Monday, April 3, 2017

And the dream begins!

In my last blog, I mentioned that I was on the search for a new Arabian mare to add to our family, with the hopes of her producing my future black western pleasure show horse!  The search has ended!!  What I thought would be a simple purchase, turned into a logistical nightmare and we're now facing a LONG road of training for this mare.  This is not exactly what I had in mind, however her pedigree and genetics are worth it (to me), so I'm very pleased to have found her.  Let me explain......

A little background on myself first.  I'm far from a naïve horse owner.  I've owned and ridden horses for over 50 years.  I've trained and competed my own horses in my younger days and I've achieved good show results with those horses.  I've stood up to 4 busy breeding stallions at a time and we used to have about 10 foals a year.  I did all the initial handling and training of all those foals.  I'm proud to say that my vets and farriers over the years have always complimented me on how well behaved my horses are.  I've also bought and sold horses over the years for both myself and my clients.  So.....I'm in no way "new" to this field.

When I decided that it was time to seriously look for a new Arabian broodmare, I made a list of "wants" for this mare to possess.  Of course, the more items on the list that she ticked off, the more value I would place on her purchase price.  Two things that I said were not negotiable, were that she must test negative for agouti (bay color gene) and that she must be a no drama type of horse.  I was to change my criteria on one of those items.  Here's the complete list that I began with:  I'd like to find something within this year, but not urgent. She has to be the right fit, in order to add her to the family! Must be registered full-blooded arabian. Must be a NO drama type of horse and must NOT be a regumate mare. At least 14.3h, but would prefer 15.0 h or taller. Either black or chestnut. Must have color testing to prove that there is NO agouti (bay) allele hiding in there! Would prefer Varian or western bloodlines, but will consider others. An older mare is OK, as long as she is breeding sound and again, NO regumate. I'd prefer she be under 20 years old. A younger maiden mare is also OK, but would prefer her to be at least 3 yrs old. Anything in between is OK too. If younger or middle aged, I would like to be able to ride her, so if she's not broken to ride, I would like her to have the mindset to accept that training. She would be a trail mount and would have a few babies for me. She needs to have great ground manners, sweet personality and load in a trailer easily. Again, NO drama!! She must be tested CA and SCID clear. It goes without saying that she needs to be conformationally correct, nice neck set, pretty head and big eyes and NO steep croup please! I want her to produce show quality western babies for me. I have a reasonable budget for this dream horse, but I don't have a crazy high budget. The more boxes she ticks off, of course, the more she would be worth to me.

So the search began.  Since the goal was to produce black foals, I needed either a chestnut mare that tested negative for agouti (bay) or a true black mare.  I can't tell you how many lovely chestnut mares I looked at!  One in particular stole my heart and lived up to all of the "wants" EXCEPT she carried an agouti gene and that is an absolute no-go.  So the search continued onward.  Finally, I found a black mare that seemed to fit most of the criteria.

She was 14.3h (and still growing).  She was a 4 yr old.  She was black.  She had great bloodlines and good conformation.  Her training wasn't what I would expect it to be for a 4 year old, however the owner swore that she had (quote) "basic halter handling".  OK....so I stated to the owner that this meant to me that the mare could be haltered and lead, tied quietly, you could groom her and she stood for the farrier well.  He said she was a very friendly horse, a bit shy, but was fine for all of that.  I just didn't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about her level of handling, so I even spoke directly to him on the phone and reiterated what level I needed her to be at and explained that I now have rheumatoid arthritis and just can not fight nor wrestle with a horse any longer.  He assured me this mare would be fine for me.

We proceeded with the genetic testing and color testing and she passed all of that with flying colors.  Purchase agreement signed and vet exam scheduled.  That's when things got interesting and NOT in a good way!  Owner sends me a note and says the mare had a good exam and it all went fine.  Vet calls me and says the mare is (again, quote) "wild with no training".  He couldn't even get close enough to complete a basic health exam!  He also told me there was NO WAY this mare could transport with a regular horse transporter!  Two months of testing and waiting was now in jeopardy of going down the tubes!!  I now knew my gut feeling about her level of handling was spot on, but what to do about it?? 

Luckily, when I first doubted her training, I had contacted one of our local trainers and asked if she could take the mare for a couple of months when she came to SC.  I wanted to be sure the mare was gentle enough for me to handle safely this summer, then the mare would go back to her (trainer) in the fall to be put under saddle and then she'd come home next spring and be bred.  I called the trainer to update her on the situation and couldn't believe my ears when she said "I'll go get her"!!  2,000 miles one way, and this busy trainer stepped up to the plate to go for a week and get this mare safely for me!!  She knew that was the best road for this mare to go down and I have to whole heartedly agree!

The mare arrived at our SC trainer's farm in mid March.  She had limited handling and what handling she had been given, was given forcefully.  She trusted no human.  She was scared of being touched.  She had never eaten grain and refused to touch it!  She did not lead.  She did not tie.  She did not give to pressure.  She would not allow her head to be touched, so you could not remove her halter!  She would not allow you to pick up her feet.  Grooming was out of the question, as was hoof care.  Her defense when she got scared, was to strike and/or rear!  She had been living in wet and muddy conditions, so she had scratches on all 4 legs (fungal/bacterial infection).  She probably had thrush in her hooves as well, but we couldn't check her feet!  She had thick scabs under her jaw from a too tight halter that had been left on constantly.  So basically, a wild horse!!

Luckily, this trainer specializes in hard to handle and even true wild horses (mustangs).  The mare has a LONG way to go, but we have high hopes that this trainer will be able to get her gentled and trained for us eventually!  We had not planned to breed the mare until next spring and that is a good thing!  We wouldn't have been able to get close enough to do AI (artificial insemination) with her right now.  I would NOT recommend buying a horse like this unless you either have the experience training wild horses or have a good trainer that has that experience and is willing to take on a tough project.  If you DO take on a horse like this, don't expect miracles!  Instead, have a lot of patience, love and time to give to that horse.  Let them develop and learn at their own comfortable pace.  Pushing them will damage their minds and is NOT the way to go.  They must learn to trust and that takes time.  Trust is the main base to build all horse/human relationships on.  Without trust, you don't have a safe animal to work with and ride.

So.....stay tuned for updates on this mare's progress over the next year!  It will be an adventure, that's for sure!  Here are a couple of older photos of her.  She has all of the right pieces and parts, she just needs some growing, good nutrition and conditioning to bring it all together.  We have HIGH hopes for her!  We call her "V".

The mare as a foal.
The mare last fall, as a long 3 year old.



Until next month, enjoy your springtime and be safe with spring chores.  Next blog update will be early June.

1 comment:

  1. Getting a horse is truly exciting. I’m happy for you. You must be very anxious to make some good memories with her. I have always wanted a horse but I don’t know a lot about the breeds. Getting an Arabic mare isn’t a bad idea after all. I’ll definitely hire a trainer because I know it’s not an easy task to train a horse.

    Elvira Mullins @ Nelson Vets

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