Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

Just one drop can change everything…

Photo courtesy of maddogmarquis, Photobucket

Back in October ‘09 I did a series of Thankful Thursday posts titled “Nostalgia” (you can read them here, here, and here).  I guess I’m feeling a bit sentimental again, because this week I have been thinking a lot about someone who made a big impact on my life many years ago.  He was the man that I credit with developing that competitive fire in me and showing me the fun and social side of horse shows. 

I don’t even remember how my family came to be involved with “Vern,” but I remember our first business meeting with him back in 1990 at a little restaurant in Ohio.  He agreed to bring his burgeoning training operation to the brand new horse farm that my parents were building in southwestern PA.  In a sense we started off together, although Vern had been an assistant trainer for several years and was involved with some very high profile people in the Appaloosa world.  Vern was really the one that steered my family, and me especially, into the national and world arenas of competition.  He was the one that found Tyler for me, the white wonder horse that made me fall in love with riding.  He was the one that brought Icy and Seeker to our show string – two equally dynamic, well known, and talented horses that my sister and I were very fortunate to have the opportunity to show.  I could even thank him for Tiny – because he was the one that chose Super (her dam) to be my very first game horse.  Vern introduced my family to so many people and because of him we got extremely involved in the horse show world.  We became active members of the Appaloosa Pleasure Horse Association, regional Appaloosa clubs, and 4H.  One of my favorite memories was when he and my parents brainstormed and created this incredibly huge Appaloosa show for the now-defunct Pennsylvania Appaloosa Association.  They had jackpot barrels and pleasure classes with money added, sponsors, you name it.  Back in the early 90’s it was quite a feat for a regional club to have such a successful show.  I truly believe that Vern was the catalyst that took us from casual horse lovers to serious and actively involved competitors, and he got the whole family involved in some fashion.  He even spearheaded an effort to have challenged riders classes added to show lists at all the shows so that disabled riders like my youngest sister could be involved too.

We spent five very exciting and productive years with Vern before he moved on to other things.  I wish I could say that I’ve kept in touch with him over the years, but as so often happens we have drifted away to separate lives.  I recently met up with an old friend of his at the Quarter Horse show in Tampa and he told me that Vern is healthy and happy and has a beautiful farm in the Pittsburgh area where he continues to coach youth riders and maintains a successful breeding operation.   I hope to reestablish contact with Vern, if for no other reason than to thank him for being such a great trainer, coach, and friend to me and all of my family during our formative years in the Appaloosa business.

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Several months ago I wrote a post on the young Quarter Horse stallion Reminic In Spots and his distinctive (some would say “Appaloosa”) coloring.  His owner, Vicki Johnson, was kind enough to recently send me a link to their website, which features information on the unusual occurrences of Appaloosa coloring in the Quarter Horse.  They have some great info on other horses with similar characteristics and they have a brief video of their young stallion in his early training days.  He looks to be quite talented already and is slated to be shown in reined cowhorse events during the next show season.  If you’d like to see this attractive boy in action or are interested in breeding to him or learning more about his pedigree, check out his webpage.

Quarter Horse stallion Reminic In Spots, courtesy of Vicki Johnson

Photo courtesy of Dee Q8, Flickr

As September rolls on, I have observed a great deal of excitement about the fall season.  Excitement about fall traditions, like cider and local festivals, is contagious.  Mother Nature is giving us her own signs:  lower humidity and cooler nights, just the slightest tinge of red in some of our leaves, fall produce starting to hit the market stalls.  While most of the country is rejoicing with the arrival of fall and all it brings, I have some bittersweet feelings about it.  For me, this season isn’t represented by typical fall customs.  For many years, fall was the season of horses and preparation for the Appaloosa World Championship show.  This prestigious event is held every year in late October in Fort Worth, Texas and the months of September and October were always dedicated to training and preparation for the show, which has a qualification deadline of  August 31.  As most of you know, my horse show adventures pretty much came to an end 5 years ago when I started graduate school but this year I was able to get back into the scene a bit, and even briefly entertained hopes that I might be able to attend the World Show this year.  Unfortunately, as the year evolved I realized I wouldn’t be attending the show this time either.  However, last week I received something very special in the mail:  my World Show qualification information. 

 For many people, this might not be a big deal.  In fact, it wasn’t really a big deal for me 10 years ago – it was a given.  I’d worked hard all year, attended many shows, and was generally well over the number of points required to participate.  This year was different:  my horse and I  haven’t worked with a trainer in over 5 years, we attended very few shows, and we haven’t had the opportunity to make practice runs.  We pretty much winged it, doing groundwork and suppling exercises at home and working the barrels and poles at the shows.  Qualification became even more difficult because the game classes at the Appaloosa shows have been very small, making it challenging to get points – we pretty much had to win 1st or 2nd in a class to accrue points.  Combine all that with the extremely limited number of events that we’ve done (4 shows in the past year) and you can understand my pride at qualifiying for the Appaloosa World Championships in 8 events – we actually qualified in every single event that we show in.  It’s a bittersweet pill, because it’s a reminder of how my time competing with Tiny is winding down.  She’s 15 this year and who knows how many more competitive years she’ll have?  While I’m excited and proud to have been able to achieve qualification status, it hurts that I can’t participate with her while she’s still healthy and strong.  So for this fall, at least, I will have to join the masses of “regular” people enjoying their fall season at the arts festival sipping on cider, but I’ll be doing it with a twinkle in my eye as I think of the hundreds of Apps preparing for the World Show next month.

Image borrowed from http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0701cast.shtml

I recently received my latest issue of the Appaloosa Journal.  As I was perusing the pages, I came across a great little article on aiding a horse that is cast.   A horse becomes cast when he lays too close to a wall or other solid object and is unable to rise or roll over.  If you’ve dealt with horses much, you have likely encountered this scenario already.  If you haven’t, you will surely come across it at some point.  Most likely late at night when you are alone and have no help, if history holds true!  Even if you’ve dealt with a cast horse before, a little refresher is always in order.  So here it is, as referenced from the September 2009 issue of the App Journal, written by Michelle Anderson.

“Help a Cast Horse”

• Resist the Urge to Panic – Stay calm and relaxed and reassure your horse with soothing tones and unhurried movements
• Protect Yourself – Your safety is paramount!  Stay away from legs that may flail once he’s released.  Be sure you work from the horse’s back, keeping a safe distance from legs and hooves.
• Assess the Situation – Determine exactly how your horse is stuck and the best way to free him.  If it’s possible to remove panels or objects to enable him to rise, try that first.
• Protect his Eyes – Cast horses often toss their heads around in an effort to gain enough momentum to rise.  In the process wood shavings, dirt, or other foreign objects can injure your horse’s eyes.  Place a towel beneath his head to protect him as much as possible.
• Use Ropes to Move or Flip the Horse – Don’t tie ropes, simply loop them around your horse’s legs and chest.  Don’t ever pull on the horse’s halter or on just one leg.  Be sure to loop the rope around both front or rear legs so you don’t injure the horse.  As soon as the horse is free, release the ropes to avoid entanglement.  You’ll probably need help if it’s available.  If not, sometimes the added leverage of the rope is enough to help the horse rise.  Either try to flip the horse over or pull him away from the solid surface.  Be light on your feet – as soon as the horse is clear, he’ll jump up very quickly.
• Check the Horse for Injury – The horse may be scratched, swollen, punctured, or injured in some other way.  Carefully check him over and be sure he’s moving freely.

Image courtesy of Scott Robinson

First off, I’d like to say a GREAT BIG  “THANKS!!!” to Mugwump Chronicles for reprinting my post on the history of the Appaloosa horse.  Welcome to all of Mugwump’s readers and thanks for all the comments that were posted regarding my article.  I had no idea that there were so many Appaloosa lovers on this scene – it’s nice to see my favorite breed well represented.  Please check out Mugwump Chronicles, if you haven’t already.  It’s a great source of training tips and information. 

One of the comments that was left on Mugwump’s site regarding my post was very intriguing.  Justaplainsam included a link to a site about a registered Quarter Horse stallion that has an Appaloosa blanket!  What?!?!?  It’s true – Reminic in Spots is a fully registered Quarter Horse stallion that has been parentage verified.  There is no question that this handsome fellow is all AQHA.  This discovery shocked and fascinated me.  I’d never heard of this happening before, so I started looking into it to see what might cause such an anomaly.  The information I found surprised me.

Reminic In Spots, Courtesy of YOR Appaloosa

When I started researching this topic I quickly came across the term “cropout.”  This term refers to a horse born to solid parents in a breed that typically does not exhibit excessive white or coat patterns, such as the Quarter Horse.  The cropout horse may have Appaloosa type coloring or Paint type coloring.  It is caused when one or both parents -although potentially solid colored – contributes a gene for color.  For those of us (like me!) that need a refresher on our genetics knowledge, an Appaloosa coat pattern will be expressed in offspring if the offspring has at least one dominant color gene from at least one parent.  Make sense?  In the case of Reminic, at least one of his parents must have had a color gene which was passed on to him.  Ba-da-bing – out pops a colored QH colt!  Surprise!  However shocking this may be, the information I discovered next was even more so.  Back in the day of the newly formed American Quarter Horse Association, these spotted foals occurred but could not be registered and were commonly sold as grade horses.  The Appaloosa Horse Club and American Paint Horse Association, which were also newly forming, began to allow these “undesireable” Quarter Horses to register with the breed association that they most closely represented.  As a result, some of the most highly influential Appaloosa sires in the history of the breed are actually spotted Quarter Horses born of two QH parents.  The list includes Colida, Joker B., Bright Eyes Brother, and Wapiti.  While these horses’ colorations were a surprise, and often a disappointment to their breeders, it is no mystery how they came to have color. 

Image courtesy of bankerssilvermoon, Flickr

Appaloosa spots are controlled by the Leopard complex, or Lp gene.  This gene produces different visual characteristics depending on the number and type of gene copies a horse has, ranging from striped hooves to full leopard spots.  The Leopard complex is complicated and well beyond the scope of this article, but further information can be found through The Appaloosa Project, a genetic study being undertaken to uncover the mysteries of the many Appaloosa coat patterns.  The important thing to remember is that not all horses with the Lp gene are loudly colored – sometimes they are solid with some mottling, sometimes they are a Varnish roan (easily confused with a true roan, which is allowable in the AQHA registry).  Varnish roans tend to continue roaning over time, often until they are nearly white.  It is entirely feasible that these subtly marked horses were registered as Quarter Horses as youngsters and went on to contribute their Lp gene to the gene pool, only to have it emerge generations later in a situation like Reminic’s.  In fact, many of these horses can be traced back to the breeding program of Coke Roberds, a Quarter Horse breeder who had a number of roan horses.  This article on Wapiti gives a thorough background on the breeding program of Coke Roberds.

Now that DNA testing and parentage verification are so readily available, horses like Reminic are able to register as fully papered Quarter Horses.  This discovery does inject a great deal of spark into the already hot topic of acceptable Appaloosa characteristics and registration.  It is also interesting to note that the ApHC has headed off any potential competition from colored QH stallions by disallowing breedings to any QH stallion exhibiting excessive white or undesireable QH traits (ApHC Handbook, Rule 204.B.2.a.1).  Hmmmmm…. kind of interesting, considering that those spots originated from some of our foundation stock years and years ago. 

Image courtesy of bankerssilvermoon, Flickr

“From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”  These words, spoken by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce people, marked the end of the 1877 Nez Perce war and the demise of the carefully bred spotted horses the Nez Perces rode.  After Chief Joseph’s surrender, those hardy horses were seized by the U.S. Calvary and either traded or shot.

The Nez Perce were one of the first groups to practice selective horse breeding.  They carefully chose the stock that would reproduce and either traded or gelded inferior animals.  Eventually, they developed a horse that was known for its hardiness, versatility, agility, and striking beauty.  After the war, the confiscated horses were carelessly interbred with horses of varying quality, and the spotted “Palouse” horse was almost lost.  In 1938, the Appaloosa Horse Club was formed and has since organized the redevelopment of the breed. 

The modern Appaloosa has been outcrossed over recent generations to enhance various attributes of the breed.  Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, in particular, have contributed to the current style of Appaloosas used in competition.  While the outcrosses have increased the average size and refinement of the horse, they have resulted in fewer horses with the color patterns so closely associated with the breed.  Changes to registration requirements in recent years have encouraged more frequent Appaloosa to Appaloosa breeding, and the obvious Appaloosa characteristics have become more apparent at horse shows once again.

  What are the typical Appaloosa characteristics?  Well, the most obvious is the colorful coat patterns that many Appaloosas sport.  A wide range of base colors is acceptable, from white to grulla to black and everything in between.  Coat patterns vary from roan (white hairs interspersed throughout the coat) to the classic blanket pattern or the easily recognizable leopard.  Appaloosas also have less obvious characteristics.  Mottled skin around the muzzle and genitals, white sclera around the eyes, and striped hooves are often found on Apps of any coloration.  Many people aren’t aware that solid colored Appaloosas can also be registered and shown.

Throughout the history of the breed, Apps have retained their versatility and are widely used for a variety of careers.  They excel in the show ring, performing in events such as hunter under saddle, barrel racing, jumping, western pleasure, and cutting.  Appaloosas consistently hold their own in all-breed pleasure shows such as Just for Pleasure, the Reichert Celebration, and the Tom Powers futurities.  Several Appaloosas have successfully competed in high level dressage and horse racing.  They are known as being sure-footed trail mounts and sensible parade horses and are gentle enough for family horses.

The Appaloosa Horse Club and Appaloosa owners in general have a certain degree of pride for their horses’ colorful past.  Every year, riders and their Appaloosas retrace a section of the path that Chief Joseph and his people followed on their attempt to reach Canada before being captured.  This historic ride holds a powerful spot in the hearts of those who complete it.  The history of the Appaloosa is also honored in the show ring with classes such as heritage, which includes native dress and a written historical summary of the pieces worn by horse and rider.  Even the gaming classes give a nod to the ancestors, with the Camas Prairie Stump Race (barrels) and Nez Perce Stake Race (poles) being run horse against horse at breed specific shows.

All in all, the Appaloosa is a fantastic all-around horse.  Their gentle, easy going nature, versatility and hardiness, rich history, and unique appearance make this breed an easy choice for many horse owners.  If you haven’t experienced an App and you “spot” one, check it out!  You won’t be sorry!