HORSES
We believe whole-heartedly in this project to save the Heavy Draft Horses and this belief is reflected in the way we care for them.

• We feed them the best possible diet, including a perfect vitamin and mineral mix for South Africa.
• We deworm four times a year.
• We annually vaccinate against African Horse Sickness.
• We get a horse dentist to check their teeth once a year.
• We trim their hooves once a month and if necessary hot shoe them.

• We keep them free of ticks and other parasites.
• Our horses live out, because we have a very mild climate, but when it is cold and wet we put outdoor rain coats on them.
• We groom them regularly, each horse gets groomed at least every second day.
• And most importantly we love them unconditionally.

Greystoke is named for the original Tarzan Lord Greystoke born 08\11\2002. He is our primary stallion. We bought him when he was 6 months old.  He has given us 23 wonderful foals and has contributed to the breed in SA with producing some iconic colts one of whom is Shadowfax who is the biggest horse ever bred in South Africa.
We are retiring Greystoke this season and he is going to live out his days peacefully with his gelding friends.

Shadowfax is named for Gandalf’s horse Shadowfax in the Lord of the Rings. He was born on the 03\01\2012 out of Lucy and Greystoke.  He is 18.2hh and weighs around 1.2 tons and is the biggest horse ever bred in South Africa.  He is one of the biggest Percheron stallions in the world, there are some Percherons in The States who are 19hh but are not as heavy as Shadowfax.  Shadowfax harkens back to the golden age of the Heavy Draft Horses in the 1800s with his conformation.  He has one foal Oberon who is now a year old and over 16hh.  We are breeding him prolifically this year.

Ulysses arrived when he was 5 months old and he was a starving little colt.  Peter and I bought his mother, Black Pearl with the expressed intention of saving them because they would not have survived the winter where they were. Ulysses was born on the 08\04\2013 and out of imported semen on his sire (father) Mbeki’s side.  He is a big black stallion standing 17.2hh and weighing around a ton.  He has the sweetest nature and is most gentle and loving.  He has 2 foals one of which is a lovely filly called Clementine who is part of the Heavy Draft Horse Foundation and will become a brood mare here. Ulysses also does therapy work and gives confidence to adults and children who life has knocked down.

Lucy is Shadowfax’s dam(mother).  She is a very big and beautiful mare weighing around a ton and 17.2hh.  She was born on the 10\10\2000 and has given us a line of iconic colts, all sired by Greystoke.  Vulcan came first and he is a working gelding on Outeniqua Moon, then Shadowfax, then Thor and then Elijah who was born last year in February.  Lucy is now retired and she is much loved and loves little children. Lucy also does therapy work because she is such a sensitive.

Bella is 17.1hh. She was the first foal out of Greystoke and Maresa, born on the 10\10\2006 and has had a problem with laminitis.  We struggled to save her and succeeded.  She is a lovely big girl and we are hoping to breed her to Ulysses this year. She has had problems carrying a foal to term because of her history of Laminitis but we are hoping that if she succeeds in carrying to term it will stabilise her hormones.

Lisa is the oldest Percheron horse on the farm, she was born on the 11\04\1997. We bought her along with Black pearl with the expressed intention of saving her because she would not have survived the winter where she was.  She was emaciated and pregnant and foaled down just 3 weeks after she arrived on the farm.  Her foal went to Marcelle de wet Roos when she was grown up.  Lisa gave us another little filly called Clementine, out of Ulysses, who is going to stay with us forever. Lisa is retired and is living out her days in happiness on the farm.

Juno was born on the 26\08\2015 and she is the foal we reared by hand.  She ruptured a major artery in her mother when she was coming through the birth canal. Mr. Gerrie van Zyl owned Juno and at 86 he said he was too old to cope with hand raising a foal and he asked us if we wanted her and we jumped at the opportunity.  We moved our bed into the big foaling stable and Juno slept along-side us.  We fed her a specially warmed bottle every hour for the first 3 months and then every hour and a half for the next 6 weeks; after that we trained her to drink out of a bucket every 3 hours and she drank 5 litres in under a minute out of the bucket.  The milk had to be fed at blood temperature or she would get colic. It was hard but it was most rewarding.   She is now four years old and 17.2hh and weighing at least 900kgs.  She is gorgeous and thinks she is a human.

Artemis was the very first foal born on Outeniqua Moon on the 01\11\ 2002. She is the smallest mare on the farm standing 16hh and one of the prettiest. She has been a wonderful brood mare and given us six foals all out of her best love, Greystoke.  This is the last year that we will be putting her to a stallion and it will be Ulysses.  Hoping for a filly to take her mom’s place and Artemis will be retired on the farm.

Letta is easily one of the biggest mares in South Africa standing 18hh and weighing a ton.  She was born on the 17\12\2002 and comes to us from the iconic Klipdrif stud.  Letta has the most remarkable nature and is extremely gentle and intuitive.  We are putting her to Shadowfax this year. We are training Letta for therapy work because of her wonderful nature.

Tembakasi was born on the 22\08\2008. She comes to us from the animal traction centre at Fort Hare University which has now closed down.  Her name means Lady Hope in Xhosa.  She was a plough horse at Fort Hare and was much loved and very well looked after.  She is pulling the carriage and taking out rides at Outeniqua Moon.  She thoroughly enjoys working and has the broadest chest ever on a mare.  We are putting her to Shadowfax in spring.

Eowyn (named for the elfin queen in Lord of the rings) was born on the 07\10\2015 and she comes to us from Klipdrif Stud. She is nearly 18hh and will be when she is fully grown and weighs a ton.  She is a supremely gentle mare and very intuitive so she will join our therapy horses as well as being a brood mare.  She also takes out rides and thoroughly enjoys them.  Eowyn is a heart stealer.

Little Clementine was born on the 13\02 \2018 and is Lisa and Ulysses‘s baby. She is a little back filly and should end up around 17hh.  She has very fine bone structure and a lovely temperament and he dear old mom is now retired so she is taking her mom’s place as a brood mare.  Already she is a hit with the children who visit the farm.

Odessa was born on the 23\12\2007 and she comes to us from Almarada Stud in Worchester (Western Cape) She is a very big elegant mare standing 17.2hh and weighing around a ton, with beautiful bloodlines and a very gentle nature. She arrived on Outeniqua Moon in 2015 and foaled down soon afterwards giving us a lovely filly called Oenone. We are breeding her to Shadowfax this year.

Black Pearl is a beautiful black mare standing 18hh but not as heavy as Letta weighing around 900kgs. She was born is 2000 and is 19 y Peter and I bought, Black Pearl who didn’t have a name only a number.  We bought her with the expressed intention of saving her because she would not have survived the winter where she was.  She was emaciated and pregnant and nursing young Ulysses. She was severely abused as well and terrified of people, it took us a long time to rehabilitate her.

Somikasi  on left and her daughter Tembakasi on right. Somikasi was born on the 17\11\2001. She comes to us from the animal traction centre at Fort Hare University which has now closed down.  Her name means Lady Red Wing Starling in Xhosa.  She was a plough horse at Fort Hare and Tembakasi ‘s dam (mother)  and was also much loved and very well looked after.  She is a brood mare at Outeniqua Moon and we are going to breed her to Ulysses and hopefully get a filly out of her to take her place as a brood mare and then she will be retired and little children can enjoy her.

Oenone ( named for the nymph in Journeys with Giants) was born on the 31\10\2015.  She is Odessa’s baby, out of a Klipdrif stallion called Surin, and is very beautiful with a delicate head and great elegance even though she is huge standing 17.2hh and weighing 900kgs but when fully grown will end up around a ton.  She has a lovely temperament. She is mainly a brood mare but will take some outrides as well.

Vulcan was born on the 22\11\2009 the first out of the iconic Lucy and Greystoke line. He was named for the Roman God of Fire and is gentle but when he gets into the shafts and out and about he loves the fast work, the fire comes out and he thrills all the passengers. He is a remarkable working gelding and is a brilliant ambassador for the Heavy Draft Horse Foundation.  We love him to bits.

Mr Bingly (30\11\2008) and Mr Darcy (14\10\2009) (named for the famous gentlemen from Pride and Predjuice) came to us from  Klipdrif Stud. They are both 17hh and weigh around a ton.  They are extremely sweet natured beautiful gentle souls and they are good for carriage work as well as riding and therapy work.  We are very honoured to have them.

Bo was born on the 22\4\2002, he is 17.2hh and weighs a ton. He comes to us from Cape Town and he is a retired fellow who is only good for the littlest passengers and loves kiddie’s parties.  He is a tremendous character with a very sweet temperament and much loved by everyone.  He lives a very happy life on the farm with the other geldings.