About Us
More information about us and our stud
About Us
The Mararoa Appaloosa stud is owned and operated by Jeanine and Stan McDonald in Invercargill.
We live on a lifestyle block where we have a variety of farm animals. We currently have two stallions and six brood mares, producing on average 3 to 7 foals per year. We also offer services for outside mares. I break in and train our young horses, using a mix of natural and traditional methods in large round pen.
Mararora Appaloosa stud started with one horse (Casper) who inspired me to breed more just like him. Casper was my first Appaloosa and I loved him and wanted to breed more horses just like him. When I could not find any mares for sale with his bloodlines, I purchased a mare Navaho Party Doll and bred her to Casper’s sire Shalimar’s Bobbie Breeze (Bobbie). The following season Shonshone Breeze (Cody) was born and I was delighted and ended up buying Bobbie the following year and it just grew from there.
I have had over 40 years of experience handling and breaking in many breeds of horses and have found the Appaloosa to be my favourite because of their versatility and trainability.
We love to explore on our horses and are often away in summer on adventures with them. In 2015 we featured on Country Calendar with our horses.
Our daughter Kelly went through Pony club and has a lot of success with our horses and while we would be trekking them some weeks in the weekends she would be eventing and show jumping them and took two of our trekking horses Cody and Dance up to open eventers and at one event was first and second on them.
Foals Born 2019
Foals Born 2018
Rode the south island
In October 2015 I fulfilled a lifetime dream of mine to ride the length of the South Island with two of our horses, Mararoa Mighty Chief and Mararoa Mighty Madaline. This took 9 weeks and we had an awesome time and you can read about this in my blog The highlight was climbing Stag Saddle by Tekapo and reaching the highest point on the Te Ara trail of 1900 meters and I have the upmost respect for these horses as they climbed up thorough all the boulders and were belly deep in snow drifts coming down again.
Appeared on Country Calender
In 2015 we appeared on Country Calendar with our horses. They showed us at home with our horses, the young growing horses out at grazing as well trekking at Mavora and hunting with the Birchwood hounds.
New Sire lines
I have been keeping fillies which were now mares for future breeding for a number of years and in 2014 I brought two stallions from the north Island to continue my breeding. After a lot of research and going with my first impressions I brought Chiefs Free Breeze and DayDream Pepes Foxer and I am delighted with their progeny and how they are crossing with my mares. Chief was an older progeny recorded stallion and Foxer was just a foal at the time which worked out well as now I can breed Chief’s fillies to Foxer in the future.
Competing
Our daughter Kelly went through Pony club and had a lot of success with our horses and while we would be trekking them some weeks in the weekends she would be eventing and showing jumping them and took two of our trekking horses Cody and Dance up to open events and at one event was first and second on them.
Sire lines
We kept two of Bobbies colts out of Navaho Party Doll as stallions Mararoa River Dance and his last foal Mararoa Bobbies Prints and bred with them for a few years before gelding them and riding them. Dance is a versatile family horse as our trekking and cavalcade horse and with Kelly an open eventer. Prints did a few cavalcades as well and some showjumping and eventing before we sold him. To continue our bloodlines we kept Mararoa River Dance’s few spot colt out of Mighty Mouse which we called Mararoa Mighty Ghost. We can trace his breeding though to the Ghost Wind line of horses in the book “The story of the Ghost Wind Stallions “by Don LaLonde. We breed with Ghost for a number of years until he died in the paddock. We have kept fillies from Dance, Prints and Ghost for breeding and riding.
Brought our first Stallion Shalimar’s Bobbie Breeze
Once Shonshone Breeze (Cody) was born I want to breed more horse like Cody and Casper and leased his sire Shalimar’s Bobbie Breeze for a year before buying him and our stud has grown from here with Bobbie being our foundation stallion.
Had our first foal born
Our first foal Shonshone Breeze (Cody) was born in 1993. I choose the name Mararoa as our stud name as my favourite riding place is at Mavora which is two small lakes with the Mararoa river running thought them. We enjoy riding there and crossing the river. This is an awesome training place for horses, with so much varied terrain and stunning views. Cody is now 26 and is still very active and loves to go to the beach for a canter.
We have been breeding Appaloosas since 1992
The highlight of the year is foaling as you never know what they will be like and it is so rewarding watching them grow and play.