This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Arthur Rivoire)
Hi All from Carol at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia -
I was away when the news came about Holunder and Evon. Actually, I missed
the report on Evon so don't know how she died. Arthur and I are very sorry
to hear about these horses. Holunder was always one of my favorites. He
was a good stallion, and I always thought, an excellent mover. And Evon
was a lovely mare.
Both Arthur and I remember very well the day we brought Holunder home from
the quarantine station at Newburgh, NY. The reason we remember so well is
that Holunder was not a good traveler. He put some serious dents in our
trailer. However, since he was forced to travel beside a mare, and with a
young gelding behind him, I guess we readily forgave him.
At that time, Meg and Joe Hempel from Skoal Farm were interested in the
heavier, draftier type Fjords. And so when we heard that the Dutch
Studbook had just such a stallion available, we imported Holunder on
special order for the Hempels. He did an excellent job for them for many
years.
And I also remember the night Evon arrived. She was part of one of our
biggest importations. We brought over 9 horses with Evon. She was an
Astrix daughter, and Astrix is a very big, very strong, draft type Fjord.
And I'd been told that this yearling Astrix daughter was so big at one year
of age that she'd surely turn out to be very drafty. -- What a hoot!
And an excellent example that breeding horses is in no way an exact
science, and that even the most experienced Fjord judges can be WAY off
base. I say that because this Astrix daughter turned out to be anything
but heavy. She had plenty of bone, to be sure, but as Dave McWethy said,
she was a lovely, athletic, graceful mare. To my way of thinking, she was
everything a Fjord should be -- A true ALL-PURPOSE FJORD.
12 NEW FILLIES - The Federal vet was just here and released the imported
fillies from quarantine. This was her second visit, and it went better than
the first.
She came just a week ago to take blood to retest for EIA and Piroplasmosis.
This had been done in Europe, but Canada has to retest horses in
quarantine. All went really well for the first ten fillies. They
were quiet, and the job got done.
Then came TUNDRA'S time. She's the Dragset daughter. And as I said in my
previous post, Tundra is well named. She's a little tank. There were two
vets. One of them (the man) had been taking blood from moose and elk the
previous week, so he thought little Fjords would be a piece of cake.
Anyway, Tundra's thick neck presented problems in finding the vein, and
Tundra was getting really ticked with all the fumbling and rejabbing. She
lost her cool big time. However, the vet thought he could handle the
little Fjord so the struggle continued until he pushed . . . she shoved .
. ., and he fell breaking his ankle. We called the ambulance. They took
him away, and he's off work for 12 weeks. Then we had to call our regular
vet to sedate Tundra as the federal vets don't carry tranquilizers. With a
little Rompum, she was an angel.
Stine surprised us with a new foal this morning. She wasn't due for two
weeks. It's another colt, and a big friendly one as are all her foals.
This is a full brother to BDF Kanada King, BDF Malcom Locke and BDF
Obelisk. Also, BDF Jennifer Anne, BDF Liza, and BDF Philomene. (We kept
Philoment Philly for ourselves, although that will mean finding a
stalliion for her, and that's not in the picture at all at this time.)
This is our Q year, and so far we've got BDF QUASAR and BDF QUENTIN
DURWARD, an heroic character from a Sir Walter Scott novel. --- Thanks to
Lori Albrough for suggesting it, the new colt will be named, BDF QUEST.
And this one, unlike his brothers before him, will not be a breeding
stallion. He's a beautiful colt. He's big, has a lovely head, and long,
straight legs. However, he has a good-sized white star between his eyes.
What a surprise to see that star. Quest makes the 60th Fjord foal born at
Beaver Dam Farm, and the first one to have any white at all on face, body,
or legs. It's probably just as well that he's destined to be a gelding as
he has three very nice full brothers out there breeding. BDF QUEST will
make somebody an excellent performance horse.
Our Maritime weather has been horrible, at least from my point of view as a
horse breeder and farmer. It always shocks me when non-horse people
comment on the nice weather we're having. --- It's been the driest,
hottest Spring on record. Wells are going dry, and the fields are hard and
dry, and the grass isn't growing. And the biting flies of all sorts are
the worst we've ever seen. And to top it all off, my roses are paltry from
lack of rain.
Best Regards, Carol
Carol and Arthur Rivoire
Beaver Dam Farm Fjords II
R.R. 7 Pomquet
Antigonish County
Nova Scotia
B2G 2L4
902 386 2304
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/beaverdf
