10^th March 2011

A vision splendour, a Shire Horse mare and her foal.  Something we all like to see no matter what the breed after Australia's devastating floods.  This superb photo of Ingleside Comet was courtesy of the Kuiper Family in New South Wales. This gorgeous foal was born this breeding season here in Australia.

Hi Everyone, well it is about six weeks since the devastating floods in Queensland. And we caught up with Marty Haywood who has imported 5 Shire horses from England. 

At the time he was camped at the Rockhampton Showgrounds in Northern Queensland, but as we’ve all found out, life goes on.  And if Marty has anything to do with it his horses will contribute to the growth of the breed of the Shire horse in Australia.  For more information on the versatility of the Shire horse please go to http://heavythunder.com.au/ridden-shires-and-heavy-horses  But in the meantime…Please take a few minutes out of your busy life and enjoy…

Shine On…Our Amazing Shire Horses after the Queensland Floods…

We have heard on the news about how people have defied incredible odds and survived the most horrendous floods this year in Queensland.  We have also heard about how people are missing and how they have perished. 

Mother Nature unleashed its unmerciful fury on the states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. And as we may or may not be aware, the floods in Brisbane and Ipswich were being compared to the 1974 floods and even earlier.  These were the floods of 1893.

Debris swept from the Great Dividing Range was deposited into the Lockyer Valley below the Toowoomba Range and beyond.  There were even reports of refrigerators, furniture, cows and even horses being swept as far as Brisbane!

But as more heart ache and heartbreak unfolded on the Darling Downs there was a man up in Northern Queensland whom camped at the Rockhampton Show Grounds.  This man imported 5 Shire Horses from England. 

The most recent, a stallion was imported 2 weeks before the inundations began.  And as you could well imagine, you wouldn’t want to be gambling at all with these horses well being.

Marty Hayward from outer Rockhampton in Queensland Australia had spoken to people who experienced floods in his area before.  But he listened to them. And Marty made the decision to move his imported horses before he simply couldn’t.  Flood waters rise quickly and mercilessly. 

And thank goodness he did because his property pretty much ended up under water, apart from his house.  But the endurance of the true Australian spirit shone through.   

But while he was at the show grounds Marty looked at the experience as being at, ‘a show…A very long show.’  Marty was at the Rockhampton Show Grounds with his horses in makeshift stalls for almost four weeks.  He was even able to grab enough horse food for that amount of time. 

After the flood waters receded Marty believed he would be home, ‘and on solid ground,’ quickly.  And he was right, very little had to be done to get things back to normal at home.  He truly is an amazing man.

So amazing in fact Marty’s story on how he got into the Shires is certainly different as he had never seen a Shire horse at all.  He actually had no clue what they were until he saw one.  But as soon as he saw a Shire, he wanted one!  After that as the saying goes, the rest was history.   Marty began planning for his new stud, saved and simply made it happen.

Marty’s main stallion arrived in Australia around about the 27^th November 2010.  Brown Roy Dark Shadow landed, was then literally swept away to the Rockhampton Show Grounds and Marty lost no time using him. 

One mare was scanned at the show grounds for a positive pregnancy test and the stallion had only been used over another mare a short time before we spoke.  It would seem Marty’s horses were totally relaxed while he did all the stressing!  As you do, particularly with the valuable stock Marty has.

Marty also has the imported mares Cowers Lane Juliette and Grove Mere Rebecca who are now both 7 years old.  He is currently keeping an eye on the colt, Grand Shire Don to use at a later date in his breeding program.

Marty’s planning has been well worth the time. He took particular care not to have the same blood lines as other breeders in Australia to give the gene pool the opportunity to grow. 

As Marty had been at the show grounds for about two weeks when Heavy Thunder first spoke to him, he had no idea of what others have gone through.  But his thoughts were with all of those throughout troubled Queensland. 

One thing is assured; he was just so relieved his Shire horses were safe and well so they could shine through into the future for the Australian Shire horse breed.  Although the horses in Rockhampton have been temporarily flood affected in Rockhampton Queensland, the future of the Shire horse in Australia hasn’t.

So shine on…Our amazing Shire horses after the Queensland floods.  We at Heavy Thunder will certainly look forward to hearing more about Marty Haywood and his magnificent Shires throughout 2011 and in the years to come.

Cheers

Paul and Jann