I am the proud owner of an appendix QH mare who is double registered with the Belgian Warmbloods and her approved Belgian warmblood 1996 filly who unfortunately has OCD (check DejaNews for my thoughts on THAT. However, after her surgery (3 joints) she is doing rather well.
Dancer (aka Dancing Lorraine) was a very interesting mare. She was apparently the result of a test-breeding to see if her sire could produce sport horses. She was sold at the Timonium sale as a two year old and went through a couple of, um, questionable owners on her way to Loftmar Farm where I bought her. Her pedigree reads a bit like a Who's Who of both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. On the Thoroughbred side, her grandsire is Native Dancer and she also goes back to Man o' War and John P. Grier. On her dam's side, she is nearly pure foundation with King P234 within 5 generations. She has a very good mind, stayed sound in spite of some stupid choices by previous owners (trot a 4-year-old over 4 foot fences? NOT!), has wonderful movement, and good conformation. Her biggest faults are short legs for her body (or a long body for her legs) and she slightly toes out on her right fore. Dancer was put down with advanced Cancer in June 2004. I still miss her.
Echo (T. Dancer's Echo) was the result of a lot of hard thought. Yes, I am a 'backyard breeder,' however, I did put a lot of thought into the process and the components. Dancer is a wonderful horse and I would be thrilled with an exact clone. In finding a sire, I went through the local horse magazine (it was a given that I wanted to meet the stallion), made a list of choices, had my Mom go through and make a list of her choices. We narrowed it down to 15 whom we visited over 3 1/2 days. We did agree on the final horse based on his conformation, movement, attitude, and how we felt about the people at the farm (planning live cover). Unfortunately, we didn't know about OCD (which while it is not officially tagged as hereditary, it does seem to run in families) or his tendency to have foals with this problem.
When Echo was born, she was very small (was able to go under Dancer's belly) but was quite healthy. As I get a chance, I will continue to post her history and some pictures of both horses. She flipped over at the keuring (but was fortunately unhurt), loaded like a trooper (both ways), and was good about the braiding. After getting over the surgery for OCD, we worked on giving to pressure and respecting humans. As a young horse, she leanred learning to wear a bridle, moved from the outside barn to the inside barn (lots more to see, easier to get to the indoor arena for work, etc.), and still spent most of her time being a horse. She went out with her 1/2 sister (same sire) who is 3 weeks younger (they had been going out together since they were weaned).
Echo was formally saddle broken and ridden by a friend of mine (who is no longer talking to me but that is not as a result of Echo). They did a show and Echo got a 9 on her walk. Unfortunately, soundness issues have been a problem for Ms. Echo. She has some hock issues that may be a result of the OCD. She had a shoulder injury and the big one was a major tear to her suspensory (right fore) which she tried to work through and ended up exceedingly bad off as a result. Now (2008), I am trying to figure out what to do with her. She has a great attitude and a good mind and very nice gaits. Unfortunately, her working on the small tear and turning it into a major one was a problem. She gets worried when working (and I can't blame her considering how often work has equaled pain) and the OCD joints are a problem.
Dancer & Echo when Echo was 1 day.
Echo at Six Weeks. We loved the crest.
Echo Trotting at 2 1/2
Echo at 13
Echo at 13
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