The best thing about following the growth of a newborn is that there is a first time for everything. A first time to stand, a first time to nurse, a first time to be cuddled with humans. And of course: a first time to meet the world! Kalahari goes outside As I wasn’t there for [...]

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Since giving birth to her firstborn Kalahari, Sahara has been quite tired. For in contrast to other mares, Sahara does not only have one baby to feel responsible for, but two! The young ones of Ishtar’s Ark: Isolde (4 months) and Kalahari (2 weeks) In true African spirit, the two adults of our small herd [...]

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When met by the sight above, you are most likely to assume that there is a major water leak going on around the corner, which requires your immediate attention. In our case however, it wasn’t a water leak. It was our beloved horses who had that particular day decided that they desired nothing else than [...]

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Trail riding is by far one of my favourite past times! A never-ending, breathtakingly beautiful nature, eager horses and good company is an unbeatable combination, regardless of where in the world you are situated. This week, we were lucky to enjoy the very pleasant company of a friend who not only shares our love for [...]

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I have noticed of late that there are few better reminders of how quickly the days pass, than to note the anniversaries of our fast-growing creatures over at Ishtar’s Ark! I can’t believe our “baby horse” Isolde is already three months old today! Where has time gone? She has certainly spent the time well and [...]

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Although our horses have had their periods of ups and downs ever since we bought them from the bush, I have always considered us to be so lucky for never having had any serious diseases. As long as they eat well and act according to their individual characters, all is well. Some two weeks ago, [...]

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When our friend Altiné told us that Sahara’s boyfriend Rio was in town, we immediately told him to bring him over so that he could meet our girls! After all, Sahara is expecting some time end of January, and we wanted to see what how the future foal’s father (who just went from colt to [...]

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The tendency so far this year is that Anette and I visit the race track about once a week, often on our way to or back from a gorgeous bush trail. Ali takes the horses there during our work days and with Arwen back in training, I don’t think it’ll be that long before she [...]

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Today, Isolde is officially 2 months old! It truly feels as if we’ve known her forever! Isolde’s first day in life (September 2008) I can’t believe it’s already been eight weeks since she popped out of her mother’s belly. In those past weeks, she has grown so much! One her second day, she measured 83 [...]

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Midik is by far my favorite riding trail, but it needs a good two hours before you get there, if you want to get back before it’s dark. Of course, darkness doesn’t pose a geographical problem when both horses and riders know the landscape like the back of their hand, but I wouldn’t recommend speeding [...]

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I am turning a year older today, and what better than to post an entry about the day when we introduced Isolde to the track just a few weeks ago? It was a fun day, because all the other Garvis presently in Niger came out too see her! And I got to do some fun [...]

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…lives Maya, Sahara’s younger half-sister. It’s been a while since she joined us from the bush, and she has grown into a nice-looking young lady, who enjoys life with her yard-mate Freya (also a Sahara relative, but not ours!). This past weekend, we went over to visit her and see how she was doing. We [...]

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Despite being taken out on daily rides, our race horses sometimes get too restless… And when Sahara’s energy level is so high it’s about to turn into destructive (or rude) behaviour, I let her out of the horse pen and let her run a few laps around the house, which she does with a passion! [...]

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One of my favourite trails is the Mandara trail, which takes about one hour effective riding time (30 minutes if you’re very fast…). It starts off with long trails of sandy paths (great for a good warm-up trot!)… …passing a beautiful water whole (‘tapki’ in Hausa) that dries up after the rainy season… The Kanya [...]

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Siestas at Ishtar’s Ark are wonderful laid-back quality time moments… Anette and I are fortunate to have such good-tempered lively animals that add so much joy and quality to our lives! For the first few weeks after arriving in Zinder, I had to keep a careful eye on our somewhat optimistic Rhodesian Ridgeback pup, so [...]

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