Kirby Equine Stud

17/10/2023

So pleased to have just arrived home with this amazing mare. She did of course travel like a pro, and walked in to her isolation pen like she’d been here for years! More settling in pictures to come once I’ve tidied away!

13/10/2023

Enjoying a brilliant couple of days training with Leonie De Jong while she was in the UK last week! The problem is that neither of us are very good at remembering to take videos so we missed capturing the amazing gait work from Circe and Sonnet. However here are some pics of Sirius starting to ride out on a beautiful sunny day.

29/09/2023

Sirius spam! He’s had the TCS on and a couple of rides - being a super good boy. ❤️❤️

15/09/2023

Welcome home to our new stallion, 4 year old Sewell’s Sam grandson Cornmill Sirius Black! He is settling in with his field mate Cornmill Iceman - it’s like they’ve always been here ❤️❤️❤️. The Cornmill Stud - Rocky Mountain Horses

10/09/2023

Bursting with excitement to finally be able to share that we are purchasing 4 year old stallion Sirius Black from The Cornmill Stud - Rocky Mountain Horses. He will be coming home on Friday!

He has been chosen primarily for his fabulous laid back rocky personality - demonstrated in this video which shows his first ever ride under saddle (Chris Stone riding).

His breeding is also amazing, being by prolific stallion Lightfoot in the Wind, son of Sewell Sam, son of Tobe.

I can’t wait for him to arrive!!

06/09/2023

I could not be prouder of this mare - she epitomises what I want to breed. I’ve re-backed her this year after she was sat on a couple of times a year ago. This is the 9th time I’ve been on her and we went for a 1.3 mile hack! She is perfect!

31/08/2023

Delighted to be assisting The Cornmill Stud - Rocky Mountain Horses showcasing some amazing Rockies at the Festival of the Iberian Horse down in Devon this weekend!

22/08/2023

Back from a fabulous clinic with Sonnet and Shadow at The Cornmill Stud - Rocky Mountain Horses delivered by Tara Stone. Photos and videos to come of all the fun but in the meantime here’s a shot of three horses who clearly got no food at all while I was gone…

07/08/2023

Sorry about the rubbish photos but I wanted to share the news that I have sat on Sonnet for the first time this afternoon 🙂. She really is a unicorn!

She was very lightly backed a year ago - I believe sat on a couple of times ba****ck with a halter. Over the last week I have worked with her to get her used to a bitted bridle and the Total Contact Saddle and done loads of groundwork building up to this big day.

29/07/2023

Just tried out my new total contact saddle with Circe and I am super pleased 🙂. She has massive freedom of movement and offered some beautiful gait today effortlessly! The mares are changing shape so much as they come into work after having their foals that this seemed like a great option before investing in fitted saddles. Plus I’m really enjoying this cooler summer weather 😎

21/07/2023

Back from a week away and Star is a totally different colour!!

10/07/2023

The many colour changes of a moulting silver black foal. Star is starting to show a lovely chocolate brown coat underneath her newborn fluff ❤️

09/07/2023

Some clips from a recent walk out with Sonnet and Shadow so they can see a few more things in the world. We went through our local cattle farm where the heavy machinery was in full force making lots of noise and smells! We even met some hikers with big rucksacks and sticks! So pleased with how Sonnet took it all in her stride - and also how they both won admiring looks from everyone we passed.

03/07/2023

Seeing our little herd living the good life on the track makes me so happy 🙂

01/07/2023

My view on the way to my other job this morning ❤️.

29/06/2023

Nice gentle ride with Circe today. A lot of this was actually in gait but I am keeping the gait speed slow at the moment while she settles back into work - so she can remember to keep the regular four beat. The sections registering as trot are actually moments of more pacey gait - hopefully these will reduce down to zero, then I can slowly increase the gait speed which the app will eventually label ‘tolt’.

28/06/2023

25/06/2023

I’ve been away this weekend re-enacting and making plans for medieval gaited horse displays. There is a museum interested and hopefully something will come together for next year…

Came home to this beautiful sunset. Look at Tango (8yr gelding traditional) thinking he is still a stallion - 2 seconds later Circe and Sonnet lifted their heads, put their ears back and sent him scurrying away!!

I wanted to share a pic of me looking Tudor but realised I didn’t have any! So here are the girls in their Tudor clothes working hard for their keep 😍

23/06/2023

I’m a big fan of the true Dun gene which can produce beautiful stripes. Shadow is not true dun but it looks like she’s inherited ND1 from her sire (Marie Brittenden’s gorgeous black stallion Satin). Sometimes this can produce leg bars as well as the classic back stripe. I keep looking at her legs and I can’t tell if she’s just moulting or there might be stripes there 🦓….

22/06/2023

Foal cuddles before school!

21/06/2023

Very excited to ride the beautiful Circe today for the first time. She’s 11 and had 6 foals, the most recent being Star who came along for the ride!

I honestly don’t know how long it’s been since she was ridden but it is at least 2 years, maybe more. She didn’t put a foot wrong, really epitomising the steady rocky temperament.

She showed some lovely four beat gait 😍

20/06/2023

Shadow at the weekend with my gorgeous niece, showing how friendly a 6 week old foal can be. She looks so relaxed she’s ready to drop off to sleep! 😍

19/06/2023

Star and Shadow were happy to be back on the track this morning after the thunderstorms!

18/06/2023

Hi everyone - finally got around to starting the Kirby Equine Stud page. My name is Natalie and I breed Rocky Mountain horses in Leicestershire. We currently have two super mares: Circe and Sonnet, both with 2023 foals at foot. I fell in love with Rockies because of their amazing temperament and their unique four beat gait. This page will share updates from the farm and share my future plans. Xx