The Herd At Home
We have had as many as 37 horses here at one time, probably too many for us to do justice to. But local trainers would telephone us regularly to offer us more horses, and one hesitates to say no to each proffered horse as it may well be a death sentence for some hapless horse I have never even met!
This page will have a selection of photos of the horses as they live, mostly wild and unbothered by us, up the hill with their mates.
This page will have a selection of photos of the horses as they live, mostly wild and unbothered by us, up the hill with their mates.
The Herd in 1996
Horses always seem to manage to look like a row of parked up buses when one needs to take a photograph.! On this occasion, and this was our entire herd then, bar two horses, my daughter was running a Red Cross Search and Rescue operation up the hill and there was a line of beaters looking for a hidden "body" The horses were HORRIFIED!! They'd gallop away down the fenceline and then whip round, gallop back and stand and stare up the hill to assess the danger. Fortunately I had a camera on hand.
Boys Will Be Boys!
This is Brandy, the Arab, and Jack having a battle royal all over the paddock. They are fairly close in the pecking order and good mates and a game is always on the cards
I Got Water In My Ear!
Clonbern is not the only Water Baby - This is Bridie in one of the water holes on the Taylor River which runs through our land. On hot days there can be eight to ten horses all in a mob and having a splashathon.
The Splashathon
As is always the way when one wants to photograph horses, ten seconds before they were ALL splashing like mad!
I Splosh - You Splosh!
Some of the horses sort of get lazy about splashing. They just stand right in the thick of things and bathe in the reflected glory the others are working on
Bridie Having Fun
She really is one of the best Sploshers!
The Water Baby - Clonbern Lady
Even though it was a very hot day, you can see that the ground all around Clonbern is soaking wet. I lost count of how many times I had to refill the trough for her. Usually when a horse does something that might be considered to be photogenic, by the time one has found a camera - the moment is lost. With Clonny I had time to go down to the house, make a cup of tea, get the camera and still have time for lots of photos
Mustering Up The Hill. Ellie Chasing Boogie
Getting Flatter Now And Really Motoring!
Time To Get Moving!
Coming Down The Hill!
At the top of the hill it is very steep in places and it takes the new horses a while to learn the ropes and be able to get down safely. I THINK this might be Coleshill charging along. Once they get down on to the flatter places they all take off, bucking and kicking, as they may have been up the hill for a couple of days, and now they can stretch their legs and let rip.
The Taylor River And The Road To Town
You can see how steep the hill is nearer the top. The horses have to be very careful where and how they place their feet. However, they are obviously quite happy up there as they all hoof it up to the top of the hill at every opportunity! In Winter the very top of the hill is the first place and the last place to have the sun on a cold day
Lower Down The Hill
I don't know which is the most exciting - standing near the top watching them go, perching half way down and feeling the wind as they go past, or waiting at the bottom, seeing the clouds of dust, literally hearing and feeling the thunder as they get closer. The very last bit before they get back to river level is almost flat, and after a few days balancing around the hill they all have a bucking and kicking contest, one after the other in an explosion of high spirits. It is very satisfying to see horses that were too scared to cross the river when they arrived, finally get the hang of it and kick and squeak with the best of them.
Squirt Unhappy With Her Morning Snooze Companions
Squirt doesn't suffer fools gladly and she REALLY likes her personal space - invade it at your peril! Obviously two horses have sat down rather closer than she would like. The bay horse on the left, from his colour, could be Ben, and this is one of her Men Friends, and well over her in the pecking order, so she might be annoyed because she doesn't dare bite HIS bottom!
