FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2005

The February American Quarter Horse Journal is out, and features several good cutting horse stories. This is our annual cutting horse edition, and inside are two really excellent training stories from AQHA Professional Horsemen Tim Smith and Bill Riddle.

Smith’s article, written by freelancer Tracy Gantz, deals with selecting the right cattle and getting your horse shown. But Smith also points out that riders shouldn’t forget about showmanship.

Gantz writes that, “Good showmanship begins the moment you step into the ring. Smith likens it to the opening scene of a movie.

“‘When I’m sitting there judging,’ Smith said, ‘if a person walks up there real smooth, cuts his cow quiet, gets his hand low and gets his horse on the cow, I’ll sit up and think, ‘Hey, maybe we have something here.’ And then if the next person comes in and they chase cows all over, that obviously makes a negative imprint on the judge.’”

Riddle’s training article, written with Candace Dobson, details how to introduce a young cutting prospect to cattle:

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a great cutting horse. It takes time, patience and the right combination of basic skills and proper training. Every great performance horse must have a good foundation before you can fine-tune in any discipline. When it comes to cutting, this foundation includes being able to stop, turning off the hind end and developing a good sense of how and when to move with cattle.”

Riddle points out that before horses are started on cattle they “must be broke, but not over bridled. You don’t want his chin tucked to his chest. You want your horse’s head to be free so his shoulders will move.

“Be able to move your horse with your legs and feet. Your horse has to be flexible and soft. Make sure he can bend both directions and give you what you ask for without much resistance.

“The horse must be able to stop. If a horse wants to stop, half the battle is over.”

If you are a subscriber, you can read these stories and more online by clicking here. If you want to subscribe, click here.

GBED Test Now Available

Breeders have a new tool to combat glycogen branching enzyme deficiency. Through the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, a genetic test is available that will enable breeders to test their mares and stallions for the fatal foal disease.

Discovered by researchers at the University of Minnesota, GBED is a genetic disorder that causes abortions, stillborn foals and early foal death in American Quarter Horses and related breeds. No foal diagnosed with the disease has lived longer than 18 weeks.

The disease is caused by an autosomal recessive gene, which means the sire and dam must carry the gene and pass it to their offspring before the disease can be expressed in a foal. The UC-Davis genetic test will allow breeders to determine whether the mare and stallion in a particular breeding are carriers of the disease. To prevent losing any foals to GBED, breeders should not breed carriers to carriers.

To have your stallion or mare tested, visit www.vgl.ucdavis.edu and download the GBED testing form. Send the form, along with 20-30 pulled mane or tail hairs from your horse, along with the $50 testing fee to UC-Davis.

For more information about GBED, read “The Foal Factor” from the June 2004 issue of the Journal or click here

One Dose of WNV Vaccine Might Control Outbreaks

A Colorado State University study found that a horse might have the ability to fight off West Nile virus less than a month after receiving a single-dose vaccination against the disease. The challenge study tested an equine WNV Recombinant vaccine 26 days after immunization and found that the treated horses resisted infection.

The results are particularly important for horse owners and veterinarians in areas prone to sudden natural WNV outbreaks, where early immunity could mean the difference between life and death for horses. Quick immunization can help protect horses previously unvaccinated for WNV, horses with unknown vaccination histories, and young foals during unexpected WNV outbreaks.

Study results showed that eight of the nine inoculated horses were protected from infection (viremia) within 26 days of vaccination, while eight of the 10 control horses developed viremia (clinical signs of disease were observed in one control horse which transiently had a fever). By Day 33 of the study, an antibody response was seen in the vaccinated horses.

However, the researchers still recommend for maximum protection, it is important to follow label instructions and give the horse two initial priming doses.

Horses Thefts in Tennessee

There’s been a rash of horse thefts in the Clarksville, Tennessee area. On December 31, four horses in this area came up missing. And another three disappeared a few days later in nearby Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

In a (Clarksville) Leaf-Chronicle story, reporter Chantal Escoto writes that Tammy Jordan arrived at the place where she boarded her 21-year-old Quarter Horse, Mister, to find him missing.

“‘The fence was cut in three places,’ Jordan said. ‘I had Mister for 20 years. My dad sold a truck to buy him. He is part of the family. He is a very loving horse.’”

Also missing in Clarksville was a red roan Quarter Horse, an Appaloosa and a Paint.

What worries Jordan and other horse owners is that someone can steal a horse, fabricate paperwork and sell the animal at an auction.

The missing local horses have been reported stolen to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

''‘The victim needs to notify as many stockyards and people in the industry to get the word out,’ Thomas said. '’When we get involved in a case, we send out a flier to horse and cattle markets statewide. We also notify the surrounding states.’”

— Tonya Ratliff-Garrison

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2005

The great cutting horse sire Docs Stylish Oak passed away on January 18 after suffering a heart attack.

The 1984 bay stallion had moved last fall from California, where he had stood since 1998, to Joe Landers Equine Breeding Facility in Weatherford, Texas. 

Docs Stylish Oak died of a heart attack on January 18. He was 21 years old.

“The owners, Peter and Nora Stent, made a business decision to move him to Texas because his semen didn’t ship well,” said Jim Ware of Western Bloodstock and a good friend of the Stents.

Ware said that the stallion had made the 1,700-mile trip just fine, and was part of the Super Stallion event during the 2004 National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity.

“He looked great and a lot of people got to see him,” Ware said.

He made such a impression on a number of people that “Stylish” had already booked full for the 2005 season at a breeding fee of $10,000.

“Some of the best mares in the industry were going to be bred to him this year,” Ware said. “It was a great credit to the horse that he was already booked full for the season.”

On January 18, Stylish spent the day out in his run at Joe Landers, and had been checked routinely throughout the day.

“The barn help came to put his halter on him and lead him back to the barn when he just had a heart attack,” Ware said. “The veterinarian was there in 10 minutes, but there wasn’t anything they could do for him.”

Stylish is buried at Jim and Carolyn Ware’s ranch in Weatherford.

Bred by Jim and Joanne Carlile of Liberal, Kansas, Stylish was by Doc’s Oak and out of Docs Stylish by Doc’s Prescription. The Stents purchased him in 1997 when Charles Drummond of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, dispersed his Quarter Horse herd. They stood him in California from 1998 to 2004. He will have foals on the ground this year.

Stylish earned more than $77,000, with almost $66,000 of that in NCHA money. He was the 1989 Augusta Open Classic Champion, 1989 Abilene Winter Open Maturity Champion and the 1989 Gold & Silver 5/6-Year-Old Open Stakes Co-Reserve Champion.

His offspring have earnings totaling more than $4.1 million, with an average performance earnings of $32,746 from 127 performers. Stylish has sired AQHA World Champions, Superior performance earners and Register of Merit earners, as well as money earners in NCHA, the National Reining Horse Association and the National Reined Cow Horse Association.

One of his most notable offspring is Playin Stylish (out of Playboys Mom by Freckles Playboy), who has earned more than $118,000 and was the 1999 NCHA Horse of the Year, the 1999 NCHA Open Super Stakes Champion and the 1999 Equi-Stat No. 1 4-Year-Old Cutting Money Earner.

Other notable offspring include 1993 mare Stylish and Foxie (out of Foxie Merada by Freckles Merada), who has earned $253,834, and 1995 mare Shes A Stylish Babe (out of Spencers Babe by Doc’s Spencer Bar), who earned $149,920.

Charity Horse Show is Given the Boot

The Salt Lake County (Utah) Equestrian Park has told the West Valley City Fraternal Order of Police it cannot have its annual charity horse show that benefits disabled children there anymore because the event doesn't generate enough revenue.

In a Salt Lake Tribune story, columnist Paul Rolly writes that the “South Jordan facility, which is run through the Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation Department, is the only place large enough to accommodate the more than 100 competitors, so the police are being forced to scrap the event that raises several thousand dollars for disabled kids.

“The FOP has sponsored the horse show, presented each April, at the Equestrian Park for the past five years. Part of the day is spent putting disabled children on tame horses and guiding them around the park. Some must be lifted from wheelchairs and held on top of the horse as it lopes through the course.

“The police were told the park can make more money renting the stables to horse clubs and the charity horse show is not a revenue generator.”

Blind Rider Competes in Barrel Racing

Brittney Holland doesn’t let her blindness get in the way when it comes to competing in barrel racing.

The 14-year-old Aledo resident and her horse, Dollar, ran today in the AQHA Youth Barrel Race at the Stock Show.

In a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story, reporter Dave Casstevens writes that Brittney’s mother, Susan Holland chased cans for 20 years. “Both her daughters grew up around horses. Brittney wanted to ride because her older sister did, and when she was 4, Susan Holland fitted her with a safety helmet and put her on a horse, alone.

“A year later, the girl participated in her first barrel race, sitting atop an old, gentle horse named Doc.

"Brittney wanted to ride faster and become competitive. When she was 8, her mother – also her coach – developed a communication system using walkie-talkies. Brittney wears her device clipped to her rhinestone-studded Western belt. She hears her mother's voice through an earpiece."

Brittany hopes to one day go to college on a rodeo scholarship and become a veterinarian’s assistant.

— Tonya Ratliff-Garrison

Michelle Hall and Play Stocks marked a 224 to win the Augusta Futurity Open finals Saturday night. In just her second appearance at the futurity and her first in the finals, Hall beat the nearest competitor by 4.5 points to become just the third female cutter in 26 years to win the open futurity. The first-place check was $23,572.

Play Stocks, a 2001 sorrel stallion by Playdox and out of Bobs Preferred Stock by Bob Acre Doc, was born and raised at Slate River Ranch, which has facilities in Weatherford, Texas, and near Richmond, Virginia, where Hall is their lead trainer.

“He’s just so sweet,” Hall said in an Augusta Chronicle story by Chris Gay. “He’s sort of the strong, silent type.”

Placing second at the open futurity was three-time futurity champion Lloyd Cox of Fort Morgan, Colorado, and Cats Moonshine (Highbrow Cat x Genuine Moonshine by Genuine Doc) with a score of 219.5 for $15.531. Placing third was Ronnie Rice of Buffalo, Texas, aboard Lean On Stylish (Playin Stylish x First Little Lena by Smart Little Lena) with a score of 217 for $13,464.

Jim Vangilder won his second non-pro futurity championship, this time aboard Freckles Royally Doc. The pair rung up a 222 and earned $20,063.

Vangilder purchased Freckles Royally Doc, a 2001 sorrel stallion by Freckles Fancy Twist and out of Miss Royally Doc by Doc’s Mahogany, when he was a 2-year-old. The Jackson, Missouri, resident wasn’t sure if he’d like riding a stallion, though.

“I never had ridden (a stallion) before,” Vangilder told Chris Gay of the Augusta Chronicle. “I thought they’d be difficult to ride; pretty temperamental. He seems to be very relaxed.”

Finishing second was Wesley Galyean of Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Spots Hot (Chula Dual x Sweet Shorty Lena by Shorty Lena), with a score of 221 and a check for $14,109. Coming in third was Skip Queen of Lipan, Texas, and Nurse Charles (Kit Dual x High Brows Nurse by High Brow Hickory) with a score of 217.5 for $11,758.

For more on the Augusta Futurity, click here.

NRBC Foal Enrollment Record is Broken Again

The National Reining Breeders Classic has announced another record year for foal enrollments.

For 2004, 2,087 weanlings were enrolled. The previous record was set in 2002, when there were 1,904 enrolled foals.

"That makes 2004 the highest-ever year for NRBC foal enrollments," said Cheryl Magoteaux, NRBC secretary/treasurer.

Magoteaux attributed the rise in enrollments to a variety of factors.

"The track record the NRBC has had for huge payouts is one big reason. Another is probably the three years of eligibility, since 4, 5 and 6-year-olds are eligible to compete."

Of the $200 foal enrollment fee, 100 percent goes directly into the purse for the show four years later, Magoteaux said.

“Because of the enrollment numbers for 2004, in the year 2008 we will likely see a million-plus payout," she said, adding that actually the million dollar milestone could come much sooner. The payout of the show in 2004 was more than $900,000 and that figure has climbed steadily every single year since the inception of the NRBC in 1998.

This year’s show is April 19-24 in Katy, Texas. For information on the NRBC, visit the Web site at www.nrbc.com or call (580) 759-3939.

Horse Industry Booming in Minnesota

The horse industry is growing rapidly in Minnesota, and generates almost $1 billion in economic activity each year, according to an economic assessment by the University of Minnesota Extension Service. That would mean that horses now account for about 10 percent of the state's $10 billion livestock industry.

In a story by Dan Nienaber of the Mankato Free Press, horse breeder Darla Austin attributes the growing number of horse owners to the baby boomers.

"‘I think baby boomers have a lot to do with it because they have the money available,’ Austin said. ‘And I think people want to get back to the basics.’"

Bob Moorhouse Documents the Lives of Cowboys 

Bob Moorhouse is not only a cowboy but also a legendary photographer.

AQHA Texas Director Bob Moorhouse was featured in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday.

Rena Pederson writes that the Guthrie, Texas, resident “looks every inch the cowboy. Six feet tall. Marlboro man mustache and serious cowboy hat. Blue jeans and boots. Only this cowboy packs a Canon digital camera instead of a six-shooter.”

Moorhouse, who is also a member of the AQHA Stud Book and Registry Committee, is the manager of the Pitchfork Ranch, one of the country's historic cattle ranches, which dates back to 1881. But it’s not Moorhouse’s work as a cowboy that’s getting him noticed, Pederson writes. 

“Mr. Moorhouse has become something of a legend himself. He is nationally recognized for his photos of real cowboys hard at work on a real ranch. ‘I'm a cowboy first,’ he says, ‘but a camera usually goes with me.’”

“His camera has caught cowboys at work, breaking spring colts, roping, branding, all in a spray of dust and sunlight. He has framed almost mystical panoramas of the rolling plains. And captured portraits of curious jackrabbits peeking up from the brush.

“Altogether, the photos are a unique chronicle of how cowboy life has changed in the 21st century – and how it has not. Helicopters and computers are now as common as ropes and saddles at the Pitchfork. But the cowboys still ride the best horses – the signature Pitchfork Gray with a black mane and tail. And they still eat at the same chuck wagon where cowboys have chowed down on barbecue and beans for generations.”

To see some of Moorhouse’s photos, go to www.thepitchforkranch.com. He also has a book available: “Pitchfork County: The Photography of Bob Moorhouse” (Texas Tech University Press, $100) is available from the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

It’s one of the hardest things a horse owner has to face: the death of a horse. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve had them for only a few months or for almost 30 years, it’s a difficult thing to go through.

I’ve received several e-mails from Q-Talk readers who talk about their best friends and the struggles they have gone through after they are gone. It’s tough.

In the Kansas City Star, noted columnist C.W. Gusewelle writes on Sunday how he had to say goodbye to an old friend he’d had for almost 30 years.

“Going to the barn for feed that morning, the horse had stumbled and fallen, and hadn't strength enough to regain his feet. He wasn't sick. His infirmity was due to great age, for which, in men or horses, a cure has not been found.

“It's sometimes said of old men and old horses that they've been put out to pasture, though the gentler term is retired. Big Red, a quarter-horse gelding, was long retired from working cattle.

“I never knew his registry name — never asked for his papers. Red was just the name we gave him. And I'm not entirely sure of his age, though I seem to remember he was 7 years old when we bought him. That was in 1975 or '76, which would mean that he lived to either 35 or 36. A good long run for a horse.

“In the end, however, there was only that last kindness owed any creature unable to help itself. So Red has gone to his rest in the pasture, near Blackie and Granny.”

— Tonya Ratliff-Garrison