Sunday, April 19, 2009

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?

Visit Blog Village and vote daily for this blog Here They are now measuring the rankings by votes out, so if you find my blog on the site, please click that link too to improve my rankings. TY

14 comments:

  1. Oooooooo...exciting!! And CONGRATULATIONS!! Can't wait to read more!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Short and sweet with out cluttering up with the little details.

    I feel bad for you friend, I think she's the one that suffered the most in the whole deal. I've been in her shoes, ready to geld a nice horse because I couldn't stand his bratty behavior... Fortunately, I hung on, but there were days...

    There's more and I can't wait to hear how you tell it all. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. That just is so exciting! I cannot wait to see some pictures and follow his story. Is he on your property and how long until he's able to go to work.
    Congratulations MiKael.

    ReplyDelete
  4. he sounds marvelous. I can't wait to see him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOL MiKael! I love this!! Your talent for story telling just continues to shine and grow, and reading each stage of this is just fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I need your advice! My mare had her colt and he's BIG! He has some limb deformity in the front - where it looks like he just was 'squished' in there. I know you had some issues with the twins concerning this. I of course am going to wait and see for about a week - because I'm already seeing improvement in one leg - but would you float some advive my way concerning this? I'd like to talk with someone who has dealt with it and cares well for their horses.

    There's an e-mail link through my site if you'd like to use it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How sad that the colt's previous owner was so tormented with the events that she would feel so...repulsed by the colt. How sad is that.
    I'm happy that you were able to help and intervene.
    I was wondering if this selling mess was not the source of your secret...but I was only guessing :)
    I hope that over time the previous owner can enjoy the horses as she once did. Clearly she had an insight to produce such a nice colt. I hope that she can gain some satisfaction out of his success in the show ring.
    MiKael...I want to know how he did in the show ring!!! Details please!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Are you trained in torture? Who needs waterboarding when you have to wait for details and pictures on big news like this! Congrats on your very exciting new addition.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ahhh, very exciting! You got the Marwan Al ShaQab colt, for your junior herdsire, and you plan to show him and cross him to Legs daughters. SOO VERY EXCITING! He will have the good life! LOL.

    BTW, I really like the eye shot of him. Oh, and what is his name, and how old is this colt? I'm thinking he's a yearling now at least.

    And I can see why this was such a hard secret to keep. But I didn't get any of the clues from the posts. I'm not sure what the clue was in "Twas the night before Christmas", but maybe I'm not looking at it in the right light. So if anyone can tell me what the clue in that post was, it would be much appreciated. But I am starting to think the magical flying Arabian stud, is about this colt in that post. Am I right?

    I greatly enjoyed our talk on the phone, and I am thinking I might need to call you to get these questions of mine answered.

    ReplyDelete
  10. WOW! This colt sounds very promising! Can't wait to hear more and see him! I guessed partly right. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yaay! I guessed right. I actually at there at 3:30 am and counted every name of the horses in your poem, and realized it added up correctly to "and one extra horse", etc.

    I am happy for you, I really am. I'm also desperate to see some photos!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I guess her pain is your gain.. and by the sounds of it, you've gained a good one!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wooooweee thats so exciting!!! You will have to show us some pictures of the little man! What is his name?
    Congratulations!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow - what a wild story! I don't know much about arabian bloodlines, but he sounds pretty special!

    ReplyDelete