After a hectic summer we had a very dry Autumn which meant we missed out on our normal Autumn growth and very sadly didn’t get out usual third cut of haylage from our block. After several months of development we were very excited to bring Timothy and Lucerne Hay Pellets to the market. While Hay pellets are widely fed overseas they are not commonly available in NZ. The are able to be used as an alternative to the more traditional chaff, and provide many advantages including no dust or mess, condensed, increased chew time and increased palatability. Right from launch they have proved very popular with interest coming from all over NZ. We have now expanded the range to include Timothy + Linseed pellets and Lucerne + Linseed pellet. We are also marketing Soya Hulls under our own name. This product has a well deserved reputation as a super fibre and is excellent for both conditioning and maintenance.
The NZWBA inspection tour was held at the end March and it was very exciting to be able to welcome the Tour to North Otago for the very first time. I presented both my 2018 foals to be assessed by very experienced German inspector Frank Weischirchen. Warmblood inspection has become a very important part of the calendar for me. It means the foals get a lot of handling that includes float training, plaiting, trimming,bathing, wearing a cover as well their first trip to a new environment. For myself as a new breeder it provides important feedback on how my breeding program is going. The 2019 inspection was a very successful tour for Whiterocks Stud. Both foals received awards and amazing feedback from the inspector. Swing was awarded 78% and a merit award, his feedback included ‘exactly what can be produced from a quality thoroughbred mare’ and ‘future stallion prospect’. While Freya received 81.25% and a excellence award. Her feedback included ‘seriously talented horse with a huge future’ and ‘big engine with huge ability to sit and push from behind’. Freya was also awarded champion derivative exhibit of the tour.
