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Breeding for Conservation and Performance
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Tally Ho!
February 5, 2012: Earlier in the
week I was invited to be a guest of my riding
instructor, Davera, at her fox hunt on Saturday, Feb 4.
Davera is a member of the Bull Run Hunt Club. My
anticipation grew as Saturday drew near. This
would be my first time actually participating in a hunt
which is something I have always wanted to do.
An item on my "bucket list". Over the past
three years, I have been in the car topping group at the
annual Cleveland Bay Hunting Days, thus I had some
exposure to fox hunting.
Having the appropriate clothing for the rider is
imperative. Davera loaned me what I did not
already have which was the jacket, vest and stock tie.
She provided the mount, Marley, who is a "steady eddie"
having taken many riders on their first hunt. We
loaded the horses and off to the hunt we went.
The location of the hunt was gorgeous.
The weather was a bit nippy, damp and cloudy, although
no precipitation.
Following the appropriate introductions to a
wonderfully, friendly group of people, we mounted
our horses and prepared to depart. I rode with the
third flight which was expertly lead by Betty Long who was
quite accommodating to myself and another rider who was
there on her first hunt, as well. Our flight
spotted the fox who was well ahead of the hounds, who
were in full cry. The first and second flights
arrived moments after the hounds. This was a
lovely sight to see, horses, hounds and a fox. I
was told that I was quite fortunate to have seen a fox
on my first hunt. After being out two hours, we
returned to the trailers. Once having cared for
our horses, we proceeded to the location of the
breakfast. Following a time of delicious food and
good fellowship, we headed back home. For me, this
was a perfect first hunt. Riding in a fox hunt can
now be removed from my "bucket list" and become an
activity in which I would like to participate more
often.
View:
Farm History 2009, ,Farm History 2010
Farm History 2011
Farm History 2012
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A Wakeup Call.
March 4, 2011: You may already know
that the Cleveland Bay Horse is a critically endangered
breed of horse with less than 1000 purebreds in the
world and estimated less than 200 breeding age purebred
females in the world. In the most recent Bay
Window published by the Cleveland Bay Horse Society,
which maintains the Stud Book for the Cleveland Bay
Horse, the Stud Book Editors Report lists the number of
purebreds born over the past five years. The
following information is from this report:
Year:
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Total Foals born Overseas:
15
13
10
13
0
Total Foals born in the Great Britain:
66
51
46
41
32
Yearly Total of Foals Born:
81
64
56
54
32
Only 32 purebreds born in the entire world in 2010
and they were all born in the UK! This
represents is a 60 % decrease from the number of
purebred Cleveland Bays born in 2006. There is
much discussion among Cleveland Bay breeders, owners and
enthusiasts about preserving the breed and the ways in
which this can be accomplished. From a "Keep It
Simple Sweetie" (KISS) perspective more purebreds need
to be born. |
Why Own a Cleveland Bay?
Two words, great temperament. A Cleveland Bay is a smart horse with a
traditionally quiet temperament. Their history is one
of having multiple uses for a single horse. The farm
family would use them to pull carriages and carts, ride to
the hunt or to town and for agricultural uses. These uses
developed a horse who is smart with good temperament and a
sound body. Recently, I read an
article in the Virginia Horse Journal, which provided the
results of a survey asking horse owners how they used their
horses. Of all the possible uses, the largest category
by a landslide was pleasure use. To me, this means
most horses are owned, trained, and ridden by amateurs who
want to simply enjoy being with their horse or horses.
Wouldn't it make sense to start with a horse that naturally
possesses a quiet temperament?
Read More
Our History
First a bit
of history. Mike and I, Carlene, met in 2001.
Mike, now retired from an Assistant Fire Chief's position,
was a career firefighter. My career has been and still
is in Veterinary Medicine as a Licensed Veterinary
Technician. When we met, Mike had only been around and
ridden the horses in front of the G.C.Murphy store into
which a nickel was placed before you rode. I on the
other hand, since my first memories have always been drawn
to horses. As a teenager, my parents told me if I
wanted a horse it would be my responsibility as they would
not...Read More
Member of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society
Member of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society of North America
Member of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
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