Brr we are freeezing here! Today the sun was out but it's a grim wind and the mountains are covered with snow. But I keep riding yes yes determined to be the good swedish example! Following up on the Israel theme it's now one year ago since I sold Halagador, here he is in his new home greeting his lovely person under the israeli sun and in 24 degrees wow!  

January 2014
 
 

News! I am now offering Chula and Euforia for sale and preferrably to same person because they are real sweety-sisters. So you who is interested in a top class buckskin filly/fillies with superior pedigree for dressage/breeding please contact me on viktoria.vikingapre@gmail.com or visit their respective pages on Vikinga's homepage www.horsespreviktoria.com under Offspring. They are both tested negative on piroplasmosis and can be shipped to good hands anywhere in the world, welcome to contact me for any info, shipping prices or other. 

My beautiful girls! 

So was it finally time to disconnect emotionally and hand over Halagador, and yes it is hard work. Yes I am a sensitive person so it can't be any other way, and I don't want it to be. Yesterday we had a last ride with 'brother' Donoso and Maya got another feel-him-in, this time in a very high level of energy! He showed her his full-on repetoar with +++ energy and he even took her for a little naughty-run   They will do great together when they get time to connect at home in Israel. Find connection, maintain it, get into leadership and make it all fun! Good luck!

So here's my focus, the new little light in my life. 'Chula-hopp' never stops running and jumping and is a super happy and cool baby!   
She now has her own page with link to family album etc; 

http://www.vikingapre.com/1/chula_vik_690406.html
Chula 5 days old
          

Riding in hailstorms and rain lately, hardly glamorous but there are worse things. Drove Donoso to Aranjuez to do his re-freezing, trotted him into the trailer as it started to snow and I have a steep slope to climp up coming out from the farm. D cooperative as always and no problem to do it all myself with him. He knew exactly what kind of holidays were waiting when we arrived :) Other than than really nothing new under the sun, that came out for a moment this afternoon.
Tico & Tino, best playmates with funky hair :)
              
H continues doing the bloodtests and working out normal. Here with student David today :)

   
Start working out well but not liking the sticky floor, makes him upset. He is so sensitive and moody so it's not easy to get him regular when he isn't totally happy with the stepping. I was thinking about doing a CDN middle of February, there are 2 new Intermediate programs A and B and they seems fun as they have tempi-ones, passage and piaffe. My plan was to bring Donoso as he's working the Int.I well on the snaffle now, but now he had to go and do his job so not sure he'll make it, and Nova is due that very weekend. Well, I'll go with the flow and see if it'll takes us there or not. Now giving my time and working alot with clients, there are some very interesting horses for sale right now so feels fun! Have a great weekend everyone! 

Viggo.

Halagador has appoved of his new person and it will be no less exciting than the diverse country of Israel! Halagador will be in the very best and professional hands and we are happy he will bring the beauty of the spanish culture and art to this wonderful part of the world. 

I post these pictures and clips and let them speak for themselves.
Last shots of Halagador, go on lovely.  

Congratulations MAYA, BECAUSE YOU'RE WORTH IT!

Here's a picture I bought when I visited Jerusalem years ago of an orthodox jew at the sacred wailing wall. Israel is a country I would love to visit again and because of our new friends and Hagge I will now have a good reason to! I am so thankful to see how our horses make it possible to establish beautiful connections no matter borders, race, language or religion   Our best wishes to Maya and Gulan.

Just have to brag about the weather, we have neverending sunshine, dry floors and high crisp air,  l o v e l y  and such luxury when you are working with horses! Didn't get much sleep after fun lucia-party yesterday so greatful for sun as I had a stable-marathon to do today. Donoso stepped off a shoe yesterday so started to knock it on, no problem 3minutes and done, go me. Did Donoso followed by Camaron that has now started light work from the ground, he's such a cool guy love him! Then Starti. Halagador got the day off as he did a great workout yesterday, happy to be at home again and super happy to work with him again! Hagge is really getting there now and regular workouts for 1,5 month has done him well. And he has learned how to squat so won't need a chair to get up anylonger, sweet :)
Here we are under the trees yesterday, I just love the nature in these pictures and and the colour contrasts against the black are just great, I think.  
                            
Photocredit to Javier, as always. 

This summer two breeders from Denmark inseminated 5 mares with Donoso VII and all 5 was confirmed in foal after first insemination. As my swedish storage was running out they had to share 3 dosis between all 5 of them but these incredible mares was confirmed on first insemination and there are still straws left over for next year!! Super fertile Donoso! Awesome mares! And warm thanks and congratulations to most professional danish breeders and veterinarians!
This result is of course a total sucess for all of us and we look forward to seeing 3 PRE babies and 2 PRE/Knabstrupper babies (yes the ones with the dots) D-babies being born summer 2014 in Denmark!       

But I have not had the best experience with setting up and storing semen abroad. To make Donoso VII conveniently available to the swedish breeders I sent a relatively big storage to Flyinge in south of Sweden some years ago. Unfortunately the breedingstation Flyinge changed policy and I had to move storage to another company called Skåne Semin. I contracted their services and being in Spain I obviously relied on them to do the job with orders and transportation. Still I seemed to be constantly on the phone to mareowners and coordinating emails. This summer there was a incident with transportation and a mare did not have her semen delivered in time. The delivery was not only delayed but actually lost so all the semen was destroyed and the mare did not get pregnant. Disaster and a loss for all of us. When the storage company later wanted to send a bill for this failed delivery I had had enough. I did not ask for a compensation for my lost semen but I wanted the company to at least compensate the mareowner for the veterinarian costs related to this incident. As far as I know they never did.
So now I have decided to keep storage with my veterinarian here in Spain, Vet. Dra Concha Cuetara who is the most professional in her field, she collects, evaluates, stores and transports the most valuable semen all over the world with 100% expertise. And she will never fail a client.       

Studshow at Cuetara's facilities in Aranjuez 2011, Concha Cuetara far left.
 
I am very pleased and proud to be able to offer first class breedingservices from Donoso VII worldwide! Donoso's semen has passed many tests from the TRC and Dra C. Cuetara but most importantly has now proven to have excellent fertility in the field. With these guarantees I have fullfilled my responsability as the stallionowner. I don't consider myself responsable for the status of the mare and I reckon it's the responsability of the mareowner to contract a professional enough veterinarian to do a good job with the insemination. So from 2014 and onwards the semen will be sold by dosis and will be charged when ordered. Like this I can give the mareowner the right to inseminate unlimited amount of mares and they get the oportunity to, like the danish breeders, get more mares pregnant on one single shipment!

Please visit www.vikingapre.com for info on breeding with thee fantastic PRE stallions!
We are happy to be able to offer both Donoso VII and Festivo MR internationally, two exceptional Calificado studs! Donoso is available on FAI to all breeders in Europe, USA and Australia. We distribute Festivo via FAI to all european countries. Halagador is available to mares in Spain. 
Donoso VII

 
Festivo MR

       
Halagador Cen

Is absolutely part of being a breeder and even though I get very stressed when things happens to my horses I actually love the 'nursing' part, after all that's when you bond with the horses and get to really know their personalities. Today my plan was to let Camaron out in upper field and do a photo-session but instead I had to go earlier and get the mares under roof because we've had extreme storm winds. So all snuggled up in their beds and I became the daily horse-nurse again. Vet had Tino's stitches removed today and had left the leg without bandage to breathe. Hmm, I did not want to leave it unprotected just yet. He got a Arnica/Plus Healing Cream massage around the scar that he loved, it's super itchy and he got a cute long trunk, he's the guy that loves it all! I did a light bandage that I will change tomorrow of course together with clean-up and a new massage, heal heal little wound can't wait to see his leg normal again. He is not lame but it is abit swollen and alittle infected in the edges. Hopefully weather will change so I can get them both out on wednesday, little pirates need to move. Camaron got his cleanup and has now a new cream for his hoof-wound. We are getting to know each other and I let him perform his levadas in the stable now, very good boy! I am not super happy with the healing of Nova's wound so I have ordered a gel-spray that protects and helps the healing process. She does not accept any form of bandage, totally out of the question it gets ripped off in one milli-second. Donoso and Start are my big support these days, they are just fine and today they did not need absolutely anything from me since they have had 3 days of good workouts. Pica was cool also after grooming.
Halagador is doing great! He will actually be in a equestrian show already this month, I look forward to seeing Mr Black in his right element!
I hope it will be a little more professional than this :)

And that he will get to do some of his favourite stuff like this

Camaron the artist cremello lusitano we selected and sold to Switzerland arrived yesterday and will stay unil he leaves for his new wonderful home next year. More of this kind beauty later. I spend lots of time taking care of my convalescent horses and jogging Donoso and Start. Tico does not want to take his medicine and does the spanish walk to defend himself. Poor thing I can understand how he is fed up. Tino is full of life and just wants to do party-schools over air preferable several in a row before he lands, and I close my eyes and hold my breath,.. 
 

As I have much on my hands right now I have decided to send off Halagador to a friend for a little while, uf but mum has to be sensible. He will go to arty-school and he will be trained and ridden in the way I like, he is in perfect shape to learn new things. Below pictures taken last week from our training at Los Arcos.
Halagador with is artist-soul will now get to use his talent for learning new things.