Sunday, September 16, 2007

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - Now What?


Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

After the incredible accident that changed my life forever, I was pretty numb. I was going through the motions but that was about it. I had to drag myself out of bed in the morning and force myself to go to the barn. I was getting things done but there was no joy in it. I really struggled.

Not until I was having a conversation with a friend who had lost her mare many years before did I even have the faintest idea of how I was going to shake myself loose from the grips of this tragedy. My friend said she had been unable to even begin to heal until she had allowed herself to look for another mare.

I remember as her words made there way into my brain I wondered. Could I get another mare? Did I want another mare? I had never wanted to be a stallion owner. I love mares. I understand mares. Would a mare just for me, not for the business, be something I could do? Could I, at least, allow myself to look for another mare? I decided to try.

I knew no mare would ever replace Scandalous. That is not what I wanted to do. But another mare, a different mare, maybe just maybe, I might find one that could be special to me too. Once I allowed myself to think there might be a chance, it wasn't quite so hard to get up the next morning.

It took awhile before I even left the farm to look for another mare but I thought about it. I thought about what I might want to look for, where I might start. Ever so slowly I searched through ads. I made phone calls looking for phone numbers of breeders I knew of with bloodlines important to me.

I was pretty sure I was never going to find the right mare for me but by now, I was thinking maybe I could focus on my business plan. That plan had been in the event I didn't get a filly to replace Scandalous, Legs was to takeover providing the valuable genes for my breeding program. To proceed with the plan, I wanted four quality mares to cross with him.

Finding quality mares that I could afford was an issue. I already had Heiress, but there was no way I was going to take on that kind of a project again. It had been downright dangerous. The next best thing would be to buy young unproven horses. If the pedigrees were tight enough, they would produce just like their dams, that was the key. It would take lots of research.

Looking at pictures to see what I liked, how it was breed, comparing the pedigrees. Before long a pattern began to emerge and I could see the kinds of lines I was looking for to cross with my Khemosabi, Bask and Gainey lines.

In my search I came across an old ad that mentioned Gamaar's last daughter. I thought I had been to that farm. If it was the one I thought, I wondered if there were any horses left. The ad said it was a herd liquidation due to an accident and it was over a year old.

At the same time, I tracked down the number of another breeder in the area who had bred the Dare line of horses. Scandalous had descended from that line and there had been another mare at Feature Farm, Anadare, from that line. She had been a horse I'd really been fond of as well. Now, I had some places to look.

To be continued............

The Search



8 comments:

  1. Okay, we have really got to sit down and talk bloodlines one of these days...

    I'll be ummm patiently (okay impatiently) waiting on the next installment. :) It's a hard choice to start looking for another horse after loosing one so special.

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  2. Oh goodness...what a wonderful suggestion by your friend!! I wouldn't have thought to do that but really...it is a good idea...not to replace but to help heal. Can't wait to read what happens next!!

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  3. No new animal can "replace" a dear one that we have lost, but love has no limits and sometimes there's great healing to be found in giving our love and care to a new friend...

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  4. I hope you will just the right mare you are looking for. I agree with bunnygirl, we can never replace our lost animals, but we can find another to help feel the void. Good luck with your search!

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  5. Getting over losing such a special Equine family member is one of the hardest things, ever.

    Since we lost Elvis our dog last winter, I still cannot bring myself to even think about getting another dog.....

    But life goes on doesnt it? even with broken hearts.

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  6. Okay, you've left us hanging on the cliff again! I want ALL details now! lol! I'm the kind that just can't put a good book down when I get into it!!

    Will be looking forward to the next installment! Thanks for sharing your life stories with us!

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  7. So we are on a cliff again but this time it is a positive one LOL.

    Looking forward to the next installment as always.

    (((Hugs)))

    Lori

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  8. lady of chaos, sure we can do that some time, but there's tons I don't know.

    It was a hard choice to start looking for another horse. From the beginning it helped because I knew I wasn't looking for a replacement for Scandalous, but it was ok to still want a mare for me. Otherwise I never could have done it.

    equinespirit, it was a good idea to help heal. Wish I could remember who it was that told me. I feel bad I've never been able to say thank you for something that really helped me get through a difficult time.

    bunnygirl, I couldn't have said it better.

    kwdhorses, ditto here.

    barngoddess, I have a dog story too but cannot bring myself to share it. Loosing animals friends is tough.

    midlife mom, Like I said above, just can't help myself. I'm so darn windy and if I posted it all im one day, I'd be spending all of my time at the computer writing and no time in the barn. Can't have that.

    lori, yes, you're right! This was a good thing.

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