Article: Trish Swales
History has been made in Zimbabwe with the birth of our Arabian foals. Conceived through artificial insemination, this is the first time in Zim that the process has resulted in a successful pregnancy done by breeders themselves, within the Arabian breed. We had been inspired to use this method as it is the only way many international breeders perform their breeding. Using artificial insemination has many advantages, including the reduced risk of injury and spread of disease.
We were thrilled when our long-awaited foals started arriving in December last year, and since then we couldn’t wait to share them with the horse community and public. The gift of a new life is such an incredible miracle! We have four pure bred Arabian foals and three Anglo Arab colts. As pictured below:
Left to right: SS Rhema El Chayim (FS Mozart x FS Russian Doll) an Arabian filly and SS Sammartino (FS Mozart x FS Sweet Inspiration) our only Arabian colt this season.
Left to right: SS Horatio (FS Mozart x Ride of Honour), SS It’s Maverick (FS Thunder x Rivens I’m Magic), and SS Sundance (FS Mozart x Sunkist) our three Anglo-Arab colts.
Left to right: SS Tehilah (FS Mozart x FS Talyta) and SS Sariyah (FS Mozart x FS Sashay Skye), our other two Arabian fillies.
We have high hopes for each foal. The Arabians will be trained in halter showing, endurance, and riding.
Our morning began with a riding display of our stallions – FS Phantom (FS Spartacus x FS PS I Love You) ridden by Alannah and FS Mozart (*Jasper MC (USA) x FS Miniona) ridden by Kylee in the arena. We then showed each of our foals, individually walking them into the arena and demonstrating their halter training. Their halters were removed to let them run free and perform – putting their tails up and running in their graceful manner. The Arabian foals had their dam accompany them, it was a beautiful sight. Sean introduced each foal, discussing their pedigree and their attributes.
Left to right: FS Phantom and FS Mozart.
After showing the foals, we brought out our available Arabs– FS Little King (*Mosaic V (USA) x FS Shining Victory) a two-and-a-half-year-old gelding with a lot of promise in the endurance or riding market and FS Mae Maria (*Jasper MC (USA) x FS Mae Margeaux), a four-year-old filly who is a granddaughter of world renowned ‘The Champion Maker’ – WH Justice. SS Little King is excelling in his training program and will be backed later in the year. FS Mae Maria is a very affectionate, sweet mare who is under saddle and has recently started show jumping and dressage. She did very well in her first show and came second in her jumping class.
Left to right: FS Little King and FS Mae Maria.
FS Mozart, who sired six of our stunning foals, was then presented. He is also on the market as we have his brothers, FS Thunder (*Jasper MC (USA) x FS Talyta) and FS So Magnifico (*Jasper MC (USA) x FS So Viva Magnifica), who have begun their breeding journey in our program and will take Mozart’s place in which he has fulfilled so well. Mozart is beautiful under saddle, enjoys outrides and has a lovely nature.
We then showed the father to our Anglo-colt SS It’s Maverick, FS Phantom. His grandsire was the awesome performance horse *Baywatch V (USA), and those lines of strength and durability shine through FS Phantom. We hope to do more coverings with him this year and are working him under saddle.
Performing and showing themselves off, FS Thunder and FS So Magnifico then each entered the arena and put on a wonderful display. They are the stallions we are using for this year’s crop of foals, as well as FS Phantom. They are currently undergoing training for riding later this year and halter showing.
Left to right: FS So Magnifico and FS Thunder.
We had the finale with five horses displayed in the arena, ridden by Alannah (FS Mae Maria), Kylee (FS Shining Victory), Yanke (*HS Esponita (UK)), Tamsyn (FS Phantom) and Dani (FS Mozart). Kylee and Shining Victory went over a few jumps, and it was a spectacular end to the show.
Left to right: FS Mozart, FS Mae Maria, and FS Phantom.
Left to right: HS Esponita and FS Shining Victory.
We proceeded after a vote of thanks, to watch Alannah training FS Little King in the arena with long lines – which promote muscle strengthening along the top line and prepare him for being backed. It was wonderful to spend some time with like-minded folk over punch, snacks, and a light lunch with burgers on the braai.
Left to right: SS Little King in the long lines and FS Mozart getting cuddles. We had a fantastic turn out and we are grateful for the opportunity we had to share in the joy of our foals, present our stallions and horses for sale. Spreading the word about these special horses is one of our goals. We look forward to the next event at the Zimbabwean Arabian National Championships on April 20th.