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Q-TALK
FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2005 You can now clone your horse – for a price. Medical News Today reports that the team from the University of Idaho that successfully cloned three mules in 2003 is offering to clone horses for $367,350 plus a patent royalty fee of 15 percent based on the number of clones produced and their estimated value. Peter Kagel, founder and president of www.horsecloning.com, estimates that for your money you could end up with 0 to 16 clones. "It's a bit of a gamble with a huge potential payoff," Kagel told Medical News Today, "because while there are no guarantees, and on the bottom end you could end up with no clones, on the top end it is estimated, due to advances in science and cloning protocols since 2003, that you could end up with 16 clones from the 100 mares that will be impregnated with your horse's DNA. So if the horse you are cloning is worth $100,000 you could end up with a tidy profit of over $1,000,000 or thereabouts. That's a lot more money than your stallion or mare is likely to produce over several breeding seasons, plus you don't know the quality of horse you will get from breeding." Kagel believes horse cloning is the wave of the future. And maybe he’s right. Bill Freeman and the Smart Little Lena Syndicate recently cloned Smart Little Lena and are expecting nine clones to be born next spring. The clones were produced this past spring at Texas A&M University’s Equine Embryo Laboratory in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. This laboratory made history when a clone they created was foaled in March and became the first cloned horse in North America. American Horse with Cancer Sent to UK for Surgery Sam Lister of the Liverpool (England) Daily Post recently reported that an American woman who failed to find a veterinarian in America to treat her cancer-stricken horse re-mortgaged her house so she could fly him to a Merseyside specialist. “Mindy Elgart was distraught when Max developed a cancerous tumor on his eye,” Lister writes. “The 6-year-old horse had just won the regional heats of the USA Dressage Championship and was tipped to go on to international success. “Elgart frantically consulted experts across the United States, but they could only offer grueling surgery with a 30 percent chance of survival. “But the 38-year-old heard about the work of Professor Derek Knottenbelt, at Leahurst Equine hospital in Wirral, who uses a radiation treatment similar to that used on humans and has had a 90 percent success rate. “Within weeks she had raised the $25,000, around £14,000, needed to transport him to the center and cover his costs. “Elgart, who lives in New Jersey, said: ‘I would do anything to save Max, I adore him. He's such an amazing horse.’” Toby Keith Opens Restaurant and Bar in Oklahoma City Quarter Horse owner and country music star Toby Keith recent opened Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown entertainment district. On the food end, I Love This Bar & Grill (the name is taken from Keith's No. 1 hit "I Love This Bar") will serve up classic American favorites, including steaks, burgers, catfish and more. The $4.5 million restaurant features Toby memorabilia, murals, benches made from Ford pickup truck beds, 12 flat-screen TVs, three bars, a 9-by-13-foot video wall atop a patio over looking an indoor stage for live performances. Artists, including Keith, will perform various nights after 9. Keith also plans to open another of his restaurants in Las Vegas, Kansas City, Shreveport, Louisiana, and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Keith has owned many racing American Quarter Horses, including The Down Side, the 2003 Champion of Champions winner. THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2005Each year, AQHA recognizes one world champion racing American Quarter Horse. The award winner is decided by ballot at year-end, named in January and presented with the award in March at the AQHA Convention. AQHA is looking for new ideas and concepts for this award from members and is welcoming submissions for a new world champion award. If you would like to submit a concept to the AQHA Racing Commission, keep these things in mind:
Concepts and commission form must be sent no later than October 15 t Christa Morris Contact Morris for a copy of the commission form to submit with the award concept. North Carolina Quarter Horse Diagnosed with West Nile Virus An American Quarter Horse in Duplin County, North Carolina, was euthanized after contracting West Nile virus, a North Carolina state veterinarian said Wednesday. The 26-year-old horse had never been vaccinated against the virus and is the first animal case of the disease this year in North Carolina, said Fred Kirkland, director of livestock animal health programs for the state Agriculture and Consumer Services Department. Last year, three horses were diagnosed with West Nile virus compared to the 126 horses infected in 2003. To help prevent West Nile in your horse, work with your veterinarian on the best vaccination program. Also, remove standing water around your horses to help curtail mosquito larvae. Model Horse Collectors to Meet this Weekend at BreyerFest Featured at this year's BreyerFest are Fire Magic (top), the only registered chestnut Friesian in the world, and Spanish Norman horse Romantico H.H.F. (middle), who is also a Breyer model horse (bottom). More than 6,000 people are expected to attend the celebration of model horses and special live celebrity horses. Medieval Merriment will study the horses and culture of the Middle Ages. Chivalry will come to life as damsels in distress, armored knights mounted on war horses and medieval characters entertain and delight. Headlining BreyerFest's equine entertainment is Fire Magic, the only registered chestnut Friesian in the world, and the inspiration for the new BreyerFest Celebration Model Horse. Another celebrity horse scheduled to appear is the Spanish Norman horse Romantico H.H.F. who performs across the country. BreyerFest will also feature demonstrations in dressage, drill team competition, cowboy mounted shooting, dog agility, trick riding and more. Other activities include a trade fair, pony rides, exotic petting zoo, autograph sessions with guest horses and speakers, free seminars, model horse auctions and model horse shows. Most BreyerFest activities are included with park admission, however, the model horse classes and competitions have a separate fee. Three-day tickets and group tickets are available. For schedules, tickets and other information, go to the BreyerFest Web site or call (859) 259-4219. The Kentucky Horse Park is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $14 for adults, $7 for children ages 7-12 and free for children 6 and under. Reiners to Compete for National USEF Title at Fiesta in the Park For the first time in Kentucky Horse Park history, reining will take a dizzying spin to center stage, as the park plays host to the inaugural Adequan/United States Equestrian Federation open reining championship, the USEF National Youth Reining Championship and the final qualifying competition in preparation for the 2005 FEI (International Equestrian Federation) World Reining Masters Series Finals. Scheduled for August 23-28, Fiesta in the Park is a new concept in equine competition that will feature reining and hunter/jumper events side by side at the Kentucky Horse Park. Through the team support of the AQHA, USEF and the National Reining Horse Association, fans will have an opportunity to watch reining being peformed by some of the nation’s top money-earning athletes. AQHA Professional Horseman Todd Crawford and Matt Dillon Dun It, the duo who brought home the win from last year’s FEI World Reining Masters Series open category, also plan to make a show at the park in an attempt to add their first national title to their already prestigious line-up of trophies. To get the job done though, they’ll have to beat out second-ranked Tim McQuay, also an AQHA Professional Horseman, and Dun Gotta Gun. Only the top two U.S. horse and rider teams from the final qualifier on Sunday will be able to go on to compete at the 2005 $100,000 FEI World Reining Masters Series in Italy, which is September 24. For more information on the Fiesta in the Park, contact Christopher Potter or Show Secretary Gay Lenz by phone at (580) 759-2572. Or go online to www.fiestainthepark.com. TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2005Earlier this month, AQHA Professional Horseman Lynn Palm’s Palm Partnership Training unveiled a new line of English saddles designed for stock horse breeds like the American Quarter Horse.
Palm and her husband, dressage instructor Cyril Pittion-Rossillon, spent more than two years researching and developing the saddles. “So many people (who ride stock horses) have a hard time using an English saddle because it never fits,” Pittion-Rossillon said. “English saddles are typically made for horses, such as Thoroughbred or Warmblood types, with high withers and very steep backs.” In contrast, the new line features a wider gullet to accommodate the larger stock horse back, along with a concave design in the flaps underneath to fit wider shoulders. Called the Alliance "Quarter," the line consists of two hunter models (with thicker and thinner panels to accommodate different backs) and a dressage model. One of the hunter models can be used as an all-purpose hunter and/or dressage saddle. The hunter saddles come in two shades of brown; the dressage saddle is black. The saddles are made from French calfskin, and come in an array of sizes. The saddles were unveiled at the school’s first offering of their “Quarter Horses in Dressage” class at Royal Palm Ranch in Bessemer, Michigan, this month. For more information on the saddles, e-mail generalinfo@lynnpalm.com. A Horse with Hay Fever ICCoventry.com reported today about a horse that has hay fever and must sleep on newspapers. Whenever Teddy is exposed to hay or straw, he reacts as if he is having an asthma attack. “Owner Samantha Ashby, 19, of Exhall, England, also has to damp down his feed to get rid of any dust spores. “Samantha keeps a supply of medicine ready to treat Teddy, who is 15 hands high, if he has an attack. He has been diagnosed as suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an equine form of hayfever. "’I never knew horses could suffer from hayfever,’ she said. ‘Although Teddy is surrounded by bundles of hay and straw in the field, it's not so much of a problem because the dust is released into the open air.’" MONDAY, JULY 25, 2005AQHA members Ray and Judy Holtzman were recently honored as the 2005 Farm Family of the Year for Saline County, Arkansas. “But they aren’t a stereotypical choice,” writes Lynda Hollenbeck of the Benton (Arkansas) Courier. “The Benton couple doesn’t grow cotton or soybeans or a traditional farm product: They raise horses.” The couple has owned American Quarter Horses for about 40 years and have been in the breeding business for about 25 years. They also train and show Quarter Horses, and Ray is an AQHA Professional Horseman. “But that’s not the total sum of their existence. They teach horse education.” “We want to educate people so they can have the knowledge to properly care for their horses in a loving way,” Judy told Hollenbeck. Cutting Bronze to be Dedicated at NCHA on Friday A life-size bronze statue will grace the offices of the National Cutting Horse Association when "The Finalist" is unveiled at 10 a.m. Friday. Sculpted by artist Jim Reno and presented by Anne Marion and The Burnett Foundation, "The Finalist" portrays the athleticism of a cutting horse while it is working a cow. The unveiling, which will be at the NCHA headquarters at 260 Bailey Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas, will feature several speakers, including Reno, Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief and Glen Blodgett, D.V.M., manager of the horse division of Marion's Four Sixes Ranches. Michelle Anderson takes Amateur Cutting Title In a tight race, Michelle Anderson and her 5-year-old gelding Trava Joe (Travalena x Sanjo Lisa by San Jo Lena) came out the winner of the NCHA Classic/Challenge amateur championship on Friday. The pair marked a 220.5, only a half-point ahead of reserve champions Angela Montalbano and her 6-year-old gelding Hickory Del Cielo (Gallo Del Cielo x Hickorys Lil Dot by Doc’s Hickory). “It was pretty exciting,” Anderson told the Daily Chatter. “We had some good scores for amateurs. The cows had been tough, but these cows were good. They’d honor your horse.” Josh Townsend and 5-year-old gelding Peppys Lil Ricochet (Smart Lil Ricochet x Peppys Manzana by Peppy San Badger) took the Classic/Challenge open limited title. The pair scored 213.5 and 213 in the go-rounds to take the non-working finals. “The cows were really tough in the go-rounds,” Townsend told the Chatter. “I thought he handled it really well in the first go-round. But I just didn’t get him shown in the second go-round. He needs something to take him and make him go stop, and I cut him too soft of a cow. But he tried to be good, anyway.” The go-rounds for the open and non-pro Derby have already begun with the finals slated to begin on Friday with limited non-pro, limited open on Saturday and non-pro and open on Sunday. — Tonya Ratliff-Garrison
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