Welcome To

On The Farm 

After years of breeding Angus cattle on our beautiful properties west of Esperance, as a family we made the decision to breed horses suitable for use on the farm, working the cows, and away from home, as mounts for pony club, campdrafting, eventing---whatever equestrian pursuit they are needed for at any particular time!

We decided that the Australian Stock Horses was the breed for us; purpose bred to work stock, but versatile enough to allow our children to enjoy pony club, polocrosse and hacking at local shows.

We are not aiming to breed horses that will event at Olympic level, though Australian Stock Horses have shown they can do that, or to win gold cups in campdrafting, but we are aiming to breed horses that will work at home, quietly and calmly getting the job done and allowing our children to do the job safely, and then calmly and quietly get on the horse float, go to town, plaited and brushed, and allow them to enjoy a dressage test or showjumping round. Safely and happily!

Up until now, the horses we have already had have had to do exactly that; stock horse one day, eventer the next. Ranging in size from 11hh to 16.2hh, we have been blessed with a range of equine friends to suit our children, aged from five to 17, as they have grown up on the farm.

But as those horses have aged, we have seen a need for more horses like them, and so the breeding operation has started.

After a search for bloodlines that suited our needs, we purchased two fillies, Cunnamore Slingshot and Cunnamore Calibre from the Cunnamore Stud at Mount Barker. We also purchased Easterly from the same stud. She is a Brown Chans Way mare, and was in foal to Tinagroo Winchester when we bought her.

We also purchased a gelding, Cunnamore Huntsman, who at four years of age slotted in to the family like an old hand, going to pony club, hacking, doing a few dressage tests, attending the pony club riding camp, and chasing a few cows at the local campdraft.

To increase broodmare numbers, we purchased Escholar October from the Esperance Senior High School's  horse stud.

Recently we purchased a yearling from Qualia Stud: Qualia Cufflink, by Binnia Impressive Destiny out of Haydon Brooch. He is a lovely little chap and we hope his bloodlines and temperament will work well with what we already have, and resulting foals will be just what we are after!

So that is that, the start of the stud! The first foal is on the ground and in the process of being weaned, and the horses that we already had continue to form the backbone of the team that carries out the stock work and off farm work on a regular basis, but we are confident that the animals we have purchased, and those that we are breeding, will ultimately take their place as all rounders doing whatever they are asked to do!



 

Categories

Christmas and a New Year!

January 2, 2015
So this is Christmas, and as the song goes, .."another year over..": and what have we done?

Well, not a lot of competing, but the horses are certainly continuing to dominate our lives!
 

Easter and the Rabbit's (or Bilby's) Dilemma....

April 21, 2014




Well, the Easter weekend in almost over. Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and every year this day coincides with the second day of the annual Munglinup EASTER Campdraft (funny, that!). A marvellous weekend, and sensible planning because it gives plenty of people time to travel to our part of the world from far afield.

But the timing presents the Easter Bunny (or Bilby, depending on your background!) with a few issues. It is hard enough having children spread all over the place at the best of times...
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The Rain has Come!

March 21, 2013
Autumn is here and good falls of delicious rain have transformed the faded summer pastures to fields of green. Still short, but quickly growing in the warm days we have had, the pastures are rapidly recovering from the long dry, and all of the animals are enjoying having greens in their diet again!

Last year's foals ar growing too fast, like children. We wish they would stay little and amusing for ever! Both Poppy and Hal are already revealing their abilities. Poppy is an agile, quick turning,...
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Old Friends

January 12, 2013

Just how old Scorcher is, none of us really know, but the sprightly youngster has been with us since Rosemary turned four years of age, and that was over fifteen years ago!

She is still sound of limb, alert and aging gracefully, and we enjoy her company immensely. Like Rosie’s other soulmate, Wally the Wonder Horse, Scorchy is enjoying the right to wander the shed paddock and surrounds, picking on the best kikuyu and forage available, turning up like clockwork for her evening feed.

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The New Year Dawns!

January 2, 2013
January 1 is here. As I write, the New Year has been off to a scorching start---with temperatures outside the house soaring to way above 40C and focus has been on celebrating the year past, the advent of the new one---and plumbing! Making sure all stock are watered and cool, and even with a house full of guests and fun to be had, plumbing problems must be solved!

With two new foals on the ground, Miss Moneypenny (Poppy) and Whitehall (Hal), all hands are vigilantly participating in foal handli...
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The Waiting Game continues...

November 10, 2012
We have one foal on the ground. After a month of anxious paddock walking, fretting about just how many days overdue a mare could possibly be, in the small wee hours of October 28, Tullie gave birth to a precious little filly. At this stage it looks like she is a buckskin. Small, quiet, friendly---but with that strength that foals have that always seems to outweigh their size! Already able to run and buck with the best of them, she is a treasure.
Tullie is proving to be a wonderful mother. She...
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Waiting...waiting...waiting

October 25, 2012
Spring is well and truly here: we have mulberries on the tree, two chicks newly hatched (thanks to the efforts of a determined and patient hen who has been broody for nearly two months), and the broodmares are out with the stallion.
Our two new lovely ladies, Tullie and Star are blossoming as motherhood approaches. However, the watched kettle never boils and it seems that we are going to be waiting FOREVER! The foaling kit is on hand, the children are on alert.....
Meanwhile, the hustle and bu...
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Training, Team-Penning and Tullie

October 9, 2012
It has been an exciting horsey time down here in the deep south-east, with horses dominating proceedings for much of the time, largely due to the fact that it is spring, and broodmares are out with the stallion, and that it is calf-weaning time, so the troops have been spending a great deal of time on horseback moving cows and calves around the countryside. Might not be much good in terms of show preparation, but these are stock horses!

On September 22 Lofty and Barbara and Alexandra and Guine...
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Spring

September 16, 2012
Spring has sprung, the grass and clover grow and as the days lengthen the horses' coats are starting to shine. Cufflink is out with the mares, DNA tested and with his stallion registration paperwork in hand.
Meanwhile, the other horses are working away, combining stock work with outings away from home. Most recently Black Tave, Bruisers (Papa's Pride: he is Dad's horse!) and Guiness took part in the South East Zone PCAWA one day event, all competing in D-Grade.
All three managed to survive all...
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Winter

July 5, 2012
Winter is here, the days are shorter and the mallee roots are crackling on the open fire in the living room. While the mornings are beautiful and crisp, the cold weather makes it harder for enthusiastic early morning riding ventures!

Despite this, during the last two months, we (Alexandra particularly!) have now got saddles and bridles on the two young colts, Cufflink and Shooting the Moon, and they are working well.

While Moo is only exploring the early steps of life as a riding horse, Cuffy ...
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