Farm visits last week

Discussion and analysis of thoroughbred stallions.

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Tappiano
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Farm visits last week

Postby Tappiano » Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:15 am

Lane's End, Three Chimneys. No camera at Taylor Made, did not realize the stallions are up the stairs from the office. Speaking of taylor made, Half Ours is back there from La.
After Market
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Belong To Me
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City Zip, He's across from Belong To Me and was interested in the bucket of grain that the groom brought along. They ALL come up to the gate.
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Langfuhr
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Lewis Michael
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Yes It's True who keeps himself fit so he is not ridden.
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Sunday Silence
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Postby Sunday Silence » Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:59 am

Lewis Michael looks like a pony in that photo, lol. Do fly masks bother some horses more than the flies themselves?

What were the personalities like of the ones you met?

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ElPrado
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Postby ElPrado » Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:39 am

Swish tail, flick ear, look to see if there is an appealing dandelion?

Tappiano
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Postby Tappiano » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:26 pm

I think they Like their masks although Quality Road's was half on and half off when I was leaving the farm. Some stallions I think get bored and try to make a game out of removing their masks and their halters.

The stallions were all mellow; at Lane's End, they bring a small amount of feed with them so they come right up to the gate and eagerly come out to pose. Lewis Michael did not come up and Veronica had to go get him, Yes It's True did and Flower Alley was in his stall. Eskendreya thought he was going to continue from the circle over to the breeding shed which is on the opposite end of his and Old Fashioned's stall. Unbridled's Song is regal just like Quiet American and strikes a pose. Old Fashioned was also a bit like Eskendreya, ready to continue to the shed. I did not get to see Half Ours, he is back but was in the paddock. Veronica offered to bring out Dynaformer but I respectfully declined since he had his head down in his waterer. The only one who was a bit rowdy was After Market who is all Storm Cat in terms of attitude. Candy Ride could care less what you do with him but at least he put his ears up...

Now over at Old Friends you need to ask if you want to see Tinner's Way because he's in the back. Gulch is, well, a stallion who was used to being alone in a paddock most of his life so he's not really bothered about people coming up and offering him carrots.

Lewis Michael is quite a bit bigger than Rahy, but he's still too small for my mare. The Danzig boys are too blocky (I don't want a blocky foal with really long legs or it will look like a giraffe), Yes it's True I liked.

erhrdt3
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Postby erhrdt3 » Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:09 am

thanks for the photos!

Wonder why the stallions all end up looking like Quarter Horses when they retire? Some still look like TB's but most get that Storm Cat "blockiness" as was noted in a prior message.

:?:
We will NEVER see another Ruffian......

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madelyn
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Postby madelyn » Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:15 am

Middle-age spread? They are pretty over-fed. Obesity seems to be a problem and it always has seemed to me that an inordinate number of stallions in "the best hands" die young - colic, founder, etc. I attribute some of it to overfeeding. One of the issues I take with stallion obesity is that it obscures the horse's real conformation, and it makes it tougher to really judge the horse under all of that fat...
So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....

Tappiano
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Postby Tappiano » Wed Jul 20, 2011 7:57 am

That grass is quite rich and in fact, Afternoon Deelites has a grazing muzzle over at Old Friends because he had put on a tremendous amount of weight when he arrived.

I don't believe that the blockiness or shorter backed stallions would necessarily look different if they showed just a tad amount of rib, but the shoulder on the Danzig boys are just so massive that if they were people they'd look like Hulk Hogan in his glory days. I'm not looking at stallions for anything other than their overall length as I am afraid of winding up with a foal that looks like a giraffe, really long legs and a short back! I am reasonably confident that no matter who I breed GiGi too that leg is going to be there.

Maybe now that Mineshaft is exercised every day they will start to look more closely at the rest.

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Toral
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Postby Toral » Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:45 pm

Did you get to see Rock Hard Ten when you were at Lane's End? :D

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Lucy
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Postby Lucy » Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:25 pm

I saw Belong To Me as a young stallion in NY ('94 - his first season, I think?), and even before his middle-age middle he was built like a fireplug. Short & stout....not quite as much chest & crest as he's hauling around nowadays, naturally. I don't think I took any pics of him, which is unfortunate given what he went on to accomplish.

Tappiano
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Postby Tappiano » Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:36 pm

No, the stallions were all out in the fields and in all different sections so I only asked to see the one's I was interested in looking at. It was also really, really hot and I did not want to ask the groom who drove me around to keep pulling out and removing fly masks and then putting them back on and so on. Normally they would have been in but there had been bad storms the night before so instead they were out in the morning. If they'd been in the barns I would have looked at more.

I'd also like to make sure I can go back, particularly if I can get my 87 yr old grandmother to take a trip with me. I know she'd love to see Candy Ride since she knows Jenny.