Ninth Week in Mauritius
The Ninth week In Mauritius
This week got off to the most amazing start. I was given a new stallion for my stud by a really good friend of mine Greg Gallagher. Greg gave me his stallion Armageddon Lord Cain, can you believe it, aren’t I really blessed? A big thank you, Greg.
On Sunday the 6th November, we met Lindy, a lady that is sending a horse to Jersey in the UK. The horse Arusha is with us in quarantine, and he is – wait for it, 26 years old. He is such a lovely soul that I can quite see why somebody would want to keep him no matter what. Kayla and I have introduced Arusha to our boys, so they can all graze on the track together. They are actually becoming quite good friends now. Kayla rides Arusha if the grooms do not get the time to ride him, as he loses condition if he is not ridden.
On Monday morning we went swimming again, 11 horses went out at a time, it was so nice to see them all playing together in the water. It was high tide, so there were patches where the horses could swim properly – that is if they are not too big. Peri went in to about half way up his stomach, and the other little Arabs were swimming around him – it was really something to see.
Our boys also had another pedicure (feet trimmed) on Monday. They think they are in heaven with all this fussing around them. On a more serious note though – the sea water is really doing all their feet good, they still are a little soft, but not breaking anymore.
Tuesday we went for our ride in the forest and bush, then up the beach and back again, it is a really nice ride, and our boys are actually getting fitter from this ride.
Wednesday we were off to swim again – we seem to have a pattern going, swim one day, ride the next, then swim again and so on – Island life is so hard, you don’t know what to do when. ;-)
On Thursday we went for our ride, and when we came back on the beach, there were lots of people everywhere, we knew we were not supposed to be there if there was a holiday, but this one was a special holiday, and not on the Mauritian calendar. Anyway we now had to ride through all these people, which is not a problem with our boys. Lots of people asked for pictures to be taken with the horses, which we were happy to let them do. Then while walking out of the crowd, Peri was tucking his bum in really strangely, and when I checked behind us, there was this little girl in her pink dress hanging on Peri’s tail. Thank the Lord Peri does not kick. That was quite an experience, and I now know that Peri is swing proof :-)
We also introduced little Rascal to Peri, and all Rascal wants is to chew Peri’s forelock and mane. We put Rascal on Peri’s back, and for some reason he just starts digging on Peri. Peri thought this was great, his own personal masseuse.
Peri has also explained very nicely to everybody that he will not be having his door closed, so after a couple of days of banging, we decided to put up his lead as a door, and he is now the happiest horse here. Only Peri can get us all twisted around his hoof like that.
Our swim on Friday was really nice. I rode Peri down bareback, and then we swam in the sea, and I rode him back. I wish we could have got a little deeper, so Peri could swim, and not just touch the bottom, but there is too much coral for that. When we had a decent wave, it splashed Peri’s back. The vampires (vets) came to suck blood in the afternoon, to get all the tests done for the next part of our adventure.
On Saturday morning we rode along the beach, and once again it was just fantastic, we could get used to this kind of life. In the afternoon we went to see a Federation show jumping show, which was interesting to see. Most of the people here import tack for their horses, they do not have the luxury of walking into tack shops and having a selection of saddles etc.
On Sunday Lindy came to visit Arusha, and her daughter Kim and Kayla rode Arusha and Bailie around the track. I think both the girls had fun with their boys J It is so nice being able to chat to somebody who is fluent in English, and understands you when you talk fast, and the best is we can talk horses. I must say we are a little isolated here, but we are still enjoying it, however I think after this trip Kayla and I will need a break from each other, and we will be happy to have our family around us again.
Well we only have 4 weeks left in Mauritius, and we are looking forward to moving to the cooler climate in Germany, and as you can see below, life here is just too exhausting for Kayla and Rascal.
