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THE LION’S DEN ON CNN by Gerti Kusseler
The CNN program is called THE WINNING POST and it is actually about racehorses. Francesca, the presenter had heard about us and wanted to show thoroubreds on safari; and that is how Steiner became an important movie star. The crew only had a day and we were so lucky, that the pride of lions were not too far away to be able to get this footage. Have fun watching (you might have to wait a moment to let it load).
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FROM THE STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS TO THE AFRICAN BUSH (Michi Jung on Safari)by Gerti Kusseler
As you have all heard by now, together with Pferdesafari our German agency we sponsor the first prize in the indoor derby at the Stuttgart German Masters. Michi Jung had won this prize a couple of times and finally he managed to come on safari. Here some pictures of his time with us taken by Faye Fuellgraeber:
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BUFFALO RELEASE ON THE KARONGWE PRIVATE GAME RESERVE by Gerti Kusseler
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We are super proud to say, that we finally have free roaming buffalos on the reserve. And, amazingly the last two groups of clients have literally seen the Big Five from horseback. Rusty did it in a week and crazy Philip had to beat that and saw the Big Five from horseback within 2 days the week after. OK this is not the norm, so hey, please don’t think you will see this every time you come here. But we are so proud, 25 buffalos are now free roaming on the reserve and they look fantastic. Can’t wait to post the first picture with horses ears!!!
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RACHEL’S BIRTHDAY BASH AND HELEN LANGEHANENBERG by Gerti Kusseler & Clare Morrell
A long time ago, Rachel, one of our long time visitors had planned her ‘Blankety Blank’ birthday safari with us. First she had 8 people wanting to come, but then it dropped down to 5, so we promised to find some suitable riders to join. And we did; a celeb rider and with great joy we never told Rachel who it would be. She was bursting with curiosity about who it could be and all sorts of names went forward and backwards from Carl Hester to the Queen. We loved teasing her and she was very excited when she finally saw that it was Germany's number one dressage rider Helen Langehanenberg.
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We had a fabulously fun week with incredible sighting, lots of beer and giggle muscles that were aching after the first evening. On the last evening of their holiday we wanted to do something for Rachel’s Birthday and we were racking our brains to think of something fun to do. And then – Bingo - we got it!!!! Having Helen with us was too good an opportunity to miss, and we also have a comic, blow-up, fancy dress horse costume…..
So after not much persuading but rather a lot of Gin, Rachel dressed as the comic horse to complete an Advanced Dressage Test to music under the tutelage of Helen and with Pharrell Williams’s ‘Happy’ playing in the background. We are all sure there was a perfect 10 in there somewhere!! .....what to you think?
Look out Charlotte and Carl – there is a new kid on the block and her sights are set on Rio 2016!!
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NEW HORSES by Clare Morrell
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Our vet Albertus recently discussed the possibility of us having his daughters’ horse as she was going to university. We looked at photos of him and read about his history and, as he was a good size, age and temperament, we made the decision to have him.
Albertus dropped him off in December and after some settling in time we started to ride him. He is a lovely little horse and has adapted well to life in the bush. After going on a lot of training rides, he has started his job as back up horse and is quite a favourite with the students as he is comfortable, well-mannered and sporty.
He is also brave and has behaved impeccably when meeting plains game and big Five for the first time. Thank you for sending us this lovely horse Albertus!
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First, we had Budweiser….. Then, we got Boddington….. Now, we have Bitburger…..
Bud and Bodd have proved to be fabulous horses, both on trail and to handle, with their kind eye and clam personalities. So when our good friend Leon offered us another young horse with similar character and breeding, we jumped at the chance to buy him.
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Then Gerti had the fabulous idea for his name – ‘We have Bud and Bodd’ she said, ‘We must call the new one Bit’ she said!!! ‘How great to have Bud, Bodd and Bit’ she said, and we all groaned…!
So, Bitburger arrived and what a lovely young horse his is turning into. The same kind eye and calm personality, and also a stunning ride. We took him slowly, working him on the lunge and walking him to the airstrip and back, slowly introducing him to the area and the game. He is proving to be bold and wonderfully comfortable, with a huge long walk stride and a stunning canter. We bumped into some plains game on our training rides and he wasn’t fazed by Impala, Waterbuck, Kudu or Giraffe so Gerti decided to take him as back up the one time and he hasn’t looked back. Karen, one of our students, also rode him as back up and she loved him – his quiet attitude in sightings, his calmness during canters and the way he stood relaxed and concentrating in his first Lion sighting.
Thank you Leon for this precious horse! We are very excited about his life here with us and will watch with interest his transformation into a reliable, stunning and popular guests horse.
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I have to be honest about the Work Experience Programme we run here – it is so popular that we are booked up until the end of 2016! Due to this we rarely, if ever, take students back once they have visited us. But there have been two or three exceptions and one of these was Karen from Canada. She originally spent time with us in 2010 and asked if we might be able to accommodate her again in 2014, which we did. Her enthusiasm for work, her knowledge and understanding of horses (she manages a large horse barn in Canada) combined with her wonderful sense of humour, make her a pleasure to have around. After her stay this year she did some traveling then returned as a guest for a week with four equally mad friends. Thank you Karen, for all your help, your laughter and for just being you!
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FUNNY CORNER by Clare Morrell
I honestly think that one of the funniest things to have happened here started out as a horrible accident.
Susie is well known for her skills in the kitchen – we all keep a wide berth when she is chopping and slicing food! So, on this particular morning, I am dealing with the horses when they return from the ride and Susie asks me – very calmly – if I could pop into the tack room for a second. The poor girl had a tea towel wrapped round her index finger and quietly asks me if there is a plaster in the First Aid Box that she can have. When she takes off the tea towel, practically the whole of the top of her finger has been sliced off – I couldn’t believe how calm she was!
Whilst I’m administering pressure to the wound to reduce the bleeding, Rusty appears and offers to help. His witty comment when he saw the cut probably didn’t help at all but it did take Susie’s mind off the pain. Before I can dress the wound, Rusty says the immortal words ‘I know the best thing for that. Let me spray on some merthiolate (strong antiseptic) and he proceeds to get the bottle and covers the wound in it. Poor Susie – her eyes nearly pop out of her head, it is so painful. I make her sit on the table before she falls over and starts to swear at Rusty, which he fully deserved!!
He takes one look at Susie and – being a man – says ‘it’s not that bad Susie, man up! Just breathe…..’ So Susie takes him at his word and starts breathing short breaths, quickly and rapidly to help her cope with the pain. Rusty then utters the immortal words ‘IT’S A BOY!!!’ At that point I completely lost it, take one look at Susie and I double up in uncontrollable laughter, so much so that my stomach hurt and both Gerti and Philip came rushing into the tack room to see what was happening! I couldn’t speak by this time as the tears were running down my face but Susie on the other hand, was pain free and explained what had happened only to send us all into fits of giggles and aching stomach muscles!
PS – that spray is amazing! It heals chopped off fingers in no time with no babies being born…!!
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THERE IS AN ELEPHANT IN THE GARDEN by Clare Morrell
As most of you will probably know, Elephants are my most favourite animal – after horses and Nora! With the only fence here being around the reserve boundary, all the animals can wonder anywhere they wish – and that includes our paddocks and garden.
I firmly believe that when Gerti and Philip go away, there is a signal given to the animals that ‘Zee Germans’ have left the premises and they are free to roam – anywhere…..! But on this occasion, Gerti was still here when one of the big bulls took a fancy to the garden and its array of beautiful plants. And the solution to getting him out of the garden?.....I bet you can’t guess! No really, you won’t be able to guess…..!
EGGS! Raw eggs! It worked like a charm. And any of you who are thinking ‘how do the elephants eat raw eggs’ – I mean, come on, be sensible. We throw them at the Elephants!! FACT - They really dislike the feel of the egg shell shattering on them and the liquid egg
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running slowly down their skin. You can see their expression change from determination to anger to disgust when a perfect hit is scored. Gerti has a hidden talent with this, (it should be an Olympic sport!) and a very angry Elephant reluctantly vacated the premises, kicking up dust, stomping his feet and hurling verbal abuse at us!
At least he didn’t catch an egg and hurl it back…….
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NEW STAFF UNIFORMS by Clare Morrell
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We thought it was about time that our wonderful staff had new uniforms. So Gerti and Susie set about searching for suitable suppliers who had a decent range of cloths. There was a misunderstanding on the measurements to begin with as when the first batch of uniforms arrived, the trousers resembled fisherman’s waterproof waders! The consensus of opinion was that both Gerti and I could have fitted in one pair of trousers – now that would have been something to see! But I think you will agree from the photos that the new uniforms are lovely and the girls model them so well – eat your heart out New York Fashion Week!! You have nothing on the cat walk at Wait A Little!
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BETWEEN THE HORSE EARS 2 by Gerti Kusseler
Finally I managed to put Philip’s new iPhone vidoes into a little film. Sadly he has taken amazing new footage already so be prepared; Between the Horses Ears 3 is coming!
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THANK YOU AND WE WILL SEE YOU AT BADMINTON by Gerti Kusseler
Like every year, Clare and I will be at Badminton Horse Trials from the 6th to the 10th of May on the African Horse Safari Association Stand number 27. We are really looking forward to seeing you all for a drink or two or just for a chat. Thank you for reading!
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Copyright © 2015 Wait A LIttle Horse Safaris, designed by Gerti Kusseler. All Rights Reserved.
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WAIT A LITTLE horse safaris
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