The Tales Of Darrah-Dark-One                                  & Roscoe The Reverser ~ Jan 2006 to March 2009

Darrah Dark One, we called her. The odd one out. The only non-grey horse ever rescued from Earaheedy Station...and Roscoe The Reverser, the giant colt with the face only a mother could love, who made quite an impression on Ross Quartermaine, the former station owner of Earaheedy who helped Sheila with the rescue of the Earaheedy Station horses.

Two year old Darrah was captured via water trapping in December 2005, in the second Earaheedy rescue...along with the two orphaned fillies, Sophie and Lilly, the grey mare Sweaty Betty (later renamed Betsy!), and Roscoe, a very big, very skinny approx. 2.5 year old colt. He was born buckskin, but was greying out, like the other Earaheedys. These were the horses that survived to come south. Several others that Sheila and Ross managed to water trap died, or were humanely destroyed due to their chronic water and food deprived condition.

Somehow, tough little Darrah and big Roscoe made it, probably due to their youth and incredibly hardy bloodlines. In Darrah’s case, it is thought that one of the dominant grey stallions took a trip to the large, neighbouring station of Wongowol – the home of a big number of smaller, darker heritage horses also provided as remounts during WWI. Or perhaps somehow Darrah got in to Earaheedy. We will never know. But one of the grey stallions took a liking to the little dark filly (it is said that wild stallions only steal the best mares!), and Darrah was very forcibly made to stay on Earaheedy.

Because of this, Darrah - thought to around 2 years of age - was very thin and carrying extensive bite injuries on her back when she was captured. Sheila could see that Darrah was a well conformed, pretty horse, tough but quietly accepting and very intelligent. Also, the worst of her injuries were already healing, despite her otherwise poor condition. She was a survivor, so Sheila named her after a local lady, optimistic she would pull through.

Roscoe was captured with a lovely steel grey colt, probably roughly his own age – a mate. Sadly, the silver dapple colt was in very poor condition, and collapsed not long after being trapped. Sheila and Ross spent hours trying to save this lovely horse but he was in a chronic state.

At one point, Sheila was on her knees in the dust and the heat beside the colt, whilst Ross stood above her, holding the drip that our intrepid vet was putting into the colt. Roscoe, on the other side of the pen and unnamed at that time, began to make his way over to them. Sheila and Ross were in an awkward corner – trapped by a water barrel and the position of the stricken colt. Big Roscoe turned around and began reversing towards Ross.

Ross, slightly nervous, made a comment to Sheila about what the big wild horse was doing. Sheila, intent on her patient, told him not to worry. Roscoe continued to reverse, moving closer and closer to Ross, who by now was understandably very concerned. The colt was typical Earaheedy - big boned with huge and very powerful hooves. Ross again spoke quietly to Sheila, who glanced up, now aware, but told him to stand still and hold the drip. It would be alright.

Then she got the giggles. Big wild horse reversing calmly up to big nervous man. It must have been quite a sight. Roscoe backed right in to Ross – and began to scratch his butt against this living fencepost. Ross tried not to laugh, or fall over (because Roscoe wasn’t light), and Shelia kept right on giggling. When Roscoe was done he moved away, giving a relieved former station owner and a bemused vet a lighter moment in an otherwise sad day.

The silver dapple colt died – but Roscoe survived, and acquired his name, partly due to his “bonding” with Ross Quartermaine and partly because Roscoe-the-Reverser just sounded good.

That rescue was far from plain sailing. At one point, the station flooded – after months and years of drought, all of a sudden there was so much rain the already poor dirt roads became quagmires. Unfortunately, only the two fillies were back at the nearest inhabited station. Betsy, Roscoe and little Darrah were stuck out on the Earaheedy flats, in the makeshift pens. Sheila and Ross had to travel a back route, many hours each way - every day for three days - just to get hay and fresh water out to the trapped horses. Finally the roads dried out just enough for them to get in (again by a back way) with a truck. They constructed a makeshift loading ramp and almost a day later, had the horses back in the relative safety of the other station. It was a big job.

After several weeks in the “recovery pen” up north, Roscoe, Betsy and Darrah (the orphaned fillies were kept separate), had improved enough to make the journey south to join the other horses rescued in March 2005.

To cut a long story short, they are all now doing very well. Darrah recovered quickly, mainly due to her size and youthfulness. She put the weight back on very quickly and her bite injuries healed rapidly, although a nasty deep one on her wither took slightly longer and has left white scar hairs.

Darrah is a beautiful, intelligent little young mare, now just over 2 years of age, with a flowing mane and tail and a now healthy shine to her black coat. She was quickly snapped up by a lady from Margaret River, who plans to use Darrah for her main riding horse in a few years time. Darrah bonded with humans remarkably quickly and is very happy in her new home, with a couple of chestnut companions, and has already learnt a great deal. She is much loved and will undoubtedly live a happy and social life!

Roscoe, after his initial casualness with humans, took a leaf out of older mare Betsy’s book and took a little longer to “settle” with humans than Darrah. His trust took longer to earn but Neil Innes, the Natural Horsemanship trainer from Margaret River, got there and when Roscoe was halter trained, float loading and coping with having his feet picked up, he was floated to Nannup, to join some of the other Earaheedys.

In Nannup Roscoe was further tamed and this big, gentle boy has blossomed. He loves affection and enjoys his lessons now, as well as his food! He has grown and put on weight. He will probably mature around 16.3hh. Several weeks ago, after being advertised for only a short time, a mother and daughter from Geraldton drove all the way down south to view Roscoe, having read about this remarkable line of horses. They bought Roscoe immediately.

Roscoe, like the other Earaheedy Greys, has huge and powerful movement and it will be wonderful if he can go the distance and become a great jumper. He certainly has great potential, already training with a saddle on his back and learning quickly.

February 2009 Update

Well The Reverser and Darling Dark One are both still doing very well. Darrah was a wonderful bush hack and mount for her new owner, who kept her for several years, however possibly due to Darrah’s old back injury, the otherwise perfectly behaved mare started to pigroot regularly, unseating her owner on several occasions. Not good. Then her owner had to move interstate for work and so Wadi Farm in Nannup purchased Darrah as a broodmare. Darrah, now 5 years of age, is a very good looking, beautiful natured horse who can still be ridden in a treeless saddle (which doesn’t put the same pressure on her back)...and she’s now a Mum. Darrah has had her first foal, a dilute filly named Wanda, whose sire is Gunnadorrah Tom Thumb, the little chocolate taffy stallion rescued from the petmeat station on the Nullabor. Wanda is a HUGE personality, half her dam and definitely half her sire. Darrah is a great, if somewhat “hands off” Mum and leaves Wanda to explore and learn, and only protects her when absolutely necessary. The kid never had it so great!

Roscoe has never had it so good either. Sold by his Geraldton owners when he was rising 4 to a family in Merredin who had LONG been wanting an Earaheedy, Roscoe was later joined by Earaheedy Norma, also purchased by the same family.

The entire family absolutely adore their Earaheedy Greys. Roscoe is owned by Megan and Mum, Robyn, has Norma. Both horses have been started in endurance and Roscoe, particularly, is doing very well. He has a naturally low heart rate and is a real “cruiser”, looking after his rider and only occasionally trying to pick his own path and hop over fences! As both horses are so large and so “different” amongst the usual endurance crowd, they have become burgeoning celebrities and often attract attention where ever they go.

Roscoe and Norma visit Nannup for holidays on an annual basis, and both horses are very content, doted on by their caring owners. Roscoe has decided that he really does enjoy domesticity and is, these days, a huge, solid gelding, rising 17hh and with the Percheron bone to match. Darrah still bosses him about when she sees him, despite being more than two hands shorter, but Roscoe puts up with it, good naturedly, and is also one of those rare geldings who gets on very well with foals and watches over them.

Megan has recently moved to Esperance, having finished University, and Roscoe will shortly go with her. Norma will be joined by another Waler mare, for company, and hopefully she won’t miss Roscoe too much. She’s in foal to an old bloodline stallion now and so will be joining Darrah and the broodmare ranks for a while.

Basically it’s all very good.