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Home2018 - 2023 Review of Life at Kerewong
Remembering the past 6 years
Usually overdue, my yearly reviews often start with: "Time has gotten away from me again..." This time there are no excuses: I just didn't do the reviews. For 6 years!! The reason has been that there have been quite difficult years that I didn't feel needed to be reviewed. I rather just let them roll over and move on. It was a 5 year run of natural disasters and personal difficulties.
So why a review now? First of all, the last year, 2023, was actually a very good year that deserves to be reviewed. Also, a couple of weeks ago Guy from France asked why I don't write the Newsletter and Year Reviews anymore as he is not on social media and had always looked forward to receiving the newsletter and enjoyed reading them and to stay up to date of what's happening at Kerewong. So I want to honour that and decided I better get going with it again. But before I can share all the good things that happened in 2023, I really should fill the 5 year gap of eary 2018 to the end of 2022.
So here are the not so pretty bullet points:
2018 The Year of the Accident
- The year that had me full of exciting anticipating of what was to come, started with a bang, and that was my leg breaking in a million little pieces. In February 2018 my leg was shattered when the ground on the forest trail gave away underneath my horse's legs, my horse and I fell in the hole and then the horse slammed onto me in a traumatic horse-riding related accident (see the 2017-2018 Year Review) and it took the most part of the year to literally get me back on my feet. I started the riding tours again in October, as there were so many bookings I didn't want to cancel, but in hindsight it was too early. I got through the year with the help of some of the most fantastic helpers I have ever had: Berit and Alicia from Germany, Veerle from The Netherlands and Océane from France. With 2 plates and 20 screws in my leg and ankle, I had chronic pain for the following 5 years.
- Another total low point was that shortly after my accident, problems quickly arose between the dogs. More specifically, things got out of hand with Bowie as he was no longer under my control and the situation escalated into a number of very serious dog fights, that almost cost Bowie his life. This series of events made me desperately start looking for professional help again and this time I found it at last. The temperament assessment and intensive training week was a turning point in my life with Bowie. It changed our lives. From then on life with Bowie became much more managable. Not easy, but easier. I learned how to manage him and what I could and could not expect from him, my special dog. The defining fact was that I found a specialist dog trainer who understood Bowie's behaviour, knew and taught me the skills how to manage his wide range of behaviour problems and most of all believed in me as a handler, animal trainer and responsible dog owner. This is what saved us.
- Although the horse business was closed for 8 months due to my injury and I had to cancel so many bookings, business was still quite good for the remainder of the year with Horse Riding Guests from: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, UK, Australia, USA, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Norway and The Netherlands.
- The year also ended with a bang and that was when we had a freak mini-cyclone come through and a big tree fell on the workers cabin (nobody was injured, but the cabin was). The power was out and the roads were blocked by fallen trees and Pepe Dog decided that exactly in that night he needed to go to emergency hospital and I thought I'd loose him if I don't get him there. So I woke the neighbour in the middle of the night to help me cut the trees to clear the road so I could get through. Pepe stayed in hospital for a few days. His stomach had never really been well, already since from before he moved in with me the year before, but he recovered, I made changes to his diet and he has been in excellent health since.
- I ended the year with the same animals as I started it. What a blessing! All the horses were good, especially when I wasn't!!
2019 The Year of the Big Drought and Bush Fires
- Again, the year started with a bang, and that was my fabulous dog Jeddas Achilles tendon rupture. Years and years of running at maximum speed with mind blowing acceleration, the poor genetics combination of super-mutt breeding, obsessive toy and play drives, loads of jumping on hind legs, probably already as a puppy (I got her as a crazy playful 1.25 year old), Jedda's thigh muscle tore her achilles tendon off the heel bone. This is a rare injury but typically happens in large sporting dogs. She had surgery by a specialist orthopedic surgeon and a very lengthy rehab period but everything seemed to go well by the end of the year.
- After 18 years of good fortune and no horse deaths, the unevitable finally happpened and the first Kerewong horse died. My beautiful Palomino mare Ness, the matriarch of the herd, developed bone cancer in her leg and was euthanised at almost 24 years old, after 3.5 years of retirement.
- Two special new horses arrived: not Arabians but Brumbies! Brumbies are Australia's wild horses and these 2 were captured from the Guy Fawkes River National Park in NSW. They had spent some years with a Natural Horsemanship Trainer so they were no longer wild when they arrived at Kerewong. I bought the Brumbies because I wanted something different from the Arabs - how silly of me! - and want to promote the Brumby breed via the horse treks business. Guy Fawkes Dodge and The Blonde Brumby were captured at the same time from the same area and have a strong bond. They are very different both in body type and temperament, but are both lovely horses. They are amazing horses on the bush trails and the most sure-footed horses I ever had, but they lack the stamina the Arabians are so famous for. Brumbies can go all day too, but preferably at a slower pace.
- Aliya retired early, 18 years old, as she already had been my best worker for 10+ years and was struggling with the work. If any horse deserves an early retirement, it is little Aliya and I'm so glad I made that decision in her best interest.
- We had the driest year I ever experienced since living at Kerewong. The year started with enduring extreme heatwaves, so much that tours had to be cancelled. It was too hot, multiple days around 40 degrees heat and not cooling off much at night. Then it became very dry over winter. The property went to dust and by spring the only grass left was in the usually boggy but now totally dry gullies. It got scary when it got very hot again in spring but the spring rains didn't come, just a lot of wind to dry things out even more and bring more fire risk. It was the first time I almost ran out of water for the horses and hay was super expensive and scarce. We said we will never complain about rain ever again, just let the rain come back! The worry, fear and feeling of helplessness of possibly running out of horse water and not being able to get enough food for your animals, plus on top of that the constantly looming bush fire danger and limited evacuation options for a big herd of horses, is one of the worst experiences I've had as a lifestock animals owner. The relief and gratitude that we were going to be okay, when the rain finally came, was immense. Of course a year later we complained about the rain anyways, because Australia is just a country of extreme weather conditions.
- A bit more about the bush fires, that made world wide headlines: In November, my busiest month of the year!, luckily inbetween riding tours and cancelled bookings, there were a few terrifying days were we had big fires all around us and it was just a waiting game where the wind was going to send it. We were on evacuation alert. I made an evacuation plan, which meant 3 trips with 2 horse trailers (6 per trip) to move the horses and we had everything packed and ready. But I eventually made the decision to not evacuate 15 horses unless it was absolutely necessary, because well, moving and keeping 15 horse somehwere else is a big operation and also, would they be safe in the new location? The fires where everywhere. According to the catastrophic fire predictions, our small valley pocket was going to be spared and my property and paddocks were just dust. The horses would hopefully be okay and the fire go around the paddocks, but there is always the risk of smoke inhalation. We had some scary days but in the end we didn't have to leave, the fire didn't come here and we were safe. It was very close and we were very lucky with the wind conditions and directions on the most dangerous days.
And again, I did have the most fantastic set of helpers ever: Dutch Veerle, German Sophia and French Océane during that time. The helpers and the riding guests unfortunately didn't see the sun much during their Kerewong stay. It was strange that an otherwise beautiful sunny warm summers day with blue skies, was just thick with smoke. We were lucky that although there were so many big fires in the region, only a small part of my horse riding forest area burned.
- Horse Riding guests came from France, UK, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, New Zealand and Australia. During the time of the fires we had no access to the forest and we solved this by riding on private farm properties, some country roads and did extra beach rides. Riding the beautiful terraces of the Avocado Farm in Comboyne was a treat! However, the smoke from the fires made it often difficult, there were no views and we could only ride slow and sometimes not at all due to the health risk of smoke inhalation for the horses, if they would trot or canter.
- Something new, positive and exciting (actually the best thing that happened!!) is that I started Dog Agility with my very talented and athletic Australian Cattle Dog Pepe, who's biggest hurdle to overcome was not the jumps and obstacles, but his timid nature when things get busy and noisy. He is a horse trail blazing dog in his heart! Dog Agility is so much fun though and we persevere and get better every year.
- Oh and then I also had a frozen shoulder for about 18 months, so basically all of 2020 and into 2021!! Let's forget about that!! Agony!!
2020 The Year of Covid
- We all know what Covid did to tourism. Let's skip that year. I was lucky that I received very good financial support from the Australian Government as all my bookings were cancelled. Horse riding guests for the first 3 months of 2020 came from Switzerland, Germany, UK, South Africa, USA and Australia. After that there was nothing. Later in the year I started with the weekend rides for Sydney-siders. Everything changed. The business changed from having 90% International riders and 10% Australian to 100% Australian residents.
- In October, totally against my nature (this is not a joke), I made a spontaneous decision to help rescue a neglected Brumby who was presented at an online auction and didn't have anyone come forward to help him. It is a similar story to when I decided to rescue Bowie (I should not ever make spontaneous decisions). Scared young animals without an option. Like Bowie, Kalypso would probably not have survived if I hadn't held my hand up. Who takes on a neglected emaciated 4 year old unhandled stallion? I did! And I don't know what it is, but I seem to be unlucky with my rescue animals. It soon became clear that he was not only starved, but also treated badly, and is unsound due to an old soft tissue injury in his hindleg! Either way, I'm not sure if he ever would have made a good working horse as he is extremely suspicious and reactive to touch. But, like Bowie, none of this is his fault, I have learned so much and still do, I had never before brought a horse back from death's doorstep and gained his trust. Kalypso is safe with me.
- Kamal retired, aged 22. He is the last to retire of my original (1st Generation) Kerewong horses. The end of an Era. I miss them on the trails with me.
2021 The Year of the Big Floods
- In March 2021, just when it seemed that the worst of Covid was over and bookings picked up again, our region was hit by an enormous amount of rain. 250mm per day over 4 consecutive days totalled to 1 metre of rain in 4 days! It was a natural disaster and emergency situation for those in lower lying areas and so many farm- and wild animals died. Same as when we had the fires, Kerewong was lucky to be in a location to escape the worst of this distaster. While my property is not at risk of flooding as I live pretty much on a hill, the roads were flooded and the power was off for 4 days without being able to get to town. The phone and internet was out for 4 weeks. The Forest was destroyed, even more then during the bush fires. Landslides, washed away bridges, damaged road, fallen trees. Forest access was closed and it took years to clean up all the damage. Some trails are lost forever. After 3 consecutive difficult years, whilst sitting in my car along the side of the road for a wifi signal to do my emails and cancel and refund numerous bookings yet again, and no access to ride in the forest for the near future, I decided that enough was enough and closed the business for 1 year.
- With closing the business, removing the horse shoes and the continued wet weather, there came the hoof abscessess, in all the horses! Sometimes treating up to 5 horses at the same time for hoof abscessess in one or more hooves. Kerewong was a horse hooves hospital!
- And then 2 horses got really sick. After caring for them for many agonising months and being let down terribly by my long time veterinarian, my 2 exquisite Arabian mares Kiya (28) and Aliya (20) were kindly euthanised only a few days apart, by my newly found equine vet, after a long period of chronic age-related illnesses (cancer). It was a blessing that this happened during a period that the business was closed and I had time to care for them. I'm grateful I could help these 2 kind horses pass on eventually and the experience has taught me so much for the future.
2022 The Year of the Big Wet
- It was another year of rain rain and more rain. I opened the business again but the weather just wouldn't stop getting in the way. With International Travellers still not returning, I had mostly Weekend Ride bookings that were rescheduled more often then not due to the weather.
- Only a short time after loosing Kiya and Aliya, 21 year old Dream started to become unwell and he deteriorated slowly but gradually over several months. When it became clear that he didn't respond to treatment and wasn't going to get better, the kindest thing to do for him was let him go and euthanise him on a good day, which happened in April 2022. A good death for a good horse, who had a good life all his life, including the end. Still, 1 horse death in 20 years and then 3 horse deaths in 7 months is a bit much.
- 2 new horses arrived, Arabian Warmbloods!!! 9 year old bay mare Queen T. and 5 year old black/brown gelding Nino.
- Midway through the year Kuta has a tendon injury, while going too fast into soft sand on the beach. He had a year off to heal and can work again but will have to keep his speed under control from now on. No more beach racing!!
- The dogs: 3 years to the day of her first achilles rupture and with no warning signs that the tendon was breaking down, Jedda tore her achilles tendon again. A little slip on a run up a hill on the property and it was done. If one achiless tendon rupture is rare, having a second rupture 3 years later, is extremely rare. Her condition was diagnosed as chronic degenerative. I didn't want to amputate the leg in fear of her other leg one day also breaking down - in hindsight the right decision. She had the same repair surgery again and unfortunately this repair failed after 5 months. We went to a different specialist vet hospital and Jedda had a third surgical repair which would be the last one possible because the tendon is such poor quality. Since then, she wears a brace to protect the leg from another injury. Jedda has been an amazing patient who took everything in her stride, was and still is always happy to enter the hospital to greet everyone and has been exemplary in her rehab and accepting and wearing her brace. Her fantastic temperament is the reason I did it all. Not many dogs would be able to tolerate all of this without a problem. Bowie tore his ACL Knee ligament and had surgery too! It was a dog rehabilitation ward here for most of the year. All this time it was raining!! What sticks in my mind of 2022 is the many kilometres travelled with the dogs to the specialst vet hospital for Jedda (7 hours return drive, sometimes weekly or even twice weekly), short leash walks with 2 dogs seperately in the rain before and after taking horse riders out for the day. Perseverance! Definetely Dog Owner of the Year! Even the surgeons and staff at the Specialist Vet Hospital said the perseverance and dedication of both me and my dog was extraordinary. I can only say, maybe similar to the life with Bowie, that I fully understand the many reasons why many owners would give up, but I didn't want to and neither did my dog, and I am fortunate that I was/am able to do it. Highlight was that Pepe (my only sound dog!) and I continued on our Dog Agility journey and did quite well at competitions. Not surprisingly Pepe won a Fittest Dog Award at an Endurance Dog Event. The 3 dogs also featured in a Fundraiser Photo Book for dogs in our region with some spectacular photos by Dog Photographer Jo Lyons. One of my best memories with the 3 dogs! So, all in all lots of things happened on the dog front.
- The Kerewong Endurance Ride Project 2022. The idea started with Nathan, the Mongol Derby Competitor, coming to train at Kerewong to prepare for the Mongolian horse race. If I take one rider with me, why not take more?, I thought. I have taken 1 rider with me several times before, but taking a group of riders on my horses to local endurance ride events, seemed like a great exciting new idea. Okay, a time-consuming project to train so many horses, but fun! Had I not chosen this project in the Year of the Big Wet, with the ground saturated, soggy and boggy everywhere, we would have had a total blast. I spent many months training 5 Kerewong horses, mostly in the rain!, for the 40 km endurance rides. The riders committed to coming up for training weekends. But then, the Endurance events were all one after the other postponed and cancelled due to the extremely wet weather conditions and the ride base camp grounds just too wet to take trucks and horse float!! Disappointment Galore! Thank goodness, at the end of the season we did manage to go to one event, which was a great success, but also a bit of a anti-climax. After so many cancellations, we didn't dare to believe it was actually going to happen. But it did happen and I choose that photo (PC: Animals Focus) as my Photo of the Year (well, 6 years...). It was a proud moment, especially having the 2 Brumbies on that ride along with older Arab Toby. The Brumbies were cheered on by everybody and Toby was one of the 2 horses with the lowest heart rate of the event.
- And then there was this constant thing with Manni (30) trying to kill himself in 2022. Manni made 3 serious attempts to die in 2022. He survived against the odds of his geriatric age and the freak-injuries he sustained: an arterial bleed, an almost septic arthritic hock joint and an internal injury to his upper airway. I fought for him and he fought for his survival. He is alive and well and without a doubt the toughest horse I know.
2023 A Good Year!!
- It was an unusual pleasure to have 2023 as a good year for a change! The change actually came at the end of 2022, when I finally found the courage to have surgery to remove the hardware from my leg and found someone willing, capable and brave enough to care for Bowie Dog during my hospital and recovery time. Thank you, Greg! I can walk, run and ride pain-free again, and without limping!!
- While the most of the year my business survived because of the loyalty of my Aussie return horse riders, who have booked weekend and week rides since the Covid period and kept the business going (thank you so much, you know who you are!), the last 4 months of 2023 finally looked "normal" again with International riders from Germany, UK, USA, France, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Guy from France returned for his 4th visit! The weather was good most of the year, although very very dry for most of the year and I had to buy in water, but it was mostly great weather for riding tours!!
- Much needed help came from my friend Greg, who worked for me part-time in 2023 and learned to horse ride at the same time! We dedicated the winter months to clean up the totally overgrown areas on the property and build an obstacle course for horses. The Kerewong Mountain Trail Obstacle Course opened in August 2023. More about that later. A big part of the success of 2023 is thanks to Greg! Unfortunately he will have to return to his "real" job in 2024. We will all miss him, wish him all the best and hope that his real job will burn him out so he comes back to work at Kerewong again!
- The horses: I ended the year with the same animals I started it with!! Yay!!! No vet bills! Double Yay!! All 15 horses have been very well and worked well all year!! Yay!! The geriatrics keep on going strong: Manni turned 31 and denies all the trouble he caused last year, with his last years weak worrisome heart now beating strong again. Copper is now 30! Charlie 28. Kamal 25. They really are amazing Oldies. Jimmy Jaws retired, aged 20!! As I always say, when a horse retires: what will I do without him??
- The working horses were a bit of an odd mix this year, but it all worked out: 2 very experienced and mature veteran Arabians (Toby and Valentino), 2 Brumbies (Blondie and Dodge), 2 new horses Part-bred Arabians, still learning (Queen T and Nino) and then there's big boy Nadal. Toby was absolutely everybodies favourite. I need more Toby's!!
- I did a 40km endurance ride with Queen T. and one with Nino. Both successful completions. Queen T. a bit of a Dragon Challenge, Young Nino a Super Star.
- I learned about Cowboy Dressage via the Tanja Kraus Horsemanship Clinics I attended through the year, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In December I took the 2 Brumbies to a Cowboy Dressage competition or "Gathering" as they call it, and I like it! And will continue!!
- The Dogs: Jedda got a custom made brace which she wears well. She's worth it! No vet hospital visits!! Unfortunately right at the end of the year, while she was getting more active, coming on walks and swimming again, she started to show signs of degeneration of the achilles tendon in her other leg. I thought it was the end of her, but Jedda said she can wear braces on both legs and so she does! Bowie is Bowie and not mixing with many people anymore - I prefer it that way. I can't believe he will be 10 years old in 2024! I made a point of going to more dog agility competitions with Pepe, because it is so much fun and he is so talented. Unfortunately Pepe continues to struggle with the competition environment, or actually only with the noise part of it: whistles, buzzers, speakers, airplanes, cheering crowds. I know that he will never fully get over this. All I can do when his survival instinct kicks in, is support him and allow him to go and hide in the car, if he must. I will now compete mostly "not for competition" so we can run with his ball which helps him block out the scary stuff around him and he can have fun! We are the ruling Champions of Non-Competition! A friend from USA published a book about Pepe and his adventures and he is availalbe for pawtographs!
- 2023 was a big year and a lot was achieved! The business is still not back to what it was pre-Covid and it may never get back to it as the world is changing, tourism is changing and what people want in their riding holidays is changing. Before, there were many adventurous riders, who were disappointed if I didn't have more challenging, young, fast and high-spirited horses, and asked me why I had so many "older" (meaning over 10 years old) and easy-going horses. I thought I better get some younger, faster and more challenging horses again. But nowadays most horse riding guests want a relaxing holiday and an easy ride on a friendly no fuss horse and not many people ask to ride the young and fast ones. But new young horses will learn and gain experience and take over when the older ones retire, like it has happened many times before.
The Present, Welcome 2024!
So there you have it: the last 6 years in a nutshell, or at least what I can remember of it! Have I forgotten to mention some things? Definetely! Good to see it all on a list. I can now appreciate why I still feel a bit shell shocked after these 5 years of disasters and I really needed this last "normal" year. Perseverance is in my nature. These years had some seriously challenging moments, that I had never imagined would happen in my life. But these also have been moments of growth, learning my strength, what really matters, survival and enlightenment. I have experienced and worked through problems that most dog- or horse owners, or even the average dog- or horse trainer, would never encounter. City people would definetely not have these kind of experiences of nature's challenges. Although I wish it was different, this is apparantly the path I need to travel. It has changed me and I am a different person from who I was 10 years ago. There are also many moments of joy, appreciation, peacefulness and the purity of a simple life on the land. There's always the horses and dogs, waiting for me. And there are the people who come and stay and ride with us for a while and for them Kerewong is one big peaceful perfect patch of Paradise! And it is. Thank you for reminding me! I hope for some easier years now so I can fully enjoy the remaining years I have left to run the horse tours!!
There is one more thing left mentioning and that is: I came to Australia in 2000, moved to Kerewong at the end of 2001. Southern Cross Horse Treks opened at the start of 2004, so 2024 is the 20 Year Anniversary! Wow!! I will have to write a blog about that soon!