Mt Welcome

A couple of weeks ago several intrepid OHHAWA members took off with me in the landrover for a trip to Roebourne to muster horses from a nearby station to bring back. Also involved in the project was Narrogin Ag College with 14 keen students and two teachers; Kylie Dowling and Louise Eastwood.

We all arrived about the same time with the first layer of red dirt starting to show itself...the students took over the caravan park and we were lucky enough to have been invited to stay with Linden and Col at Point Samson...many thanks to them for putting up with us!

After a day of reconnaissance trips and meeting the people involved, the morning of the muster arrived. There was a massive turnout of locals and other interested parties...all encouraging to see as the number of horses on the property had climbed to unsustainable proportions and had to be reduced one way or another.

The students were unceremoniously stuffed in to cars ; on bikes; on horseback...and then the fun started. The yards were set on open costal plains and if the horses were kept out in that country they could be managed. There were creek lines and thick scrub that acted as the perfect bolthole for them...so inevitably we lost a number...despite all efforts to turn them back.

After numerous sweeps we had about 40 horses in the yards on the plains and twenty in the house yards. The selection process was next with students choosing horses to take back and handle. The horses were in good condition and of excellent quality, being a mixture of stockhorse and old bloodline thoroughbred. They were taller than I was expecting and very fine in the features with lovely soft eyes and clean limbs...some of them could give the hackies a run for their money in the show ring!

The main colours were black-brown; various shades of bay; chestnut and burnt/sooty buckskin. There seemed to be an unusual proportion of males...a shame for the OHHAWA as most of our members were after fillies! Must be something in that coastal scrub!

After a long dusty day the selected animals were retained and the rest let go...we had been warned of impending rain so the poor truckie; Bruce; had to load at night and head to Port Headland as he would not have been able to get in to the yards if the ground was wet...the poor soul had only just arrived!

Sure enough it poured that night and when we caught up with the students the next morning there were some soggy sights!

The horses traveled well and our five were dropped off in Midland yards for a couple of nights spell before traveling south. They viewed the goings on of city life with curiosity and accepted the close proximity of people. The trip to Nannup and Margaret River they accepted, by now hardened travelers, and four are now at Wadi Farm being halter broken and one in Margaret River.

We will be returning to Roebourne for more horses in early August so anyone that is interested please contact us. Narrogin Ag School will be having an Open Day to showcase the horses but as yet the date has not been set. We will keep you posted.

Many thanks to Marshall; Ruby; Alex and the people of Roebourne for looking after us and helping with the muster...as they say in the movies..."We will be back!"