Those involved with breeding horses know that for every story of immense success, there is often one of heartache – the latter particularly common when it comes to foster foals. The story of Dutch Warmblood mare Jazzabelle and Gypsy Cob foal Fury has elements of both and shows that even after the roughest of storms, there can still be a rainbow.

“It’s one hell of a journey,” says Sarah Brayshaw of the breeding process. “Choosing your sire, maybe even importing semen with the wonders of modern medicine, working for your positive pregnancy, the elation when the pregnancy holds, then 40 days later it’s still holding, then guiding your mare through the ensuing 10 months safely… the dollars invested, the anticipation and the plans and dreams for that foal’s future.” It’s a journey Sarah has been successfully a part of many times before, however, nothing could prepare her for the second pregnancy with her beloved mare Jazzabelle.

“I fell in love with the World Champion seven-year-old dressage horse, the Dutch stallion Jovian. I thought the beautiful moving, imposing type over Jazzabelle could be a lovely cross.” Sarah’s circumstances changed and as a result, her horses landed on a beautiful property in Seville in the Yarra Valley owned by former clients of hers, Grand Prix dressage rider Louisa Smith’s family.

“Louisa and I agreed together, based on Jazzy’s history as a mother and given that she appeared fit, well and a picture of health, that we’d move her into a beautiful foaling paddock and keep a close watch as we always do. A couple of days before her due date, Louisa rang me as foaling appeared imminent. I live an hours’ drive from Louisa’s property. I immediately jumped in my car at 11pm and by the time I drove there and walked up the hill to the paddock with Louisa and her partner Kerry, Jazzy was down, and the foal was lying next to her, devastatingly, stillborn,” explains Sarah of that heartbreaking night.

“There are no words to describe that moment. Sadly, it can go with the territory of breeding horses – I’m not the first breeder, and I’m sadly not the last – however, none of us were prepared for that outcome. You can’t help but think how you could have done it differently, but the vets assured us that the outcome wouldn’t have been any different. There was just no obvious reason or sign that there would be anything wrong, and there was nothing obviously wrong with the foal, he was a perfect bay colt.”

A couple of days passed, and Sarah was home when her phone rang. It was Louisa; she tactfully delivered a proposition: “She had a client with a Gypsy Cob mare who’d sadly rejected her little colt. She wanted to know what I thought about the possibility of Jazzabelle taking him on. I didn’t really know what to say, but I said, ‘give me five minutes’. I hung up the phone, had a moment to breathe and think – it needed to happen fast. It was a long shot at best.

“I thought, I owe Louisa so much, and I would love to help her, the owner of the colt foal and of course the rejected foal. Jazzabelle was grieving and not doing very well. The day before I was holding her in the crush, her head in my arms, her bulging udder spewing milk everywhere whilst the vet flushed her. She had developed a serious uterine infection post-delivery, which she fortunately recovered from thanks to great love, determination and dedication on Louisa’s behalf and some expert veterinary care.”

THE FIGHTER

Leigh Church has typically bred Fjord horses, but this season she was eagerly awaiting her first Gypsy foal, from a Gypsy Cob x Wild Fell mare and out of a pure Gypsy Cob stallion, Hermits Quicksilver. “When the foal was born, I rang Louisa and Kerry, just to see if they’d come and check if things were okay, as they live around the corner. The foal was having trouble latching; his mum was a maiden. They helped me try and latch him on… long story short, we rang the vets and they did what they had to do over the course of the next 12 hours to keep him alive. The mare was becoming more and more aggressive each time we tried to latch him on, and the vet advised us that it was too dangerous to keep them together overnight; that’s how we first knew we were needing a foster mare. It just so happened we had the same vet that had treated Jazzy, and they connected us all,” says Leigh.

It was agreed that Jazzy would be given the chance to become a foster mother. “This massive wheel went into motion with vets and trucks and the removal of the colt and his arrival at Seville, and the big introduction to Jazzabelle,” explains Sarah. “I said to Louisa, ‘I can’t be there for that’. I didn’t want to see her reject him, and I just wasn’t up to being a part of that moment. I was also really worried that if he died – because he’d obviously had a very rough 24 hours – I didn’t want her to connect with him and then lose him as well. There was a lot of risk involved with all of it.”

“We let them meet across the fence first,” explains Leigh of the process, “and then we brought Jazzy out into the laneway with the lead and halter and let her sniff him. The vet then sedated her and got her in the crush, because by this time he really needed a drink. Then we put them in stables next to each other for the night and would go out and sedate her every three or four hours for a drink… but each time she was sedated, it was less and less. And then by 11 o’clock in the morning, we tried her with no sedation and just opened the crush. And it was all done. The vet told me it could take five to seven days… it can be very labour intensive in some cases and not all attempts are successful.”

Leigh explains that she named her foal ‘Fury’, after a famous boxer named Tyson Fury. “He calls himself the ‘Gypsy King’. We just thought, because he had to fight for life… it was fitting!”

Louisa recalls the moment the pair connected: “The moment that Jazzy and Fury were able to be put back into the paddock was quite an overwhelming experience. There had been so much hope, but also stress surrounding the situation. To be able to see them so happy together outside on grass was not only a huge relief for all involved but also a moment of absolute wonder as we watched Jazzy be so besotted with him and totally love and claim him as her own.”

“The vets and those involved are still amazed by how well and fast they connected,” adds Sarah. “Apparently there were hardened professionals shedding a tear. Jazzy is a big mare, and she’s very imposing and this tiny little thing… it’s just incredible. He’s a fluffy little thing that she’s so proud of and so in love with him. Now I look at her and I think, ‘you have to be careful what you wish for Jazzy’, because he is running her ragged!”

A SPECIAL MARE

Sarah, originally from country Western Australia, had her first pony by the age of two and went on to remain involved with horses one way or another throughout her life. “I’ve always loved the sport of dressage; it has taken me all around the world watching some of the great combinations over the years including being lucky enough to spectate at three Olympics,” she says.

Sarah’s breeding journey began with Australian Stock Horses when she was living in the Adelaide Hills. When she met Grand Prix dressage rider Dirk Dijkstra seven years ago, she developed a special interest in Dutch Warmbloods. Sarah was presented with an eight-month-old Warmblood filly, bred by Dirk, for her birthday one year; she was gifted more than a horse!

“Jazzy was a bit of an ugly duckling early on, but beautifully bred by the world-famous dressage super sire, Jazz, and crossed with a Flemmingh bloodline,” says Sarah of the filly with whom she’d go on to develop a special bond with over the coming years. “With great mechanics and intelligence, she grew and blossomed into the lovely, very typey Warmblood mare that she is today.”

“We had her broken in as a three-year-old, and talented young Victorian rider, Chelsea Farrugia, started her competition career as a four-year-old. At her first competition at Boneo Park, she won her classes in large competitive fields with super scores; it was really exciting – she was going to be a tremendous horse for competition, and most importantly she had the temperament and intelligence to potentially keep going up through the difficult levels of dressage.  There is something almost human about her; an alpha mare who seemed to know when it mattered in the competition arena by stepping it up 10 gears!

Unfortunately, Jazzabelle’s ridden career was paused when it was decided to go ahead with surgery to remove a bone chip related to Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD). “I decided to give her maximum recovery time,” explains Sarah. “Whilst doing that, I decided to breed from her as it’s a good idea to get a foal out of them while they are young. I imported some Springbank II semen and she gave birth to a lovely colt; she was the perfect maiden mare doing it all on her own. Absolutely everything was copybook. She performed that role so well, I had a feeling I should keep her as a breeding mare. She’s really one in a million, a dream foundation mare for anyone that wanted to kick start their journey into breeding Warmbloods.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this is what she’s on the earth to do. There’s just something about her beautiful face and her beautiful eyes and her temperament… she will try and connect with you when you meet her; if the paddock is 500 acres and you are in the middle of it, she will be by your side until you leave. She’s just a bit extraordinary. We’ve been on quite the journey together, and I’m very lucky that she’s mine.”

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Leigh is incredibly grateful to the village that is helping raise her foal. “If it wasn’t for Louisa and Kerry, it would never have happened. They are a young couple who truly are years ahead of their time. Not only are they super professional, but so caring with everything associated with the horses’ welfare; they didn’t have to get up every three hours with me to help Fury feed, but they did quite happily. I hope they go far in their equestrian careers, as they are young, hardworking, professional and down to earth! And Jazzy… she is not only a beautiful big Warmblood, but her temperament is truly astounding and I could not have asked for a more amazingly perfect foster mum for Fury; I will always be indebted to Sarah for allowing us to do this whole process.”

Leigh says that although her original plan was to sell Fury, she is now looking forward to an exciting future with her little Gypsy Cob. “Now all this has happened, I think I really need to keep him. Once he’s weaned, I’m definitely bringing him home!

Sarah says that while nothing is set in stone for Jazzabelle, she’s hoping the next step will be another foal when the time is right. “I want to thank Louisa and her family for everything they’ve done for me, and so I am going to gift her the use of my mare, to hopefully achieve a pregnancy by Louisa’s magnificent Warmblood Grand Prix stallion, HP Fresco. We’ll go on that journey together. I’m not ready to try and breed a foal for myself; I need some time.”

Louisa says she’s excited at the prospect and is looking forward to beginning that journey when the time is right. “I think this would be an outstanding cross as they complement each other so well. They are both incredibly talented horses, whilst both having such amazing natures. I have very high hopes for this foal! Jazzy has captured everyone’s hearts and having a foal out of her means that I would have something to remind me of her and this experience every day. She is a truly outstanding mare and an amazing mother, and if the foal turned out to be anything like her or Fresco I would be so happy.”

At the time of this article going to print, Jazzy and Fury continue to thrive and warm all of our collective hearts. EQ

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:

Brett Parbery Redefines High Performance – Equestrian Life, January 2023