16 February 2023 - Flipbook - Page 78
78
HORSEWEEK
FARMWEEK
FEBRUARY 16 2023
Cavan hits 80% clearance
for its first sale of 2023
T
HE Sales Year opened
at Cavan with a
flying trade for both
horses and ponies.
Demand was strong
from both commercial and
private buyers, with intense
bidding both ring side and
online from the start of the
sale. This demand stayed
in gear throughout the
day, which led to a thrilling
experience for both vendors
and purchasers. Growth
was evident again in all the
key areas and left everyone
anticipating a bumper year
ahead!
Kieran Kennedy’s ‘Ryagan
Lad’, a stunning model of
a
five-year-old
chestnut
gelding by ‘Lancelot’, out of a
‘Tannenhofs Carmelitos’ dam
with training show and crosscountry experience, topped
the horse sale and procured
this Lot by phone bid.
‘Lucky McKel’ outshone
in the pony category, when
presented
by
Suzanne
Kirwan, who showed off this
young three-year-old 148 bay
mare, with a nice background
at it’s best. No doubt Ms L
Geraghty will work her magic
and we will see much more of
Lucky McKel in the future!
HIGHLIGHTS
Some highlights from the
sale were as follows.
The top priced Ponies at
the Performance Sale were:
Lot 27 - Three-Year-Old
Bay mare 148cm Approx by
‘Lucky Luck’ (previously ‘Le
Quirky Jnr’) - €11,500;
Lot 27A - Seven-Year-Old
Bay gelding 148cm Approx by
‘Rober River Mist’ - €8,600;
HORSE
NUTRITION
WATER
REQUIREMENTS:
Left, The amount
of water required
daily by horses
is determined
by the amount
of water losses
from its body.
(FW07-500NN)
TOP PRICED PONY: Lot 27, a three-year-old bay mare 148cm
approx by ‘Lucky Luck’ (previously ‘Le Quirky Jnr’) was the
top priced pony at €11,500 at Cavan’s first sale of the year.
(FW07-516NN)
Lot 25 - Four-Year-Old
Blue and White mare 148cm
Approx - €7,300;
Lot 4 - 10-Year-Old Grey
gelding 128cm Approx €7,100;
Lot 31 - Five-Year-Old Grey
mare 148cm Approx by
‘Maam Hero’ - €5,750;
Lot 20 - Five-Year-Old Grey
gelding 148cm Approx €5,600.
The horses also outdid
themselves
and
the
following are the top priced
Horses:
Lot 79 - Five-Year-Old
Chestnut
gelding
168cm
Approx by ‘Lancelot’ €12,500;
Lot 40 - 10-Year-Old Grey
mare 167cm Approx by
‘Zirocco Blue VDL’ - €11,200;
Lot 89 - Four-Year-Old Steel
Grey gelding 162cm Approx
by ‘Kilrooskey Boy CP’ €10,400;
IMPRESSIVE: Lot 40, a 10-year-old grey mare
167cm approx by ‘Zirocco Blue VDL’ made an
impressive €11,200 at Cavan’s first sale of
the year. (FW07-517NN)
Lot 45 - Eight-Year-Old Grey
gelding 165cm Approx by
‘Figaro VD Heffnick’ - €9,300;
Lot 42 - Nine-Year-Old
Skewbald gelding 165cm
Approx - €9,200;
Lot 71 - Five-Year-Old
Chestnut mare 164cm Approx
by
‘Castleview
Inisfree
Farmer’ - €9,200;
Lot 74 - Five-Year-Old
Chesnut
gelding
163cm
Approx by ‘Pointilliste’ €9,200.
The
next
Performance
Horse and Pony Sale at Cavan
is on Wednesday, March
29 and Thursday, March
30. Enter online at www.
cavanequestrian.com.
The Stallion Parade and
Equine Expo is on Sunday,
March 26 and you can
enter your stallion or book
a Trade Stand at www.
cavanequestrian.com.
RESPECTABLE: Lot 4, a 10-year-old
grey gelding 128cm approx made a very
respectable price of €7,100 at Cavan’s first
sale of the year. (FW07-515NN)
Irish riders out in force at Wellington
■ continued from back page
Allen went on: “He’s been a fantastic horse
for me, he’s only 11 now but he’s been to the
Olympics, he’s been to the World Equestrian
Games, the last two seasons he’s been here
and won a 5* Grand Prix. He’s a great horse
to have.”
Three riders posed a significant challenge
to Allen’s blistering jump off time, Germany’s
Richard Vogel riding ‘Codex 28’ and America’s
McLain Ward with ‘HH Azur’. However, Vogel
had one fence down in the jump off in a time
of 38.78 and Ward had two fences down in a
time of 39.98.
The only other rider to record a jump-off
time under 40 seconds was Co. Down’s Conor
Swail and ‘Count Me In’, who jumped clear in a
time of 39.29 seconds to finish in second place.
Owned by Sandy Lupton and Mannon Farm,
this combination were part of the winning Aga
Khan team at the RDS Dublin Horse Show last
year.
Galway’s Andrew Bourns and the Irish Sport
Horse ‘Sea Topblue’ finished in fifth place.
The 12-year-old gelding is owned by Andrew
Bourns and OBS Equestrian LLC, and was
bred in Co. Clare by James and John Meade.
He is by ‘Chacco Blue’ (MECKL) and out of ‘Sea
Top Lady’ (ISH), by ‘Lux Z’ (HANN).
An unfortunate fence down in the jump off
kept Darragh Kenny and ‘Chic Chic’ from a top
five finish. The combination finished in ninth
place.
BREEDING
Pacino Amiro (ISH) - 2012 gelding by Pacino
(BWP), out of Carnone Dancing Queen (ISH)
by NC Amiro (AES). Breeder: Simon Scott,
Co. Donegal. Owner: Aiden McGrory. Rider:
Bertram Allen (IRL).
Sea Topblue (ISH) - 2011 gelding by Chacco
Blue (MECKL), out of Sea Top Lady (ISH)
by Lux Z (HANN). Breeders: James & John
Meade, Co. Clare. Owner: Andrew Bourns and
OBS Equestrian LLC. Rider: Andrew Bourns
(IRL).
Water: An often forgotten nutrient
THE most important nutrient in the horse’s
diet is one that is often forgotten about:
water.
An adult horse’s body is composed of
roughly 70% water, which equates to about
360 litres of water for the average 500kg horse.
Foals have an even higher water content,
roughly 80%. The amount of water required
daily by horses is determined by the amount
of water losses from its body. These losses
occur through faeces, urine, sweat, etc.
An individual horse’s water requirement
is dependent on the age, environment,
temperature, humidity, fitness level and
type/ quality of feed consumed. In the case
of the lactating mare, stage of lactation also
plays a large role in water requirement.
INTAKE
Average water intake for a 500kg horse:
- Mature, idle, 20° C: 21-29 litres
- Mature, idle, 30° C: 42-54 litres
- Lactating mare: 40-63 litres
- Moderate exercise, 20° C: 26-46 litres
- Moderate exercise, 30° C: 72-92 litres
TEMPERATURE
Environmental temperature has a dramatic
effect on water consumption. When
temperatures rise, intake rises; the same
applies when temperature drops, which can
lead to increased incidence of impaction
colic. The addition of salt to the diet will
increase the horse’s desire to consume water.
Water temperature plays a key role in water
consumption. Water around 10-18°C seems to
be the sweet spot to encourage consumption.
Studies have shown a drop of 38-41% when
horses were offered near freezing water.
Aside from temperature, the freshness,
purity and palatability of the water also
influences consumption. As a rule, water
intake is directly related to dry matter intake,
horses consuming all-hay high-fibre diets
drink more water than horses fed a grainbased diet paired with hay.
Monitoring horses’ water intake on
pastures can often be misleading, especially
when pastures are lush. Green pasture
grasses can be 65-80% water, which means
many horses can consume much of their
water requirement simply by eating pasture.
QUALITY
Water quality plays a major role in not just
determining intake, but also the health of a
horse. Water quality is an important factor
in water intake. Odours from minerals, such
as iron and sulphur, can negatively affect
palatability. Temperatures below 5°C and
over 30°C have shown significantly reduced
intake. Colour seems to be more of an issue
to humans than to horses.
Regarding pH, water should be in the range
of 6.5 to 8.5. If the pH is more acidic (less
than 5.5), acidosis and reduced feed intake
may occur. Highly alkaline water (over 9)
may cause digestive upsets and diarrhoea.
Many types of algae are present in the
water, one of the more prominent species is
blue-green algae.
If consumed in large amounts, bluegreen algae can cause muscle tremors,
respiratory distress and diarrhoea, among
other issues. Other algae can produce
hepatotoxins, which are toxins affecting the
liver. Bacteria, such as salmonella, can be
an issue in horses consuming poor-quality
water, causing major health and reproductive
problems.
HOW CAN WE MANAGE WATER QUALITY?
Water quality management may be as
simple as regular cleaning and maintenance
of buckets and drinkers, or the addition of
filtration systems. More extensive treatment
options are available for those with
problematic water. Testing of water provides
a snapshot of your water quality, which, when
added to pasture testing and nutritional feed
analysis, can reduce vet expenses in the
long run. If you do choose to test your water,
find an accredited laboratory that is able to
interpret results and provide advice.
■ Contact the Bluegrass Horse Feed Nutritional
helpline for further advice.
sponsored by
Transforming Equine Nutrition
www.bluegrasshorsefeed.com
T: +44 (0)28 3754 8276
E: info@bluegrasshorsefeed.com