View from the Other Side of the Road

 

This picture shows the stud from the other side of the road.


The new and uncompleted buildings are at the top of the drive, with the house to the left behind the trees.

There is a stream in front by the trees, which flows to the left (i.e. west) to join the River Stour.

This picture shows the stud from a different angle.


I suspect that when I took this picture I was almost exactly due south of the new buildings of the stud.

Berries Everywhere

 

It's been a marvellous year for all sorts of berries. These are Prunus spinosa, or more commonly blackthorn or sloe.

Smart Entrance

 

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The verges on the road and stud driveway were cut this week and look an absolute picture thanks to Steven. The whole front entrance looks really smart with the neatly trimmed hedges. it's a bit like painting the Forth Bridge however as they don't stay this way for long. The hedge saplings were planted two years ago and have nearly reached a height whereby they cover the boundary fence.

A Frosty Day at Freedom Farm

 

It was cold last night. I tried to play real tennis at Cambridge and virtually froze.


This is the end of the new buildings. Note the sky.




Vague Shot looks almost miserable. But he was friendly to me, when I stroked him.

Also at his age, he knows how to keep warm and makes sure his rug doesn't move. Incidentally, he still doesn't grow a decent coat in the winter.


This is the new offices from the same position as on The Stud.

Note Vague Shot's stable at the right.

Christmas Card 2008

 

This picture by Prunella Hawke was used for the 2008 Stud Christmas Card.

Wonderful Light

 

These pictures of the stud were taken on Tuesday night, as the sun was setting in the west.

Bury St. Edmunds Photographic Society

 

The stud had a visit from the Bury St. Edmunds Photographic Society last night.




We always welcome visitors to the stud.

Freedom Farm in the East Anglian

 

The East Anglian Daily Times has just published a nice article on what Celia and I have been trying to achieve at Freedom Farm.

Click to view the article!

New Trees

 

Planting trees is something we should all do.

This is one of the circles in the new paddocks that has been planted with a selection of native trees.


If you plant trees there is an extensive and very complicated Grant scheme that subsidises the trees. It is a waste of time unless you are planting thousands and have the mind of a bureaucrat.

It would be far better to give the grower a subsidy on every tree they sold, probably dependant on size. That would be easy to police as you'd only need to deal with registered tree growers and the public or the plants would probably get larger trees for the same money. Bigger trees are more likely to survive as they are easier to care for and less resistant to attack by deer.

But that sort of scheme would cut the number of civil service jobs used to administer the over-complicated current scheme.

Racing Days At Freedom Farm Stud

 

Most people love a day at Newmarket races. It is a great way to relax and the great advantage is that racing can be very much a family day-out, with something to appeal to everyone. Note too that children go free at the race course.

Why not couple a day at the races, with a visit to Freedom Farm Stud?

A typical day might start at say eleven, with a tour of the stud, to view the horses and what we are doing to create an energy efficient stud.

Note that as the stud has a wireless network and full business facilities, why not hold that important business meeting and then go off and enjoy yourselves?

We can provide refreshments, from a picnic to a full lunch, if required and also organise someone in the know to mark your card.

But above all what we do is flexible and geared very much to the needs of the client.

Creation of an Efficient Thoroughbred Stud Farm

 

I have created a document, which talks in some detail about the philosphy of the stud. It is a large PDF document of about eight Megabytes.

View the Document
So download with care.

Golf Buggy at Work

 

We are now using the golf buggy on a regular basis. Typically the longest trips the buggy does are the morning and evening feeds, when it probably carries two to three 25 Kg sacks of feed.

The first two pictures show it working much harder, as it carries about ten thirty or so kilogram sandbags, which are being used for a bridge.


Note how down on the rear wheels the buggy sits.

Bear in mind though that total payload was about 300 Kg in addition to about 65 Kg of driver. So this is really only the equivalent of three averagely-obese American golfers.


The last picture shows the bridge being completed.


One advantage here is that the buggy has a very good turning circle and can thus turn round easily without going off the track too much.

Tracks

 

The tracks to save the grass are now more or less complete. Or at least Phase 1 is, as I suspect, they'll be extended when we see which bits get worn.




They are based on road planings and as they are rolled in further they will become a good solid track for the buggy and the John Deere tractors.

Making Tracks

 

The picture shows some of the tracks we're putting in for the buggy.

The Definitive Water Trough

 

Water troughs can be a real pain on a stud. And although I have no experience on a cattle farm too.

You plumb one in and rest assured on the wettest and coldest day in the winter something will fail. In the pitch dark you will be trying to avoid pouring a large number of litres of water from creating a quagmire.

From many years experience of fixing the damn things, I like to think that I've come up with a better way of doing things. I probably haven't, as there will always be better methods and I suspect others have gone down the same route as I have.

So what do I do that is different?


One thing is obvious from the picture and that is that there is no back rail, so that the trough can be tipped backwards to both empty it and remove it from its cradle.

You will also notice that instead of hard-plumbing the trough into the cradle it's connected to the water through standard Hozelock components. This means that the trough can be quickly disconnected and removed.

This arrangement also has other advantages.

1. Water is often needed in the paddocks on a stud. Just unclip the connector and fill a bucket.

2. You can also use these connectors to join a hose to the trough, so that this can be used to perhaps fill an adjacent broken trough or supply water to trees.

But the whole point of this arrangement is to avoid using tools in a field on a cold and wet day.

Helping Hands

 

I had a lot of help today making the connections to the drinkers in the field more secure.


Lizzie doesn't do much but she does sit around, taking it all in. At least she doesn't run off with the tools.


These are the trouble-makers and note how one foal has his teeth in the pipe, trying to rip it off. I'll probably put a bar across to stop it.

This bunch are like a bored load of spotty teenagers standing around on a street corner. Anything that happens and they're up to no good.


Note that in this picture, I've replaced the Hozelock fitting with a Jubilee clip. Well not a real Jubilee clip but a Chinese copy.

Acorns

 

The oaks are full of acorns this year.

View From The Top

 

This is view from the top of scaffolding on the new office. Note my round office in the foreground.

Guard Dogs

 

We have two very fierce guard dogs to protect the property.


Mary, who is nearest to the camera, is getting old now and is pretty deaf and almost blind, so be careful not to run her over. Lizzie is younger and rather wary of strangers, so she generally runs home if someone arrives.

New Hedges

 

We've been filling in a few gaps in the hedge that borders the road between Cowlinge and Great Bradley.


Judging by the speed at which the hedge has grown, I would think that this wet summer has at least been good for trees, shrubs and hedges.