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OUR EXMOOR PONIES
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Vanessa Bee www.positivehorsemanship.co.uk
Following the success of our pony handling course this year, Vanessa and Philip Bee are coming to West Ilkerton again on Friday 31st October 2008 to run a three-day course titled 'Handling the Un-handled Exmoor Pony: The Five Foundation Skills From Scratch'.
Accommodation and all meals will be provided at West Ilkerton Farm.
The cost of the course plus accommodation will be £300 for 3 days from Friday 31st October 2.00pm to Monday 3rd November 5pm. You are welcome to stay for the Monday night for an extra £20 B&B.
There will be space for six residential participants on the course. Two places are already booked, so book early to avoid disappointment. You will be allocated an un-handled young Exmoor pony to teach, under the careful guidance of Vanessa and Philip.
The aim is that by the end of the three-day course, you will have taught a previously un-handled pony the five foundation skills which all domesticated horses need: catching, leading, tying up, loading and feet handling. All these are taught using the positive horsemanship methods Vanessa has developed through her own experiences with wild ponies, and while working with and learning from horsemen like Monty Roberts and Mark Rashid.
Please contact us for further details |
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TINKERBELL
FRITHELSDEN TINKERBELL 9/68 ("TINKS") was our first Exmoor pony. As you can see from the photo, she's an old lady now. She was born in 1984 and she's had an action-packed life, with lots of competition work and some long days out hunting. She was a real 'Pocket Rocket' in her day. We bought her for
Sarah when Sarah was eight, and together they had a lot of fun, especially when Sarah was a bit older. When Sarah went on to a larger pony, we decided to keep Tinkerbell because we wanted to breed from her. Unfortunately, she never got in foal and the free-living Exmoors were pretty horrible to her, so we kept her as a pet and companion pony. She is now becoming very stiff with arthritis, but we hope we'll be able to nurse her through this winter.
Photo of Tinks by Matthew Byatt
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OUR STALLION
ACRESWILD ZEITGEIST 230/3 ("ZIGGY") is a very special chap. He is the only registered Exmoor stallion who is a direct descendant of Just Jennifer 75/1. Just Jennifer was born in 1943, and was one of the founder registered Exmoor pony mares. Currently there are just nine registered mares and Ziggy (plus Ziggy's daughter, Stardust, and son, Beckham) who carry Just Jennifer's genes. Ziggy came to us in mid-May 2006, as a two-year-old who had recently passed his stallion inspection. It took a while for our mares to accept him (to begin with they were truly vile to him) but now they like and respect him. He's a very good-natured stallion, and he's a true gentleman with his mares. He loves joining in with the foals when they're playing.
In the excellent video/DVD Discovering Exmoor Ponies there is a newborn foal on Rackenford Moor. The foal is Ziggy, with his dam, Cranbrookpaddocks Sanlucar 190/9. His sire was Liqueur A/167-A. He was born in June 2004. His Grandparents were Moorland Kingfisher (99/22), Drambuie (A/13-A), Siskin (49/38) and Grayswood Bracken (H59/2). His greatgrandsires were Prince Arthur (23/142), Snoopy (A/253), Hawkwell Cock Robin (12/94) and Coxmoor Toadflax (H28/1)
After much thought, we have decided that we will not take in visiting mares. Our mares are a tight family unit, and they don't take kindly to strangers (Ziggy will testify to that!), so the responsibility of turning visiting mares out with the herd will be too great. With any luck, I'll have several foals by him for sale from 2008 onwards, if anyone is looking for his bloodlines. Ziggy and his daughter feature in the photo banner at the top of this website.
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Ziggy at two years old (2006) |
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Ziggy and his daughter, Stardust (2007) |
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OUR MARES
LOVING CUP A/155-A 1995 Sire FROGGY A/52 Dam WINECUP A/277
CHRISTMAS PUDDING 349/2 1999 Sire FIRST TIME 44/9 Dam HOLLY A/79
TRIFLE 349/3 1999 Sire FIRST TIME 44/9 Dam LOVING CUP A/155
IVY 349/4 2000 Sire FIRST TIME 44/9 Dam HOLLY A/79
CLARET 349/5 2000 Sire FIRST TIME 44/9 Dam LOVING CUP A/155
ILKERTON FANTA 265/14 2006 Sire ORANGE JUICE A/222-A Dam IVY 349/4
ILKERTON SUNNY DELIGHT 265/15 2006 Sire ORANGE JUICE A/222-A Dam CHRISTMAS PUDDING 349/2
ILKERTON BUCKS FIZZ 265/13 2006 Sire ORANGE JUICE A/222-A Dam TRIFLE 349/3 |
Loving Cup & foal, Beckham (2007) |
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Claret and her 2007 foal, Jenny Wren (photo by Mike Howlett) |
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OUR GELDINGS
DUNKERY COALTIT ("Jack") 78/136 Born 2002 Sire LIQUEUR A/167-A Dam DUNKERY CORN BUNTING 78/119
DUNKERY SHRIKE ("Harry") 78/145 Born 2003 Sire LIQUEUR A/167-A Dam DUNKERY CORN BUNTING 78/119
We bought Jack and Harry to drive as a pair, but they're turning into a bit of a long-term project as we're having to cure Harry of a fear of rattly things behind him. They are very responsive when worked in a shed, and very good at long-reining, but still rather lively in open fields. Definitely more of a challenge than Shire horses, but well worth the effort. They're very quick to learn (not always a good thing!) and highly intelligent. |
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FOR SALE
Ilkerton Jenny Wren and Ilkerton Swallow are by Knightoncombe Swift, who didn't pass his stallion inspection when he was two because he had an undescended testicle, so they can't be fully registered but they are on the Section X register.
JennyWren's dam is Claret (349/5) Swallow's dam is Ivy (349/4) They're both lovely-looking fillies. Jenny is light brown and Swallow is dark brown. They are very good friends.
They were kept in and handled for several weeks after the course with Vanessa Bee, but now they're out running with the herd for the winter. It won't be possible to get the herd in again until the cows and calves are turned out of the sheds at the end of March, so anyone wanting to buy one or both of them will have to wait until the spring (preferably until after lambing at the end of April). If they don't sell, I'm going to try breeding some Thoroughbred x Exmoors from them because they're such lovely ponies.
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Jenny Wren £250 + VAT
Swallow £200 + VAT
OR £350 TOGETHER |
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SOLD TODAY (3/12/07)
STARDUST 265/21 . Registered filly. Born end of May 2007. Dam Christmas Pudding, Sire Ziggy. Greatgrandsires: Moorland Kingfisher, Siskin, Dazzling Boy and Cracker
We are delighted that the lady who has bought Stardust is also going to give Beckham 265/17 a loving home.
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Left, below left and below: Stardust |
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Please contact me if you would like to be informed when ponies are available for sale. |
Ziggy |
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