Tracey Heaven hadn’t realised just how much of a Motueka Valley fixture her horse Biko had become, until she found herself fielding yet another anxious enquiry about his well-being.
The 25-year-old stallion has been absent from his familiar roadside paddock, just before the Alexander Bluff Bridge, ever since the July flood.
Like so many other farmers that day, Tracey and her partner Ian were frantically working to protect their rural property against the surging river.
For the second time, the riverside paddocks were steadily swallowed as water rose almost level with the highway. When the couple crossed the road to check on Biko, they were horrified to see another river cascading down into his paddock.
Whole trees had been uprooted and formed a dam on the hillside, and when the logjam burst, a rolling torrent of wood and silt thundered downhill, the worst of the debris coming frighteningly close to sweeping the horse off his feet.
Tracey quickly haltered Biko and led him through the floodwater into the nearby house section, where he has been happily ensconced ever since. The Irish Hunter stallion now greets the couple’s regular visitors and helpers at the gate, patiently accepting pats and occasionally making off with any unattended gumboots.
With fencing repairs well underway, locals can expect to see Biko return to his usual post as “master of the valley” before too long.
