The newsletter of HorseHobbyist.com Fall 2003 In This Issue:
As usual, things have been busy both here on the farm and at PetHobbyist. Our farm is getting ready for the "big event" of the year in our breed, Appaloosas. Our World show is October 31 through November 8 and we have three horses going so we've been running about trying to get all those last minute things done before heading out for a 2 day drive to Texas. Some people might find that a long way to go for a horse show, but this isn't just any horse show! This is the best of the best, and people from all over the world will be there. The horses in the Open classes had to earn their rights to be there, each class has a specific number of points the horse must earn by the end of September in order to show at Worlds. Makes for some tough competition! But its not just that show itself that people come for. There will be people to meet, horses to look over, a huge sale on Wednesday night which has been standing room only every time I've been, shops set up around the auditorium, displays to look at including trailers and trucks, and friends, lots of them! If you happen to be in the Fort Worth area during the week, I highly encourage you to stop by! You'll find the Appaloosa people are a unique crowd and I suspect you'll like them. We even have classes that are unique to the breed like Heritage Class and Stump Races, but if you can only be there one night, I highly recommend coming Friday night - but bring a toy! It's the only way you'll get into the arena. Friday night we have our freestyle reining and Most Colorful futurity class. Its always packed with people, so get there early to reserve a seat. And the Marines will be there collecting the entry "fees" for Toys for Tots. Sure hope to see you there! Drop by in the Burnett building if you happen to be out that way, and over by the wash racks you'll find my crowd. We'll be stalling with Raggio Ranch so just ask around until you find Janelle - I'd be glad to sit and chat a bit! But for those who can't make it to Worlds, that's ok, just sit back and enjoy a hot cup of coffee while you read this season's edition of Hoofbeats! We'll visit with the appaloosa and meet two appaloosas that are close to my heart who had a rough spot in their lives. They are two who were lucky in the world of rescued horses. Unfortunately, for a vast majority of horses that need to be rescued, there's a lack of funding and people out there to help them. We at Pethobbyist are trying to help in our own way and have begun a rescue network (see below). With your help, we can help our equine friends. Enjoy!
PH Cody
Attention HorseHobbyist fans! We need your help! Our annual chat week is coming up in December and I would like to know who YOU want to chat with! Drop me a line at PHCody with ideas for guest speakers and if you have contact information for them, all the better. We are also looking for a few good hosts to help monitor boards and chats here at HorseHobbyist. Hours are flexible, benefits include a wonderful group to be associated with and the opportunity to help create a great internet spot for everyone! For information... PetHobbyist.com Volunteer Information and Application Currently featured on the HorseHobbyist message boards:
As always, some of our "hottest spots" are the Ask the Equine Vet and Equestrian Tavern Forums. We hope to see you there!
So many new things are going on at PetHobbyist it's hard to list them all! First and most importantly is the Rescue Network, a not-for-profit endeavor of the PetHobbyist family of websites. It allows rescue groups and shelters to list themselves in a locator where adopters can search by type of animal or by location, as well as an adoption service where groups can post photos and/or information about animals looking for new homes. It also offers webhosting to rescue groups and shelters, as well as banner ads and other forms of publicity for groups' fundraising and PR efforts. And it's all completely, 100 percent free! Be sure to check it out at www.rescuenetwork.org. We've also launched PetPress.net, a website where you can read breaking news about horses and other animals, as well as submit news stories on your own. Businesses can also use the press release feature to register and submit their press releases. We have also created a central area where you can manage your accounts with us, reset your passwords, edit your user profile, or sign up for services such as our Classifieds. Check it out at PetHobbyist Personal Account Manager!
Red stood in the stall quietly munching her hay, but it was obvious that hay was a recent addition to her daily life. Red's coat was dull and rough, and though long, had lost its ability to insulate her body against the cold December day. Her ribs were prominent, even with the winter coat, and her hips' dramatic prominence gave her the appearance of being much older than her 7 years. In the stall next to her, a dark mare who with health would have been a striking black but was instead a dull, damaged brown, sighed as she chewed her hay. Red and the little black mare had not started out with such a poor outlook in life. Nor were these two mares the products of so called "back yard" breeding. Red was the daughter of a World Champion appaloosa stallion; she had been bred, raised and shown successfully as a halter mare. Upon being retired to the breeding shed, she had produced a National champion appaloosa colt and had the makings of a world class broodmare. The little black mare had been born and raised at the famous Crown Center Ranch, her sire being the legendary Impressive Andrew. Both had been considered prime broodmare material, and with the breeding and desired conformation, they were indeed the up and up of the appaloosa world.
That's when the phone call was made to our farm. Red had returned to the farm that bred her, where the people who raised her now feared she would not make the night. She had nearly collapsed coming off the trailer and was the weakest of the six mares that had been taken away from their death beds. Her rescuers feared the worst, and could not get through to their vet so they called us for advice. My husband, who is a veterinarian, and I did what we could over the phone, and gave encouragement and all the educated advice we could muster. Red was stronger than she had looked, and it amazed me as I stood there outside her stall a month later. A month of good food, vet care and love and she still looked like a warmed over skeleton. She wasn't the worst, though, despite being the weakest when they had all arrived. A couple of the other mares had not bounced back as quickly as Red did. They would all survive, but it would be a long time before any looked like the horses they were bred to be.
Summer came and we moved to a larger farm, with more grass than one could shake a stick at. Red and Misfit, along with the other mares, grew fat and slick. Winter hit and despite the snow that stayed on the ground, the hay that was always there for them kept them warm and well-fed. Their winter coats had come in long, thick, and glossy. Such a world of difference between the ones they wore when we picked them up less than a year before! Spring returned, a bit late but here all the same. The grass showed back up, winter coats began coming off in large, billowy clumps and a beautiful chestnut colt arrived just shy of his due date. He doesn't know how close his mom came to never having him.
*Some names and other identifying information have been changed.
The Appaloosa gets its name from the Palouse River country where the name "a Palouse" horse, or "a Palousey" horse, was given to them. The Nez Perce bred selectively, perhaps the only tribe to have done so, from the Spanish stock they acquired. They were prized for their stamina and dependability. When the Nez Perce were finally captured by the U.S. Cavalry, many of the horses were destroyed, and those that were left were bred with draft crosses to further dilute the breed. In 1938 the Appaloosa Horse Club was formed to try to preserve the breed. Select outcrossing allowed the breed to grow from the small foundation stock that had survived. There are four distinct characteristics that Apps carry: Distinctive coat patterns, mottled skin, striped hooves and a white sclera. However, it is not uncommon to have solid colored Appaloosas, even when breeding two loudly colored Apps. Apps are noted for being calm, intelligent and very versatile - you can find them in every sport from racing, endurance, and huntseat, to Western pleasure, cutting, reining, or driving - you name it! Today the Appaloosa Horse Club and its affiliates promote shows and clubs all over the United States, Canada, Germany, Holland, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Spain, Switzerland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, South Africa and New Zealand. Come join us in the Appaloosa Forum or in Appy Chat, the Place to be Spotted, every Tuesday night from 9-11 PM Eastern Time!
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Hello! I sincerely hope that everyone is able to get out and enjoy some of the fall weather. I know here in NY, we've had some beautiful days, as well as a few rather wet ones with some of that white stuff here and there.
Life changed for them one fateful year. It happened when a man we'll call Roger* felt it was time to change his small breeding farm and go for the "big money." With the help of a silent partner, he bought up several well-bred mares and another stallion and started down a road that had a lot of bumps and gulleys. Now, some people can take that road and come out the better for it, but some people go about navigating those gulleys in all the wrong ways. Things began to fall apart when Roger lost his job. Too proud to admit he needed help, he struggled on, ignoring the ribs and hungry faces of the ones who could do no more than survive on what they could find in their small pasture. Horses that are starving will eat things they would otherwise never touch, so when Roger tried to make do with old, rotten hay the mares ate - and many died. Those that did not die became deathly ill, and lost the foals they carried. It was at this point that the silent partner, who was not a horse person in the least but knew something was wrong, turned to someone he knew for help.
Red and the little black mare, who we dubbed Misfit because she had no white on her to speak of and stood out in our field of colored appaloosas, came home with us. With a continuous supply of hay and feed, they began to put weight on. At first, it seemed we'd never get their ribs back under flesh, and their coats were so rough they felt like burlap. But with spring came summer coats, which took on a shine and gloss that matched their sparkling eyes. Red had put on enough weight by late spring that the vet deemed it safe to go ahead and try to breed her. It was amazing to see that little life in the ultrasound screen when it seemed so short a time ago Red had been so close to death.
Red and Misfit both had shiney coats this summer that did not lose their sheen when their winter coats grew in. Misfit is a glossy black, healthy, content and carrying her first foal. Red's coat is burnished copper, sleek over the belly where her next foal is growing. It's scary to think how close these two mares came to not being here, especially now that I can't imagine them not being out there with my other mares, contently munching. I have to wonder sometimes if they remember. I think they do. 
Perhaps its only my imagination but sometimes I think their soft nickers at feed time are more of a "thank you" and less of the demanding "feed me" that the mares I've had since babies and have never known hunger give me. Only they know for sure. All I know is that its a mighty warm feeling to go to bed at night knowing they are content and happy.
