Having pinned down the need to expand our herd due to work-related reasons, I introduced a teaser to our ladies a few days before the arrival of newcomers Ebony and Ivory, to see which of our two senior mares were in heat. A well behaved stallion arrived to the Ark one Saturday morning,

and was greeting by four very eager ladies!

The gentlallion that he was, he started off by introducing himself correctly, much to the delight of three very interested equine ladies.

Herd leader Sahara, however, would hear none off it and told the gentlallion to back off.

Despite Sahara’s warnings, Isolde the Eager stepped forward to make friends with the handsome stallion.

This made Sahara the herd leader see red and she launched towards the gentlallion, shoving Isolde aside.

The herd however did not back up their leader, for the visitor was an intriguing one. With four month older Isolde put in place my her bossy mother, equally bossy princess Kalahari decided it was HER chance to make a move.

In a rare moment of respectful equine conduct, Kalahari approached the handsome sire using dramatic filly language to ensure free passage into the adult world. The dark gentlallion listened to her claims and was about to respond-

…when Kalahari’s mother attacked from the side.

As Sahara was obviously not on heat, we removed her from the scene before she injured herself against the railing and let Arwen greet the lovely boy instead.

Arwen’s reaction and interest was very clear. From the looks of it, she was just a day or two from being ready for mating, which was perfect to us.

As for Junior the teaser, he was the best gentlallion the herd has ever met, and they were sorry to see him go (Arwen especially). I could not conclude whether our yearlings Isolde and Kalahari were on heat or not, but it mattered little since they will not be mated for many good years anyhow.

Some two days later, Arwen was successfully mated to the sire of our choice; a multi champion purebred barb stallion named Bimbo (!), who in addition to suber speed is also known for his comfortable ambling gaits - which is the most important quality that I am looking for. This was by far the most peaceful mating Arwen has ever had - for this time, we did not do it “the Hausa way”. They mated twice and Arwen may very well have liked to mate again, but poor Bimbo was completely exhausted after his siring efforts that he could not be brought for a follow-up. In a month or two, I will try Arwen again with a teaser, to see if the mating has taken. We wish her good luck!