The feel of that first brush for brumby mare Freebie. Tangles removed she changed from being on guard to trust.
Then opened up the gate and she walked to it and back in for more. The beginning of the partnership between a once wild horse and a human comes with letting down the guards that come with fear on both sides.
A quick fuel stop for trained brumby fillies Moody and Nifty Is not a problem.
These two exceptional Brumbies we have trained directly from the traps 2 years ago. Nothing worries them as no human has ever forced them or done any harm....
And after investing nearly $20 000 in our purpose built brumby transport crate, well we know every cent was worth it.
Thank you again to the charity team for raising the $3000 we needed to install the pull out loading ramp. Both Brumbies stood on it with ease and walked up calmly and with no stress.
Next transport is a long journey south to pick up the mother of a Brumby filly we call Beauty who had been gifted to us and we found her mum for sale...will keep you posted
The connection of a foal and it's mare continues for years. They are their everything in understanding the world they are in.
Brumby mare Sammy adopted Brumby Bluey when he was only a week or so old and had been stolen from his own mum. Now nearly two years later we took him for his first mountain holiday after our time in Canberra. They both took some much needed rest together.
Please never take a foal from its mum. Be it in the wild or rehoming or at their domestic paddock. A mare can loose weight feeding her foal. That is natural. But to loose their connection together is like us being ripped away from our own family. Please remember a horses happiness is more than just being fed.
Lead brumby mare Sammy has met nearly 50 other brums in her life here as my lead trainer...and many of them good lookin fellas.
But this young man has stolen her heart and plays and loves her adopted foal Bluey too.
Brumbies are just like us... They form deep bonds with those they love.
To all who came to our charity fundraising Wild Horse Weekend at Hall in Canberra...your money was spent on a $3000 slide out Brumby proof loading ramp to be fitted to our stock crate.
And two very thankful Brumbies walked up calmly and easily into our crate yesterday to be moved to a new home with much needed feed and space.
Thank you to all our S.B.H. team. This is what it means to help the once wild horse.
This is what Snowy Brumby Horsemanship is all about....once wild horses straight from our park now tamed, trained and then supported for their life in their mountain home owned by their human family also trained by SBH. Brumbies Taffy and Tacky now joined with their mob members at Hilltop near Jindabyne. It took nearly 2 years of dedication to get them to this stage. 3 year old Taffy loves humans and is remarkable and quiet. Mum is still reactive and will continue her training with the family but as an old mare will live out her life always with her foal.
As our human and brumby mob continues to grow we are also very excited to showcase this soon being filmed in early December by the ABC program Back Roads.
We promised brumby foal Taffy that she would never leave her mum Tacky and so after nearly two years they got back in together into the truck to now go to their heavenly mt home.
Transporting Brumbies is one of the most challenging yet rewarding days. We spent 4 hours calming and training the two to come up the race and loading ramp. It's tough as they don't understand why...but when we got them off safely they knew.
A big thank you to our new volunteer Chrysa who is here from England to learn more about wild horse training.... Couldn't have done it without you mate.
Happy days in the Bago. New gorgeous wooden yards being built to encourage horse riding. Thank you State Forest.
A week in paradise and now home.
How do you explain the Bago... Brumbies there live in peace with humans.
The State Forest ranger drove into our camp and his first greeting was to all our dogs with a pat. His words ' Gotta greet the most important family members first.' He then asked if there was anything that we needed and told us of his love for all the Brumbies near camp. All are protected and loved. No chasing or trapping allowed.
And thus our Brumbies layed down and rested in camp with no fear when not out exploring. They got to know the two family Bago mobs who grazed with them in the Paddy River Dam heaven. And we just wanted to say thank you to them for having us.
Impromptu stall at the Hall Markets. What a bonus! Sold plenty of merch and raffle tickets. Definitely a new strategy to get numbers in and the word out.
Heading into town for dinner with the Mob.
An update on our gifted 4 year old Bago Brumby once known as Clover....her training began with an inability to touch all over due to high stress of being forced to endure rigging put on her as a young 2 year old.
We gave her a couple of days wild time with the mob and brought her back in for a restart. And her change was unbelievable. She allowed all touch with no spook. We asked her politely if she could wear a saddle pad. She did with no hesitation. Then we di up her girth and she simply stood quietly. We then moved and she remained in peaceful join up. What a Beauty. She will not be riding for a couple of years yet..she is too young. But what a change. In our mind we have been seeking a new name. In honour of the mts we call her Mt Beauty...or Beauty for short.
And then a small human miracle. We have found her mum. She by chance was put up for sale and the human team involved with these two are bringing them back together after they were sold separately about 2 years ago.....more details soon.
Oh Brumby Paddy....you just melt our ❤️
We thank our new property family for coming in for training this week in preparation for their brumby mob to be moved to their mt paradise with them in the next month.
And their young son, who began shy and nervous of us and horses has come out of his shell and is just incredible. Plus when Paddy came to us he was very nervous of children so he has come a long way.
We know S.B.H. will continue on long into generations to come. And the legacy of it is what it's all about. It will be the children of the Snowies today that will be the guardians of the Snowy Brumby of the future.
And please all family members come along to our Wild Horse Weekend in Hall coming up....we just love our whole family mob.
We couldn't be more proud of our Big Bago Brum Paddy ( the last one over) with his first big ride out in the bush yesterday.
He was gifted to us by a beautiful lady who had bought him trained but he had bolted on her twice with the last time resulting in a broken shoulder. This video is for you, thank you for trusting us with his retraining.
We have been working with him for over 6 months to get him ready to come back into riding and he has blown us away. He has full faith and trust in his mob and us now and we just love ya to bits mate. And a big thank you to all our team who have worked with Paddy who have helped him relearn.
A heart as big as you can find. We honour and are forever grateful for your ability to trust again. Thank you thank you thank you. We promise to take you home to your Paddys River Dam soon and once more see, feel and explore your land. Thank you to
Legendary saddle maker John Shortt will be joining us again for the Wild Horse Weekend at Hall ACT Oct 5, 6 & 7.
Brumby Sunny modelling her new bridle/halter and her brumby saddle all designed by John.
Come along with your horse and gear and John can help with everything from saddle fit to nahhh that's just cheap made junk you should throw!
When we ride in the bush in remote locations you need first a tough horse you can rely upon ( ticked that box Sunny) and then gear that is the perfect fit and won't let you down..... thanks John. We couldn't do it without ya.
