Monday 30 August 2010

Evidence of a very lazy bank holiday weekend...and Explorer's fleece

We have had a very lazy bank holiday weekend; quite unusual for us. With no pressing jobs to do (there are always jobs but nothing that can't wait until next week when Paul is on 'holiday') we have managed to spend our time both socialising and relaxing with our alpacas.

With all this leisure time I tasked myself with trying to tempt Explorer into being a little bit more loving:


It appears to be working although Tabitha looks a little unsure. I think the problem was that there was evidence of previous rejection...nobody wants to be second choice:


Whilst I had hold of Explorer trying to teach him some loving ways, we decided to have another go at a fleece shot. Definitely more in focus I think. The improvement ? Paul was holding the camera:


Beck Brow Explorer....in focus!

Lucie hasn't had many head shots on the blog due to initially being shy then latterly due to some sticky eyes. Daily washouts were not achieving any long term benefits so we decided to use Orbenin eye ointment (we used this with Explorer with good effect) and they have cleared up straight away:


Lucie (Nutmeg sniffing Paul in the background!)

Velvet, our new puppy has won Paul over completely. We have been taking her out on a lead and she has been doing pretty well:



Most of the time:



Velvet...enough training for one day!

Saturday 28 August 2010

Zipperdy Do-Dah!

I seem to have woken up singing this morning. Zipperdy Do-Dah is the song of choice; rather strange but cheery. The reason for this early morning brightness? Against all the odds... WE HAVE HAY!

Despite rain having been forecast, the Eden Valley managed to escape the showers and we have had 3 days of dry weather with a lovely sunny day yesterday. Amazingly the hay looks pretty good. Well 90% of it. The rest we will keep for wind breaks just in case we need to put any young cria under a heat lamp next year.


Now normally Craig and a gang of his fit young friends do all the manual work involved with getting the hay into the barn. Labour in exchange for a nice bottle of red (whatever happened to a few tins of beer!) keeps my back in working order and Robyn's horse in hay! Unfortunately Criag and Robyn are not back from their holidays until today....Oh well I am creaky but happy.

Amanda will also benefit from supplies of hay but was no where to be seen. I had popped to see her earlier in the day but she had enough on her mind. Absorbed with shelter building some one had left the gate open:

 It appears that Alpacas and Soay sheep get along just fine!

Thursday 26 August 2010

The alpaca's in the post...

Bored with sorting and skirting fleece for the mill, I decided to skirt Galaxy's show fleece this morning. I set off with enthusiasm...rather too much so...getting rid of the shorter bits; the lighter bits; the dirty bits; the bits with slightly more guard hair (that bit was fair enough to throw...but the rest?).

Anyway when I looked at what I had removed it seemed rather a lot; I weighed it...800gms. Oops that equals 6 points with the BAS system. No way can I get that many points back in the other categories (uniformity of length, colour, micron)...she was never going to be even in colour whatever! (photo left). I'd put some back...well that's what I thought...unfortunately Velvet had got in the bag and was doing a bit of carding!! Oh well it's the taking part that counts or so I am told.

I felt that it was time for a little chill out in the cria paddock before resuming fleece sorting for the mill. Camera in hand of course:


Lucie a Top Account daughter has such a bright white fleece it is difficult to get a shot of her without too much glare!


Parisien with Katkin



Nutmeg (always posing) but what is Tabitha up to in the background with her head through the wire?


Finnian trying to get Holly to stand and supply lunch!


Gorgeous!!

Finally; I received an e mail yesterday enquiring after alpacas for sale. Unsigned it did appear a little suspect. I politely replied that we had no alpacas on our for sale list at the moment but that would have some females for sale in the spring. Their response:

Thank you for replying to my enquiry. I will have one male and one female alpaca. Please send me your bank details so that I can send you a cheque. Payment will include postage.

Will that be first or second class post? I guess that's what happens when you have a website...you get found!

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Puddles inside and out....

Raining doesn't go anywhere near describing the weather here in Cumbria at the moment. It is torrential... It is constant...It is just plain miserable.

Not an alpaca in sight when I looked out this morning. Now the girls are known to be rather keen on their shelters but the boys normally tough it out. Not this morning.

No hay for us this year. In fact not much hay for anybody around here. We are now just waiting for the cut grass to be removed from the field. It is the first time that we haven't managed to get any of our own hay; it was bound to happy eventually I suppose.

The wet weather is doing nothing for Velvet's toilet training either. Not very keen at going outside in the rain we have a a few puddles on the kitchen floor...this usually entails a change of socks...thankfully we do have stone down rather than carpet!

Paul and I braved the weather to do some poo picking yesterday. What looked like a shower turned in to a downpour. With neither of us willing to wimp out we carried on soaked to the skin with the alpacas watching us from undercover in the barn!

Like Mark at Patou Alpacas we are rather excited by the Australian imports arriving today. Not quite on the Richter scale of Mark as we are not collecting a fabulous new stud male; but we are looking forward to the arrival of Waradene St Patrick. St Patrick is a mid fawn male who will be joining E.P Cambridge in Wiltshire.

Why the excitement?...Waradene St Patrick and E.P Cambridge Lady Gaga have a date...we have kept her waiting but we are rather hoping this will be a perfect pairing. St Patrick has a good depth of fawn in his pedigree including Purrumbete Inti so fingers crossed we could get the desired elite fawn cria next year! ...But the real excitement...I will hopefully get her here at Beck Brow before the end of the year. It has been six months since we saw her last. I believe her fleece is in the post so at least I will feel a little closer!

It really hasn't been the weather for photos over the last couple of days. However Kenzie has decided that he rather like the camera.

Kenzie

Kenzie trying to spoil Nutmeg's pose. Noah (left) keeping out of it!

Sunday 22 August 2010

Spot the difference....surely the next one can't be white?

Two days of sunny weather. A night of pouring rain in between...all hope of seeing any bales of hay continues to fade. At least the alpacas have enjoyed the sunshine.

I caught Nutmeg and Finnian cooling off by the water trough this afternoon. It did look like they had dozed off. Definitely chilled out. I'd have a bet that Nutmeg is going to be a dunker:

Nutmeg & Finnian

Baheti is looking pretty fed up now. The last of the girls due this year she is spending most of the day just sitting about. With Baheti the anticipation is about whether she delivers a male or a female cria. I have a feeling that I can predict what it will look like. She has had two daughters for us so far both to black males. Spot the difference:

Pebbles; Baheti's first cria (2008)

Pepsi: Baheti's 2010 cria.

As Baheti is again pregnant to Blueberry Sinbad Holly (Pepsi's sire) I am guessing we won't be getting a white cria but hey who knows!

Willow (born 2009) is one of my favourite girls not only is she very gentle but for me she is the perfect colour; dark fawn. Dam...white!

Willow.

Thankfully all of our females mated to stud males not owned by ourselves continued to spit off yesterday. Only Blanche sat. We mated Blanche at two weeks postpartum when we normally wait three weeks. We really must stick to our belief that three is a more successful time frame. We have now lost a week instead of gaining one as Blanche spat off at ovulation so is now four weeks post Nutmeg. I know lots of breeders only wait the fortnight but any failed matings for us have generally been the early ones despite the dams having been keen.

Friday 20 August 2010

Poor attempts at fleece shots continued...

The rain is so bad here today that we have had a weather warning. Slim chance of seeing any bales of hay this year I fear! We do have enough hay left from last year thankfully. Obviously not our first choice but at least we have supplies and we do give a regular vitamin and mineral drench to our herd. Cutting the hay field was definitely Paul's decision!

I have been trying to get a shot of Explorer's fleece this morning; not easy to open the fleece and point the camera at the same time. He did stand pretty still but I still managed to get a blurred image due to me moving about rather than him. The photo does not do him justice but you can just about catch the brightness. He is a mass of very narrow staples which doesn't show in the picture; but what I hope is  particularly promising is his coverage of crimp from top to toe.


Beck Brow Explorer at 2.5 months

I think that predicting cria quality at such a young age is a real skill and must come with years and years of experience and the opportunity to see vast numbers of elite cria (I have a way to go!). I remember visiting Anzac Alpacas and witnessing Dominic Lane at work. He showed us two very young cria both from elite dams and who shared the same sire. Although both looked 'pretty darned good' (have you got the Aussie thing there) he could instantly say one was a future stud male the other a pet. He was right of course.

It was this ability that persuaded us to purchase Anzac Almost Illegal (a medium fawn male) at six months of age. Apart from his fleece style it was his fineness that had impressed Dominic. Second fleece stats for Almo:

MFD: 17.2       SD: 4.50         CV: 26%        >30um: 1%

Not a bad prediction. Meanwhile I will keep practicing and testing my findings!

I have been trying a little halter training over the past couple of days. Yesterday we seemed to be in reverse gear for much of the time. Although she is weaned I think that I may be starting a bit too early. I also have poorly fitting equipment which is really not good at all!


Velvet...still time to grow into the harness

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Right decision?....time will tell

The call came this morning; our new trailer was ready for collection. Although I am not the most competent at reversing I decided to go collect it myself. Surely I could get home by going forwards? Yes...just use the mirrors...I remembered! And I even managed to reverse park it. Okay, it did take four attempts but Paul doesn't need to know that.

The purchase of a new trailer has caused rather a lot of debate in our house. I made the decision to order an eight foot trailer when Paul thought that it should have been a ten foot one. Now I agree that when we have an amazingly large show team it may be rather small, but we do still have a horse trailer as well. In the mean time it is the ideal size for taking females for matings and boys to local events. As most of the time it will be me who will be towing it; small is good! (I will be practising my reversing). Time will tell if I have made the right decision...I am sure I will hear plenty about it if this is not the case!

I did try to get a photo of Explorer today in order to prove that he looks much more angelic with his neck fleece tidied up. Not sure if I succeeded? Well I did manage to get the photo... it is the angelic bit that is in doubt!

Explorer...looking less grumpy?

If Explorer wasn't looking as sweet as I intended I thought I could get a photo of Camilla to demonstrate how pretty his mum is; but I obviously caught her by surprise:

Camilla...should have said cheese!

The decision to cut the hay field is looking rather dubious. We had rain again this morning. It is sunny just now but the forecast is for showers again tomorrow. Another case of time will tell...

Monday 16 August 2010

Hey hay...we are going for it...

Today has been the second dry and sunny day in a row in Cumbria. A first in what seems like the the whole of July and August. I took Velvet for her puppy injection this morning and it felt like every farmer / agricultural contractor in the Eden Valley had their tractor out working. We have gone with the flow and cut our hay field. The forecast for tomorrow does have rain possible but we have been advised that a little rain before it gets dried out will not do too much harm. Lets hope the gamble pays off!

We are also getting a couple of our paddocks topped at last. We are in serious need; even Baheti who is the last of our pregnant girls due this year and is huge, can hardly be seen amongst the long grass. Baheti looks like she is truly fed up with the wait but isn't due until the 11th of September.

Baheti...jungle cover

I said yesterday about Camilla, mother of grumpy boy, having turned into one of our sweetest alpacas. When Camilla first arrived at Beck Brow she could at best have been described as a bit of a handful. She had this great manoeuvre when being handled of rearing up and going forward with force at the same time. This resulted in Paul receiving a couple of Glasgow kisses and the black eyes to show for it. It is amazing how she has changed. She is calm and easy to handle and wasn't at all concerned when we had to help her when Explorer was born. It is always worth persevering!

She is also lovely with all the other cria. Today I caught Nutmeg entertaining herself with Camilla's ear tag and she just stood there until Nutmeg got bored. I must also give Explorer a gold star today. I decided to trim his neck fleece ( it had been shaved in places when he was born and looked rather messy) and he stood there with out complaint. I have to say he does look less like a thug now, although you will have to take my word for it; I didn't think that it was wise to risk an opinion poll by including a photo!


Aunty Camilla entertaining Nutmeg

Sunday 15 August 2010

Just too irresistible...

It has been a routine service for all the herd this morning. They are all looking tip top; which is now more then can be said for me. Toe nail trimming is not good for my old nurses' back!

I am also covered top to toe in mineral drench. Earlier this year we changed to the JG Animal Health brand which advises a 30ml dose. Not the easiest thing to get down when it tastes rather nasty. Very salty. Yes don't think about it... it wasn't meant to be a taste assessment...I am just hoping it was first hand rather than...

We had been using Maxigro which is much more palatable (it appears) and only requires a 5ml dose. However we have learnt that this gives a very short term boost (2-3weeks) as apposed to a 2-3 month benefit with the JG brand. We will persevere. Well at least until we have finished our supplies!

I couldn't be so mean as to give it to the cria who got a 2ml dose of Kick Start which appears to taste nice (didn't try that one). Explorer clamped his teeth down on my finger then went off grumbling; much to Paul's amusement. He really must take after Navigator, as his mum Camilla is such a poppet and so pretty too!

Yesterday Paul's sister Jill came to visit along with Carly, Maddie and George. Pony grooming is normally highest on the list but the cria got star billing yesterday. Instructions were given to keep hands down and to avoid sudden movements:

That's it hands down...Finnian comes to check Maddie out...


...but he looks like he will be really soft...

Yes very soft!

Velvet had a very busy day with all the attention from the children and plenty of fresh air. Definitely dog tired when you can sleep next to Paul's shoes!

Velvet...dog napping!

Paul has made the decision to cut the hay field tomorrow. The weather forecast isn't fantastic but we are going for it. Plans were for the girls with cria to be grazing the hay field by now. We want to get them moved in order to get a new concrete floor laid in the barn. Much easier for scrubbing out than rubber mats and it will hopefully cut down on the toe nail trimming requirements! 

And finally one for Jill... George on a very fat Gypsy...she is on restricted grass hard as it is to believe!

George and Gypsy

Thursday 12 August 2010

Hindered by the new farm hand....

Alpaca tasks seem to be taking a little longer to complete this week than is the norm. I think the problem might be trying to do everything with a small black puppy tucked under one arm. Velvet has settled in well and is very well behaved. However, she does have this way of making me feel guilty about leaving her in her cage; so much so that I end up taking her everywhere with me.

Having a small dog sitting on your shoulder does mean that getting photos of the alpacas paying attention is so much easier:

Explorer, Camilla, Tabitha, Nancy & Lucie

Kenzie & Explorer...the big boys!

Checking Velvet out over the fence...no far too big and scary for Nancy!

Yesterday I went to collect approximately 70kg of top quality white alpaca fleece from a local breeder. As I only purchase fleece under 25microns and pay a premium for fleece under 22 microns this normally means being reliant upon getting the micron assessment right using eye or handle. However on this occasion the task was made so much easier by fleece stats being available for every fleece.

 Fantastic... I have taken a sample from each fleece and labelled it with the micron count (as I do with my own). All good practice guessing the micron than checking the actual results....I know this may seem a little sad but it does rain a lot in Cumbria! I now have the task of getting it all skirted and off to the mill but with 35kg under 22 microns we should have some really lovely wool to work with again this year.

The monthly vet bill arrived this morning. Thinking that I only had a bottle of Finadyne and some eye drops to pay for I was surprised to see £95.40 in the due column. I had forgotten that we had had a Sunday call out at the beginning of the month. We had noticed that Bonita had a small prolapse and concerned that she may need a stitch to prevent things worsening we had called the vet. Why do these things always happen on a Sunday? ....and worse still why do they always correct themselves before the vet actually arrives! Good news really as the prolapse has required no treatment. If we hadn't called the vet it would have been the wrong decision of course!

Monday 9 August 2010

Sometimes things happen for a reason....

Sometimes things are just meant to be. Example:

Dog gets lost. I find it. I return dog to owner. Owner shows me her puppies; all sold and ready to go. Phone call from prospective new owner - mother taken seriously ill can no longer take puppy. Puppy is very gorgeous. I am there!

Problems:
  1. Paul is in London at a friend's wedding and I cannot contact him
  2. I haven't got the cheque book with me
Solution:
  1. I return with cheque in hand and Paul gets a surprise welcome home!
  2. I find somewhere else to live very quickly!
Luckily Paul thinks that Velvet is rather cute. I do think that she would be hard for anyone to resist. A Jack Russell x Cocker Spaniel:


Velvet...no wellies!



Oscar checking out Velvet

 In a playful mood

She may be the smallest but Velvet is not the youngest resident at Beck brow; Nutmeg still retains that title. Nutmeg is the reason that Paul was a wedding gooseberry.  Blanche was supposed to be due around now but decided to deliver at 323-days!

Nutmeg is growing well. I love the way that she does a really big stretch when she stands after wakening. My Mum was is a farmer's daughter as well as a farmer's wife and always says "they're not ailing much when they stretch like that" . So I always take it as a good sign.


Nutmeg having a good old stretch!

Saturday 7 August 2010

Alpaca shelters and dog beds...

Yet another wet start to the weekend with haymaking off the agenda again. By the amount of poo cleaning required in the barn this morning it looks like it has rained for most of the night. Our girls really don't like getting wet.

Our 'barn' was actually purpose built to breed chickens (previous owners) and we have converted it to provide a number of pens and a handling system. We have taken off some panelling to make it completely open on one side leaving an overhang to keep out the rain. It seems to be this openness that the alpacas really like as this is without doubt the most popular accommodation that we have.

We have learned along the way that the alpacas have definite preferences about shelters. One of our buildings, designed for horses, was initially not at all popular with any of the alpacas.We took down the internal stable walls but still they didn't seem happy. Eventually, we decided that the problem was lack of light due to the single opening. Cheapest solution; we hung acrylic mirrors on the darkest walls to reflect the light back and make any dark corners less scary.

Now you may be thinking that I am mad, but it has worked (something I learnt from my horse owning days). However, as that particular shelter has wall heaters as well as mirrors, I do have to put up with quite a few quips about "getting a flat screen T.V. for the wall!". But joking apart, plenty of light does seem to be important if shelters are to be used.

We had some visitors yesterday who are possibly interested in keeping alpacas at some point in the future. It was raining when they arrived but at least all the mums and babies had come inside to be seen. Nutmeg was especially sweet and let 18 month old Savannah stroke her nose. Thankfully the rain did ease off as Josh was especially keen to see the boys:

Almost Illegal and Nimrod enjoying some attention...can you just see that little hand at Nimrod's nose...It's not easy feeding an alpaca with such tiny hands!

I have just started introducing Tyke into the cria field. The girls are usually pretty good with Tyke and Oscar (dogs that they know) but it is always best to be careful where new mums and cria are concerned. Katkin especially gives him some frightening looks but he knows to stay well away from her. Roma did think about chasing him but even a miniature Yorkshire Terrier can look scary when it wants to:

Tyke standing his ground with Roma
Please note Paul was on dog watching duty, I was just the photographer!

It was more spit-offs again this morning and with everyone refusing his advances we decided to let Hollwood have a date with Blanche. Blanche was only 2 weeks postpartum yesterday but she had a very easy birth and was keen to be mated. Blanche will be the last of our girls to be mated here this year as we have decided to leave Bahati empty over winter. We will mate her with Viracocha Black Sabbath early next year (fingers crossed that he will be working).

Completely non-alpaca related but as Tyke got a mention it is Tyke related; We have just got a new bed. A 6ft super king size bed to be exact. What luxury to be able to toss and turn without someone complaining. Tyke however seems to think we have bought a bigger bed to accommodate a small dog!


Cute?

Finally I sure you may have already seen the CGU Insurance advert - Bill the alpaca breeder, but if not I am sure that it will make you smile .Click on following link to You tube to view (you will need the volume on to appreciate)  www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkJnRStDRNw - 93k

Thursday 5 August 2010

Bravery awards for all...

Well what a start to the day; This morning I went downstairs to be greeted by a bat sitting on the worktop. Now I am used to finding headless rabbits and bits of mouse lying about the house thanks to Sam the alpaca cat, but this looked a bit scary. I opened a few windows and pointed then out to Mr Bat but he was obviously as blind as… In the end I managed to remove him from the premises with the aid of a cereal bowl and a chopping board. All in one piece I should add. He flew off happily and I felt rather pleased with myself...no screaming at all!

Drama number 2; an alarm call from the boys paddock. Now Nimrod can be a little highly strung, his high alert call usually just means that a stray cat has looked at him. However on this occasion the boy did well. I looked out and I immediately saw that Julius was in some kind of trouble. He was down on his side and wasn't for getting up when I called. Nimrod was screeching and keeping the other boys away from him (a very green scene). When I got closer I could see that Julius had somehow managed to get all four legs tangled in the wooden gate. Now I know this is sounding like an episode of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (need to be middle aged to understand that one) but my heart was racing.

Nimrod had got himself into such a frenzied state I wasn’t sure that he would let me near but he was fine. I managed to get Julius freed and couldn’t see any obvious damage but he was clearly rather sore. He got a shot of Finadyne (anti-inflammatory) and I will keep an eye on him. But what a hero Nimrod turned out to be. He and Julius have always been inseparable but alpacas still never cease to amaze me. Maybe Explorer will rescue me from the beck one day after all!

Taking of my boy; he and Roma appear to have become very good friends since their trip out together to Fowberry Alpacas. The concern is... is Explorer having a negative influence on Roma? I am sure that they are beginning to look alike:


Roma trying out the Explorer look...just the right amount of grump!


Spot on Roma...even in profile

Kenzie, Explorer and Roma have obviously created the elite cria group. Membership appears to involve some kind of complicated secret neck shake:


I'm not sure if Noah was trying to undertake some kind of initiation test in order to join the group this morning; maybe the task was to steal a drink from Galaxy as Kenzie had done? Whatever, Galaxy was mighty mad with him:


Phoebe has had her last injection of florenfenicol (Nuflor) this morning. Her tooth abscess seems to have gone completely and the hole is healing over. I decided to complete the full 6-week course just to try to ensure we don’t get a recurrence as we did when using Amoxypen. Phoebe is very strange in that she much prefers to be injected intramuscularly (IM) rather than subcutaneously (S/C). She makes a real fuss about S/C injections but doesn’t even flinch about IM injections. Phoebe is not your average alpaca it has to be said!

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Camelid IgG testing in practice.

Thank you for all your comments on the photo blog. I thought that I would do a more serious posting today, just incase I have given the impression that I just lie in the paddock all day...it was just a lucky 15 minutes Mark!

I thought it may be useful to share some thoughts on the IgG testing kit that we purchased earlier this year.
Some of you may recall that in an earlier blog I discussed the loss of a 4-day old cria from last year. We had waited 24 hours for camelid specific IgG results and then when we did find the result to be low, we did not have the required plasma to hand. We vowed never to be in that same position again.

Hence, this year we ensured that we had plentiful supplies of plasma, donated by our own boys and in the freezer ready for the birthing season. We also purchased a DVM rapid Test kit (for testing specific IgG levels) a centrifuge (for spinning the blood to obtain serum for testing) and camelid plasma reagent (required for the test). The test gives a camelid specific result within 30 minutes and is obviously much more accurate than a general serum protein level (also obtained relatively quickly)

When we purchased the kit it was suggested by our vet that that in order to monitor for failure of passive transfer (FPT) that we should test levels of IgG on all of our cria at 48-hours of age. We however, always envisaged that it would only be a tool to monitor levels of those predisposed to FPT e.g. premature or difficult births. For very sick cria we obviously wouldn't wait for results. It is really the ones that you are just not sure about where it is especially useful.

Our plan was to bottle feed plasma if necessary (or tube feed if the cria was weak) within the first 6 hours and up to 24 hours of age. However in practice we have found bottle fed plasma (even when mixed with powdered colostrum to improve the taste) does not appear to be especially palatable, whereas cow’s colostrum is taken readily.

Here lies the problem; if we give cows colostrum the camelid specific test results become meaningless. This morning I have been in contact with Light Livestock Equipment (our supplier) to ask their advice. It appears that the best solution would be to purchase some bovine reagent for testing levels, either in conjunction with camelid levels, or if the majority of the intake in the first 12 hours has been cow’s colostrum then to conduct the bovine test alone. Normal levels are different but these are easily converted as they have explained.

At the moment I have not been able to find a UK supplier of the bovine reagent. Shipping costs from the USA are expensive as refrigerated transportation is required (if anyone knows of a cheaper option please let me know!). Classical MileEnd Alpacas now stock the camelid reagent.

Thankfully we have only had to give a plasma transfusion to one of our cria this year. Explorer’s IgG levels were <100mg/dl (minimum level for adequate passive transfer considered to be 800mg/dl) putting him at high risk that any introduction to infection could have been fatal for him.

Plasma was given intravenously at a rate of 25mls/Kg BW. After an initial I.V. dose of flunixin meglumine (Finadyne) in case of an inflammatory reaction, the plasma was transfused slowly via a catheter inserted into the jugular vein. This was given in conjunction with a course of prophylactic antibiotics.

In conclusion; Has it been a good investment? We have actually only used the kit on one occasion so far (kit cost around £1000 complete with reagent). However, I do believe that without the facilities to test his levels quickly and administer the plasma at the appropriate time, Explorer would quite likely not be with us now. Therefore, would we make the investment again: 100% yes. Absolutely! I adore the grumpy boy with the garlic breath (please may he continue to thrive).


It looks like it has stopped raining. Time for a lie in the paddock with the camera and hopefully a more interesting blog next time!

Sunday 1 August 2010

The St Leger....

Apologies for over doing the cria blogging; I couldn't resist sharing this afternoon's entertainment:


On your marks: From the right Lucie, Tabitha & Kenzie.


and it's Tabitha who takes an early lead...


he's on long odds but Finnian appears from nowhere to go out front...



but is  Finnian too busy posing as they close in from behind? ...


...a  photo finish but Kenzie takes it by an ear!

Whilst lazing about in the paddock I even managed to get a photo of myself being stood upon...cheers Parisien: