I've Got a Secret............... Details

Part 1

Details........did I promise you details? Well, then I guess I better get on with it. But you know I can't do this with starting at the beginning of the story. It's just who I am, the way I'm built, I don't know what. I can't tell just details, I must tell the story. So here it is.........the story behind my secret.

If you didn't check out the links on yesterday's post, you might want to check this one Selling Horses................. The events of this whole series is really where this whole story started. The effect that this type of unethical behavior can have on a breeder can be quite devastating both emotionally and monetarily. Many a small breeder has been done in by situations similar to this. This particular betrayal took a devastating toll.

The owner of that colt was so distraught by what her friend (the stallion owner) of over thirty years had done she was beside herself. As the days wore on, the plot thickened and the stallion owner really showed her true colors. Friendships (several of them) were annihilated and amidst all of this the buyer drug her feet. The deal for the colt hung pending for weeks and weeks somehow acting like a knife in the wound twisting and turning.

Hanging on a ledge waiting for the other shoe to drop, the breeder got over saturated with "stuff." All things bad in the horse industry seemed to be dogging her. Every time my friend looked at that colt or had to deal with his coltish behavior she was reminded of the heartbreak he represented. Finally she'd had enough.

Despite this colt's superior quality, the breeder decided the best course of action was to geld him. The very thought of rendering such an outstanding individual useless in the breeding shed was more than I could bear. Granted there are way too many stallions out there, but that's no excuse for gelding a great horse for something that people did. It just didn't seem fair so I stepped up and pled this colt's case.

It wasn't hard to do. I've been enamored of this colt since the day I first saw him. I rarely get excited about horses of "fad" breeding, but then this colt is different. His dam I have loved since the first day I laid eyes on her. His grand sire, while THE current hot property in halter, is really a nice individual, a great horse with a great mind. The dam of his sire is one of my all time favorite mares. Based on pedigree and looks this colt is my kind of horse.

This wasn't just fad breeding but a whole lot of good solid pedigree and great phenotype as well. It was easy to argue the case of a horse I would love to breed my Legs' daughters to. In all honesty this horse IS the first one I've seen that I could get excited about crossing on my second generation mares. So yes, arguing his value as a breeding horse was not difficult. The thought of losing that option.........that was what was difficult.

Knowing that he was way more horse than my friend was equipped to manage, I also tried to help her find alternative ways to deal with him. Colts have never been favored by this friend and naughty ones even less. Some kind of plan, anything to help her keep him intact to get her a fair price for him was important.

In the end his behavior really wasn't the issue. It was about the heartache he represented. One day I got a call from my breeder friend saying if I was convinced this colt should stay a colt then I should come and get him. She just didn't want to look at him anymore. She didn't want to deal with him anymore. She was done! She wanted him gone!

Not a good reason to make a rash decision about such a fine individual but it was where she was. I didn't argue even though I had 27 horses and not enough stalls. I asked for a couple of days to make arrangements for a place to put this colt. Then I scrambled figuring out how to make it work. Three days later I went and collected him.

After the fact we made a private treaty for the purchase of this colt. The terms of which are to remain private so let's just leave it at this. The price negotiated was fair to the breeder. The terms to pay it were fair to me. AND I couldn't tell anyone I even had this colt until he hit the show ring. Don't ask me why this was important to her because I don't really know but it was...........so I tried to stick to it...........even though it sucked!

I've been keeping that secret since October and swallowing down the excitement of a lifetime. Having this colt as a junior sire in my herd is absolutely unbelievable to me. I never could have imagined nor did I even dream of such an thing............but you can believe I'm dreaming now.


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

Now What?

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