Clarifications, Updates and More Information

Before I get back into my series about ground work I thought I'd do do a little clarifying and a bit of catching up. The clarifying comes as a result of bloggers new quirk of posting a series of pictures in the reverse order from how they were loaded.

What that means is the sequence of pictures in yesterday's Wordless Wednesday are actually in reverse. The first picture shows Richard getting OFF of the horse. For those who noticed how carefully he was doing this, it was not about the horse but the condition of the rider.

These pictures were taken of Richard's FIRST TIME back on a horse since he broke the four transverse processors in his back. As I saw him climb onto the horse (every bit as gingerly as he got off, I might add) I ran and got my camera so I would have evidence.

I am sworn to secrecy about when this actually happened............. I will say, however, that the ride only last a few (less than 5) minutes. Also, the horse had already been ridden by Jessica so Richard just cooled her out.

Richard is not the only one on a horse before anyone thought possible. I started off just riding Legs for about ten minutes. I have worked that up to a normal schooling session with him AND have added others. I am currently up to riding 4 of the 8 of my horses that are being ridden. So far I haven't done that 2 days in a row. Instead I dropped back to 2 but only because I had an appointment. Next week we'll both be back at it.

Then there is Life...........An Arabian Filly Injured.......Again! Echo's leg is healing as expected.

While the wound does not look pretty by any means, it looks way better than the one that I had stitched up by the vet. Thank goodness, she is leaving it alone. I definitely think I made the right call.

On the subject of News Flash from AHA Prompts My Investigation into CEM http://risingrainbow.blogspot.com/2009/02/news-flash-from-aha-prompts-my.html Lady of Chaos emailed me new numbers and a link. Nationwide, the CEM investigation now involves at least 512 horses in 45 states, according to the USDA. The outbreak began in mid-December, when a Quarter Horse stallion on a Kentucky farm tested positive during routine testing for international semen shipment.
So, 512 horses from one outbreak. This stuff just spreads like crazy fast.

To understand these numbers it's important to understand the process the FDA is employing in investigating this disease. It all starts with the discovery of an infected horse. From there they will track each breeding horse that has come into contact with this horse.

As they discover new possibly infected horses, the numbers will continue to increase rapidly. Any possible contacts to each new horse (including breeding facilities where contact could possibly be made by way of contaminated equipment) will also be investigated to be sure that the infection has not spread.

While these numbers are going up rapidly now, some of these horses are those infected in previous years that have gone unnoticed until the connection was discovered recently. That's one of the things that makes this so dangerous. An infected horse can stay out there undetected for years spreading the disease. In a breeding facility that horse can infect a number of horses before the disease is even suspected.

The horse considered to be the original carrier, the Friesian, the FDA believes was imported with the disease in 2004. Yet he wasn't tested nor put on the list of carriers until now. In the meantime, the disease spread to who knows how many horses. They won't even know that until all of the contacts are established and ruled either carriers or not.

The Friesian wasn't even suspected until the connection was made to the appy stallion who had by then infected 3 more stallions at the one facility in Kentucky and a number of mares alone. From there, the Appy moved to another facility. I don't know if that covers all of the places the Appy has been or not, but you can bet that will be part of the investigation.

The point is as these numbers are rising rapidly now, the list of horses infected have been infected over a span of time, not just in this year. The FDA actually traced backwards from Kentucky to find the original source. How many offshoots from there are still a mystery.

And to answer BrownEyed Cowgirls questions on this subject.

Q: Is this curable?
A: Yes, but it is not an "easy" cure. It take some time and is a hands on procedure.

Q: Or once a horse becomes infected they are always a carrier and can pass this on?
A: No, however, once a horse is cured and then gets it again, detecting it can be more difficult. Mares who get it a second time, tend to carry infected foals to term (thus producing carriers) easier than first time infected mares.

Q: Can it be transmitted through casual contact or does it have to be breeding contact?
A: The contact must be infected fluids to genitalia. While a person or instrument could infect a horse by carrying the contaminated fluid, it would have to be deposited on the soft tissue of sexual organs.

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

News Flash from AHA Prompts My Investigation into CEM

Effective January 30, 2009 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced that an import permit is now required for the importation of semen and embryos from the U.S. into Canada. These revised import restrictions are a result of the expanding investigation into Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) in the U.S. reads the News Flash email I received from the Arabian Horse Association today so I decided to look into it. Anything that could have prompted such a response from the Canadian government needs to be something of possible concern to my breeding business. I'd rather be on top of things knowing what's happening out there than to be caught off guard and pay the price.

The venereal disease, Contagious Equine Metritis was thought to be eradicated in the United States until its reemergence in 2005. Due to the highly contagious nature of the disease as well as the difficulty in treating it, CEM can cripple a breeding facility rendering mares temporarily sterile and infected stallions useless until cured. Obviously this outbreak in the United States is causing a stir in the equine industry as another breeding season begins.

CEM is a highly contagious bacterial infection. As the label, venereal disease, implies this disease is passed from the stallion to the mare during breeding or during artificial insemination. It can also be passed through the use of contaminated instruments in the artificial insemination process and in the handling of contaminated instruments whether preparing semen for shipment or on site insemination.

CES causes most mares to not conceive. The disease also leaves the mare as a carrier as long as she remains infected. If the mare does settle she may abort the foal. A foal of a carrier mare that does go to term will be infected and a carrier of the disease, with the disease manifesting itself at maturity.

Presenting symptoms of CES in the mare are a short estrus cycle and a copious thick discharge from the mare's vagina that usually manifests in 10 - 14 days after breeding. Gross lesions in the mare are also a symptom of this disease but are not considered to be specific to this particular infection making them not a given in the diagnostic process. A stallion should be considered suspect if he has several mares manifesting these symptoms. Chronically infected mares and stallions do not have any clinical evidence of the disease (see link above). Detection for both the mare and the stallion requires specific testing of fluids from infected areas (genitals).

Treatment can take several months. It involves treating the exterior genitalia of the mare and the stallion. Due to the nature of those organs with their many folds of tissue, it is easy for the bacteria to hide making eradication difficult at best. A small farm like mine would be crippled for an entire breeding season if not more while breeding stock was in the treatment process. Making the economic impact on my business astronomical, in this economy, it could mean the end for me.

Because of this economic impact to the equine breeding industry there is a massive search underway to track the source of the re-introduction of this bacteria to the equine breeding population of the United States. Finding the source and all infected individuals and treating them is the only way to get the outbreak under control.

Most recently this disease was reported in Kentucky during Dec of 2008. 4 stallions ( 3 quarter horses and one American paint) at a breeding facility have tested positive for the disease. This discovery helped add a piece to the puzzle of where this disease made it's entry into the United States. One of those stallions has traced back to a facility in Wisconsin where the disease was also found.

Investigations into the source of this infection (which hadn't been documented in the United States for nearly 30 years until early on in the dawning of the 21st century) have located an imported Fresian stallion (Nanning 374) that carries the disease. As explained in Progresses in Wisconsin this imported Fresian has ties to one of the stallions in the Texas outbreak, the American paint.

To show how rapidly this disease can spread, in just 4 breeding seasons, these are the statistics known to date. According to the USDA, the overall investigation includes 334 exposed horses, made up of 43 stallions and 291 mares, which are located in 39 states. Nine stallions (including Nanning 374, four in Kentucky, three in Indiana, and one in Texas) have so far tested positive.

Ohio Update reports 30 mares and 3 stallions are in quarantine in the testing/treatment process. How these horses became infected is still under investigation.

While testing of well individuals is not being encouraged at this time, tracking down the sources of the infection is imperative if the disease is to be stopped. As you can see by the types of horses listed here as infected, it didn't take long for CEM to cross over "breed lines" and infect other breeds as well. As long as all infected horses are not quarantined the disease is still being spread. How far and how fast is up for speculation, only time will tell for sure.

How this relates to my herd would be affected by when and where my breeding is done. If my herd is what is considered a "closed herd," which means a herd with no contact in a breeding capacity with other breeding animals outside of my herd during this outbreak, it would be safe to assume that my herd is not affected. However, if my herd was not a "closed herd" during this time, I would need to pay close attention to signs that might suggest an infection.

Normally I breed my own mares to my own stallions and normally haven't taken in outside mares to breed and I don't breed to outside stallions . That would make me a closed herd.

However, if you'll notice I said "normally." I do have two exceptions to this. One is the half-Arabian mare that was bred to my stallion the year the twins were born. And the other is the mare due to foal this spring. She was bred to an outside stallion, a quarter horse.

Since my stallion's breeding statistics have been and still are pretty much one cover per mare to settle a pregnancy, there is no reason to worry about the half-Arabian mare being suspect. Legs has settled all mares since then in this same manner. That would indicate both he and Goldie are clear.

The way this disease usually manifests itself would suggest that, the mere fact that my mare settled her pregnancy, indicates that she is clear as well. However, there is the outside chance (however, highly unlikely) she could still be infected and could produce an infected foal. The mere possibility is enough to warrant me following the progression of this search to be sure that the disease has not reached our state and the stallion to which my mare was bred. While I understand this is not very probable, I still think it's wise to be vigilent. I don't want to be caught off guard by CEM.

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

Rachel & Grandma and Arabian Horses Go Show in Salem

The May 30 deadline for submission to the Carnival of Horses is fast approaching. All you horse mommy bloggers out there, it's time to step up and Submit your entry ! Let's use this Carnival to spread the word about horse blogs and what a great resource they can be.

Now onto the show...........

It's been several years since I've shown Arabian horses at the fairgrounds in Salem, Oregon. Mostly that would be because I just haven't had horses ready to show with the birth of the twin Arabian foals and other interventions by life along the way.

I've always like showing horses in that facility. The walls are solid up over the horses' heads making it less distracting particularly for young horses. The warm-up arena is much much bigger than the one at Puyallup or the Tacoma Unit. Some horses come up from California and Nevada to show. That makes for a different mix than we get to see here in Washington. Then there's just a warmer feeling about those shows.

The downside of showing in Salem for me is the drive and of course a place to stay. Not that four hours is anything terribly awful but I have my horror stories of a couple of breakdowns. I guess that makes me leery. Between that and always going alone it's just not one of my favorite things.

This time was different because I had Rachel along. It's the first time I have made the trip with anyone with me. I was looking forward to the company. It was going to be nice to have another set of eyes going through Portland on the interstate. There are a couple of tricky lane changes there in a short amount of time. Rachel would be a great look-out.

As for a place to stay, Rachel and I brought along a tent. We would camp there on the fairgrounds in the RV parking area. Angie and Richard's trailer has living quarters so we would pitch our tent right across from them. There were others from the barn who would be camping as well.

Ideally we would have left for Salem at the same time as Richard on Wednesday morning and caravaned down. That would have given us plenty of time to move the horses in, get them schooled and set-up our camp before dark.

However, life had another one of it's little fits. I had a mare that I have been trying to breed. The original plan was to breed her the week before the show on a short cycle. The mare didn't think much of that idea and didn't respond to the shot to bring her into heat (One of the reasons I hate all that interference!) so she had to have another shot the Friday before the show to try again to get her to cycle.

As Mother Nature would have it, the mare was ready to breed the day Rachel and I were leaving for Salem. Instead of heading down the road with Richard we were waiting on semen to make a 1 o'clock appointment with the vet.

The stallion station collecting the semen had called the night before to say they would met us in Tacoma with the shipment in the late morning since they had to inseminate a mare in Enumclaw. That was a great plan. It would save us nearly two hours. They would call when they were leaving and give us the location to meet.

But the late morning came and went before we finally got the call. Their plans had changed and we now had to come to their offices two hours away to pick the semen up. Instead of having semen by 11 as originally planned, it was 11 before we were even leaving to pick it up. Our departure from Salem was getting pushed again.

Poor husband, Dave, hopped in the car and headed off to the Key Peninsula playing courier for his goofy wife. He called as he got close to the stallion station to suggest I reschedule the mare's appointment. There was no way he was going to make it back in time to inseminate the mare at 1. It was looking more and more like I'd be driving through Portland in rush hour traffic.

Fortunately the vet had an appointment open at 3 and moved us into that slot. Dave arrived with semen just in time for me to throw poor Dare into the trailer and head to the vet.

When we checked the mare she had a 50mm follicle that was beginning to collapse. We couldn't have been better on timing. The mare would be ovulating soon. Although I think the poor mare was getting sick of all the ultra sounds. (I really feel for mare's in heat and all the intervention it takes to breed with shipped semen. They must really be confused!) The vet inseminated the mare and I walked her for a bit then loaded her onto the trailer and headed home.

At home I swapped out the mare for Legs and Dandy and we were headed back down the road within five minutes. This time we were finally headed for the horse show. It was nearly 4 pm and there was no way we were missing Portland at rush hour.

Stressed would be a gross understatement. I wasn't even out of my driveway yet and I was wondering what the heck I was thinking going to Salem to show when I could be showing right here in Washington. Let alone thinking I could show and breed in the same life time...........but Salem here we come.........

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

Move In

The picture above is Scandalous Dare, the mare we breed to the AQHA reiner. Keep your fingers crossed that all the craziness resulted in a bred mare.

More on Breeding and Dreaming and When Is It Time?

If you haven't read the comments on To Breed or Not to Breed there are a lot of perspectives there. I want to say I appreciate every one's input. For me it's opened up some new areas for discussion and some more of the questions I have been struggling with about this Arabian horse breeding dream of mine. You might just as well have the whole picture of what is worrying me.

But first I have to say that I didn't realize about my typo about the cost of fuel even though mrs mom mentioned the cost I had typed in her comment. It went right over my head. It wasn't until Lori mentioned how much she was paying and mentioned what I had typed again that it dawned on me. I had made a big blunder, a $2 a gallon mistake. Sometimes my typing skills suck. The cost of a gallon of diesel yesterday was $4.65 a gallon. Who knows what it will cost tomorrow.

Lady of Chaos mentioned Rhythm should generate some interest in my breeding program once he gets going in the ring. When that happens it should stimulate sales. Once that ball gets rolling, if I have quit breeding and have no horses to sell, that interest will die.

I totally agree with her assessment of how the market works. I would end up having to start from the beginning again trying to establish myself in the market as a breeder of top quality Arabian horses. This very thought process has kept me breeding up to this point. BUT what if it doesn't happen like this? If Rhythm doesn't generate the interest this year, where will that leave me? Can I hold out against rising costs I have no way of projecting?

I know if I don't breed, I am taking that risk. There is no way I can start from the beginning again. My age and finances will just not hold up to this again. It would be foolish not to consider that in the equation. To not breed IS to give up this dream.

Even before the departure of the Transylvanian Horseman I had been struggling with my decision. It really isn't just about not breeding it is about giving up the dream. As I watched as Julian's heart broke knowing that it was time to quit, I struggled wondering if I was going to have the courage to recognize that time as well. I knew my tears reading his post The end.....heralding a new beginning were for him AND for me.

The responsibility of this many horses has never bothered me before but now that it is, it's weighing heavily. It's hard to have faith knowing that if I am wrong, my horses could pay the price. I love them too much for that.

I will be fine if I can just sell a horse or two. But if just one more thing goes wrong to prevent that from happening, the story could go the other way. And that's what really scares me. If I get to the point I have run out of money, then what do I do? I need to make the decision before I put my herd in jeopardy. I don't want to be one of those rescue cases that was so obsessed they forgot about their horses well being. I feel like I am walking a tight rope down that path.

I doubt that I can liquidate my herd in record time the way that Julian did. If I thought that was possible, I would be carrying far less weight. It's taken breeders I've known years to liquidate their entire herd. That is the crux of this. What happens if I get to the place I can not feed and care for this herd? Did those rescue cases have warning signs they were in trouble that they ignored? Or were they just like me thinking they had things figured out and the bottom fell out?

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

To Breed or Not to Breed

I've been struggling with some decisions here on my Arabian horse farm and I just can't make up my mind. Then I found that Anne at smellshorsey is struggling about the same thing. While the circumstances are different, the end result is the same, should I or shouldn't I breed must be on the minds of lots of mare owners this year.

Last year I went through the same quandary. I posted about Breeding Season Decisions for the Small Arabian Horse Breeder I ended up only breeding one mare. I made that decision so late, that the mare isn't even due to foal for another month. If I'm going to breed again this year, I need the foal to be earlier so foaling isn't happening in the middle of show season. That means I need to make a decision soon, if not now.

Last year I planned to breed two of my Scandalous Legacy daughters this year. I had the stallions picked out and I even paid one of the stud fees. I bought it at a stallion service auction for a fraction of the price and paid for it at the time. If I don't use it, I will lose my investment and the futurity nominations that come along with the package. This amounts to a considerable chunk of change.

That breeding is for Scandalous Dare. The mare is nine years old and is still a maiden mare(another good reason to breed). The breeding is to the AQHA stallion, The Mighty Oak. He is a reining champion and is siring great half-Arabian foals. The market for half-Arabian reining prospects is going through the roof. The mare is about as talented as they come. It should be a dream foal.

The second mare I planned to breed is Scandalous Hope. I planned to breed her to the Arabian stallion, Apaladin. He is a English pleasure and halter champion. A beautiful grey horse with lots and lots of heart. They are selling his foals to South Africa for good money. This should also be a dream foal. I have spoken with the owner and she will allow me to breed next year for the same price(even though his stud fee is expected to go up) as I would have paid this year. So I have put this breeding on hold until next year.

Money and the market are at the root of my concern. I haven't sold a horse since last summer. My reserves have never been replenished since the birth of the twins. Worrying about finances makes for stressful times here on this breeding farm.

Since I have already paid the stud fee on the breeding the only outlay I would have would be the fees for shipping semen and the vet. My daughter volunteered to help me pay those. But those expenses are not the only issues with money I am worrying about.

My fear has to do with the market and the economy. Closing the slaughter houses and a number of natural disasters across this country have resulted in a glut of unwanted horses. That really kills the local market.

Normally I don't worry about the local market. I know that that is not my target market. I also know that my target market is still strong. Top quality, trained Arabian show horses are bringing record prices. Not to mention the fact that the population of Arabian horses in this country is aging. Most registered Arabians are twenty years and older. As those horses die off, the market is going to shoot through the roof. Breeders who have managed to hold on to this point will be in good shape.

However, the local market is what I depend on if I get into financial trouble. Normally I can drop a top quality horse on the market at a discount and generate some cash flow. It's not my favorite decision to make but it can keep me out of trouble. In today's market, I wonder if I still have that option.

With the rising price of diesel, now $2.65 a gallon (whoops that's a typo, fuel here is $4.65 a gallon) right down the road from me, I know the prices of everything are going up. I have found a good supplier for my hay but expect to see price hikes. I've also found a source for bulk grain so I've knocked the price I was paying there nearly in half. But again due to fuel prices I expect to see that creep right back up where it was. Feeding 28 horses means those increases add up really fast.

If all these things keep rising, that compromises my show fund. Since showing horses at nationals or Scottsdale is what I need to do to get top prices, not making it to the shows really shoots me in the foot. That is the thing that scares me most. If I don't sell a horse within the next twelve months I will be in a world of hurt, or that's my fear anyway.

Also, due to my injury and illness this winter, I do not have the young stock ready to be shown under saddle this year. That will make it more difficult to get them sold. The odds are I won't sell something until it's in the ring unless Rhythm's arrival on the show scene generates some interest.

If I quit breeding, that is the first step in putting an end to this dream. That's the only thing I am sure of. Do I trust myself and the caliber of horse I've breed and follow the dream? Or do I go with my fear, give up this dream and begin shutting this place down?


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

Let's Talk Genetic Disorders in Horses

Reading through other blogs today, I came across this post
Down on the farm...Lethal White It tells the writer's heart breaking experience with a lethal white foal. It got me thinking with breeding season just around the corner here in the northern hemisphere, this is probably a good time to talk about genetic disorders in horses.

While there are many genetic disorders in the equine world, I'm going to target the lethals that I am aware of with one exception. I would be remiss to not include HyPP in the AQHA. While this gene causes death in only very extreme cases, it is truly insidious.

In the lethal category there is the lethal white gene in the overo and both SCID (formerly known as CID) and Lavender Foal Syndrome in the Arabian. With both of the Arabian genes it is possible for it to manifest in descendants of the Arabian horse so half Arabians are not exempt from scrutiny.

All four of these genetic diseases are caused by a recessive gene. What that means is that it takes a gene from both parents for the disease to manifest itself. A horse that has only one gene for the disease is considered to be a "carrier" of the disease. A carrier will not ever manifest symptoms. It only has the ability to "pass" the gene on to its offspring providing. Breeding two "carrier" horses has a 25% chance of producing a foal free of the gene, a 50% chance of producing a carrier and a 25% of producing an "affected" foal. "Affected" means the resulting foal has the disease.


Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis

HyPP has been traced back to the stallion, Impressive. It is a neurological disorder that can express itself across a full spectrum from no outward signs at all to death. Also those horses that do show symptoms can do so sporadically making it much more difficult for the uninformed horse owner to identify.


From the website Bringing Light to HyPP

HyPP affects the sodium channels of afflicted horses and overloads the system with high potassium levels that cause episodes which may include: mild muscle twitching that is undetectable to the human eye; noticeable muscle twitching; "crawling" skin, ranging from slight to very noticeable and usually from the back flank area forward; hind quarter paralysis; excessive yawning; and paralysis of the muscles surrounding the heart and/or lungs, causing death due to heart attack or suffocation.

Because symptoms are not always detected and horses are not being tested, carrier horses are unknowingly being bred to carrier horses. The numbers of affected horses are growing within the breed. In addition unsuspecting buyers are being sold horses who sporadically manifest symptoms. Neither scenario is good for the horse industry.

I would advise readers to please visit the above website for more information on this disease. There is a genetic test to identify carriers of this disease.

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

SCID previously known as CID (Combined Immunodeficiency) causes the foal to be born with a severely compromised immune system that cannot be fixed. The foal must be euthanized or die an agonizing death. Lacking immune capacity, such foals will succumb before 5 months of age of massive infections.

SCID foals were identified as early as the 1960s in Australia. Records of their birth in the United States didn't happen until the late 1970s. Because there was no known way to determine where this curse came from, rumors spread like wildfire. Horses and breeder's reputations were destroyed by talk without evidence. Many didn't talk about it at all for fear that they might become the subject of such rumors.

The year that Legs was born, 1996, VetGen perfected the test to identify the carriers of SCID. Since the test made it possible to determine the carriers of the disease, it was time to get this thing out of the closet and into the open. Never again did any breeder need to lose a cherished foal from this disease.

The Paradigm Has Shifted was written after the test for this disorder was available It tells in layman's terms about the disease and responsible breeding practices now that horses can be tested to determine carriers. Having the test available has changed the history of the Arabian horse.

It is important to note that a carrier can be ANY horse with Arabian blood, it does not have to be a purebred. Many people believe (and I used to be one of them) that only purebreds can carry this gene. That is NOT the case. Even breeders of half Arabian horses when mating two horses that each carry Arabian blood should be testing their breeding stock. They can lose foals from SCID by breeding two carrier horses.

Lavender Foal Syndrome

The second lethal genetic disorder known to Arabian horses is Lavender Foal Syndrome . It is found in straight Egyptian breed horses mostly but can happen in horses with certain Egyptian bloodlines in the pedigree.

A foal born with this syndrome tends to have an odd coloration as an indicator. The actual problem is within the brain, the neuro centers don't work properly causing the foals to have rigid arched backs and necks with heads up high. The foals are unable to stand. The only way this disorder can be positively identified is through brain tissue from affected foals.

This disorder is very rare and relatively new. Little is known about it other than it is lethal. There are studies being conducted but it is imperative that samples from suspected affected foals be submitted for use in these studies. Most importantly required is brain tissue. Contact information and instructions for submission of samples are here This disease can be stopped on if those affected by it today will participate these studies.

Some of you may remember that I witnessed the birth of a Lavender foal in the 2007 foaling season. I wrote about that experience Lavender Foal Syndrome - An Arabian Horse Breeders Nightmare http://risingrainbow.blogspot.com/2007/06/lavender-foal-syndrome-arabian-horse.html I also wrote a follow up regarding breeding issues Breeding Carriers of Lavender Foal Syndrome in Arabian Horses

All of these genetic disorders are devastating to the owners and breeders who experience them. Through education, testing and co-operation with studies, it is possible to restrict and eventually eliminate this heart-ache. Please check out the included links for more complete information. Have a happy, informed and successful breeding season.



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


Arabian horse arabian horses horses horse lavender foal syndromeHyPPSCIDSevere Combined ImmunodefiencyLethal White SyndromeSCIDCID

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 9

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

As fate would have it, even though the Dare Malik daughter did stay in heat for a few days and I refused to rebreed, the Arabian mare had settled a pregnancy. Heiress, too, had settled a single pregnancy. The young Arabian stallion was three for three with only one cover each on his very first breeding season. To this day I can't get over his fertility.

Now all there was to do was to wait for the foals. I was excited about the possibilities but at the same time I was worried about the grey mare, Solidare. Even though she seemed to be improving all the time, I just couldn't get over the feeling that I never should have bred her until she had recuperated from the neglect and the injury. Only time would tell how this one would turn out.

In the meantime, I had a couple of things to take care of. The first was having surgery to repair the damage done to my nose. Legs had hit me hard enough that one nasal passage was completely blocked. I was having a difficult time breathing. Breathing through my mouth all the time was not an option in my book as much as I was dreading having surgery.

The second thing was preparing the young Arabian stallion to show. He was nominated to the Region 5 Amateur Owner Halter Futurity and this was his year to show. While these futurities were sponsored by Region 5, the classes were not held at the Region 5 Championships which was odd. Instead the futurity rules were changed for the show venue to be a different Region 5 member show each year. This year the classes were to be at the Apple Valley Classic held in Yakima on Labor Day weekend. I began conditioning Legs for halter.

I'm really a big wuss about the doctor. I hate going. I hate taking up my valuable time sitting in the waiting room or the exam room waiting for a doctor. I hate having to have "procedures" like PAP smears even more. BUT surgeries, surgeries are just downright off the charts on my list of hates. Dave darn near had to drag me kicking and screaming to get my surgery done.

But everything went ok, despite my fear. I was back on my way home in about four hours. And I was on some serious drugs. Normally, I don't take drugs either, I just tough it out. But once I found out my head felt like it was going to explode, I broke down and sent Dave off to fill my prescription for pain meds. When he returned I couldn't take the darn drugs fast enough

The next day Dave took me back to the doctor to have the packing removed. I don't know if any of you know about the packing involved in a rhinoplasty, but to this day I still wonder where all that stuff came from. The sight of that slippery. slimy mass coming out of my nose caused my head to spin and I nearly hit the floor. I scared the doctor and the nurses, not to mention Dave.

I think it was the third day after yet another doctor's appointment, that I decided to help Dave put out some horses. I was still on those serious drugs. They obviously were affecting my thinking. Dave didn't bother to think that it might not be a smart thing for me to handle horses so medicated.

As it turned out, the handling part wasn't the problem. Legs went out in the front pasture just fine. The young Arabian horse acted like a perfect gentleman. He and his brother, Aidol, were having a rip snorting good time flying around the field and running circles around the pond.

There's nothing I love more than watching Arabian horses doing their thing. Running with their tails curled over their backs snorting and blowing, there is nothing more beautiful Only from my vantage point I was missing most of the show, so I decided to walk up closer where I could see this gorgeous sight.

I walked up around the side of the new hay barn we'd just built to get a better view. Legs was running straight at me with his brother in hot pursuit. Due to the drugs and my slow reaction time, it didn't dawn on me until it was too late. Legs didn't see me and the horse was galloping straight at me.

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

Part 10

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding abused mare An Malik

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 8

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

The vet made extensive records of the mare's condition. We also took pictures for documentation. Even in the photos you can see that bump on her back. I will never forget the condition that mare was in when I got her. As far as I'm concerned the pictures don't show anywhere near how bad this mare looked to me.

I was concerned about breeding her in this condition. My plan was to get her weight up at least 150 pounds before I even thought about breeding. But the vet assured me that mares settle much better when they are recovering from being this down. He really thought I should go ahead and breed as soon as she came into heat.

On the ride home back across that long, long bridge, I remember thinking about the twists and turns my dreams had taken. The loss of Scandalous had been so devestating with only the possibility of acquiring this particular mare being enough to bring me out of that darkness. Yet, here was this very special mare now in a nightmare of her own. I wondered where life's twist and turns would take us next.

The next day, the womam who owned this mare came by so we could do the paperwork on the lease. I know that you probably think I ripped her a new one, but I did not because to do so meant I jeopardized this mare's safety. I did tell her that I had taken her to a vet to have her condition documented. I didn't go into any details however.

That comment was enough. Her response was "Oh my, all of our horses had a tough, tough winter." Then she went on to explain how the farm they were moving to had burned to the ground before they could take possession. The insurance company suspected arson so there was not going to be a quick settlement.

In the meantime, the family was allowed to move onto the grounds to live in a trailer. However they would not let them move any of the horses onto the property. That meant they had to find pasture they could rent for their entire herd. The only way they had been able to do this was to rent several different fields. Of course, not one of those fields was in close proximity to another.

According to this owner, they would drop the kids off at school in the morning and the go make the rounds to each field to feed. By the time they had feed all of the horses it was time to pick up the kids from school and begin the rounds again feeding the horses.

Taking care of this many horses under this circumstances along with this being their first experience with pasture on high desert, it had just gotten away from them. By the time they realized there was a problem it had already gotten away from them.

We went ahead and finished out our paperwork and she went on her way. I never voiced my concerns about the fact they had planned on riding this mare in her current condition. As far as I was concerned, swallowing my words was worth it if I could save this mare. I was just going to bide my time, bite my tongue and wait to see how things washed out.

It didn't take long for the Dare Malik daughter to begin putting on weight. Once she was wormed and feed good quality hay regularly, the pounds went on pretty rapidly. Even though it would still be a whle before she looked like the exquisite Arabian horse that I remembered, the mare was happy and played just like that healthy mare I'd seen last fall.

It was only a matter of days before the mare came into heat. I still debated about breeding her this thin but ended up going along with the vet's recommendations. To say that Legs was excited about getting to breed another mare, would, or course, be a huge understatement. From the moment the young stallion laid eyes on this gray mare, he was in love. It didn't matter if she was in heat or not, just the sight of this mare made him drool. I was figuring our next breeding was going to be different from the last.

But the horse remembered me falling to the ground. Even though he hadn't gotten into trouble as far as I was concerned, the horse clearly remembered the whole incident as trouble. I didn't have to worry about him coming into my space. It was clear he was keeping his distance from me.

However, the young horse was so excited about the new mare, I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get her bred. The horse wanted to jump too soon, he wanted to jump too late. He wanted to just lay his face across her croup and drool all over her. It looked like he didn't really care what he did as long as he could do it close to her.

Finally the mare began talking to him. I wasn't really sure if this was a good thing or not. The horse was already so excited he couldn't figure out what to do. But it must have been just what he needed to hear. I don't know what she told him. Whatever it was, he shook off his confusion and got up and bred her.

I remember as his weight came down over her, the mare stumbled forward as her back gave under his weight. For a brief instant I thought she was going to collapse to the ground but thankfully she didn't. She stumbled forward a couple of steps almost knocking Dave to the ground but finally caught herself.

Legs was so excited it hardly took a minute and I was pulling him off of the mare. That was it for me, even if this mare stayed in heat, I wasn't breeding her again. Not until I knew her strength was back and she could support the weight,would I even consider breeding her. There was no way I was going to jeopardize her life or anyone else's. Next time I was listening to my own instincts. It just doesn't seem that things work out all that well when I don't.

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

Part 9

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding abused mare An Malik

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 7

Before I get on with my story, yesterday was The Great DeLurk which I found posted on Give It a Try who in turn picked it up off



I have to say I agree with both of these blogs on the issue of lurking. As a blogger it's hard to figure out what to think when so many people stop by and few if any comment. So I maybe a day late and probably lots more than a dollar short, but I'm totally behind promoting The Great DeLurk day. If you're here, please leave a comment and check out what these other bloggers have to say about how lurking affects them.



And while I'm off track, I also would like to take a quick moment to brag. This picture is my son's volleyball team. Obviously those are girls in the pic, so where does that leave my son, Bil Cailler? Well, he's their coach and his team, Kentwood High School ranks this week number 26 in the nation! That's right, the nation.

This picture was displayed on the prepvolley.com site. I would give a link to the rankings but you have to be a member to view. But here's what they had to say about Bil's team this week.

"26. Kentwood (Covington, Washington)
Current record: 15-0; Last week’s ranking: 22

Random note: No, Kentwood, you didn’t do anything wrong to drop five spots in the rankings. In fact, you did a lot of good, notably your big win over Megan Ganzer and Tahoma on Wednesday, led by Savannah Feist’s 11 kills and nine from Lauren Campbell. But with Mead dropping six spots while losing out of state, and the Panthers still No. 1 in Washington, you had to drop. "

Now back to the Arabian horses




Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

Shortly after the incident breeding Heiress, it was time to ultrasound Kurra. Well, it turned out that Kurra did settle on just one cover. There was only one pregnancy and it was time to send her home to Oregon. I was really excited about that because it meant we didn't have to breed her again.

Heiress had gone out of heat right after we bred her. So we only covered her once as well. Now we were waiting for the 14 day mark to ultrasound the mare. Again I was hoping for a pregnancy so we didn't have to breed again. What were the odds we would catch both mares in the first breeding season for this young Arabian stallion on just one cover each?

Around this time was also when the Dare Malik daughter was supposed to be arriving from Oregon. I had made arrangements with a friend to haul her up but at the last minute the owner asked if I would pay her to haul the mare instead since she was planning on coming to the area to visit her father. It didn't really make much difference to me who did the hauling as long as the mare arrived safely so I agreed.

As it turned out the day the mare was to arrive was the same day I was supposed to go the the racetrack with Dave. His company had one of the corporate boxes and was having an appreciation party for the hourly employees. It was a really big deal and Dave really didn't want me to bow out. So I ended up going to Emerald Downs when I really wanted to be home to greet this special mare.

All during my time at the track, I kept wondering if the Arabian horse had arrived yet. I had visions in my head of the lovely mare running in MY fields. If everything went as planned, this mare would never leave my farm. I would breed her, have a great foal by Legs and then exercise my option and buy the mare. The dream was again running rampant.

When we finally got home that evening, I couldn't wait to get out to the barn to visit with the mare. Lindsay told me what time she'd arrived and that she'd gone ahead and turned her out for a while. But that was all she told me.

When I got to the barn I couldn't believe my eyes. My heart sank! If it hadn't been for the "bloody" marking on her neck I wouldn't have even recognized this mare. The Arabian horse was in deplorable condition. She was so thin that even her face was gaunt and drawn. And, of course, like most starved horses, she was very wormy.

In addition she had some kind of injury to her back. Along her spine right about at the coupling with her back and her hip there was a large bump. It felt hard, almost like a calcium deposit of some kind. It was clear that something bad had happened to this horse since the last time I had seen her. I just wanted to cry, not for me or my dream, but for this poor mare.

The first thing I did when I got back into the house was to call my vet. I wanted him to examine the mare asap. Since I was leasing the mare I wanted documentation of her condition. That way if I could not get her returned to normal health, I would have proof that this condition had not been caused by me.

The only way the vet could work us in for the next day was for me to take the mare to him. I was concerned about even hauling the horse, her condition looked so poor to me. But at the same time, the longer she stayed in my care before she was examined, the less protected I was. Also I needed to know the mare's exact condition so I could deal with it correctly. Having never dealt with a starving and neglected horse I didn't know if I should be starting off slowly or what to do for sure! I didn't want to make any mistakes in her care.

So despite my trepidation, I hauled the mare across the Narrows Bridge to my vet. This is not one of my favorite trips. I have always been intimidated by that bridge. I could feel it swaying in the wind as I drove across. It doesn't help that from time to time the tv news will run pictures of the time it fell into Puget Sound.

Thankfully, the mare hauled just fine. She was nervous when I'd loaded her and she was nervous when I took her out of the trailer but she was totally dry. The horse hadn't sweated at all. For that I was relieved. She had eaten every last piece of the grass hay that I had hung for her. Her appetite was good, I was relieved about that as well.

The vet examined her thoroughly and confirmed that she was indeed loaded with worms. Also, she was nearly 300 pound under weight. But the injury to her back was a real mystery. That lump was definitely a calcium deposit on a vertebrae and had to have been caused by some great impact. All we had were guesses like maybe a tree had fallen on her or she'd been struck by another horse or she'd fallen over backwards and struck something in the fall. Whatever happened, the mare had a serious injury to her back and it was NOT brand new.

I remember thinking at the time about my conversation with the breeders when I had called to arrange the lease. They told me they had just put shoes on this mare because they were planning on riding her. I just couldn't imagine how they could have thought they would ride a horse in such deplorable condition let along how they could have missed this injury. Riding this poor mare in this condition was something I couldn't even imagine. My call to lease this mare had saved her from more difficult times.


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

Part 8

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding Maiden Mare horse abuse

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 6

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

By this time, Heiress had finally coming into heat. I wasn't sure that I was really ready to deal with her and breeding but it seemed to be now or never so I began to set things up.

I planned on teasing her for a couple of days before we actually tried to breed her. That would give her a little time to get used to the stallion's advances. I knew from my breeding/teasing notes how long to expect her to be in heat. I made the appointment with the vet and his wife to return to help based on that information and Dave's schedule from work.

Dave was going to help with the breeding this time. He had come running when things went awry the last time so now he figured he might just as well be involved.

Internally I laughed because it just so happened, he was going to be involved whether he volunteered or not. I had no one to hold the mare. And since he hadn't built the breeding wall that I'd requested, he was going to be involved much closer than he expected.

Once the day had arrived and the parties were all in place, we got the horses ready to breed. Heiress was as good as gold about being washed and having her tail put up. I thanked Kurra in my head for the newer, gentler Heiress.

The vet thought we should twitch the mare and it made sense to me. He applied the twitch but then handed it to Dave. Dave held it fine, just didn't keep it on the horse, I'm not sure where in the process he lost it, I only know that he did. But we proceeded believing that the mare was restrained.

By now, Legs had figured out he was going to get to breed again. While the Arabian horse had totally lost the urge to leap, he was not using his head either. The young horse was not listening and being pushy. He had to be corrected a number of times. The horse really wasn't happy about being yanked out of the sky before he could reach the mare and he was pretty sure it was my fault.

So the next time the horse reared up to mount the mare even though he had been invited this time, he reached over with his left front leg and grabbed me by the shoulder. The horse evidently wanted to make sure I wasn't going to interfere this time.

As the horse's leg moved towards it's target on my shoulder, it caught the corner of my glasses knocking them into oblivion and breaking my nose. The sheer force with which the horse's leg came down on my shoulder spun me around like a top and threw me to the ground. The horse saw me falling and realized he was in trouble so he dropped back down to the ground. I landed in a heap underneath the once rearing stallion who was in kind next to the mare in heat begging to be bred.

I cannot see a thing without my glasses. The world is an absolute blur. Whenever I find myself without them, my first thought is always finding my glasses. This may sound dumb but even laying underneath this stallion, I didn't move for fear I would break my glasses. Then I would be in real trouble.

I screamed at Dave to find my glasses as he screamed back at me to get out from underneath the horse. But I refused to budge until I knew that my glasses were safe. Once they had them located, I crawled out from underneath the sheepish horse.

Legs had totally forgotten about the mare. He knew that he'd done something wrong. He watched me get up and nudged me gently to see if I was ok. All I really wanted to do was kill him. Blood was gushing out of my nose and my whole body was already beginning to hurt, Not to mention the vet and his wife were both laughing hysterically.

Now, I'd be the first to admit when something is funny but this had not been funny to me. I didn't care that Legs wasn't trying to hurt me. That he was just trying to get me out of his way! The horse had hurt me whether he intended to or not. I probably would have really thumped on him had I thought it would make any sense to him at all. But too much time had lapsed from the time he grabbed me to the time I finally was back on my feet. He seemed to understand that he was in trouble so I left it as that.

Instead I really wanted to thump on the laughing vet and his wife. Just because they had never seen such a thing before didn't mean they should be laughing. It didn't matter to me the horse hadn't grabbed me with his teeth, kicked or struck at me, what mattered was that he made contact with me. Yes, I was relieved to know that the horse wasn't being "aggressive" in the usual manner that breeding stallions sometimes do BUT I could have been killed. Even today, I still think their laughing was in poor taste.

Now I really wanted this darn thing done. Despite protests from Dave and the vet, we went back to the task of breeding the mare. They thought I should go in the house and wash the blood off my face and hands. But I wasn't budging again. I just wanted the whole thing over!

This time Legs was quiet and cautious. He didn't mount until he was told. And Heiress, the horse we had all been worried about for this event, she stood there like a rock. The darn mare never moved even a muscle that I could tell. Not only that, when the stallion collapsed on top of her, she reached around and nuzzled his face. I could see her wheels turning,
"My sweet boy!"
After the fact I'm pretty sure that all those months of baby sitting when he was just a foal, had really helped us with this breeding. The mare wasn't worried about him jumping on her, he'd done it dozens and dozens of times. Whooda thunk??

I had expected breeding this mare to be a problem. But not in my wildest dreams had I imagined that Legs grabbing me would be even a consideration. Now I was two for two with horror stories on teaching a maiden stallion to breed. This was definitely not going as expected!.I sure wished that breeding season was over.

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

Part 7

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding Maiden Mare Gamaar

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 5

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season


When Nick came running in screaming that Kurra was killing Heiress I was in the house putting away the items from the store, I hadn't noticed on my way in that Dave had turned Kurra out with Kurra. After all, he and Lindsay had both been given strict instructions that Kurra was to go out in the small field alone. Panic stricken I raced outside to see if I could intervene with the Arabian horses.

There in the near corner of the field was Kurra kicking the daylights out of the bay mare,Heiress. The dumb bay mare just stood there, almost like she was in a trance. She didn't kick back, she didn't gesture, she just stood there.

Kurra stopped kicking briefly giving Heiress a chance to go away but dumb Heiress just didn't get it. Kurra was outraged at the bay mare's obvious disregard for her authority. The red mare flattened her ears even tighter and threaten the bay mare again. She wanted Heiress gone.

When the bay horse didn't take the hint and move off, Kurra wheeled around and resumed kicking. Heiress's only response was to try and come up and nudge the angry mare. I could tell from her body language what she was thinking,
"Hey, don't you want to be my friend?"
Heiress, obviously was still not getting the message and Kurra was not amused! I couldn't get to the bay mare fast enough to intervene.

The next assualt the red mare lunged at Heiress with her teeth bared. She intended to attack Heiress the same way that the gelding had attacked Scandalous, killing her. My heart stopped but my feet were still moving racing over to break up the two horses..

But the sound of that blood curdling scream and the sight of the red mare charging so ferociously at her were enough for even Heiress to get the picture.. She finally took off running for those parts unknown that Kurra intended to be Heiress's new residence. With Heiress exiting the scene, Kurra stopped in her tracks.

She didn't want to kill the mare only to get the horse to leave her alone so she could graze in peace. She immediately dropped her head and set about munching grass not even bothering to watch Heiress's exit.

Once the frightened bay mare reached the far end of the field she turned and faced the red horse. The mare was shaking from head to toe. I could almost see her as she dropped her head and nodded in Kurr'a direction,asking
"Is this far enough?"
Kurra looked up briefly and then dropped her head again to graze not even bothering a response for the ingrate mare at the far end of the field. Heiress stood there quaking needing some kind of reassurance that the attack was indeed over. The only reassurance she would get was from me.

I checked the horse over carefully for the damage I thought must be there. The attack looked so ferocious that I couldn't imagine I didn't need to call a vet. Thankfully, Heiress didn't look too much the worse for wear. She did have a few bites and some lumps but nothing as bad as I'd expected.

Knowing how dense this mare could get about learning any lesson, I knew she could have been seriously injured. As it was, the biggest injury seemed to be to her pride. Not that that was a bad thing, she'd needed that pride knocked down a peg or two or three.

Kurra on the other hand, didn't have a scratch, not a mark anywhere. The dumb bay mare had never tried to fight with Kurra, she just wouldn't respect her space. I imagine before I got home, that Kurra had tried more subtle forms of getting Heiress to leave her alone. But with Heiress not understanding anything about herd dynamics she just hadn't taken the hint.

Most of the horse's injuries weren't even visible in a day or two. The only ones that remained were two bald hoof prints, one planted on each cheek on her butt. I swear, just like the horse in the cartoons, Heiress had a hoof print on each cheek. But the hoof prints that were left in her mind, those were the important ones. A new dawn of understanding rose with the attack by Kurra that day. Heiress finally understood about pecking order.

This probably sounds like an odd thing to say but I will always be grateful to Kurra for the events of that day. I had spent many hours working with Heiress trying to get her to understand that I was the one in charge. While I was making progress it was slow and usually costly to my person in some way. Kurra's education of Heiress that day changed all of that.

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

Part 6

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion
horse breeding Maiden Mare herd dynamics

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 4

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

By Monday, Kurra, the Gamaar bred mare was no longer showing any signs of heat. I ,for one, was hoping for a one cover pregnancy. While I knew the young stallion wouldn't get a lot of practice that way, I was still rooting for no more breeding than absolutely necessary. The whole experience had convinced me of something I was pretty sure of in the first place, MARES are my thing!!

It's probably safe to say the whole time I was thinking this, I was NOT considering the fact the next horse to breed was herself a maiden. Not only was this mare a maiden BUT she was the mare from the farm down the road.

The mare who had lived her life up to the time I bought her in a stall. The mare who had bit me, kicked me and knocked me senseless nearly getting me killed the first month I owned her. This was the mare who had never been socialized with other horses. This was the mare I had bought to breed to this stallion before he was even born. Even the vet was worried about breeding this mare. I mean, how bad could it be?

Once I really began to think about the prospects of breeding Krugorrs Heiress, I began to see the error of my thinking. It would definitely have been a good idea to have had the young stallion have all of the experience he could before we had to deal with the mare. It was difficult enough dealing with a stallion who didn't know what he was doing without adding the mare who was so unpredictable and could be so dangerous.

While the mare's behavior had come a long way in these two years since I'd purchased her, there was still so much unknown about her and her behavior. Each new experience seemed to be meet with so much fear and so little reason, I just didn't have a clue what to expect from her when it came to breeding. I was really hoping I hadn't bitten off more than I could chew.

For now, all I could do about this situation was worry. Heiress was not currently in heat. I did decide that I would spend some more time doing a refresher course on her leading skills before the big event. Making sure she had a firm understanding of "Whoa!" would be important as well.

In the meantime, life on our farm was pretty much going along as usual except for the addition of Kurra to our herd. The mare had been the head mare in a herd of over twenty horses. Jodee had warned us against turning her out with any other horses and I pretty much agreed.

Kurra, however, was feeling deprived being turned out in a small field by herself. The mare spent a good portion of her time standing at the fence line watching the other mares and crying. Knowing how crabby this mare could be, I just let her cry. I really didn't want to see what might happen if any of my mares crossed her. I knew from Jodee's accounts that Kurra didn't take hostages, she intended for her victims to leave for parts unknown.

Dave on the other hand couldn't be bothered by such things as owners concerns about their horses doing damage to our horses. He was preoccupied with feeling sorry for the lonely mare. So while I was gone to the store, he decided to turn Kurra out with the other mares.

Lilly had lived in a big herd. She understood what it meant when the boss mare said get out of my way. She also understood in just one glance that Kurra was the boss mare. If Kurra looked her direction, Lilly knew to do as she was told.

Heiress on the other hand had no experience with a true herd situation. Her only experience being turned out with other horses had been Scandalous who had taken pity on the poor filly. While Scandalous had not let Heiress get away with being totally obnoxious, she had not taught the filly how to survive in a herd.

Once Lilly came to live at our farm, she became Heiress's new pasture mate. Lilly was younger and used to being pushed around. She had no idea that Heiress didn't really understand about being in a herd or she probably would have taken her on. Instead she did nothing to challenge the mare or to set Heiress straight.

The very thought of Dave turning Kurra out with Heiress anywhere near her was enough to scare me silly. I believed that Kurra wouldn't tolerate any of Heiress's stupid behavior and I was right. Once Heiress and Kurra were in the same field it was only a matter of minutes before the fight began.

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

Part 5

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding Maiden Mare Gamaar

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 3

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

Ok, so I know you've been laughing over this latest adventure. How could you not? Had I not been there having to deal with this mess, I'd have been laughing too! But instead I was considering this. This particular mare is the dearly loved aged mare of my friend and how in the heck are we going to get my stallion down without hurting her mare?? Darned if I know! And then there's always, how are we going to get my stallion down without killing him?? Darned if I know that either!! If he falls wrong, he can break his blankety, blank neck. And of course there's, "why does this kind of S _ _ _ always happen to me?" That last one really wandered around in there a lot!

Flying by the seat of our pants, ever so carefully we tried to move Legs's right front leg over the top of Kurra's head. If we could get both of his front legs onto the same side, we might be able to kind of roll him onto his front feet. From there maybe we could just kind of walk him off of her neck.

It sounded good, even if we didn't ever really say it out loud. The vet, his wife and I just well went into action. So in tune we were all trying to accomplish the same thing. The vet moved the front leg up the side towards over the top of the mare's head. His wife tried to stabilize the back end of the horse while I tried to balance his front end as it was swinging it my direction. Jodee stood there watching and holding her mare as we worked to get that leg over the mare's head.

I heard the thud as he clubbed Kurra in the head with his right front hoof and I cringed wondering what Jodee was thinking or if she was even breathing.

Kurra didn't move a muscle as Legs struggled to get some balance. By now the vet had let loose of the front leg as it was making its way over the top. Instead the vet was now trying to keep the stallion from falling back his direction. If the horse fell off this way he was going right down onto his back. That was no a place we wanted to go.

Thump, he hit the mare again with that right front foot. But this time on the left side of her face as his foot crashed on its way to the ground with the rest of his weight falling right behind it.

The young stallion was down in a heap on the ground at the mare's feet but only for an instant. As fast as he had fallen the horse lunged to his feet trying to recoup whatever was left of his dignity. Then nonchalantly the young stallion shook himself off.
The whole time the mare never budged an inch although she did let loose with a pretty deep sigh as Legs crashed to the ground. Kurra just stood there patiently waiting for us to try again. After all she knew the routine..........

And try again, we did. One, two, three times at least before we ever actually got the mare bred. By now, the horse had figured out he was really going to get to breed the mare, if he could figure out HOW to do it, so he was getting a bit pushy. I pulled him down a few times because he tried to jump the mare before he was told. The usual baby stuff.

While Legs may have tried to mount the mare from the side a couple of times and fell off a time or two, he never again LEAPT onto the mare. The horse would raise up on his hind legs and stand for an instant before he ever so gently lowered himself down atop the mare.

I doubt that Kurra interpreted his attempts as the young stallion trying to be gentle. I'm pretty sure she had a clear picture that he was really only trying to save himself from more humiliation. That mare just stood there like a rock! Quietly making it as easy as possible for that stupid maiden stallion to figure out how to do what nature intended.

I'm pretty sure the mare was relieved when the young stallion finally got it done. Although the wise mare did glance back at this obviously virgin stallion laying atop her to see how he was "handling" his conquest. This smart old mare had seen virgin stallions so overwhelmed that they passed out and fell from the mare. She wasn't taking any chances of getting thumped on again. The mare was prepared to bolt at the first signs of Legs loosing consciousness.

Fortunately, Legs kept his wits about him. While he did lay there for a while drooling all over poor Kurra as he nibbled her neck, this horse had had all the humiliation he could handle for one day. He was getting off with dignity and class!

Even though he still had that glazed over look in his eye, the young horse gently lifted himself up off of the mare when I insisted enough was enough. Every so carefully he pulled back, turned and walked away with me. Stopping for an instant to give Kurra a well deserved soft knicker of acknowledgement as we headed for his stall.

And Kurra, well, she was glad to go to a stall and be done with that stupid maiden stallion for the day. Can't say as I blamed her. I was pretty glad to be done with the whole thing myself. I for one, was crossing my fingers and hoping the mare would be out of heat on Monday so we didn't have to do this whole thing again.

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

Part 4


baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding Maiden Mare Gamaar

A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Maiden Season Part 2

Part 1 of the Baby Boomer Series

Part 1 of the Maiden Season

That's what I was thinking all right! "Geez, MiKael, just get it over with!" as I opened the stall door and proceeded out with the young stallion. Just standing in the stall holding the young Arabian horse wasn't making me feel any better. The only thing that was going to get my stomach past doing the flips was to just get this thing done.

The vet and his wife had already gone over a list of breeding do's and don'ts. I wasn't supposed to go straight up behind the mare, in case she might kick out. Instead I was to approach at an angle towards her left hip. When leaving the mare for whatever reason, I was not to turn the young colt in such a way as to have the two horses butt to butt. That was to prevent him from kicking the mare. Those seemed to be the biggest issues I could remember.

There were also the things like not letting him get in front of me where I might get kicked. All of the usual safe leading issues applied. So, or course, that meant I shouldn't let him drag me to the mare. I wasn't supposed to let him take a flying leap at the mare either..The whole idea was to take the young horse quietly up close enough to the mare he could maybe talk to her a little and then mount on cue. Sounds good, doesn't it. If it only worked that easily, I would be most relieved.

You see, young stallions raised on farms rarely, if ever, get to see other horses breed. For those people who think horses don't learn by watching other horses, well, I can tell you they most certainly do everything from bad habits like cribbing, to opening stall doors. They absolutely do.

So when young horses don't get to see other horses breed, then they really don't know what they're supposed to do or how they're supposed to act. All they have to go on is their instinct. For maiden mares that can mean being afraid of the stallion rearing up over the top of them to mount. For maiden stallions ,to put it bluntly, they're not even sure which end to breed. All they know for sure is their instinct is to jump the mare. Get close and jump! That leaves a whole lot of holes in the information and can make for some exciting and sometimes dangerous drama.

As I said in the last post, I was worried about Legs's enthusiasm. I was pretty sure the young horse was ready to take on this new aspect of his life. He'd been talking like one of the big boys for quite some time. So it did surprise me a little when he walked cautiously up to the mare.

The vet and his wife were both there giving me instructions. Jodee was holding her mare, Kurra. Dave was, well, Dave was someplace else. He didn't want to be involved if he didn't have to and he was hoping he would never have to.

So it's all looking pretty good except for Dave hiding out. The horses were in close proximity to each other and neither was trying to kill the other. For me, that was a big plus.

While Legs started off cautiously, Kurra's acceptance of his attention had bolstered his ego a bit. The young stallion began to get a bit wiggly as he dropped but wasn't really being pushy yet. I could see all that energy bundled up inside as the horse barely walked in place.

The distance and position from the mare were right. Legs was still being good and listening closely. I decided to raise up my hand and move it towards the mare just like we'd discussed, the cue to mount the mare.

Well, the young Arabian horse mounted all right! Only not quite how any of us had ever imagined. The maiden stallion was so excited he leapt onto the mare. And I do mean LEAPT! Even today in my mind's eye the scene plays in ever so slow motion as I see "the horse leaps up high into the air and ever so slowly sails..........through the air..........."

Yes, that's right. He leapt so high and so far he completely cleared the mare's back and body and landed well......strattling her neck. That's right, her neck. There the young Arabian horse was piggy back on Kurra's neck of all places, two legs on one side and two legs on the other with his face right about even looking down at hers.

That poor mare looked at Jodee, then turned her head ever so slowly and cautiously and looked up at the horse on top of her and then l just as slowly and cautiously she looked at me, all with a look of pure disgust! Plainly written on her face for all to see,
"Oh, no, not another one of those stupid, stupid maidens!"

Slowly she turned her head back into the forward position and stood there patiently waiting for us to "get that stupid maiden stallion down" from his perch atop her neck.

Now, Leg's might be a stupid maiden stallion just like Kurra thought! But he wasn't so stupid he didn't realize he'd done wrong here somewhere! The expression on his face was as priceless as the expression on hers! He looked at her face to see if he could read what she was going to do. He looked at me to see what I was going to do and then he looked at the ground. With a deep sigh he rested his head on Kurra's neck and waited to be rescued.

Have you ever thought about how you would get a horse extricated from a spot like that? Probably not, you say! Well, none of us had either. The logistics are pretty unusual, to say the least. Fortunately, the young stallion was no longer excited enough that we had to worry about an extra appendage. But getting him down off of the mare, what would we do?

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

Part 3

baby boomer Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse maiden stallion horse breeding Maiden Mare Gamaar