RiverOtter's pony and thread drift thread

[Peaches Lee]

Oh, my, YES. I don't think you have to be from NY for that! He was what first got me interested in the breed, when I was in HS. Here, so no one has to hunt him down - the legend: https://acps.org/about/the-connemar...s/27-pony-profiles/48-hideaways-erin-go-bragh

Folks, do yourselves a favor and do a google image search.

Oh, and in other news, I confirmed today that Bessie's sling will be here Wednesday.

I have his video "The Little Horse That Could"--got it when I was a kid! I think it is a really fun video!

 

[RiverOtter]

So, after a long day where she wasn't shifting on her own, at the last check, Bessie is back to shifting on her own. So hopefully, I can chalk it up to banging that sore leg a little hard, and just having a bad day, and not the start of a decline.

She's still eating her hay by yanking up great, greedy mouthfuls, so that's good. And she's downed at least 40# of it over the last 24 hours, which is better. She's also not at all dehydrated, although her pee is starting to smell a tiny bit stronger. She drinks at least 4 gallons 3x a day, and takes smaller drinks the rest of the checks. I'm going to pick up a new salt lick for her and see if that helps her drink a bit more.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Thank you <<hugs>>
Ok, so, I caretake 415 acres that go all the way to the top of the mountain, surrounded by state land, full of wildlife. The owners wanted the agricultural exemption on it and to make some money.

I do agritourism. This is my thing. History of agriculture and breeds, how to, and of course, horses.

The owners were VERY enthusiastic ... and then decided they didn't want guests here. No guests = no money. Also, they're vegans, so no livestock for meat. And then they took some really bad advice from the former owner's son who wants to see them fail, and decided cutting hay wasn't profitable, even though ALL of the equipment is here. And then, since they're not making any money, they've put it up for sale.

So, wanna buy it and be my boss? Because I could make bank on this place - how much would people pay to come here, get on some of my beautiful horses, get their luggage packed onto pretty Agnes the mule, have a trail ride out to their yurt and spend a weekend with unlimited horseback riding, hiking, cow snuggling, the works. Farm fresh eggs and produce delivered on horseback every morning, learn to milk a cow, see the wildlife. Did I mention eagles? Yeah, there are 3 pair of bald eagles here, you're pretty much guaranteed to see one.

and I'm broke! sob ...sniffle



Yes. Yes they're good. Like, I got a personal invite to join the association when word got round he was coming to my farm kind of good. I lost everything when I divorced except my horses, who you can pry from my lifeless fingers - I could never get bloodlines like these again in my life if I had to start over.


Welsh? Because I have a 4yo daughter of Bristol Silver King. Dragonfly. I don't think I have a good picture of the little blur though - she's always in motion

If you're really into sport ponies, I also have a grandson of Belefonte D'Avalon
Meet Sitka
View attachment 2475911

I took a gander at Avalon Farms because I have heard of Belefonte but have never seen him. I also learned that this farm purchased Sarkozy. I hadn't seen him on the equine frozen semen sites I look at and now have an explanation! What are your plans for Sitka? He's adorable!

 

[RiverOtter]

Sitka's sire is KF Soldier of Fortune, RPSI Silver Premium, out of Megan, a Connemara approved to the RPSI main mare book.

Sadly, Sitka is not RPSI eligible, because his mother, Sequoia, is a Morgan/Spanish Mustang cross. Sequoia, standing still, makes you think "Why would you breed her? Must have been color". Sequoia, in motion, makes you gasp at how beautiful horses are capable of being. And she is fast. We are exploring which American Sporthorse registry to pursue registration through. My breeding partner, and her co-owner was going to do that, but health prevented it.

Once Sequoia is inspected and registered, we will have Sitka done too. He will stay intact for long enough for my breeding partner to use him, at the very least, and may end up being our next stallion if he develops the way he should.

For reference, his other grandsire, the Spanish Mustang Roco

 

[RiverOtter]

@Peaches Lee , I took a peek at Sarkozy's page - if you are at all interested, JUMP on that introductory stud fee! Kathy St. Martin is wonderful to work with if you haven't done shipped semen before, and has been known to hold a paid-for breeding for a year. My breeding partner, Sharon Michael, has worked with her several times.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Sitka's sire is KF Soldier of Fortune, RPSI Silver Premium, out of Megan, a Connemara approved to the RPSI main mare book.

Sadly, Sitka is not RPSI eligible, because his mother, Sequoia, is a Morgan/Spanish Mustang cross. Sequoia, standing still, makes you think "Why would you breed her? Must have been color". Sequoia, in motion, makes you gasp at how beautiful horses are capable of being. And she is fast. We are exploring which American Sporthorse registry to pursue registration through. My breeding partner, and her co-owner was going to do that, but health prevented it.

Once Sequoia is inspected and registered, we will have Sitka done too. He will stay intact for long enough for my breeding partner to use him, at the very least, and may end up being our next stallion if he develops the way he should.View attachment 2476981

For reference, his other grandsire, the Spanish Mustang Roco

Yancey Farms has done some Spanish Kiger/Andalusian/Warmblood crosses and I think they are registered through Oldenburg (not sure!) Although you may have luck with Westfalen. Westfalen Verband

I wish you luck on your adventure. And thanks so much for sharing--it's neat to see other people's goals and dreams, well, at least to me it is!!

I don't have any mares that I could breed to now. I just enjoy studying pedigrees! It is a fantastic offer for those interested!

 

[RiverOtter]

I wish you luck on your adventure. And thanks so much for sharing--it's neat to see other people's goals and dreams, well, at least to me it is!!

I don't have any mares that I could breed to now. I just enjoy studying pedigrees! It is a fantastic offer for those interested!

Thanks for joining in! It's always nice to meet (even virtually) another horse lover. And this thread has been a nice break from worrying about Bessie (no change, better or worse, sling hasn't arrived, although I've gotten UPS as late as 9 here, vet should be calling me in the morning)

I was VERY lucky in horses, and through good friends, was able to buy or get breeding leases for some amazing horses. My mentor breeds sport-ponies exclusively geared towards the competitive amateur - so, plenty of crossbreds, to keep the costs and size down, and temperament above all.

I took that and went with it, without the focus of keeping size under 14hh. I feel like a lot of mid-level horses are accidents - either more talented than they should be out of luck more than good breeding, or fails from breeding for something else. And I got tired of dealing with high-strung horses or just generally not-great temperament. Health issues, sensitive tummies and hooves, uhg. Now, I LOVE a purebred Connemara, but they're hard to get a hold of. I wanted Blarney for 10 years before I got him, and in the meantime, have been DELIGHTED with his children and grands here.

So, my breeding focus is on temperament first. Gandalf ... my son is special needs and pretty wobbly. He can ride that stallion bareback in the indoor. He actually crashed him once - I have the video, you can hear me saying "Left rein! Left rein! That's the right one.." and that pony ever-so-obediently turns and walks into the wall - without jostling the kid. At the same time, you could come and ride him and have an amazing time. Want to do dressage? ok! Jumping? He won't soar as high as some, but he'll go over anything you point him at. Want to get the cows out of the woods? Hold on tight, he's catty as a cutting horse.

And that's what I want. I want horses you can take into a show ring and do anything with, and I want you to be able to take that same horse and toss a toddler up on them bareback in the backyard and know they're safe. I want endurance, rock hard hooves, hardy constitution. I want them beautiful.

Right now, I have a mare for sale. Rising 7 years old, 16HH, lovely black and a pleasure to ride. By my standards, awful on the ground and in the pasture - meaning, to most people, a normal horse. We call her Diva. When I walk into a pasture with a bridle, Diva may let herself be caught, or she may play you-can't-catch-me. MY horses walk up and ask to be picked - that's what I breed for. Nothing else makes up for that.
For someone else, she will make a very valuable addition, either for show or for breeding. For me, I have enough to show and for my mares - ok, take a look at Rohan's mother, Bracken. I can see the roach in her slightly-too-long back as well as you can.


I can breed a better back - obviously, look at that foal! But that mare will take you around a 3'6" course, has lovely hard hooves, collects and extends beautifully (and has this lovely little pitty-pat working trot she uses on the trails) and is a trained therapy horse - I can put a disabled rider on her and work her off the ground with voice commands. Also, in this pic, you can't really see her exquisite shoulder, lol)

Most people aren't going to the Olympics. Neither are my horses (you also don't need a syndicate to buy one, which is nice, lol). My horses can, and happily will, take most people up the levels as far as they want to go, then switch disciplines and do it again and they will be a safe, happy, healthy pleasure to be around while they do it.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I'm sorry about Bessie! Hopefully she gets well. I think you have a great vision when it comes to breeding your horses. I'm a big temperament person too! In fact, I think a lot of that gets overlooked in a big way.

I got burnt out with horses that the handler/rider needs to be "on" at all times. It took the fun and joy away from horses and riding.

That little foal in your post is so cute!

 

[casportpony]

Can you all check out this thread?
Attention Horse & Pony Owners!

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Okay so I don't know much about horses and I don't know the names or anything like that, but I happen to be driving home and I have a neighbor down the road has some farmland, he releases his horses once or twice a month. I thought you guys might dig these pictures.

So serene...
they got closer as I was taking the pictures