Look Ahead Sporthorses

16/06/2024

Happy Fathers Day to Charlie (Beau Balou)!
I love this pic of him and Kate coming out of the ring, after yet another clear round. It epitomizes lightness, self-carriage, great movement and conformation...And his expression is one of quiet pride, confidence and happiness...all qualities he passes on to Beau Balou's offspring ❤️

PC. Grace Ramsell

16/05/2024

Hi everyone. The few times I've gone to my hive to ask for support, everyone has been very generous!
I'm trying to help a friend (Roy Swift) raise funds for Prostate Cancer and Men's Mental Health.
He is participating in the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride rhis Sunday and any bit of support will help a great cause.
Thank you!

Side By Side Worldwide. Register now for The 2024 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and join us on the 19th May 2024.

22/04/2024

Happy Earth Day from my seniors, who took advantage of the mud, for facials, wraps, and just play ❤️

Watch, follow, and discover more trending content.

21/04/2024

💥💥💥 What a wonderful surprise and honour to be awarded this beautiful pewter plaque at the Canadian Hanoverian Society AGM today!
Thank you to the whole team at Chris Delia Stables as well as the CHS, who helped Charlie earn this amazing award! And, above all, thank you to Beau Balou for being the bestest boy! 💥💥💥

19/04/2024

This is a long shot and primarily targetted at my breeder friends:

Is anyone interested in an embryo, or embryo transfer of Beau Balou x Padarco (by Darco) x Wodan ?
We have fresh semen ready and the mare is at 48 with full edema.
This would be a full sibling to the 3 year old pictured.
The mare is too old to carry the pregnancy herself but I would hate to lose this opportunity as we have fresh semen and the mare available now. This was unplanned - I just had our repro vet check her while he was here for another mare. Lo and behold she is ready to breed today. The buyer would save vet and collection fees up until this point.
PM me only if seriously interested.
Thank you!
Location is Guelph, Ontario.

15/04/2024

Nelson Mandela said "It always seems impossible until it's done".

I live by that saying, but sometimes, actually, often, the universe tests me on that one. And life gets hard. Really, really hard.
But once in a while things fall into place and one can only be very grateful for some good people out there and small wins. And you have to be persistent, flexible and creative!!
I couldn't even begin to make up the stories of the past week and of course it all revolves around horses, training, sales, and breeding. The stories will unfold in time, but here are some teasers:
1. Uncooperative FedEx agent (surprise, surprise) who keeps telling me they can't get my box to Quebec for a Saturday delivery. Long story short, the semen gets delivered to a Super C (on the Saturday morning we wanted)...and so it looks like one can now pick up Beau Balou semen along with your groceries, at the corner convenience store 🤣😂🤣.
2. Great Equitots clinic at Rushmount. Nothing earth shattering happened there, but the wind and rain were unbelievable at times - the babies were good, all things considered!
It's a 2hr drive for me (one way). No big deal, except, on my way back, as I was thinking of putting my feet up and enjoying a glass of wine when I got home, I got another SOS call. A mare is at a vet clinic in Las Vegas, ready to be bred. Of course FedEx lost the semen in Memphis (surprise, surprise) and there wasn't time for the other stallion owner to collect and re-ship (remember, it's 5pm Saturday). Can Charlie's semen get sent counter to counter from Toronto to Vegas?
3. After MANY phone calls, emails, calling in favours, etc, etc. I found myself on the way to Buffalo, to get his semen to Vegas. We couldn't get Toronto to work at that time on a Saturday.
That whole experience is an adventure of its own and will be told at some point. Suffice to say, we sent 2 vials of semen, unrefrigerated, to a hot destination. It arrived with an unbelievable 70% motility and the mare got bred within hours of ovulating. Any later, and with any other extender than Beyond, and also without very cooperative Southwest Airlines agents, we would have been toast. There were 3am phone calls to the mare owner - thank you for being so available and communicating!
You can't make this stuff up, and often you have to think well outside the box to get things done. I must have heard the word "no" so many times this past week (all different situations) and it would have been easy to give up. With so much bad happening in the world these days, it was very uplifting to have a few genuinely helpful and professional people by my side and to be able to claim some small victories.
Valerie Wasserfall came along on the last leg of these adventures and took over some of the driving (THANK YOU 🤗)...so much fun to catch up and share these crazy memories!!

11/04/2024

With show season fast approaching and breeding season in full swing, we're aiming to keep Charlie's gut as healthy as possible. He is fortunate to get his pre, pro, and post biotics from ProFlora EQ .

Proflora EQ is tops in Equine digestive care for a number of reasons:
1. the microbials are microencapsulated, ensuring they are protected and stable as they travel through the GI tract
2. Meets the actual label claims of the colony forming units (CFU), which means a greater # of live CFUs hit the hindgut.
3. The probiotics are grown, fermented, harvested, microencapsulated and packaged in London, ON. No import/shipping from outside Ontario.

If your horse is hard to keep weight on, or suffers from digestive imbalances like f***l water syndrome, please reach out!

ProFlora EQ - Ontario
Bioferscience Inc
Beau Balou

08/04/2024

This pony came to the Equitots at Sprucehaven clinic yesterday. Prior to this, the only jumping experience he had was to jump out of his paddock ...several times 🤣.
We built the chute from scratch for him, starting with handwalking him through, over rails on the ground. Within 20 minutes he jumped a X to a vertical, to an oxer...like this. He was the perfect example of how a systematic training session can yield great results. At first he blasted through the line, then he gradually learned to back himself off and jump like this.
Thank you to Ian Woodley for the fab picture. Can't wait to see the others!

This little guy is a Welsh B, 12.2hh, with a huge step. He is available for your consideration 😀.

07/04/2024

Thank you to Linda Plank and Sprucehaven Farm for hosting me today, for the Equitots at Sprucehaven clinic. It was a full day, with a broad variety of horses and ponies (all breeds). The morning was spent practicing for both warmblood inspections as well as Canadian Sport Horse Association line classes. In the afternoon, we sent some of the babies through the jumping chute.
For some of the babies this was their first trip off property. I cannot stress enough the importance of doing this with your youngsters!!
Huge thank you to both of Canada's registries! The Canadian Sport Horse Association sponsored some swag that was raffled off. sent a team of volunteers who helped present some of the babies and also helped with the jump chute. Huge thank you to these young ladies, who form part of the Canadian Young Breeders team who will compete in Denmark this summer.
To that end, the team is in fundraising mode, so if you are feeling generous, please don't hesitate to support the CW Young Breeders Team!
Ian Woodley was there all day and I can't wait to see the official pictures!

06/04/2024

When I got a 911 message late Friday afternoon, that a mare in California is at a 38 and may not hold until Monday, I scrambled to get Charlie's semen to FedEx before the cut off time for US shipments. I made it with 15 minutes to spare and I double and triple checked the paperwork so that it wouldn't get held up in customs (the favourite excuse that FedEx uses for delays).
Anyone who owns a stallion, or has been involved with breeding for a while, knows that Memphis, Tennessee, is the main hub for FedEx. It is also where semen and other shipments go to die - a major black hole. The very mention of Memphis sends shivers up our spines.
So, imagine my relief this morning, when I held my breath and checked the status of the box, and saw it had cleared Memphis!!! And then I checked a few hours later and it had indeed arrived in Sacramento without delays!!
Now it's up to the mare 🤞🙏🤞!

04/04/2024

The horse and pony spots in the clinic are full but we have room for auditors. Contact Linda Plank if you're interested in spending a fun day with babies!!
$45 including hst and lunch

31/03/2024

It's almost Beau Balou 's birthday as he was born around midnight and straddled both March 30 and March 31. His papers show March 31, but it was at 11:08 pm that his dam, Iroise de Grandry started getting restless. Her water finally broke about 1/2 hour later.
I remember his birth like it was yesterday. It came at the end of an epic 17 night/day foalwatch (we weren't using test strips yet). Megan Sykes , Emily McGladrey and myself took shifts watching. We had some fun along the way (lots of wine, cheese, and cupcakes were consumed). We also delivered a couple of other foals for Drs. Daniel Jou and Claire Plante during those 17 days. There were a few false alarms for Iroise, but, as he is in life, Charlie took his sweet time to arrive. I guess good things really do come to those who wait 😁!
I learned today he shares his birthday with Secretariat...he's in good company. What a journey it has been. Happy Birthday, Charlie 🎂❤️🎈!!!
He got a lovely present, which I will unveil tomorrow for part two of his birthday!

12/03/2024

Beau Balou is collecting tomorrow, March 13. He throws size (he is 17hh), athleticism, movement and terrific temperaments.
Semen is outstanding.
PM me for details!

05/03/2024

Sara Vu set this up for Charlie ❤️! The items are GREAT quality, so if you have fancied some Beau Balou swag, here it is! A portion of each order does go to support him. I can't wait to see some of these at horse shows this summer!

SV Equestrian is proud to be the official retailer for all things Beau Balou. All proceeds from the sales of Beau Balou merchandise goes back to support him in his incredible career and breeding program. For more information and breeding opportunities please visit Look Ahead Sporthorses. Beau Balou....

02/01/2024

Today (January 1) the birthday for all thoroughbreds as they turn 1 year older. I realized that, for the first time in 28 years, I no longer have a TB in the barn. With Mikhaila and Raven (AyAyAy) now gone, there is no TB left to wish happy birthday to 😭. I miss them both terribly 😢. This time last year they were both still having fun in the paddock. How quickly life changes.

24/12/2023

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and much peace and joy throughout the holiday season 🎄🎅🌟!

06/12/2023

I was so sorry to hear about Mr. John Rumble's passing. We were just talking about him at the Royal.
He was a class act through and through, and an incredible horseman. I will treasure this picture of him giving Beau Balou a pat during the award presentations for the Cups in 2018. Who else, at his age, would confidently pat a 3 year old stallion?!

Another icon gone 😢

06/12/2023

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

26/11/2023

Copying this from a friend, Jessica Kellner . It's a long read, but addresses a lot of information that some mare owners do not consider when choosing stallions for their mares (especially the differences between "Licensed" and "Approved":

“Buyer Beware” in the stallion selection

I thought it’s time to spread some awareness before the next breeding season. There are still a lot of new or new-to-warmblood breeders that don’t know all the ins-and-outs and might fall for misleading stallion advertisements.

A lot of stallion advertisements miss or obscure the declaration of their studbook status.

Here some things I’ve read - real life examples:
👻“Progeny can be registered with studbook ###”
This particular stallion was NEVER licensed, no health check and has zero performance under saddle: Annex. His pedigree is confirmed though. Yes, his progeny can be registered. But only with a certificate of pedigree due to the status of the sire. No mention of this fine print in the ads.

👻 “Is licensed with ###”
This was a stallion that had been licensed in the past (inspection with high enough scores), passed his health requirements and pedigree is confirmed. But he’s middle aged and never fulfilled his performance requirements. He would be stallion book II, if the stallion owner would actually pay the annual fee to activate him. Now mare owners have to pay outside stallion fees and the progeny are only eligible for white papers (what means lower studbook entry status for mares down the road and no licensing option for male progeny).

👻 “Is licensed and performance tested”
No mention, that the test score was too low for stallion book I. Stallion book II and white papers for progeny for now for most registries.

👻 “Is approved now…”
This young stallion was in fact just licensed and is still missing all performance requirements, why ‘approved’ is misleading in the context of studbook status. He is however stallion book I until age appropriate performance is required. With the still missing full performance status (lifetime approval) he does not need to be approved by other registries yet.

Bottom line:
👉 Ask for the STUDBOOK status for the particular registry you’re registering with.
👉 Ask for the ACTIVATION status, if you don’t want to have to pay outside stallion fees or even be turned away by some studbooks.
👉 Ask for LICENSE, HEALTH REQUIREMENTS, PEDIGREE CONFIRMATION.
👉 Ask for PERFORMANCE TEST or SPORT RESULTS.
👉 And last but not least, check APPROVAL status, if you use the stallion with a different WFSH registry than the one the stallion was initially licensed with.

If still in doubt, better double check with your own registry!

I hope this list is helpful. Please feel free to correct me (I’m just a breeder and don’t know everything), make suggestions or add to it in the comments with your studbook particulars. This is mainly based on German studbooks. But largely applies to most European studbooks. Also, if this turns out to be useful, please feel free to share and spread the word.

🌟 One last and very important word 🌟
Thanks to all those HONEST stallion owners that are absolutely clear about the status of their stallion and also maybe give you results of additional health tests like CEM or gene tests for health relevant mutations like FFS or fun things like colour. Thank you for having your boys licensed, health checked, performance tested and activated to help us breed sound and sane performance horses with full breeding certificates 💗

PC: Carolyn Charbonneau

24/11/2023

It's here!! The final breeding offer for Beau Balou ! If you are sitting on the fence about breeding to him, do it!!
US $1,100!!

For Black Friday, you can reserve the breeding by only paying the booking fee of cdn $450, or US$350, and the balance before breeding.

PS It makes a great present 😉!

22/11/2023

If you ever wanted a Charlie foal like one of these, now is the time to do it!

$1,050 for my US friends, shipped from Buffalo, NY

21/11/2023

Until midnight tonight! PM for a contract.

www.beaubalou.com

20/11/2023

I just got the best present ever!! I think it's no secret I love this filly (Beau Balou x Padarco).

At 3, she is 17hh, a beautiful mover, and is an angel. I can't wait to see what she does in 2024... I would consider letting her go, only to a very special home who will develop and show her. I would also like to retain an ET right.

Thank you Carolyn Charbonneau for this spectacular picture of Belle Balou (Charlene).

20/11/2023

It's a good day to get a breeding to Beau Balou! It would make a great gift for someone special ❤️!

www.beaubalou.com

19/11/2023

This stallion produces the best foals, and it all started with Tigger Balou ❤️.

For our US mare owners, the price is US $925 and we can ship the semen from Buffalo.

www.beaubalou.com

🇨🇦

14/10/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1095692765131969&id=100040737676320&mibextid=ZbWKwL

09/10/2023

A family affair...
Grandma, mother, and daughter.

01/10/2023

What a great day! More later...Belle Balou was 3rd out of 26 beautiful horses and, in only one show, she has qualified for the Governor General's Cup at the Royal!
Thank you Garry Roque !!

01/10/2023

Belle Balou (Charlene) 's Big girl pants are on!

She went on the longest trailer ride of her life, without her friends at home, and for her first sleep-over horseshow.

She settled in great at Royal Canadian Riding Academy for the 2023 Canadian Sport Horse Association Cup qualifiers.

30/09/2023

Beau Balou doesn't have to wear an orange shirt to respect and honour today's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
We should all pause a moment to reflect...
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

PC Karie Elizebeth Rice