DrumRunner728
Well-known member
My apologies right now – this is going to get long.
On a regular Saturday morning visit to our local mill, the manager pointed out a flyer that had recently been posted on their bulletin board. The flyer contained photographs of a stallion and his pedigree, along with the current stud fee and mare care fees. Having made deliveries to our farm on numerous occasions and being a horseman of good reputation in his own right, the manager knew I had a couple of well-bred Quarter Horse mares and he was anxious to see if I was interested in the stallion. We spent several minutes discussing the possibilities of this heavy foundation bloodline and what kind of horse you might produce if he was bred to such-and-such mare, etc. As far as I was concerned it was a feed store "what if" conversation and nothing more.
The next morning my husband asked me if I had ever called the owner of the stallion to get more information. I told him I had not and asked if he was seriously interested in going to see him. His response was that it was certainly worth a "look see." I called the owner and made arrangements to meet her later that afternoon to see the horse. Knowing that the stallion was 23 years old at the time, we were not expecting a heavily muscled horse with the look of a 10 year old. Age takes its toll on all of us – human or animal – but age doesn't change genetics or the basics that you look for in a stallion. We were not, however, prepared for what we did find. What awaited us was not the shiny, sleek horse in the photographs taken the year before, but an extremely underweight shell of a horse (you could see every bone in his body) shivering from end to end because there was no body fat to ward off the March cold. He was long-haired, dull-coated, and depressed looking. When we questioned his condition we were told that he had been farmed out to some friends that she thought would take care of him while she was relocating from one town to another due to a change in a personal relationship. Regardless of who may have been responsible for his condition, it was obvious that the horse was close to starvation. This was not strictly a result of old age.
Despite his poor physical condition, what I did see was a horse that had once obviously been grand and proud - a textbook picture of foundation Quarter Horse breeding. He had one of the prettiest heads (if not the prettiest head) I had ever seen on a horse. He had small, alert ears and the largest, kindest eyes that told you he was a gentleman through and through. Here was a horse who certainly deserved better than what he was getting in his senior years. The owner again informed us of what she was asking for a stud fee, but if we were interested in buying him she would sell him for $100 more than the stud fee. We thanked the owner for her time and told her we would get back in touch with her. I honestly don't think at that time that I even considered the possibility that I would lay eyes on this poor animal again, but knew I would be haunted by him.
There was very little conversation on the way home that afternoon as my husband and I both mulled over what set of circumstances might have befallen this horse to put him in such a sad state. Later that evening, after dinner, my husband said to me, "So, what do you want to do about the stallion?" I was surprised by his question but knew that we were both obviously distressed about the horse and couldn't quit thinking about him. My response was, "He's sure in pretty sad shape, but he was obviously a grand horse in his day. What do you want to do?" He said, "Call the lady and tell her we'll be there tomorrow afternoon to pick him up." Yes, there was a lot more discussion about the state of this horse and whether anything could be done to improve his condition. Was he so old that we couldn't put the much needed weight back on him? Even if we could bring him back would he be capable of producing? Did we even want to try to breed him? At his age there was always the risk that we might find him dead the next day. What we both knew was that we couldn't leave him where he was. I made the phone call and the next day "King" came to live with us for a dollar amount that would have been insulting to even a slaughter horse. We realized all along that there was a strong possibility that we couldn't bring him back to good physical condition. We could, however, see to his basic needs – a dry stall, proper feed for a senior horse, worming, trimming, vaccinations, dental care – until his time was up. That might be a day or two, or it could be several years. All we knew was that we could give him better treatment than he was getting.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and King began to gain weight. The hip bones, back bone, and tail bone didn't protrude as far. The ribs began to disappear. The long, dull hair shed out to reveal a beautiful chestnut coat with copper undertones. And those large, intelligent eyes began to shine again. We were greeted with a deep nicker at the barn at feeding time. It was obvious he was going to make it. The one thing that didn't change was his pleasant disposition. Somebody along the way had spent a great deal of time with this horse.
A little research and a few phone calls tracked down some of the history of this horse. He had been a herd sire on a cattle ranch in south Florida for 18 years. They were working him, using him on cattle, and breeding their own ranch horses. A lot of ranch horses are never registered with AQHA even though they are qualified. The ranch owner didn't "bother with registration papers." It was only as he aged and was sold that his progeny began to show up on AQHA.
Several months later, circumstances allowed us to buy a Thoroughbred mare with King's two-week old filly at her side. That filly is now two years old and has two full sisters on our farm, a yearling and a suckling. Yesterday morning one of our Quarter Horse mares blessed us with a beautiful little stud colt. We have two more Quarter Horse mares that are bred back to this stallion for 2008 foals.
I'm an old barrel racer. I have competed on every level - - from local horse shows to Quarter Horse shows to many successful years with the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. I have a barrel horse now ( a son of Special Effort) that I still play with from time to time and wish that time permitted more dedication to the sport I love. I have loved and known horses all of my life, and owned horses since I was 14 years old. I know a good horse from a bad horse, and I know good breeding from bad breeding. I am respected by my peers for my knowledge of horses and my horsemanship. I have been asked to assist more than one person locate that "perfect" horse. The bottom line is that I knew what I was doing with this horse. I knew his breeding, I knew his temperament, and I took the time to research his background. I was not just breeding a rescue horse willy-nilly to produce babies because he was a stallion. I get a couple of phone calls a month from people wanting to tell me about a great deal on what usually turns out to be a grade mare. I'm not interested. We're a small operation, but a quality operation. My philosophy is that it doesn't take any more to feed a good horse than it does to feed a bad horse.
King is now 26 years old and by all appearances seems to be in good health. I hope to put as many of his babies on the ground as time and our four mares will permit. Will we ever own another stud horse? Probably not. This has been an exciting adventure for us in the horse world, but we realize how blessed we have been with this particular stallion. He is a gem of a horse.
The possibilities that existed with crossing this fabulous foundation QH blood with running blood and producing not only barrel horses with a brain and an even disposition, but generally a good using horse, were exciting. We haven't been disappointed. King has been bred to the best mares we could afford, and he has produced beautiful, athletic, intelligent babies. They may not be the type of horses everybody is interested in, but I know my target market and I know what they look for in a horse. I already have interest in his foals and it's almost time to start letting them go. I'll be sad to see them leave but excited to see what they accomplish in life. And I don't entirely rule out the possibility that I will keep one or more of his babies for my own use.
Sorry for being long and rambling, but I just needed to set the facts straight.
On a regular Saturday morning visit to our local mill, the manager pointed out a flyer that had recently been posted on their bulletin board. The flyer contained photographs of a stallion and his pedigree, along with the current stud fee and mare care fees. Having made deliveries to our farm on numerous occasions and being a horseman of good reputation in his own right, the manager knew I had a couple of well-bred Quarter Horse mares and he was anxious to see if I was interested in the stallion. We spent several minutes discussing the possibilities of this heavy foundation bloodline and what kind of horse you might produce if he was bred to such-and-such mare, etc. As far as I was concerned it was a feed store "what if" conversation and nothing more.
The next morning my husband asked me if I had ever called the owner of the stallion to get more information. I told him I had not and asked if he was seriously interested in going to see him. His response was that it was certainly worth a "look see." I called the owner and made arrangements to meet her later that afternoon to see the horse. Knowing that the stallion was 23 years old at the time, we were not expecting a heavily muscled horse with the look of a 10 year old. Age takes its toll on all of us – human or animal – but age doesn't change genetics or the basics that you look for in a stallion. We were not, however, prepared for what we did find. What awaited us was not the shiny, sleek horse in the photographs taken the year before, but an extremely underweight shell of a horse (you could see every bone in his body) shivering from end to end because there was no body fat to ward off the March cold. He was long-haired, dull-coated, and depressed looking. When we questioned his condition we were told that he had been farmed out to some friends that she thought would take care of him while she was relocating from one town to another due to a change in a personal relationship. Regardless of who may have been responsible for his condition, it was obvious that the horse was close to starvation. This was not strictly a result of old age.
Despite his poor physical condition, what I did see was a horse that had once obviously been grand and proud - a textbook picture of foundation Quarter Horse breeding. He had one of the prettiest heads (if not the prettiest head) I had ever seen on a horse. He had small, alert ears and the largest, kindest eyes that told you he was a gentleman through and through. Here was a horse who certainly deserved better than what he was getting in his senior years. The owner again informed us of what she was asking for a stud fee, but if we were interested in buying him she would sell him for $100 more than the stud fee. We thanked the owner for her time and told her we would get back in touch with her. I honestly don't think at that time that I even considered the possibility that I would lay eyes on this poor animal again, but knew I would be haunted by him.
There was very little conversation on the way home that afternoon as my husband and I both mulled over what set of circumstances might have befallen this horse to put him in such a sad state. Later that evening, after dinner, my husband said to me, "So, what do you want to do about the stallion?" I was surprised by his question but knew that we were both obviously distressed about the horse and couldn't quit thinking about him. My response was, "He's sure in pretty sad shape, but he was obviously a grand horse in his day. What do you want to do?" He said, "Call the lady and tell her we'll be there tomorrow afternoon to pick him up." Yes, there was a lot more discussion about the state of this horse and whether anything could be done to improve his condition. Was he so old that we couldn't put the much needed weight back on him? Even if we could bring him back would he be capable of producing? Did we even want to try to breed him? At his age there was always the risk that we might find him dead the next day. What we both knew was that we couldn't leave him where he was. I made the phone call and the next day "King" came to live with us for a dollar amount that would have been insulting to even a slaughter horse. We realized all along that there was a strong possibility that we couldn't bring him back to good physical condition. We could, however, see to his basic needs – a dry stall, proper feed for a senior horse, worming, trimming, vaccinations, dental care – until his time was up. That might be a day or two, or it could be several years. All we knew was that we could give him better treatment than he was getting.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and King began to gain weight. The hip bones, back bone, and tail bone didn't protrude as far. The ribs began to disappear. The long, dull hair shed out to reveal a beautiful chestnut coat with copper undertones. And those large, intelligent eyes began to shine again. We were greeted with a deep nicker at the barn at feeding time. It was obvious he was going to make it. The one thing that didn't change was his pleasant disposition. Somebody along the way had spent a great deal of time with this horse.
A little research and a few phone calls tracked down some of the history of this horse. He had been a herd sire on a cattle ranch in south Florida for 18 years. They were working him, using him on cattle, and breeding their own ranch horses. A lot of ranch horses are never registered with AQHA even though they are qualified. The ranch owner didn't "bother with registration papers." It was only as he aged and was sold that his progeny began to show up on AQHA.
Several months later, circumstances allowed us to buy a Thoroughbred mare with King's two-week old filly at her side. That filly is now two years old and has two full sisters on our farm, a yearling and a suckling. Yesterday morning one of our Quarter Horse mares blessed us with a beautiful little stud colt. We have two more Quarter Horse mares that are bred back to this stallion for 2008 foals.
I'm an old barrel racer. I have competed on every level - - from local horse shows to Quarter Horse shows to many successful years with the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. I have a barrel horse now ( a son of Special Effort) that I still play with from time to time and wish that time permitted more dedication to the sport I love. I have loved and known horses all of my life, and owned horses since I was 14 years old. I know a good horse from a bad horse, and I know good breeding from bad breeding. I am respected by my peers for my knowledge of horses and my horsemanship. I have been asked to assist more than one person locate that "perfect" horse. The bottom line is that I knew what I was doing with this horse. I knew his breeding, I knew his temperament, and I took the time to research his background. I was not just breeding a rescue horse willy-nilly to produce babies because he was a stallion. I get a couple of phone calls a month from people wanting to tell me about a great deal on what usually turns out to be a grade mare. I'm not interested. We're a small operation, but a quality operation. My philosophy is that it doesn't take any more to feed a good horse than it does to feed a bad horse.
King is now 26 years old and by all appearances seems to be in good health. I hope to put as many of his babies on the ground as time and our four mares will permit. Will we ever own another stud horse? Probably not. This has been an exciting adventure for us in the horse world, but we realize how blessed we have been with this particular stallion. He is a gem of a horse.
The possibilities that existed with crossing this fabulous foundation QH blood with running blood and producing not only barrel horses with a brain and an even disposition, but generally a good using horse, were exciting. We haven't been disappointed. King has been bred to the best mares we could afford, and he has produced beautiful, athletic, intelligent babies. They may not be the type of horses everybody is interested in, but I know my target market and I know what they look for in a horse. I already have interest in his foals and it's almost time to start letting them go. I'll be sad to see them leave but excited to see what they accomplish in life. And I don't entirely rule out the possibility that I will keep one or more of his babies for my own use.
Sorry for being long and rambling, but I just needed to set the facts straight.
