Thursday, April 29, 2010

This weeks Riding

Monday was Topper's turn for a work out. We rode a bit in the arena then headed out on the trails. This was Toppers first trail ride in over a year due to her recent injuries. Everything went great until we finished the first 1.5 mile loop and headed up the hill for the second loop.  Suddenly I feel something different with the reins. I look down and one rein is not pointed in the right direct it's dropped down in front of her legs. Here we are headed up hill at a slow jog and the tie on the slobber strap comes apart. So I pull the offside rein gently and Topper comes to the perfect one rein stop. I figured that was the perfect spot to end the ride on a perfect note. I got off and found my slobber strap a couple steps back and we walked back home to unsaddle.  Even with an equipment malfunction that was a really good ride.

Tuesday was Dream Girl's turn. She's just been started with her training. She's only be ridden about 5 times or so.  I saddle her up and head to the round pen.  We worked on stops and turns and a little bit of trotting with a rider. She's responding really well and I hope that soon she'll be ready for some short trail rides.

Wednesday was not so nice of a day weather wise. The wind was blowing like crazy. I had the choice of riding Ladybug or fatso mule. Since fatso mule hasn't been ridden in quite a while, I chose her. We only went about a mile and a half since she's so out of shape but even with the wind, the ride was good.

Thursday is a total bust. Nasty wind, blowing snow, extremely cold and definately not a day to work a horse. Friday's weather forecast isn't much better so I'm not planning on riding until at least Saturday. I'll need to get my riding done early enough that I can come in and watch the Derby in the afternoon. Maybe Sunday will be another good day to ride.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Finished Crochet Project

I found a lovely shawl pattern over on Ravelry and started on earlier this month. It's called a Rippled Wrap and it's simple enough for any beginner to try yet it's really beautiful when finished.  I crocheted this one specifically for my farriers wife. He said her favorite colors were browns so I gathered up a good selection of brown yarns and went to work.   This is how it turned out.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Who got the better work out?

Yesterday was a busy day here in the mountains. We totally replaced 430 Ft of pasture fencing. Keith did the hard work, But I did other stuff so we are trying to figure out who got the better workout.

Keith started out by undoing the old fencing rolling it all up and moving it out of the way, straightening up and fixing the posts and then rolled out the new fencing and stretched it and tied it all up to all the posts.

I helped him undo the old fencing, then back to the house and pulled the jeans out of the washer and hung them out on the clothes line, then put in a new load. Went back to the pasture and helped with more fencing chores, then back to the house later to pull out the second load of clothes and hang them out on the line and put in the last load of clothes in the washer. Set out a sprinkler for the garden, then back to the pasture for manure moving, then back to the house to hang out the last load of clothes,  peeled the potatoes, carrots and parsnips to put in with the roast in the crock pot. Then outside to move the sprinkler. Picked up the eggs from the chickens, watered the Mule in the round pen.  Went back out to the pasture to assist with fencing and more manure moving. 

So basically I was running back and forth from the pasture to the house doing all kinds of things while Keith was replacing the fencing. Both of us are a bit sore today but we still have a little more fence fixing to do before we are totally finished. We can only hope that the replaced fencing will help keep the Money Pit (Topper) safe from any more serious injuries, but some how she got a tiny cut the other day in the arena and we can't find any place for her to get cut.  I swear that mare will get hurt even if she's in a padded stall.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

What an interesting week

Thursday I woke up to this:

Front yard

Herb garden and swiss chard

The onions

and Rhubarb
The Asian Pear trees almost in bloom

And the Apple blooms starting to develop

It snowed almost a half inch overnight, then it all cleared up and got windy. It also attempted to snow again on Thursday night, but the wind was blowing so hard that the storm blew on off faster than any accumulations could happen.   It so far appears that everything has survived the snow. Some of the pear blossoms have some black spots on them, but overall they appear to have survived and hopefully I will have a few pears this year. My peach tree is the only hold out that hadn't started leafing or blooming out yet. I picked a variety that specifically blooms later to avoid these late frosts and freezes. 

Saturday I went in the big city to visit with an elementary school friend who's daughter was showing at an AQHA horse show. I got some photos but most were fuzzy and grainy and yucky from the flash and lights from the indoor arena. 

After the show, we all went out to dinner and shared some old memories like the time we saddled up and rode to our elementary school to pick up our report cards.  Or when we rode the horses over to the corner convenience store to get a coke.  We talked about old horses and current horses and all kinds of things.  We probably bored her daughter and my hunny Keith to death, but it was a really nice visit.  


Today we finish out the weekend by moving all the horses to the arena and tearing out a section of the pasture fence to replace it. So now I'm off to start moving horses.

Monday, April 19, 2010

More on the new ApHC Rule.

I was sent an e-mail containing a letter to AARP written by Cyndy Miller from Miller Farms Equine Transport.  It was a very well written letter that you can find posted here at snopes.com.  

I really hope that Mrs. Miller does not mind me pulling out one paragraph that also express exactly how I currently feel about the Appaloosa Horse Club and their most recent ruling that takes the Club back 20-30 years in the past by allowing horses without an Appaloosa registered parent to be registered with full breeding rights.  If you are not yet aware of the newest ApHC ruling, you can check out my blog post from last week, or another blog post from My Appaloosa Adventures, or you can visit the Face Book pages for those members opposed  or in favor of the new ruling. Interesting that those "In Favor" of the ruling seem to be talking about getting it changed or making additional changes to the registry that would basically eliminate this ruling.

I've taken one liberty and changed where she put AARP with ApHC.

While we have proudly maintained our membership for several years and have long admired the ApHC goals and principles, regrettably, we can no longer endorse it's abdication of our values. Your letter specifically stated that we can count on ApHC to speak up for our rights, yet the voice we hear is not ours. Your offer of being kept up to date on important issues through DIVIDED WE FAIL presents neither an impartial view nor the one we have come to embrace. We do believe that when two parties agree all the time on everything presented to them, one is probably not necessary. But, when the opinions and long term goals are diametrically opposed, the divorce is imminent. This is the philosophy which spawned our 200 years of government.  

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Garden Science

Yesterday I pulled out my soil test kit for the garden and proceeded to test for pH and other nutrients. Living in the Southwest, we always know our soil is pretty alkaline, mine tested out over 8.0. I also tested for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. All three of those were really low. So I ran off to the Home Depot yesterday and gathered up some ingredients to add to the soil.

Bone meal is a great source of Phosphorus and  for people interested in organic growing, this is a great source of nutrients without the use of chemical fertilizers.

Espoma Organic Traditions Bone Meal 4-12-0 - 4.5 lb Bag #BM5

Blood meal is an organic source of Nitrogen. It should be applied carefully or else you can burn your plants. Both blood meal and bone meal are acceptable for use with Certified Organic Production by USDA standards.
Espoma Organic Traditions Blood Dried 12-0-0 - 4 lb Bag #DB4 
Sulphur  is used to help decrease the alkalinity of soils.   Getting my soils closer to neutral and in some individual spots slightly acidic should help with the production of my tomatoes and Saskatoon blueberries.
Garden Sulphur, 5 Lbs. 

And a few other things to throw in the garden.  I even found some already growing Rhubarb plants. I've had horrible luck previously with keeping the Rhubarb growing and I've tried from roots and from seeds. This time I hope they take.  

Some of my garden is already busy growing. I let some of the lettuce go to seed last year and the seeds are sprouting already. I also left the garlic bulbs out and have quite a bit of garlic growing again. The spearmint and peppermint are sprouting up again. The asparagus is starting to pop up. My spinach is sprouting and the walking onions are growing well.   My apple trees are budding up well, The Asian pear trees look like they are starting to flower and I'm still waiting on the peach, mulberry and cherry trees.

My one lone current bush is  already leafing out and the Elderberry bush is growing strong. I'm going to have to pick up a few more current and elderberry bushes this year. The Saskatoon Blueberry bushes are budding up, but they normally leave out later than most. 

So I'm off to work in the garden for a while then hopefully get in a ride on the Bug before it starts raining again.


Saturday, April 17, 2010

What is Equinite?



I'm sure by now you all have seen jewelry made from horse hair, but how about jewelry made from your horses hoof? Well that is what Equinite really is! Yep that's right, you can now get jewelry made from your horses hooves. I really wasn't sure this was for real when I found their Facebook Page, so I did more research and found their Business Page.  I even found a news article about the jewelry so I guess it's for real. 

Anyway I just thought it was interesting, and creative use of horse hooves, but I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to save up enough material from any of mine to have something made.   

Friday, April 16, 2010

The verdict is in

So we went for a vet check this morning with the Bug and got our verdict.  It turns out that the Bug is just really FAT. That means a diet and exercise. I'm slightly disappointed because it would be nice to have a foal around, but it also means that I don't have late night foal watch and sleepless nights. It would have been nice to have a Bugger Butt baby to carry on the lines, but then no baby means no filling out late stud reports or parentage verification tests to make sure he's really the father. Having a foal around would mean less time to ride the Bug and more time to get Dream Girl started. But not having a foal around means more time to ride the Bug and maybe even compete in a few events. I missed a local judged trail ride last weekend because I was holding up until the outcome of the vet check.

So now I'm off to buy corral panels at the truckload sale in Gallup and then come home and throw a saddle on the bug and head for the hills.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

TO HAVE A HORSE IN YOUR LIFE

My sister sent this to me in an e-mail. Love it, but, Try explaining why you are bawling your eyes out at work over an e-mail. 

To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short years, a horse can teach a young girl courage, if she chooses to grab mane and hang on for dear life. Even the smallest of ponies is mightier than the tallest of girls. To conquer the fear of falling off, having one's toes crushed, or being publicly humiliated at a horse show is an admirable feat for any child. For that, we can be grateful.

Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle or a computer, a horse needs regular care and most of it requires that you get dirty and smelly and up off the couch. Choosing to leave your cozy kitchen to break the crust of ice off the water buckets is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and drink heartily, we know we've made the right choice.

Learning to care for a horse is both an art and a science. Some are easy keepers, requiring little more than regular turn-out, a flake of hay, and a trough of clean water. Others will test you - you'll struggle to keep them from being too fat or too thin. You'll have their feet shod regularly only to find shoes gone missing. Some are so accident-prone you'll swear they're intentionally finding new ways to injure themselves.

If you weren't raised with horses, you can't know that they have unique personalities. You'd expect this from dogs, but horses? Indeed, there are clever horses, grumpy horses, and even horses with a sense of humor. Those prone to humor will test you by finding new ways to escape from the barn when you least expect it.

Horses can be timid or brave, lazy or athletic, obstinate or willing. You will hit it off with some horses and others will elude you altogether. There are as many "types" of horses as there are people- which makes the whole partnership thing all the more interesting.

If you've never ridden a horse, you probably assume it's a simple thing you can learn in a weekend. You can, in fact, learn the basics on a Sunday, but to truly ride well takes a lifetime. Working with a living being is far more complex than turning a key in the ignition and putting the car or tractor in "drive."

In addition to listening to your instructor, your horse will have a few things to say to you as well. On a good day, he'll be happy to go along with the program and tolerate your mistakes; on a bad day, you'll swear he's trying to kill you. Perhaps he's naughty or perhaps he's fed up with how slowly you're learning his language. Regardless, the horse will have an opinion. He may choose to challenge you (which can ultimately make you a better rider) or he may carefully carry you over fences - if it suits him. It all depends on the partnership - and partnership is what it's all about.

If you face your fears, swallow your pride, and are willing to work at it, you'll learn lessons in courage, commitment, and compassion in addition to basic survival skills. You'll discover just how hard you're willing to work toward a goal, how little you know, and how much you have to learn.

And, while some people think the horse "does all the work," you'll be challenged physically as well as mentally. Your horse may humble you completely. Or, you may find that sitting on his back is the closest you'll get to heaven.

You can choose to intimidate your horse, but do you really want to? The results may come more quickly, but will your work ever be as graceful as that gained through trust? The best partners choose to listen, as well as to tell. When it works, we experience a sweet sense of accomplishment brought about by smarts, hard work, and mutual understanding between horse and rider. These are the days when you know with absolute certainty that your horse is enjoying his work.

If we make it to adulthood with horses still in our lives, most of us have to squeeze riding into our over saturated schedules; balancing our need for things equine with those of our households and employers. There is never enough time to ride, or to ride as well as we'd like. Hours in the barn are stolen pleasures.
If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life with them. Our horses know our secrets; we braid our tears into their manes and whisper our hopes into their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an unsettled world, a sheltered place where life's true priorities are clear: a warm place to sleep, someone who loves us, and the luxury of regular meals. Some of us need these reminders.

When you step back, it's not just about horses - it's about love, life, and learning. On any given day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a foal, a blue ribbon, or recovery from an illness. That same day, there is also loss: a broken limb, a case of colic, a decision to sustain a life or end it gently. As horse people, we share the accelerated life cycle of horses: the hurried rush of life, love, loss, and death that caring for these animals brings us. When our partners pass, it is more than a moment of sorrow. We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways our lives have been blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe, and wonder. Absolute union. We honor our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.

To those outside our circle, it must seem strange. To see us in our muddy boots, who would guess such poetry lives in our hearts? We celebrate our companions with praise worthy of heroes. Indeed, horses have the hearts of warriors and often carry us into and out of fields of battle.

Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse; of journeys made and challenges met. The best of horses rise to the challenges we set before them, asking little in return.
Those who know them understand how fully a horse can hold a human heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden loss and the lingering taste of long-term illness. We shoulder the burden of deciding when or whether to end the life of a true companion.

In the end, we're not certain if God entrusts us to our horses--or our horses to us. Does it matter?
We're grateful God loaned us the horse in the first place.

Author Unknown

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Bug Watch

Well I woke up this morning to find Bug jogging in her pen. She's extremely agitated this morning. She's been testing the fences to try and find a weak spot. She wants out of that pen now! She's been pacing and pawing and she even ignored her feed this morning. Last night she ate like she was starving to death and this morning she's barely touched any of her feed.  

I"m pretty sure this is not a colic because she's already pooped three times in a half hour period, she's not attempting to lay down and roll and she's not kicking at her belly, but she does keep looking backwards. 

I called in from work originally to tell them I'd be a little late hoping that she would settle down, well I had to call back and tell them I'm probably not coming in at all today.  She does not yet look like she's ready to foal, she's not fully bagged up and the tail head is not slack enough yet, but she's not stood still for more than 5 minutes since at least 6:30 this morning.  She's also been very vocal this morning nickering at me and all the other horses. There are a lot of things that are totally NOT normal behaviors this morning so here I sit at my door watching her pace her pen.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Horse Shuffle

I called the vet on Monday and the soonest I can get The Bug in for an ultrasound is Friday. Based on the foaling calculator for a normal length pregnancy and the date that Booger Butt was gelded, Bug's first due date could be as soon as Thursday. So I had to do the horse shuffle last night after work. Topper is still NOT allowed to go back into the pasture where she's had so many injuries before. We still need to fix the fence down in the back corner where they neighbor horses have torn it up again. Roany hasn't had a chance to meet the rest of the pasture crew up close either, but she's buddies with Topper.  So the pasture is OUT for Roany and Topper. Topper and Roany got moved from their pens into the arena. The pens for Topper and Roany got reshuffled back into one big round pen and Ladybug got moved into that pen.  Since the round pen is right in front of the house and right outside the bathroom window, I can now keep a better eye on the Bug for just in case. Since she was hanging out in the pasture with Baby Girl and Booger Butt, I needed to bring her in closer to be able to see her instead of trying to find her in 6 acres with a lot of trees. It looks like Bug is happy to be alone for a while.

Since I don't know positively, BUT she LOOKS like she might be in foal, it never hurts to be prepared. Just looking at her, I"m fairly convinced that she's in foal.  Even though it wasn't planned, I do hope that the Bug really is in foal and that Booger Butt is the daddy.  I got to thinking about it last night and wondering what if I was lucky enough to have one more chance to have a foal to carry on the bloodlines from my old mare Big Mamma. So now here I sit, hoping for a pretty little filly.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Friends of the NRA Dinner

Saturday was the Friends of the NRA dinner over in Gallup. We always go, have a good evening and a decent meal and support the group. We have NEVER won anything in the raffles or auctions until this event. Keith's pretty much bad luck and we all have decided that it's all his fault. Well Keith first bid on and won a .22 conversion kit for his .45 ACP 1911 pistol. When he got up and left the table to pay for that, I won a new Glock Model 22 in .40 S&W, AND a certificate for a concealed carry class.  Next year we have decided that the following things have to happen.

1. Keith cannot touch the tickets or choose the tickets.
2. Keith needs to leave the table and take his bad luck with him so we can win something in the raffles.  

This week I'll have to take a bit of time off to head to Gallup and check in with Bill at Bill's Reloading and Supplies and pick up my new pistol. 

Sunday, April 11, 2010

The Bug has to see the vet!

Just when I hoped all would be better, more things keep popping up. This issue could be bad or good depending on the outcome. I have to schedule a vet visit for "The Bug". It appears that she she MIGHT have a "bug". I kept telling Keith to lay off the feed, the horses are getting to fat, but the more I look at Bug, the more I think, that just can't be all fat!

Then just take a look UNDER her Belly!

Houston we have a problem! Yep I'm having to have a pregnancy test for Bug.

My problem is "Who's the father?!"

Well we have two choices.

Option 1: Booger Butt (AKA Bright Snow Eagle) managed to hit a one shot wonder sometime in the short window just before or just after he was gelded last year. This is by far my most acceptable answer. I'd rather this be the case even if it means explaining how a yearling colt came in contact with a receptive mare. Because option 2 is not so nice.

Option 2: The neighbors either have a cryptorchid or monorchid gelding, or they put in a stallion in the pasture with their one mare last year. They currently have a sorrel gelding and a gray gelding and a Bay mare. The Bay is by far the best looking of the bunch. I have no clue if any are registered and even if they are, neither gelding looks good enough to produce a decent foal.

So here are my "choices" for the possible father IF the Bug is pronounced to be in foal.

Option 1:



OR Option 2




I'm a bit more concerned about the gray one because he seems the most "studdy" with the bay mare he's with. I've been a bit worried about them this year so far because Baby Girl has also been spending a lot of time it seems in the back corner this year also. and the past two times (this year and last year ) that Topper got hurt, it was in the same back corner next to the neighbor's property. We also have to keep repairing the fence in that spot pretty regularly. We are even planning another 'repair trip' to that corner next weekend after Keith gets back from his work trip. What is even worse, the neighbor hasn't made any attempts to help fix the fence.

I really hope that the Bug is not in foal, but if she is, I really hope and pray that my little Booger Butt is the father. Because in this case, I can file late stallion reports, get a parentage verification for him, and Bug and the foal and prove he's the sire and get the foal registered with the proper pedigree, (and not a bad one at that).   Plus that would mean I get one more chance to have a foal to carry on Big Mamma's bloodlines.  It may sound bad to screw up and let a yearling colt breed one of your mares, but to me in this case it's better then the second option of having some strange horse of unknown breeding and not so great of looks breeding your mare across the fence.

Friday, April 9, 2010

The End

This is finally the end (I really hope) of a seriously BAD week.  Here's basically how the week went!

Monday:  
Call the vet and the backhoe operator to find out where they were on Saturday instead of at my house as planned. Back hoe operator said "gate was locked, couldn't get in". Vet says "I called and you didn't answer".  Ok, figured out that Vet's assistant wrote my phone number wrong. Spent a while rescheduling both the vet and the Backhoe operator. Then spend the rest of the day explaining to people that a notice of Value is NOT a tax bill. Why don't people fully read their valuations?

Tuesday:
Go out to drive to work and the Green Hornet (AKA Ford Explorer) won't start. It's about 20 degrees out and the wind's blowing like 30 mph. Had to re-awaken "The BEAST" ( aka multi colored Dodge truck).  Leave work early enough to get home in time to change clothes before vet and backhoe operator get here. Wind still blowing like crazy and wind chill makes it feel like zero or below. 
Waiting for backhoe, drive down to gate to see if he things the gate is locked, but nope not there. But he sees me, turns out he's parked at the next gate down the road at the neighbors locked gate. So he unloads the backhoe and starts digging at the post he had planned to lay Big Mamma to rest.
Backhoe hits a monster rock and blows a hydraulic hose. Has to load up and take it to get fixed so no hole finished to bury Big Mamma.  
Then Vet shows up. Went a head and had him euthanize the mare, but Big Mamma gave a whole new meaning to Appaloosa tough!  After a full 100 CC dose of Euthanasia Solution, Big mamma is still up and WALKING around as if nothing happened. And I don't mean head dragging, and stumbling. I mean Head up, alert looking and walking.  It takes a complete double dose to send that tough old mare to heaven. 
 Go check the Green Hornet and it starts fine.

Wednesday: 
Ready to go to work and the Green hornet won't start again. Still really cold about 20 degrees. Had to take "The BEAST" again.  Waited on a call from the back hoe operator almost all day because they said they would call as soon as they got it fixed. Had to leave work early again to get here for the burial. in between all that still had to deal with more customers who can't read the part that says " This is NOT a tax bill" After work, check the Green Hornet again and it starts fine. Stupid thing is just to cold blooded.

Thursday:
The Green Hornet starts only because we plugged that stupid block heater in to the electric out let. Why in the world would you need a block heater on a regular gasoline engine? Stupid Green Hornet won't start on cold days with out that block heater. Get to work and have to deal with more people who can't or won't read that part that says "This is NOT a tax bill" Then late afternoon, some guy comes in and wants to know why his name is removed from a piece of property. Won't accept the answer is that because his own brother took him to court and won the property in a legal battle. Leaves threatening to come back with a gun and shoot all of us for something his brother did.
There was one bright spot to Thursday! The weather was beautiful, and I went for a perfect ride with "The Bug".

Friday:
Get Green Hornet started and then needed to run back in the house for something. Stupid thing pops out of park into reverse with the drivers door open, backs itself down the driveway and hangs the door up on a tree. Not ton's of damage, but the door won't shut right. At least it shuts.  Drive to work with the skewed door and then at work the stupid door won't shut again! Two really nice guys at work fixed it for me though. Still dealing with people who can't read that " This is NOT a tax bill " part of their notice of Property Value. AT 4:30 PM this guy comes in to talk about his property and all the issues he's got with this at that. 5:00 rolls around and he's still talking. Got all his issues resolved, but now he just wants to chat. Can't get him to leave. Finally at 15 minutes after quitting time we tell him they are locking up the main doors of the building and shutting off all the lights and this guy is still chatting away.

So now it's Friday evening, I'm home and I so hope this is the end of this Horrible week. After this week, the weekend better be much better! Man I think my Rat Week at NMMI was easier than this week. 

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Nothing Like a good ride!

There's nothing like a good ride to chase away the blues. 
There's nothing like a good day for a that good ride.
There's nothing like a good horse to saddle up.

Today was a good day. 
Ladybug was the good horse. 
And the ride was perfect!  

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Attention ALL POA people!

OK so I've been wondering about Roany, and thought I'd use this blog to find an answer. So if you know anyone involved with POA's (Pony of the America's) , please pass the link to this post on to them. 

I want to know if anyone recognizes this mare as a registered POA. She's approximately 15 and may have been born a solid bay or with a small blanket and then roaned out. She had four black legs and hooves, and a brand on the right shoulder that looks like a D with tails, a / and a W. She stands approximately 47-48 inches tall on recently trimmed hooves.  She does not appear to have any white markings on her face or legs. She has been in the State of New Mexico for at least 7- 10 years so that means she would have been sold fairly young to the previous owner.

If you know anything that might help us find her history please leave a comment on the blog or contact me through my profile. Please pass this blog link along to anyone you know who has POA's. Thanks

Monday, April 5, 2010

The New ApHC Rule

The Appaloosa Horse Club BOD has voted in a new ruling that has many Appaloosa breeders and owners up in arms and boiling mad. This ruling was first passed at the last BOD meeting in July, and came up for final approval in March 2010 with many BOD members missing and unable to even vote on the proposal because they needed to catch a plane home.

July 2009

But this motion was introduced after several directors left for the airport.

BOD Motion 39-07-09: The ApHC Board of Directors moves to amend Rule 204 with the addition of section C, as follows: C. Horses that are parentage verified by genetic testing as having both parents registered as listed in ApHC Rules 204.B.1.,2. and 3., but that do not have at least one parent with an ApHC registration classification of Regular (#) per ApHC Rule 204.A.1., and that would otherwise meet the requirements for Regular registration classification, and are not ineligible for ApHC registration as stated in ApHC Rule 205 titled “Horses Not Eligible Registration,” may be considered for ApHC registration on a case-by-base basis by the registrar. Horses that are not registered with an ApHC-approved breed association must adhere to ApHC registration procedures.

Made by Diane Rushing, seconded by Ray Burchett.

Passed.

This motion will be considered as an Approval Motion at the March

2010 ApHC Board of Directors meeting.

Chuck McWhirter, President; Larry Baker, Yes; Steve Bennett, Absent; Ray Burchett, Yes; Gene Carr, Absent; Dennis Dean, Absent; Jason Flinn, Absent; Monty Holmes, Yes; Jim Jirkovksy, Yes; Frank Larrabee, Absent; Laura Lyon, Absent; Sharon Marshall, Absent; Sandra Matthews, Yes; Tracy Meisenbach, Absent; Diane Rushing, Yes; Connie Taylor, Yes; Bill Thiel, Absent; Lynette Thompson, Yes; Jack Zuidema, Yes.


What this rule means is that any horse from the three allowable cross breeds (Thoroughbred, Arabian or Quarter Horse) that exhibits Appaloosa characteristics such as mottle skin, stripped hooves, white sclera or even a coat pattern that appears to be a visible appaloosa pattern is now fully registerable as a regular papered appaloosa with full breeding rights. So a horse that looks like this: 
 


 What you see above are NOT appaloosas, you see one registered Thoroughbred, two registered Arabians and two registered Quarter Horses. According to the ApHC's new ruling, any one of these horses MIGHT be eligible for FULL registrations rights in the ApHC. 
IS the ApHC a breed Registry with a color preference or a Color Registry? 
Why should we register allowable cross breed horses with full show and breeding rights as an Appaloosa just because they have Characteristics that an appaloosa would have?
Does the Arabian Horse registry allow outside horses with no Arabian parents to be registered as Arabians just because they look like an Arabian ? NO they don't!  
Does the Jockey Club allow the registration of outside horses that LOOK like a Thoroughbred to be fully registered and compete in Races? NOPE Again!
Does the American Quarter Horse Association allow the registration of horses that look like a Quarter Horse but don't have Quarter Horse parents to show or compete?  NO! NO! NO! 
 NOT one of our allowable cross breed associations would allow one of our solid Appaloosa foals to be registered with their association with full breeding rights and show rights (Arabian Half breed registry excluded) So WHY are we allowing THEM into our Registry with full breeding rights? 
If you want to learn more check out this facebook page
ApHC Members Against Registering Cropouts 


Saturday, April 3, 2010

Good Bye Big Mamma


Today we need to say good bye to "The Big Mamma". She's registered as Color Me Super, but  she's always been "The Big Mamma" to me. She's been a part of our family for quite a while and helped us start out in Mounted Shooting. It's hard to believe that a horse with only one eye would accept you shooting from her back on her blind side, but Big Mamma did just that.  

 At that time, Topper and Ladybug were still to young to ride, so our plan was to ride Big Mamma until the girls were old enough to start competing and then breed Big Mamma.  We did finally get to breed her and she gave us the beautiful Booger Butt.

Some time during the 5 months after Booger Butt was born Big Mamma must have fallen or stumbled and injured her knee. We didn't have her re-bred that year so that we could see how her knee was doing. Well unfortunately it has progressively gotten worse. Since she is now unable to maintain balance to stand on 3 legs to get her feet trimmed and she cannot walk much without difficulty, it's time to say good bye. So this afternoon about 5pm, the vet and the backhoe operator are scheduled to arrive and we will say our final good byes to a wonderful old mare.