Bloodlines

Hey, I'm not gone. I'm churning out up to 10 pieces a week AND a cartoon. Good training for the future right? My new catch phrase is "Just put your head down and keep on writing."

I guess I missed Mouthy Monday. I'll try again next week.


Badges- I'll talk about angry/not angry next.....

Michelle asked me about bloodlines, which I like and what I felt safest on.

I had to think about it, because there's a lot of reasons for my feelings on breeding.

When I was in my late 20’s I started to appreciate a good bottle of wine and the taste of aged single malt scotch.

I also found out I was totally incapable of remembering the names of my favorite kinds, the vineyard,the year, the region or any of the details which make you a connoisseur of good liquor.

I learned to trust the suggestions from a few liquor store owners and a bartender or two.

I knew what I liked by flavor not name.

I have the same problem when it comes to my horses.

I’m going to be honest here, I am not a bloodline expert by any stretch.

Names and pedigrees, who does what, how they did it and what effect the bloodlines have absolutely will not stay in my head.

I tend to trust the people who know more than me and listen to their suggestions. I analyze whatever horse I’m currently riding and file the behavior away, if I have similar behavior in other horses bred the same way I remember it.

I’m incapable of remembering any of my horse’s registered names or to tell someone how they are bred.

My daughter showed with me for many years and I would rely on her to tell me what the horses registered names were when I was asked.

Now I am on my own and have to write their names on my palm.

Anybody who knows me well can appreciate what a trick that is.

I do strongly believe in the breeding and the behavior of the mare being equal or superior to the stud. I would never breed a mare who was less than the stud she was being bred to. I would never breed a mare who hasn’t proven her value in the show pen and her temperament by being a good minded partner.

I would never breed a pleasure bred horse to a cow horse, or a halter horse to a reiner.

Unfortunately AQHA has carefully developed, promoted and encouraged separate breeds within the breed and I think in order to insure value we need to breed true to type.

With this in mind I’ll go through some of the bloodlines I have ridden and the impressions I got from them.

My yellow mare has got Smart Chic O Lena on the front page of her papers three times. She has Hollywood Jack twice (I think).

I bought her on the recommendation of the Big K. He wanted me to ride a Chic O Lena because of their high trainability.

He was right, she has almost trained herself and is a delight to ride.

Sonita was out of a ranch stud named Peppy San Redd (I think) there was some Sonoitas and Sonoita Blue in there too.

I didn’t know the breeding and ended up calling the breeder of the stud. She was a rancher in Wyoming and mainly bred horses for ranch use. She told me she had been breeding these horses for 40 years, 95% percent of her horses were gray and they were known for their great temperaments. They had started gaining favor as cutting horses. Sonita was a cherry red chestnut and known for her psychotic temperament.

This was my first lesson in the reality of bloodlines. They can only do so much. She horse was really good on a cow though.

Here’s a run down of the dominant bloodlines on the cow bred horses I have ridden which stuck in my mind. These are the consistencies I noticed.

Paddy’s Irish Whiskey: Beautiful, lovely, elegant. Sweet tempered and talented.

Hi Brow Cat: Long legged, high natural head set, super talented, a lot of horse.

Hollywood Dunnit: Gorgeous, amazing head and eye, huge stopping, low headed reiners. Not known for great cow work, but I’ve seen some great Dunnits in the cow horse world.

Little Dors Lena: Really pretty, stocky, lively horses. Smart and willthink of stuff to do if you don’t keep them busy.

Shining Spark: Huge movers, giant maneuvers, rough to ride. Some have trouble falling out of lead in the back. They win and win and win. Sweet and easy to get along on.

Chic Please: Fiercely cowy, complicated, sometimes fearful.

Reminic: Lots of horse, huge on a cow. Hang on and know what you’re doing.

The Smart Smoke: Sweet and quiet. Will trick you into thinking they are lazy. They have rockets in their butt and huge acceleration. If you push them they will blow up. They’re more sensitive than they look.

I have also ridden a lot of foundation bred horses.

I like the Poco Buenos.They are pretty headed and smart.

I am not a fan of Hancock’s. In my experience they have been hard to start. I have been told they are great horses once they are up and running, but I have only had trouble with them.

I have had success with the Gay Bar King lines also. Lot’s of cow, lots of speed, a little nervy. Some f the old time cutters covet the Gay Bar King stuff.

Doc’s JJ is a Foundation cutter. My daughter has one and he is about the nicest, calmest most reliable thing I’ve ever been around. He works really low and snaky. He should be in the cutting pen. He's stops so nice he'll be fine as a cowhorse.

The thing about Foundation breeding is it’s the favorite way to go for the back yard breeders. If Doc Bar or King is within 20 generations some bozo will think it qualifies his three-legged quadruple cryptorchid as stud worthy.

I think Foundation bred horses get a bad rap because of it. If I was going to buy a Foundation bred horse I would buy a horse from a working ranch. I would watch the horses they used and pick out the type of horse which suits my needs.

I read an interesting comment by Curt Pate, an AQHA Professional Horseman featured as the AQHA Regional Experience clinician from Newell,South Dakota. He said if he was looking for the most versatility out of his quarterhorse he wouldn’t buy one that was bred with too much cow.

This comment makes sense. If I wanted a trail horse I would look at whatever horse did the job. I don’t think they need to be bred for this job, they simply need to have solid bone, a strong back, decent agility and a good mind. Qualities which any breed or any bloodline should have.

I still am a person who believes a lot can be accomplished with a horse who may not be bred right but still has the desire to do the job.