROSE  ]    WITH GERMAN  NICI.

Rosie is a pugnacious little what not and always in the thick of things. She loves people but has Attitude with a capital "A". She has had more accidents per square inch than any other horse up here. She's the one who got cornered and bossed over a fence, or somersaulted upside down on to the road. Big vets bills but a lovely nature. She needs lessons in where NOT to be at any given time. Usually trails round after Boogie and Coco who both treat her like doormat but she doesn't give up.

Stitches galore for yet another injury. Rosie is always in the wars. I am currently trying to retrain her to be another guide horse to replace the irreplaceable Clonbern as she is just too naughty for customers.  I need body armour and well fitting helmet and a couple of tubes of Super glue to last out a ride in one piece.