Today Start was well again. No swelling, no warmth. So he got a walk in the rain, firm surface. Rain, rain, drizzling rain, the one with mini-drops but that you get really soaked from. But I am not complaining. Yesterday Donoso got a workout with a snaffle, not because he likes it but because his mum likes to check how he does on it once and a while. But Donut can't stand it, he grinds his teeth because of that stupid snaffle. He only likes a certain material of steel (it's the light golden one can't remember the name of it) and the snaffle is a normal gold but. So I have to order a new one for him if I want to keep 'snaffling'. Today I rode with his double bridle and he was all smiley and quiet again. The bar bit is 1 cm too big but he loves THAT one, and NO other. Donoso has a big personality and likes his details. He always wet his hay so watercup has to be cleaned everyday otherwise he won't drink as it is full of hay. He wants (warm) water after work. He can't stand the shower in the face. When you clean his backfeet he stretches them. If I talk on the phone or with someone else in the stable he pinch me or if I am not closeby he puts his leg somewhere inconvenient like between a bucket and its handle to attract my attention. Just to take it out quietly without breaking or getting stuck in when I come back. The best reweard is to let him canter fast, low and loose (with a WIDE angle) after work. He LOVES his mummy. He does not care for sweets or carrots as long as he has the attention of his person. He accepts she has to go out with the other boys but only because he knows she has to. And because he knows SHE loves him back. Donut got his diagonal of tempi twos today, it was the third time he did them. No new pictures but here's some of my favourites in replay.

Donoso VII February 2012

April 2012  

      SICAB 2009  

After medical visit today I decided to award myself with some swedish sweets that I have a constant have craving for. Arriving to the shop I did not see a sharp curb, hit it hard and exploded my tire.. But luck was on my side and polite police (local, not guardia civil) actually helped my changing my tyre after a 20 min search for tools that were hidden in strange places in my car. But what great good guys! So swedish sweets became a expensive story since I am having swedish version of tyres really great for all climates and for pulling the trailer in crappy weather conditions, of course impossible to find in Spain so needs to be imported from Sweden. It's crap I know, but better with a explosion on a curb than explosion with a horse in the trailer,..

The other day we went to visit Donoso and Halagador babies born in April this year, they were both incredibly tall and very beautiful. Halagador got a filly and her mum brown/black, around 165 cm with 3 white feet and a star. The filly is jet black no white markings, tall and very feminine. She did not get Halagador's beautiful head, her hook angle is alittle bit too wide and her movements are not very powerful but she is a elegant, adorable and a very pretty lady. This breeder sells all male offspring and keeps the females for breeding and riding :)

Maestranza

   
Donoso's boy is a copy of himself and even though his mum has white legs and star he came out totally bay no white markings. He has powerful movements and a beautiful totally correct conformation. He is closely related to Donita VIK as her mother and the mother to this colt are also halfsisters, both sired by Delegado MAC. This is a incredibly cool guy that rolled himself around in the grass next to our feet, lot's of personality and selfconfidence. A mini-Donoso, one of the two only male D-offsprings and most certainly a future campeón - FOR SALE :) 

Both are 6 months now and now weaned from their mums. 

Don Donoso

Neither are not yet registered, there are a few Donoso's offspring not yet registered;

- Yeguada Windy Hill in Sweden has 1 black filly from 2011

- Yeguada Zorro PRE in Sweden has 2, one grey 2010 filly and one bay 2012 filly 

- And this bay boy in Spain 

Makes a total of 8 PRE Donoso VII offspring. 

Halagador has 10 offspring.

Still enjoying warmdays but air has definitely gone higher so it is the perfect weather now, warm but not hot and less dry air. Today a little poolrelax with barbecue and I do not complain. I have had some more physical symptoms, now my muscles are having ticks a little here and there so I am giving myself a big dose of magnesium as this helps relax muscles. Also Adrenal, ginkobilboa, linseed oil, and colloidal silver. Tomorrow I am visiting a new doctor, taking all my files and let's see what this one says.. Will also see a new specialist next month so I want to do all tests again to have my blood 'updated' for that. Full time job this fibro-maintainace I can tell you. 

I have also changed horses diet now that temperatures has gone down, I like to keep them lighter during hottest months to avoid colics. I also believe it is good to change pellets, its a abit boring for them to keep eating the same all the time and for nutritional purposes. Now they get alfalfa hay and a different pellets, same base but with different additives and alittle higher in energy. So I am boosting up on protein and energy. During change of diet I give them Probimin, a swedish product of lactobacteria excellent for digestion.  

Also I have said yes to make a new collection of Donoso for Australia. I had to think about it as it is a whole month without him as he has to go to breedingstation in Aranjuez and fit it in with competition schedule. He is in top competiton condition now, working PSG on a snaffle, starting on tempi twos and passage is just working beautiful. But breeding is part of his job and Australia could be a interesting project and development of PRE breeding. So I decided to give it a go if we can agree about the conditions which I am sure will be no problem. 

Here some pictures from 2009 to now. Donoso is the first horse I have taught piaffe and passage myself and we have done it all on our own. I am very proud of him and enjoy every day seeing him develop and get his merits and curriculum together. Here's a photo blackflash of a few of the highlights :)

Campeón de la Raza & Campeón de Funcionalidad 2009 Sweden

SICAB 2009

TRC Talavera Reproductor Calificado 2011

Training piaffe/ passage 2012
 

Visit by equine artist Elise Genest Canada 2012  
Prix St George debute Valencia 2012

 
Photos; Javier Villard

Wow, what a week! Three days with English clients, on thursday I rode Halagador in the morning for mexican client then drove 600 km with England to see 3 of the selected 6 horses. Friday we saw two horses in the morning and then I took team UK to Barajas. They left with 3 selected candidates. Thank you so much to Sam, Jo and Nick for 3 great days!

I decided to drop in for a massage after 2 hours and 38 degrees of slow Madrid-friday-traffic. It turned out to be a good plan because in the evening although late I had energy to ride Donoso and Start, which was great as competition was coming up and I had not had time to ride during the week..

Saturday morning off to stables and fixi-fixi polish Donoso and his things and then arrived to Segovia in the afternoon. Just in time to get ready and do Donoso's second Prix St George. It was really really really hot and everything was double the work but this horse is such a star, 100% cooperative, always. You would never know he is a stallion, he doesn't say a word nor lifts an eyebrow. We got 60% and the changes are now better, he got most of them and forms are overall more fluid. Very proud of beautiful Donoso!

No pictures but here's a short clip before entering

Came home 20.30 looked at Start and realized no way did I have energy to ride him. Shit, I know he gets red hot chili pepper if I don't ride but I was to tired. And yep, not only did I have a hot horse but also a angy horse.. Start absolutely hate the flies, he kicked, bucked, fussed in warm-up and I felt that better cool him down that warm him up. We applied lots of fly repellent but it didn't help, Start was NOT happy as you can see..

Also he had his hat on for the first time ever, and he didn't like hat either.. Unfortunately it was absolutely necessary for the flies. So in I went with my angry hot horse and full of energy to do his second Int I. He did many beautiful forms and did not misbehave, he was abit nervous so I talked him through it step by step and he does want to be a good boy. But he did invent a new move for the day.. a giraff head shake upwards.. that he performed as a protest to the hat and the very hated flies.. So in between a very good canter pirouette and after a good extended canter and before a great flying change, head went straight up in the air.. Not sure how he manages to get that move in and still do forms like nothing happened. Start; I am trying to perform here and these flies are so in my way! So of course judges did not like this extra activity and we got 58% but ok, next time I will have special fly cream repellent for Starti and we will talk about the hat!

Start doing his second Intermedia I in Segovia

Now I will catch up with emails and then the rest of the day off, have a great new week everyone! 

Hasn't exactly been a restful weekend, I have not stopped as everything has to be prepared and I honestly do not know how I will get to that competition in Segovia, remains to be seen.. All three boys has been working out non stop except friday. It is hot so evening jobs and three horses working full is really too much, no matter how much I would like it not to be, it just is. On tuesday Mexico arrives and on wednesday England. I hope they will find what they are looking for, lots of preparation is done. So here we go non stop tuesday to sunday! It will be interesting to see how I find time to ride my horses these days.. I realized my extremely wild 10 week old doggy is just not going to be at all cooperative with clients and kilometres in car so that gave my mother a reason to come and escape rainy Sweden, lovely!

Wishing you all a very nice new summer week!

Donoso in Valencia

Summer is wonderful time for everyone and especially for breeders as all new little lives is coming out and new ones are being made. I have always tried to make it as easy as possibly can for the mareowners. But now I have to ask you for some cooperation, breeding is a teamwork and a mutual responsability.

Donoso is breeding in Spain and Scandinavia, i.e Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark. We provided the Swedish National Stud Flyinge Donoso's frozen semen and their service has been impeccable thanks to professional staff, a special thanks to Susanne that could not have done a more efficient and correct job. It was a true pleasure working with you! Now Skåne Semin stores and manages Donoso's semen http://www.skanesemin.se/ 

Donoso's semen holds excellent quality and is guaranteed by Dra Concha Cuetara Gomez. Dña Cuetara is a teacher at the veterinarian faculty in Madrid and has managed Donoso's semen from collection to packing and sending. She manages most of Spains top stud stallions, Fuego etc, and send to breedingstations all over the world. Whilst collecting she told me very few stallions has as high sperm quality as Donoso and Concha has seen most of them. As Donoso is a TRC stallion the semen is also guaranteed by the Veterinarian faculty in Cordoba. 

So on my behalf as a stallionowner I have fullfilled my part of the responsability guranteeing the quality of the semen and making it physically available to Scandinavia. It is up to the mareowner to provide the mare in a good condition to be in foal and this part has also worked out fine. The vets has generally done a good job as most mares inseminated has been confirmed in foal by first insemination. But the managing of Donoso's semen has not been acceptable. I consider this a responsability of the mareowner rather than the veterinarian as the services are contracted by the mareowner. 

- One mare was inseminated and confirmed in foal. She was exposed to stressful circumstances and she reabsorbed the foal. If veterinarian is attentive they can see on the contour outline of fetal bladder is not regular and this indicates that the mare will most likely loose the pregnancy and go into heat again. This happened to this mare and when she was about to get her second insemination the semen was totally distroyed because the vet had not stored it properly. However the veterianian did not communicate this error and so new semen could not be ordered. The mareowner has paid for the veterinarian services and the transport of semen and she has not had a foal. And I have not been compensated for the loss of my dosis. Frozen semen is very practical as it can be used at any time but please make sure you contract a professional veterinarian that is certified to use frozen semen. 

- Most mareowners were sent several dosis. I have had very little communciation of what has happened to the rest of the dosis? Where is it stored? How many dosis was used and are left over? I only know it was not returned as Flyinge has kindly communicated all transport. So I would be very greatful for this information. 

Princesa born 2012, here 5 weeks e. Donoso VII

Hello everyone! Have entered a slight holiday mode, thank you very much for your caring emails and messages, all is just very well thank you! Last thursday we left for a 8 hour trip to Valencia so that Donoso could do his first Prix St George, so exciting! We had much fun combining family holiday with competition and 30 degrees right by the mediterranean beach in Valencia, and I am so proud of my beautiful talented horse! We drove with trailer and two caravan cars and arrived 8 hours later. A few hours late we were trained and Donut did all his forms beautifully, here's the collection of his tempis that were simply super that day.

We have entered some kind of rainperiod, the wishes for rain is slowly coming to an end.. But it doesn't matter, rainy days give time to imagination and inspiration for new plans..

Yesterday Donoso did his first tempis-twos-all-in-one-diagonal! He went into a new supercollected canter, coolest guy in town So now he's is incribed to his first dressage competition in Spain! And it will be no less than the CDN*** MEDITERRANEAN EQUESTRIAN TOUR in Valencia! List of participants here  

Wish us luck, hu, I will be so nervous.. 

Donoso and I competing in Sweden 2009