1st January

Happy New Year everyone! Watch this space for a New Year sale of youngstock coming soon, with several prices being dramatically slashed to meet the market. If any of the unbroken youngsters particularly interest you, please feel free to get in touch to get in early for a bargain price.

I have also made the sad decision to sell our lovely mare Hunterview Florencia (French Kiss x Penmarric Killarney) in foal to Grand Prix stallion 00Seven, by Rubinstein. Part of the investigation into the condition that nearly saw us lose her 2012 Sandro Hit filly, Cooramin Sandro Shimmer, revealed that Shimmer suffered from neonatal isoerythrolysis (NI). This means that Florencia’s colostrum contained antibodies to Shimmer’s red blood cells, which caused massive destruction of these cells. In future, foals from Florencia will require special management for the first 48 hours of life so that they do not ingest her colostrum. She will need to be milked out during this time and the foals muzzled and fed supplementary colostrum from another mare, or given a plasma transfusion. After the first 48 hours, Florencia will be able to raise her foals as normal.

Of course, the first 48 hours of her future foals’ lives will require intensive management, which is what has forced this decision on our part. By the time she is due I will be back at work at CSU, Christopher will be an active 1yo and in combination with the rest of breeding season’s duties at Cooramin I have decided that it’s more than I will be able to manage myself.

Florencia is a delightful 7yo mare with the very best temperament, was broken in by Gordon Bishop and could be brought back into work if desired by her future owner. She has had two gorgeous fillies by Sandro Hit, goes in foal first time every time with both frozen and chilled semen and is a lovely girl to have around. She is priced very cheaply in recognition of the special management she will require for 48 hours for every foal, but the price of $6000 is way below what the foal alone will be worth. The condition is not inherited, so her foals will not develop this problem. Most equine vets and large scale breeders will have experience managing this condition and should be able to assist her future owner to make things run smoothly. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like further information.