Meirion Davies and Richard Miller breed ponies below the Heniarth prefix. Their successes embody 55 winners of 27 championships on the Royal Welsh present, 29 particular person HOYS qualifiers, and LIHS Better of Breeds.
This time of 12 months may be very aggravating for breeders in all disciplines, fretting that each one will go nicely with foaling and whether or not or not a maiden mare will settle for her new function. Between planning and ready, there are many worries to maintain you awake for the beginning!
The reward is the breeder’s present: the honour of being the very first individual to see the manifestation of their dream.
Nothing can beat the sensation, within the early morning mist, of seeing your foal, fawn-like and ethereal, up on its toes. It makes your coronary heart beat a bit quicker. Hopefully, the mare’s ritual, a pirouette round her foal, and the sound of mutual whickering quickly follows. Lastly comes the satisfaction of the slurping, suckling sound. All is nicely.
Some foals arrive as if from Ikea, flat-packed, taking days to unfurl. Others “make an entrance” – statuesque, their define sculpted – solid from their future promise with that vital “it issue” for exhibiting already current.
It’s a tricky name, that quick analysis of the new child. However by the age of 10 days, you’ll be able to consider most foals’ potential.
An obligation of care
Our foals are the results of years of planning and immeasurable funding in time, persistence and fear.
Regardless of this, the mares foal outside at Heniarth. We intrude little or no with the beginning, simply shifting in to spray the foal’s navel and guarantee it receives important colostrum.
The mares are inoculated eight weeks previous to foaling, so this ensures the foal has some stage of immunity. Then we withdraw, permitting the mixture to bond.
Nevertheless extremely we fee our mares and foals, or how excited we’re to point out them, we now have an obligation of take care of all we breed.
On present
At Heniarth, we strategy exhibiting a broodmare and foal with delicacy. As soon as we now have a thriving foal, we enter a most of three reveals, limiting the quantity for his or her wellbeing.
A present mare’s foal ought to have as regular a life as potential, with each day turnout to run and tire itself out so it will probably sleep and develop whereas having fun with the posh of its secure at evening.
Within the ring, the foal handler’s function is to position the foal able the place the mare is all the time alert, searching for it, capitalising on the bond with out stressing the mare.
We do little dealing with of the foal past educating it to tie up subsequent to its dam. So when exhibiting it, we typically lead from the opposite facet of the mare, with the rein over her again in order that the foal relaxes, trotting freely alongside.
Nevertheless, if the dam does nicely, we are going to typically forego the foal class with a view to save the mare from tiring and preserve her recent.
Relating to colts, our ethos is that few are ok to stay stallions. Those that fall quick ought to however be arrange as children to have an ideal life as a gelding, hopefully bringing immense enjoyable for a kid within the present ring.
Breeding brings challenges, but in addition nice rewards past that breeder’s present, resembling watching a pony we now have bred successful for brand new homeowners.
This spring, we’re thrilled to see a foal we offered to breeders in Sweden return to the UK. Seven years later, he has fulfilled his promise and is already notching up titles. We sit up for following the remainder of his present season.
Get pleasure from what you breed
I shut with one piece of recommendation for all breeders: plough your personal furrow. Create what pleases your interpretation of a breed or kind’s description.
Displaying is barely the opinion of 1 decide on a particular day, you’ve the opposite 364 days to get pleasure from what you’ve bred.
Good luck with the breeding and exhibiting season. By no means thoughts considering your geese are swans, could your swans be foals!
● Are you tempted by the breeder’s present? If not, what’s holding you again? Tell us. Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, together with your identify, nearest city and county, for the possibility in your letter to look in a forthcoming challenge of the journal
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H&H exhibiting editor
Bethan joined Horse & Hound as exhibiting editor in January 2025, after spending two years as Editor for Displaying World. Having adored ponies since childhood, she began exhibiting as an adolescent and has loved wins at main reveals up and down the nation, together with Royal Highland, New Forest, and the Royal Welsh, in addition to HOYS, RIHS and London. She is especially obsessed with Welsh breeds and can be a Welsh language commentator.
