JULY 2022 ISSUE 154
Catch up with the Stars of the Showring
DOUBLE TROUBLE The rare twin foals!
Highlights from
Royal Highland Show
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A word from our editor Dear Reader, The last six weeks have passed in a blur. During that time, there have been some highs and lows on our little home-produced team! I’ve had Covid, a tooth and ear infection, and have closed the car door on my elbow! I assure you that if you didn’t know this already, there is nothing funny about smacking your funny bone! On the other hand, Maggie and I have both claimed a HOYS ticket. Mine was riding Stormy Oak Just Divine in the section C ridden class. I’m extra-proud of Diva, not only because it will be her own and her owners Bradley and Cheryl’s first ever trip to HOYS, but because at 131cm she’ll be one of the smallest – if not the smallest in the class – and she’ll be doing it for the girls! She just goes to show that a) dreams can come true; b) you don’t have to buy one that’s within a hair’s breadth of the upper height limit to stand a chance of qualification; and c) you don’t have to ride a stallion to win! Maggie’s pony, section A Haverford Fauntleroy is also a dinky one in his section, standing under 11 hands high. But small is sometimes mighty and he absolutely loves his new job storming round the 122cm mountain and moorland working hunter pony tracks. He qualified in third having jumped one of the biggest tracks I have seen all year on one of the hottest days. After a former three clears, a second and a third, it was super to see him get his ticket – I’ve never been so pleased with a third and for the first time ever, I actually jumped up and down in celebration! I am immensely proud of both Rory and the job Maggie has done with him. Rory has improved with every round except one, when she fell off. It was a real shake to both their confidence, but we went home, scrutinised the video and set to work. I don’t want to dwell on the one real mishap he has had as he is really just a novice pony with very little milage, but I think their story just shows why in this sport, it’s so important to literally and metaphorically get back up after a blow, dust yourself off, take a good hard look at what truly went wrong and move on to the next show. There’s no use dwelling on a poor result or, crucially, resenting those who did better which brings me on to my next point: kindness. I was really pleased when our columnist, Amy, submitted her contribution for this issue and clearly addressed the amount of negativity there has been on social media of late. Having got to know Amy and her sister Vikki since Maggie has been doing more jumping and starting this job, I have found both sisters to be so helpful and always ready to offer support and
advice. In short, she practices what she preaches and I think her plea for kindness and consideration of others is timely and important. Whilst we’re on the subject of kindness and social media, I did see a picture of Ross Keys shake hands with Stuart Mason after Stuart took the Price Supreme ticket at Royal Norfolk with Kerry Wainwright’s Skellorn Bronze Soldier. It was a refreshing and heart-warming picture. Let’s all – each and every one of us – strive to make our little equestrian community kinder, closer and better together.
- Beth
STORMY OAK JUST DIVINE
MEET OUR COVER STARS ON PAGE 5
Cracker and her twins
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Contents
Features 6.
Fell Foals Defy the Odds
8. Royal Highland Show 18. Meet the judge - Cheryl Scott 26. The Skelwith Stud 56. Vintage Treasure - Rowfantina Old Fashioned
Regulars 11. Ruth on the Hoof 30. Performance Ponies 38. Showring Stars
6 56
45. Exmoor Breed News 47. Dales Breed News 49. New Forest Breed News
11 47 38 Disclaimer: The view and opinions expressed within the magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or Showing World Limited and while every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in the magazine is correct and current at the date of publication, Showing World Limited will not accept any liability. Showing World Limited will not be held responsible for the appearance of photographic material supplied without the necessary consent, copyright and/or photographer’s details. In
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45 addition, Showing World Limited offers no guarantee of publication and reserve the right to edit any reader’s letters, press releases, reports and articles submitted. Showing World Limited 2022. All rights reserved. No part of Native Pony may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or shared in any form or by any means, including, but not limited to; electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying,
Talking Point: Double Trouble or Two for the Price of One? By Maggie Simons There is no question that twin foals are rare. In fact, fewer than 9% of pregnant mares carrying twins can nurture both foetuses to term. Cases such as Rowan’s – or rather Cracker’s twin Fell foals! – where both foals are born healthy and are nurtured by the mare are nowhere near the ‘norm’! There are several reasons for this, and without going into too much scientific detail, here’s just a handful… In mares that are not scanned early on in pregnancy, twins can often be reabsorbed, or for various reasons, their development will not continue to term. This will happen entirely unbeknown to the owner. A mare’s uterus and placenta are not designed to carry two offspring. Unlike some other mammals, a foal is entirely encapsulated by the placenta (which is how a red bag delivery occurs). Therefore, in order for the foetus to receive sufficient nutrition during gestation, the whole surface area of the placenta needs to be in contact with the uterine wall. This means that when there are two foals and two placentas, the likelihood is that at least half of each foetus’ placenta will not be in a physical position to absorb nutrients. Veterinary advice would be to always scan mares and to ‘pinch’ a twin. There are, of course, risks to the mare in any pregnancy, and the risks increase in the case of twins. First of all, it’s possible that she could develop an infection during the pregnancy if, for example, one foetus becomes unviable. It stands to reason that with two foals to birth, there is also a greater risk of physical and irreparable damage to the mare during delivery, and again, a greater risk of infection post-delivery. The increased risk of neurological damage is a further factor to consider, and another reason why, if known about, it’s safer to ‘pinch’ one foetus. Nowadays, scanning native mares is becoming increasingly common, especially as more and more of us turn to AI and the various options available to us through science. Some breeders will also choose to be selective with their scanning, for example they will scan mares covered away at stud to ensure pregnancy but may allow nature to be nature when mares are turned out with the stallion at home. If we’re honest, this is the model that we employ with our own Welsh mares at home. If we’re also honest, the possibility of twins through natural conception hadn’t occurred to us, probably just as it hasn’t occurred to many breeders. However, we are aware that for many of native pony breeders and the Native Pony readers, this is an impossible task and choosing not to scan mares is just another one of the many risks involved with breeding. Grazing ponies on the mountains and moorlands of the UK is an integral part of the heritage of our breeds and they do an invaluable service to the conservation and biodiversity of these areas. Furthermore, we must ensure that the hardiness these roaming herds possess remains running through the bloodlines we use in our more domesticated settings. Afterall, if they cannot thrive in
their original, native habitat, are they true to type? However, running mares in their natural and wild habitat obviously poses logistical hurdles to monitoring and scanning every mare 18 days after covering. Afterall, many of these mares will be just like Rowan’s Cracker and won’t even be halter broken. This is before we even begin to take into account the cost of such procedures on so many mares… Furthermore, should a mare running on the hills carry twins and abort later in pregnancy, this might be entirely beyond the realms of the owner’s knowledge – just as reabsorption might be – as the mare might have moved on from the site of birth by the time the owner sees her, and the gory reality is that a predator may well have disposed of the evidence… It might be more common in these mares than the stats suggest, especially if we consider the possibility of reabsorption. We simply don’t know. Again, veterinary advice would always be to scan the mare and as a breeder and mare owner, I fully support this message whilst also recognising that this is simply not possible for a myriad reason on many of our native mares. So, to those mares that successfully carry two foetuses to term and give birth to them safely, just like Cracker, we salute you! info@showingworldonline.co.uk | June 2022 Issue | The Native Pony | 5