****more pics to be added to this post today*****
Rocky, Raffon bred Arabian. After going through a half dozen lease horses and riding anything I could get my hands on, I was able to get my first "real" horse at age 14. He was the one, the only, Rocky.
Moxy and Keo were both"whoops" horses! My DB has since banned me from going to auctions. I bought both Moxy and Keo at an auction in October of 2002. Imagine DB surprise when I phoned home to say, "Honey, I accidentally (just a wee little white lie!) bought a little weanling filly and then had to buy a mare to keep him company!"We named the unpapered QH mare, Moxy because the first day I had her she had the moxy to take a chunk out of my Moms shoulder.
Keo was a starved dun PMU colt. He was by far the worst case in the lot of about 50 horses that came through. None of them looked to be in great shape but none came close to being as bad off as Keo. His teeth (that were black) said that he was born in late August. I figured that he was either orphaned or was weaned too early as he was such a late foal. I couldn't stand the idea of this pathetic little beast being hauled off to slaughter, without having been given a fighting chance, so I bought him. He was in the filly lot (the PMU babies had been separated into two groups, fillys and colts.) As his hair was about six inches long at the time I bought him and he was untouched, I didn't get the chance
to check that all "her" bits and pieces were where they should be. Imagine my surprise when the day after I brought him home I witnessed my new sweet little filly take a pee..... I remember thinking, "something is wrong with this picture....Oh! Oh!!!!!!" People use to tease me that not only had I been wrong about his sex, I also failed to notice that I bought a donkey instead of a horse! I have to admit that when he first neighed instead of brayed, I was a little relieved.The name Keo (Keo Koe "key-oh-co") came from a Wilbur Smith book. At least according to Ol'Wilbur, it is a Swahili name meaning "the one I saved." I hate to admit it, but Moxy went back to the auction. I hated that horse. I have never owned a horse before or after that I disliked as much as that old mare. I raised Keo until he was two years old. Some friends of Barb's family were looking for a horse and I offered them Keo for a $1. They still owned their grown daughters 30 year old pony, feed their horses well and have never sold a horse. I still see him about once a season. He is fat, happy, healthy an big 15HH gelding!
Loachan (aka Cheekeye)
You all have heard the story about this guy (I am scared of Horses). He was a pretty horse (not nearly as short necked as he appears in the pictures) and did have some redeeming qualities....I cant think of any just now, but I am sure he did!
Gala
Gala was a well bred 2003 AQHA mare by Dunnit In Hollywood out of a mare (an NCHA earner
and had produce earnings of over $50,000) by the great Colonel Freckles. She was a half sister (same dam) to a Top 50 NRHA sire, Zan Freckles Hickory. I bought this mare for peanuts from a cutter that had bought her dam in foal. He didn't like her. I did. She looked pretty rough when I first bought her (see picture at right) but matured quickly that spring. I sent her to TX to be trained by NRHA million $ rider Dell Hendricks. I had hoped to buy a horse here at home to rein on while she was in training (so that I could be ready for her when she got home) but the mare that I bought (see next horse, Ellie) didn't work out and as I was not able to use her myself, decided to sell her rather than bring her home. She was purchased by a really nice lady in Illinois that is using her at a Non-Pro level. She loves her to bits and calls her Lena (really original for a QH!)Ellie- 2002 AQHA Champagne mare by Gray Little Badger (by Smart Little Lena)
The mare that I bought to learn to rein on here at home was Ellie (are you relieved that I finally have a horse with a normal name? I didn't change it as by this point I had heard that it is bad luck to change a horses name. Since she didn't work out for me at all, I have since began changing horses names again.)I had two amazing rides on this horse the first weekend I bought her. The next day she turned
up unsound and stayed that way for the next month. I figured it was due to high abscess from jumping through a rocky creek bed. I was very busy with my grandfather's illness, his funeral and then his estate issues during that spring/summer and so was happy to turn her out for the spring. When I went to ride her again that summer she was too much for me (at the time I was nervous) and because I had developed very little attachment to her and was caught up with my grandfather, I decided to see about selling her. Ellie was actually a rare champagne color (and also carried the gray gene) so I contacted a champagne breeder that I knew and let her know that I was considering selling. By coincidence, she was in the process of putting together a package for a lady that wanted to breed champagne horses in Slovakia (Europe) of all places. I felt guilty for selling her so contacted her original owner and basically asked for her blessing. I felt better when she told me that Ellie had loved 
being a momma and that she felt good about the move so I was able to sell her without much guilt. She was sold and shipped last summer 07. I have since heard from the breeder. Ellie was put in training but had to pull her out when she was diagnosed with Navicular. The funny thing was that I had spent $400 getting a soundness check on her (that she passed) when I bought her but these Slovakian breeders spent 6 times the amount that I did and they did nothing besides confirm her color and reg. papers! I hope Ellie is well. She was a sweet and pretty mare that I nicknamed Lamb because of her milky color and the way that she would leap and bound in the field. She truly did look like a frisky spring lamb!Shaunti-
My Lundbom mount (Part two) My old ranch gelding that you have all heard about. I am hoping that we will be able to make it back up to Lundbom this September (without any more trailer "incidents") Shaunti is line bred Doc Tom Tucker.
What a tired ol'man!Abby-
My "Not to Shabby Abby". (Part two and three) a 2003 AQHA mare by Top NRHA sire Gallo Del Cielo. Abby will be shown in NRHA and NCHA this September!
I was looking through some pics today and thought I would share. I obviously have some commitment issues when it comes to horses but in the end, I think I ended up with two of the finest horses a girl could ask for! That is not to say that I don't want more. I want all the pretty horses!
We have very different histories when it comes to horses but have both come to the same place where we are waiting to see what our horses are to become.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard that changing a horses name is bad luck so I have never done that - and really haven't had super good luck with them maybe I should try changing it up every now and then. But you know they do so much for us I always thought "how would I feel if some changed my name?" On the same hand I think what if my name sucked? And I couldn't change it?
But when it was all said and done it was superstition that kept me from changing the name - maybe next time I will....
I have been through many horses in my life short as it is - only 3 horses have been able to pull on heart strings - any of these pull on yours?
Stephanie- sounds like we have come from the same points.
ReplyDeletere changing names. Rocky, Ellie and Abby came with their names. Keo, Moxy, and Gala didnt have names (Gala was three when I bought her but they didnt have an actual name, they called her Squirt or Sprite or whatever was handy, which I always thought was kinda sad.) Loachan nee Cheekeye came with the name Tonto. I refused to have a horse named Tonto so changed it. That was an unlucky horse. Shaunti came with the name Tucker. 5 months before I bought him we had to put down a dog named Tucker that we had rescued because he turned aggressive (dangerous). I didnt have a positive association with that name so really wanted to change it. I didnt find out that his old name was Sug until after I had already named him. Half the time I actually call him Sug. I have been lucky with him. I dont think I would change a horses name again unless I really really didnt like it or I had a negative association with it (like an ex boyfriend or something!)
I miss all my old horses but it is only Rocky that really still pulls at me. Not just because he was my first, but because he really was a VERY special horse. I dont know if I will have another like him in my lifetime. Shaunti is really special too but he comes with sooo much baggage, I think it will be a few more years before I get to his "real" self. I hate that he is 18 already....but you take what'chya get. Abby has the potential to be pretty darn special, she has a ton of personality but I dont see her enough yet to develop any kind of bond. Good question. I'd love to hear about the ones that still "pull at your heart strings."
Neat pictures - I think it is great to remember all of the horses in our lives and what we learned from them... Also interesting to see what they will become. I've never experienced that.
ReplyDeleteI have only owned 4 horses so far in my life. I have special feelings about the first two, because I was so young and it was a total dream come true to have my own horse.
My first mare's name was Tar. Yep - Tar. She was black, so some genious named her Tar. I didn't change the name because I thought it sounded tough. lol.
I should have changed my recent geldings name to Jackass, instead of Jackson. I had back luck with that horse. Luckily I was able to sell him to a good home. I actually changed Rusty's name - it was Jessie before and that name has a lot of bad vibes in our famiy...so I changed it. I figured Rusty and Jessie don't sound that different to little horse ears... Rusty is registered, but his papers were lost a few owners back (real smart) so I have no idea of his bloodlines or his real name.
Love the pictures...
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how some horses come into our lives and how attached we become to them yet others, whom we spend just as much time loving on and working with never quite "click." They often move on and find "their person" and thats what you truly want for them, to find that special person.
My cousin is going through this now, his stud has aged to the point that he can't be ridden all that often. He and John were that pair that "clicked," they work so well together its amazing. He has spent years and has bought many horses trying to find the one to follow John and he just can't find "the one". I tell him the right one will come along, he just needs to keep looking!
The only thing I have ever avoided when it comes to naming horses is giving them "people" names. My brother started calling one of the mares here, Jill. Unfortunately it stuck, sort of, my mom and I still call her "Bets"(her registered name is Best of Bets) and the new black mare's registered name is Katie Boon. The previous owner called her Katie, but we named her Boon.
ReplyDeleteMegan's roan paint got his name by accident. We picked him up and hauled him straight to the vet's for his coggins. When they asked for his name, we just called him "the strawberry roan". They put Strawberry on the paper and it stuck.
You know, the post you did on Rocky could easily be a short story. It was beautifully written and very evident how much you thought of him.
I have a little something for you on my blog.
Laura- I have heard all sorts of names for a black horse, most prevalently "Shadow" but never a Tar!!! hmmm....IMHO horses don't care what we call them, though I have always secretly wondered if they have their own names...I am crazy!
ReplyDeleteSquirrelgurl-I totally agree. It is so funny how some horses just "feel" right while other dont and different horses can "feel" totally different from one person to the next. It is weird how one horse can crow hop or buck and it just doesnt scare you while another can make you really nervous by doing nothing at all, at least for me.
BrownE.C.- Thank you!!!
I find it easy to write stories and love getting lost in them.
I am also not a fan of naming horses human type names but sometimes they suit the horse. I like unique names that mean something.
The pictures are really awesome, the horses look healthy and fit.
ReplyDelete