Another fabulous mare

This is Kiltowra Glee. She is by Windgap Hero out of Blazer Girl Two by Knocknagow. She is definitely somewhere in the top ten. I would love to see more Windgap Hero in the background of today's Irish Draughts. I've never seen a photo of him but the bloodlines look to be worth seeking out.

Aoife

I haven't gotten any video of the 2009 crop. My video camera is on the fritz. My sister Pat helped my out with 2 of the babies this past weekend. We took Aoife and Calum to Wolf Ridge Farm and borrowed their arena for a short time.




Aoife is very traditional -- more like her Grandma Matilda than her Momma Grania.

Response to question from a reader - Part 2 of 2 parts

I've rewritten this post five times. I hope that the thoughts that I have put into written words are clear and coherent.

"Greetings, I have recently discovered the Irish Draught. My interest in the horse "To Be True" has led me to "Mountain Pearl" I watched his video and am smitten. I have been raising foundation bred quarter horses for almost 30 years and did not miss your comment on the "Irish Draught" being beyond saving. As a someone who has recently become aware of this obviously fantastic breed I say I sure hope not. I would like to know how tall "Tristan" is. And also how much his stud fee is and why you have chosen a smaller draught. (Also my interest)"

It’s very interesting that as a breeder of foundation bred quarter horses that you would also be attracted to the Irish draught. I much prefer the foundation Quarter Horse to the modern version. The current belief is that the quarter horse and the ID have a common ancestor in the Irish Hobby horse. I can see the similarities. I think that some of the old time quarter horses can easily be mistaken for IDs.

One of the main complaints of current ID preservationists is the fact that the breed is losing bone. I admit to being one of these people and have loudly lamented the loss. I have been thinking about this for a long time now and my viewpoint has evolved from the oversimplification of concerns about the homogenization of the breed.

As a child I remember some of the old timers (around here that means quarter horse folks), talking about the amount of bone necessary for the QH. The number bandied about the most was 8 inches. In thinking back on this, on the surface it seems like a very small number. However, if you take into consideration the usual smaller stature (14.3 to 15.1 or 15.2 hh) of the QH at that time, then 8 inches is a plausible number. Between the photos and actual horses I’ve seen the QH had shorter cannon bones in the good old days as well.

I’ve recently spent time looking at photos of the Irish Draughts before the modernization of the breed. These horses really don’t appear to have immense amounts of bone. What they do exhibit is good quality bone (clean and flat), short cannon bones and a smaller stature. My current theory about the destruction of the Irish Draught developed from what happened when the breed was “modernized”. The “modern” Irish Draught has a much different center of balance than the traditional Irish Draught. The legs are longer, the heart girth is smaller, the necks are warmbloody and the total height has exploded. BTW: I have modern in quotes because what folks call the modern Irish Draught isn’t really an Irish Draught IMO. As legs and horses get longer and taller the bone will in all probability remain the same. So in actuality, the bone is not shrinking but its substance most definitely is. A 15.1 hh horse with 8.5 inches of bone has lots more substance and strength than a 16.3 hh horse with 8.5 inches of bone. It also goes without saying that the cannon bones will increase in length as the horse gets taller which also reduces the support and strength of the legs.

Today, I looked at the breed standard on the Irish Draught Horse Society (Ireland) website and it currently states the following:
Stallions: 15.2 h.h. to 17 h.h. / 159 cms. to 174 cms.
Mares: 15.1 h.h. to 16.3 h.h. / 155.5 cms. to 171.5 cms.
This height variation is acceptable when Irish Draught type is evident

Our young RID mare Ellie (Padi’s Classic Elegance) measured 14.3 hh at her inspection. I haven’t measured her since then. If you stand back and look at her you would guess that she is much taller than that. This is no illusion however. She has short cannons bones and a large heart girth placing her low to the ground and she is extremely amiable.

Here at Fox Hollow Sport Horses we breed the traditional type of Irish Draught. This means that we select for the traits necessary to produce a smaller horse with a large heart girth, short cannon bones, strong constitution, and as the standard states “intelligent and gentle nature and is noted for its docile temperament, sense and trainability”. We select for all of these traits, but our priority has always been for the Irish Draught temperament. We strive to produce this intelligence, good sense and trainability in our sport horses as well, but in a more refined, and athletic package. The Irish Draught sport horse is the performance horse and the purebred Irish Draught is its foundation.

And finally, you inquired about Tristan. Our young RID stallion Regalia Prince Arthur (Tristan) is 15.3 hh with substantial bone, excellent temperament, large heart girth and as the inspectors noted, in a few years he will be a powerful animal exhibiting the traditional Irish Draught traits.

Banner

Two good looking lads

We have Padi's Classic Brogue "Brody" on the left. On the right is Padi's Granite Partner "Kieran".

Calum

I was looking through some newer photos that I hadn't gotten around to yet and found this one. This boy is so wonderful in every way. He's very quick and handy. He ought to be a dynamite eventer. And dear Aoife is displaying her queenly behavior. She is less 'uppity' than she was early on -- getting better day after day. She is without a doubt a show stopper though. These two will definitely make a couple of people very happy indeed

Final weaning

This past Sunday, we picked up Maggie, Brian, Alanna and Banner from the pasture down the road and brought them home. Brian and Banner joined Calum and Aoife. It was uneventful -- tons of mud from the 3 1/2 inches of rain we had gotten a few days before. Brian is pretty darn chunky and Banner looked a lot like her 1/2 sister Lia which surprised me. Everybody's home (except Tristan of course who lives at Sarah's place).

Response to question from a reader - Part 1 of ? parts

"Greetings, I have recently discovered the Irish Draught. My interest in the horse "To Be True" has led me to "Mountain Pearl" I watched his video and am smitten. I have been raising foundation bred quarter horses for almost 30 years and did not miss your comment on the "Irish Draught" being beyond saving. As a someone who has recently become aware of this obviously fantastic breed I say I sure hope not. I would like to know how tall "Tristan" is. And also how much his stud fee is and why you have chosen a smaller draught. (Also my interest)"


Welcome to the joy of the Irish Draught horse! To Be Sure is a fabulous example of the TB/ID cross -- he picked up the best of both breeds. In the past this cross was often called the Irish Hunter but these days I think the term Irish Draught Sport Horse is more descriptive and probably more accurate. Mountain Pearl makes it very easy to become smitten by the breed and by Himself of course. He is the ideal ambassador for the breed and has many fans worldwide. Most of his fans have never actually seen him in the flesh so I find this even more remarkable.

I am not an objective observer of course but I think Mountain Pearl is as close to perfect as a horse can be. He is easy to be around and to deal with. He dutifully takes care of the novices that have ridden him and wowed the professionals that were lucky enough to catch a ride on him. Mountain Pearl arrived in the States late fall of 1997 and sometime in 1998 I crawled onto his back. He hadn't been ridden since his performance test in 1993 (I think that's the date) and I hadn't ridden for years and was recovering from multiple surgeries earlier in the year. He took it all in stride and it seemed impossible that no one had ridden him for five years or so. The only thing I would fault Mountain Pearl for is his height. 17.1 hh is too tall for pretty much all horses and it's especially too big for an Irish Draught. I refer to an excellent article about horses and size. Although I have been unable to locate the article online, you should be able to locate a copy through your local library. If they don't carry the magazine they should be able to provide you with a copy through their interlibrary loan program.

Barakat, Christine. "Why Size Matters." Equus, October 2007, Issue 361, pp. 36-42

Mountain Pearl

Mountain Pearl is 20 years old this year (2009) so I thought I'd share a photo of him as a yearling.

Additionally, Eddie and Cathy Meehan in Ireland shared a video of Mountain Pearl at play as a 2 year... oops I mean 20 year old stallion Here's the link for that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtS9NP8Su3o

Regalia Prince Arthur RID aka Tristan

October 11, 2009 Central region Inspections
Inspectors : Oliver Fleming and Noel Collins

Head - 4 out of 5
Neck - 4 out of 5
Shoulders & withers - 16 out of 20
Body - 15 out of 20
Topline - 16 out of 20
Hindquarters - 16 out of 20
Forelimbs & feet - 20 out of 25
Hindlimbs & hocks - 20 out of 25
Presence - 16 out of 20
Pedigree - 18 out of 20

MOVEMENT
Forelimbs - 18 out of 25
Hindlimbs - 18 out of 25
Athleticism - 42 out of 50
Temperament - 20 out of 20

Points - 243 out of 300

Another top notch mare

Colman's Gift

Colman's Gift RID is by Colman RID out of May Queen 2 RID by Blue Peter RID
What was that someone said about Colman stock?

YEA!!!!!!

I've had a weight lifted off my shoulders. I decided long ago that I'd stop when it wasn't any fun anymore. Well it''s not fun any more so the time has come. The breed is beyond help at this point anyway -- only a handful of people worldwide are breeding real Irish Draughts. I've provided many people with great horses and that was my goal from the beginning. One of Sarah's good friends and I had an interesting talk a few months ago. We talked about good horses and what made them good. We ended up concluding that a good horse took care of novices but provided exciting rides for the more experienced riders. The other kind of horse took advantage of novices. The real Irish draught was always a good horse. The Irish Draughts that are being bred now are the other kind.
I wish the best of luck to the two Irish Draught breeders in the USA that are still true to the breed.

The big day nears

I am stressed and apprehensive with the inspections a few short days away. People ask me what I'm going to do if Tristan fails the inspection. That is easy to answer but it brings up the question of what am I going to do with him if he passes. Not so easy to answer. There is a lot of dirty, nasty baggage that goes along with breeding Irish Draughts. It's a topic that could be discussed for hours and hours and hours and hours but in the end is meaningless. It all boils down to something very simple. Do you believe in the traditional Irish Draught or not and what are you willing to withstand to preserve the Irish Draught type? I haven't come up with a definitive answer on that yet.

Mare identification

Pink Carnation RID by Goleen RID out of White Carnation RID by Merrion RID

This is my number one RID mare that I've seen in the flesh or in photos. Unfortunately we don't make them like this anymore.

Mare identification

Okay -- I know, I know. I may be barn blind but I don't think that's the entire reason that I include her on this list. I have had any number of Irish ID breeders who have commented about her. Anyway -- it's my list so I guess I can include her if I want to. :-D I loved this mare and I know she is irreplaceable. Her pedigree is:

Heathercombe Cousin Rachel RID by Fintan Himself RID out of Heathercombe Forest Glade RID by Coosheen Liam RID

photo courtesy of Liz Freeman

Mare identification

This is Doon Princess RID at the age of 23. She is by Cornamona RID out of Windgap Star Two RID by Windgap Hero RID

Kieran

Young Kieran gave us a scare this morning. He didn't come up for hay with the other boys. Bruce & I were out looking for him with flashlights. My first thought was that he had been struck by lightning but then I realilzed that it hadn't stormed since last night when he was present and accounted for. Bruce spotted his wide white blaze behind the back fence. Kieran had somehow gotten on the other side of the fence in the timber. Between the timber and the fence were a lot of brambles. Stomping my way through the brambles to put a halter on him and then try to lead him through the thorns was interesting to say the least. Bruce cut the fence so that we could get over it. We checked him over in the light from the flashlights and saw nothing amiss so we let him go to tell his buddies all about his ordeal.

More news about the boy

He's on BBC too!!!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8280511.stm

Mountain Pearl grandchild big WINNER!

Link and photo:
http://www.irishsporthorse.com/news/drumiller_lough_ish_and_captain_david_o__8217_brien_irl_take_silver_medal_at_lanaken.496.1829.newsint.html

Horse Sport Ireland reports:

Drumiller Lough (ISH) & Captain David O’Brien (Irl) take Silver Medal at Lanaken
In a spectacular finish, Capt. David O’Brien (Irl) and Drumiller Lough (ISH) took the Silver Medal at the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses at Lanaken, Belgium, where over 700 horses competed.
From a massive start-list of 242 horse-and-rider combinations, two faultless rounds in the qualifier classes ensured that Army Equitation School rider Capt. David O'Brien made it through to the Six year-Old World Final with the Minister for Defence's bay gelding Drumiller Lough (ISH) and came home less than two seconds behind the Gold Medal winner, Germany's Christian Ahlmann and 'Charles 56', in a 15-horse jump-off.
Comdt. John Ledingham, Irish Chef d'Equipe at Lanaken, said: "I believe Drumiller Lough (ISH) is one of the nicest horses to come out of Ireland, and is certainly now a live contender to represent the country in show jumping at the 2012 London Olympics. The combination gave a fantastic Silver Medal winning performance today, at a Six Year-Old World Championships that had over 240 starters. It is an amazing achievement."
The Irish Sport Horse, by Heartbreaker (KWPN) out of Pearl Diver (ISH), by Mountain Pearl (RID) was bred by Paul Dillon of Markethill, Co. Armagh.

Equus magazine #385 October 2009

I do intend to tell you the names and breeding of the mares in the last post but I ran across something of interest first. I feel that to a great extent it echoes my recent thoughts.
Deb Bennett PhD writes (emphasis is mine) :

More peple than ever own horses , but few of them grew up with large livestock. The diversity of equestrian activities has continued to increase, sometimes without accompanying knowledge of how to select a good horse or properly prepare him for what is expected of him. Fads for color, massiveness or extremes of refinement or muscularity now dominate some sectors of the industry in a way that they could never have done in a day when the main expectations for a horse were honest hard work and continuing soundness.

Yet, when it comes right down to it, having a sound, happy, long-lived horse that performs reliably and well is still what most horse owners want. It's time, we think, to bring back the conformation column.

My pick for top Three RID mares

Jasper

Yesterday we said goodbye to Jasper. He went to his new home where he will be partnering with a mother and daughter. The emphasis will be dressage but he'll be doing whatever else they might decide to do in the future. What's that word again? Oh yeah - Versatility

Mountain Pearl grandson

The FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses will take place from 24th to 27th September 2009 in Lanaken, Belgium. Drumiller Lough (ISH) & Capt. David O'Brien are one of the horse/rider combinations selected to represent the Irish Sport Horse Stud Book.

Drumiller Lough (ISH)
Age: 2003
Colour: Bay
Sex: Gelding
Sire: Heartbreaker (KWPN)
Dam: Pearl Diver (ISH)
Dam Sire: Mountain Pearl (RID)
Breeder: Paul Dillon, 23 Ballyvalley Road, Loughgilly, Markethill, Co. Armagh
Owner: Minister for Defence
Rider: Capt. David O’Brien

Newest thoughts

Okay we've experienced the coolest July on record and then August was the wettest August on record. It appears that hay is going to be difficult to find and pay for. I certainly don't need two winters in a row like that. Sigh

When we got home from work yesterday we found young Kieran on the wrong side of the fence. No gates were open so the only way was up and over. We couldn't find the spot where he went over though. He did have a few minor scrapes but otherwise seemed fine. If is isn't one thing it's another. ;-)

Calum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI-PmYysFrE

We managed to get some video of Calum. Usually when a camera is around the horses suddenly get calm and lazy and just stand around. He's quite the lad -- I hope I can get a good photo of him one of these days.

Brody and Spider

Thus far, keeping Brody and Spider entire has not been a problem. I expect that the time will come when the farm can no longer function with 2 entire colts taking up space close mares in heat. I did not breed any of my mares this year so things have been a good test so far. The most pressing problem as usual is space. I have 4 foals to wean in the next month or two and I'm really not sure where to put them. The colts are in the usual weanling field. I separated the colts and gelding about a month ago because the colts were getting thin. The overbearing geldings ate more quickly, finished their own dinners and then took the colts. It will be impossible to keep the colts and geldings separate once the foals return. It's good to have something to worry about I guess.

Saturday

We had Tristan work on his free jumping on Saturday. We didn't have enough people to (wo)man the free jumping chute as well as take photos so I the only have photos that I have are from before and after the workout. He did a wonderful job. We set it up outside for the first time and he seemed to like that better than in the arena. He is a great little guy. I particularly like the fact that he cannot be mistaken for anything other than what he is -- an Irish Draught.

Miracle

I'm a very proud parent. I received a call from the owner of my beloved Rachel's filly Pearls of Faith aka Miracle. Miracle was born in 2005 and is quite a remarkable filly. She is being ridden regularly and is thoroughly enjoyed by her new family. At the tender age of 4, it appears that she has already become the mount for the timid, never ridden before riders. She began this new career last weekend. Her owner is thrilled to pieces and I have to admit to the same.

Miracle is a wonderful example of the genuine Irish Draught. It is the temperament, bone and type that make an Irish Draught. She is the epitome of all the traits that I am breeding for in my program. She's traditional - small, short shinned, close coupled, good bone/height ratio with the "how can I please you" attitude. She has the wonderful temperament that Mountain Pearl has consistently passed on to his stock and at four years of age who knows what her future holds or where her true talent lies.

I just had to take a moment and pat myself on the back for breeding Mountain Pearl and Rachel. I also have to kick myself once again for selling her in utero because had I waited until after her birth she would never have left my farm. On the bright side, her new family have agreed to allow me to breed her next year so that I may have a foal out of her (start praying for a bay filly already folks and pray hard).

Saturday

Saturday proved to be cloudy and cool (for July). I was somewhat productive. I pulled Conor, Maggie and Neela's manes. I shortened Neela's just a little bit because I wasn't sure how much Shannon and Alicia wanted off. She definitely looks better with a short, thinner mane.

I also took a few photos of baby Calum. He's extremely talented -- he can jump air!

Ideal day

Monday the 13th was a fantastic day. The weather was reasonable for July and we had some visitors from Texas here to see all the critters. It’s my favorite kind of day. I took a day of vacation and spent it talking about horses in general and Irish Draughts in particular. Who could ask for more? It’s this kind of day that reminds me why I do all of this horsey stuff in the first place. Wooo-weee!
(The rest of the week not so grand – hence the delay in writing this short piece up for the blog)

Padi's Classic Banner

By Silver Granite out of Loguestown Classic (Annaghdown Star x Loahean x Lahinch)

Cleaning day

Cleaning day was not too bad and it was great to finally see Sarah's new place. It's very nice and in a quiet location. There's still lots to do but we made good progress today. I'm looking forward to the move now that I've been there.

Big move

Just a few more hours until the start of the big 3 day holiday. It's a big weekend for the trainer Sarah & her Wolf Ridge Farm. Sarah has found her own place for a training barn. She won't have to arrange her training schedule around a large boarding stables schedule or deal with multiple types of riding in one arena - no reining while trying to teach a half-pass or some such thing. And she'll be able to jump at any time she wants to -- no reserving the arena weeks ahead of time for jumping.

Tomorrow is clean up day at the new barn. I haven't been there yet so I don't know what I'm getting myself into. It may be quick or it may be tedious. I'll be able to tell you more afterwards. Then the day after tomorrow all the horses and equipment at Crystal Creek get moved to the new Wolf Ridge Farm. It's exciting news. Carol would have been very proud of her "adopted" daughter Sarah.

I am expecting Tristan to move smoothly. Fingers crossed. And Jasper of course will be the trooper he always is. That boy is one remarkable horse.

And then Sunday, I'm hoping for good weather because I'd like to take some more photos of the babies and young boys. I really need to get Una & Conor spruced up for new "portraits" as well. I worked on Una for a while last weekend. Her mane is pulled and she's had a bath. I'll have to start from scratch with Conor though....

A very welcome Cold Front

The foals down the road were happy tonight when I visited. The 90+ high humidity weather finally broke and we were cooler with lots of wind. This made the foals a bit frisky. Since I was by myself I had to watch so that they didn't run into me so the photos aren't that great but here's a few starting with Aoife as the leader of the pack and ending with poor Banner's temporary but very motley appearance.

The motley one :-D

Nothing noteworthy really

I haven't posted for a little while as there has been a dearth of items to mention. Because I'm a native Iowan, the weather always comes up in any conversation. It originates from it's status as a farm state. The farmers always talk about the weather and I will guarantee that the weather that we are experiencing is the wrong weather for the farmers. It's too wet to plant or we didn't get enough moisture, or it's too dry etc. So I have to say that my propensity for bringing up the weather is inborn. That said, I will tell you that it has been very oppressive here the past few days. The kind of days where you're wet within a minute or two of movement. We actually turned our air conditioner on last night which we are normally too cheap to do.

Anyway, enough of that. Aoife, aspiring princess, has learned that she has to share the human with her peers. She can not push, nudge, kick or in any other way the other foals in order to hog the human's attention. She waits very patiently now while Banner and Brian get their scratches and rubs and then is thrilled when it is her turn. She is quite a character. I'm very pleased that Brian has decided that humans aren't so bad after all and that they can scratch places he can't reach by himself. Banner is adorable and she's starting to grow into her body - looking like a genuine Irish Draught.

Calum is going to make someone exceedingly happy. He is ravishing when he struts his stuff. A couple of nights ago his sister Una decided it was time to run around and buck and kick. That of course got everybody going (except Portia who is above that kind of thing when she's in charge) and they were having a great time. I wish I had my camera because Calum was extraordinary -- he had incredible presence and you couldn't take your eyes off of him. He's a lovely young guy.

Tidbits

Everyone's settled in very nicely. For all the gray Irish Draught fans, Aoife is going gray. I realized that Brian and Calum each have a harem at the moment. Brian has Maggie mom, Alanna, Banner, Grania and Aoife. Calum has Portia mom, Ellie, Neela and Una. Brian, the stand-off, independent young colt is coming up to me asking for attention now. He has discovered that he likes to be scratched. Aoife and Banner are actually arguing over which one of them I am going to scratch. The ones down the road are thoroughly enjoying the time down the road with the endless grass (so far), the stream and the hill.

Horse breeding is an art

I am very troubled about the future of the Irish Draught. There is no agreement within the different factions about what an Irish Draught is much less what it should be. Without a vision to work toward there is only chaos, ineptitude and animosity. While the infighting continues, the Irish Draught loses vital bloodlines and traditional traits every year. As humans, we seem to be unable to leave something alone, we have to "improve" it. The lovely ID is quickly losing its uniqueness and charm and hence its intrinsic value. Let's not force all horses into some homogenized warmblood template. Diversity is the key here.

Over the years. countless people have contacted me about the Irish Draught and the conversation has turned to their dissatisfaction with the continental warmbloods. It goes something like this. "They are just too darn hard to motivate" and "no fun to ride". Or they "have invested a small fortune in them" only to have them break down to become expensive lawn ornaments...or they "just can't ride the extravagant movement". My philosophy is that first and foremost, a horse should be easy to handle and fun to ride. If you can't enjoy riding the horse or you can only ride it safely in an enclosed arena what's the point? Who wants a horse that only a professional or advanced amateur can ride? I can attest to the fact that no one has ever contacted me and asked for a horse that isn't sound and is difficult to get along with.

The continental warmbloods have been very strict with their acceptance standards for their breeding stock and seem to have had a particular focus on movement for dressage. Over the years, I've often spoken about my thoughts about inspections and the resulting numbers on a piece of paper. I think I've even inspired others to use the same idea in various arguments. What I see in the warmbloods is an increasing emphasis on one trait with the resulting loss of temperament and soundness. That one trait is movement. The most outspoken Irish Draught breeders are falling into the same trap and the result is beginning to show with less bone and more difficult temperaments becoming evident in the Irish Draught.

The newest plan for saving the Irish Draught involves the suggestion of utilizing a rating system that has been successful on livestock. I personally see little of value in this idea for a couple of reasons.

Number one: The end result is merely more numbers on a sheet of paper and
Number two: I'm not breeding livestock. I'm breeding companion animals and partners in riding adventures. The traits necessary to attain this result are intangible.
Number three: The goal of the system is to "improve" the breed.

From my point of view, there isn't ever going to be a good workable plan for the simple reason that breeding horses is an art and you can't quantify art. As soon as you forget this fact, you've already lost the fight.

Recommended reading:

The Old Sort: of Connemaras and Sweet Corn by Caroline Nesbitt www.creativenonfiction.org/thejournal/articles/issue12/12nesbitt_theoldsort.htm

If the link doesn't work, either cut and paste the URL or use the links section to the left of these blog entries.

Home pasture

After Alanna and Banner's move, we consolidated the young girls with Portia and Calum. We thought there might be a huge fuss with Portia fighting tooth and nail to keep the girls away from Calum but it didn't happen. All went smoothly and everyone is getting along really well.
Below are a couple of photos of the yearling sport horse filly Neela showing off and one photo of little Calum.

Banner & Alanna move to the other pasture

Alanna and Banner have joined Maggie & Brian and Grania & Aoife in the pasture down the road. There was a lot of running around and neighing but they had all settled down again by the time we left them.

Blarney

I have to confess that I spend very little to no time on The Blarney these days. Therefore, I almost missed the neat little story by Vicki Buckrop and her herd which includes some Pearls. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to be told that it was in there. I dug it out of the pile I had placed it in and sure enough just looking at the cover I hit my forehead and said "duh". I knew that Bruce and Vicki went out west riding but I wasn't aware of just how wonderfully picturesque it was. I'm really pleased that they shared their adventures. Their purebred ID Moose looked right at home with the cattle. Versatility? You bet!

Footwear

Okay folks. Contrary to the rumors, I was not barefooted when I parted with my toenail. But I wasn't wearing steel toed boots either.

Moving to the rented pasture

Bruce and I decided to transfer the mares to the pasture yesterday. Grania and Aoife were both very cooperative -- the jumped into the trailer enthusiastically. We tried Portia and Calum next. Portia was in one of her pissy thoroughbred moods and wouldn't load even with Calum already in the trailer. She and I had a disagreement which resulted in a cut ankle for her and I had a toenail ripped off. It was a delightful couple of hours. She is being extremely sweet today of course. Grrrrrrrrrrr. It was late in the day at this point but we didn't want to leave Grania and Aoife alone so we popped Maggie and Brian in the trailer and deposited them with the other two. Bruce worked today and it's going to rain tomorrow so Alanna and Banner are still here. They will go down the road as well at the first opportunity. I had originally planned to keep Maggie and Brian here at home (there's only room for 3 mares and foals in the pasture) but Portia needs medication and wrapping for awhile so she gets to stay at home. Alas -- the best laid plans.

Here's a few photos of Aoife showing off her fabulous engine and Brian looking sharp.

More Mountain Dove thoughts

In the last post I neglected to mention a few things. Mountain Dove was bred by Elizabeth Deane of County Cork Ireland. The photo of her as a grey late term pregnant mare was taken by Kitty Kabatt. The other two photos of her were courtesy of John Lyons. I must mention that I was particularly impressed by her Elm Hill filly. She was most definitely her best offspring up to this point anyway.

RID mares

The recent deaths of Opium Poppy and my Rachel got me thinking about Irish Draught mares. One mare that immediately came to mind is Mountain Dove. She came to the USA from Elizabeth Deane's place and is currently in John Lyons' hands. She is by Mountain View and out of a Dove II mare called Grey Dove and was born in 1991. When I start looking at pedigrees, I always lament the paucity of mare photos. Or maybe it's not a paucity but simply that photos are unavailable. What did Grey Dove look like? I'll include a few photos that I have of Mountain Dove. None of the photos really do her justice but she definitely has some really good Irish Draught characteristics. I am a sucker for the short cannon bones and a deep heartgirth. Ideally, she would have longer ears. She has a great outlook and I suspect her eyes are large and gentle. She is a substantial quality mare, a type that you are unlikely to see in the Irish Draught shows.

A few happy thoughts

I received the IDHS NA registration booklets for my 2007 and 2008 stock! They are a very nice quality, an upgrade from the previous booklets. It was a really nice surprise. My only wish is that the IDHS NA would decide to make serving their membership a top priority. If they vowed to have registrations out in 5 to 6 weeks instead of the 5 1/2 to 16 months that I had to wait, it would be a huge step forward in improving the public face of the organization.

Also, Fox Hollow is again able to lease the pasture down the road for the summer. We had lost it a few years back. I'm thrilled. It has plenty of room for wandering, a creek and a steep hill for the babies to strengthen their bones and muscles. It's a lovely spot - ideal for young'uns. Yeeeee haw!

Equine color genetics

I told myself that the next time I got to Ireland I was going to visit John McCarthy and have a long, long talk with him. I wanted to here him talk about the Irish Draught and what it was and what he thought the future for the breed was -- just anything I could get him to talk about. Unfortunately, Mr. McCarthy died before I got to Ireland again and I've bee kicking myself ever since then. What does this have to do with color genetics you ask? Good question! Actually very little as you shall see.

The topic of Cork Arthur and his color(s) has been on my mind a good 10 to 15 years. I know a lot of other people have conjectured about what dilution genes he might or might not have. The palomino foal that I know that he sired was out of Killawalla Blondie so I was pretty sure that the cream gene came from the mare. However, there have been a number of odd colored horses by him -- buttermilk color and the like so I felt that it certainly was possible as a long shot. I got to thinking that the way I was going, Cork Arthur would be dead and gone before I got around to finding the truth out so I kicked myself into gear. I had him tested for the cream dilution and the pearl dilution but not the champagne dilution. There was no evidence at all that the Irish Draught has the champagne dilution. The new pearl dilution was a possibility since the origins of the ID include the Spanish breeds. I did not test him for dun zygosity because you need hair from one or both parents and I was relatively sure that he only had one dun gene.

I obtained hair from Cork Arthur and sent it to the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory for testing. Here we go...

Cork Arthur is:

Red factor e/e - Only the red factor detected. Basic color is sorrel or chestnut in the absence of other modifying genes

Agouti A/A - Black pigment distributed in points pattern. Basic color is bay or brown in the absence of other modifying genes

Cream dilution N/N - No evidence for the Cream dilution altered sequence detected. Basic color is sorrel or chestnut, bay or black in the absence of other modifying genes

Pearl dilution N/N - No evidence of altered sequence detected


So we all know now. That subject can be put to rest now.

Portia's boy

Portia's little boy has not cooperated yet in posing nicely for photos. He is much nicer than any photo I've taken of him show. Let's hope things improve in the near future. He doe have a name now though. His name is Calum. It seems to fit him very well

Heathercombe Cousin Rachel 1999-2009

Rachel's condition was worsening rather quickly and she was suffering so I decided that it was time for her to go to pastures that are always green and the sky is always blue. It was a very painful decision but it was without a doubt a good one.

Rachel came to us as a yearling. She was from Heathercombe Irish Draughts in Somerset England. As I recall she was very brash, pushy and opinionated. She was not always pleasant to be around. As she matured her true self came through and she grew up to be the most dedicated and sweet horse I think I've been around. She always had a nicker and a nuzzle when you arrived. She adored motherhood -- she was at her best with a foal by her side. When she didn't have a foal and Alanna did then she would protect Alanna and her foal from the big ole' meany Maggie et al. When neither she or Alanna were with a foal, Rachel determined that it was her job to keep everyone away from Alanna and clear her way.

Rachel is survived by her daughter Pearls of Faith and her son Padi's Colman Select both sired by Mountain Pearl and by all of us who grieve for her here at Fox Hollow. Farewell Sweet Rachel.

Here's Rachel one year apart -- a familiar pose early on.

Versatility

I got to thinking. Things are really working out well. Having Jess work with Tristan shows that good riders are good riders regardless of the discipline. The horsemanship part of it and the basics are the same. We all have more similarities than differences. The goal is to learn and improve ourselves and our relationship with our horses. I think it also is an excellent example of the versatility of the Irish Draught. Before her surgery, Sarah had done his early ground work and was preparing to mount. Her surgery interfered and Jess could just take up where Sarah had ended. I think it's really amazing.

Weekend

It was a great weekend. Weather was fabulous (still a little muddy from rains during the week). Pat visited on Saturday and we spent time helping the yearlings shed their winter coats. Their hair was finally letting go. We managed to remove the mud balls that had collected on their bellies and got lots & lots of hair off. We did'nt swallow too terribly much of it. They are still not camera ready but look so much better.

Sunday I was able to watch Jess ride Tristan. The last time was from the video that I managed to put up on here a few days ago. Mr. Tristan is progressing very nicely. I'm very pleased. Sarah was also there and she was also very pleased with the progress.