Chestnut Clydesdales Part II

I also came across references to a Bradbury Cigar. I found a site here that mentioned he was an October Moon Acres horse. A search for that site list yielded nothing.

It seems chestnut is also passed down through a model horse called The Queen, by Scotland Time. The Queen *seems* to have been owned by DragonStar Stables. Searching that name doesn't yield much except a lot of link saying "bred by DragonStar Stables". I finally found an archived Model Horse blab forum that said Aspen Hill Arabians and DragonStar Stables drafts were owned by the same person, and the rest of the horses are under Zodiac Farms. This site is here, with the explanation that due to a site with a similar name (probably Dragonstar Farms), the draft and ponies were split into two groups, so that now the drafts fall under the name Brandybuck Hollows Drafts. However, none of the older horses, such as The Queen or Scotland Time, can be found on that list, although there is a younger mare, Destiny Queen (also chestnut) whose dam is The Queen.

So, if a horse is no longer on someone's list, do you think they'd accept breeding requests from it? Is it rude to even ask?

Scotland Time seems to have been bred by October Moon Acres, a dead end, as I mentioned before.

What luck! A search for Scotland Time yielding a page from WMHS here. There is Heretic, who I saw in a pedigree earlier. He's a bay. Not helpful.

However, I have now settled on using two DragonStar horses to finish off my chestnut clydesdales.

What a crazy day!

Chestnut Clydesdales

What a pain. I've been searching through what seems like millions of sites, searching for chestnut Clydesdales and the source of the chestnut.

Here is the problem: to be chestnut, a horse must lack the E gene. This means that both parents must be heterozygous on that allele in order to contribute the appropriate genotype, ee__. The only way to tell if a parent horse is heterozygous or not without genetic testing, is if they produced a chestnut foal. But finding chestnut foals is tough, because a lot of Clydesdale breeders breed for bay and black foals, and don't tend to breed on the chestnut foal, let alone display it proudly on their website.

So then you're left with guessing if a parent is heterozygous. Either the bay or black horse could be a homozygous black, with EE. Even if they are heterozygous, there is still a 50% probability they won't pass on the e allele. The chance of "correctly" choosing which two parents could produce a chestnut (without having a live chestnut horse for evidence) is really difficult.

Most of the model horse chestnut Clydesdales trace to an elusive "Zodiac Lady" bred sometime in the early 80s, possibly 70s, or maybe even late 60s. She was sired by a "Paddock Gemini", another horse I couldn't track down.

Paddock Gemini also shows up in the second pedigree here, an ancestor to Heretic, owned by Wildwing Model Horse Stables. This is a dead end, because the site was closed down.

Then I came across a reference to Lochleven Clydesdales owned by Lori Williams on the Indigo Creek Stables website. A google search turns up nothing on a website or reference photos for Lochleven Clydesdales. She has a chestnut horse bred from two Lochleven Clydes, Lochleven Idle Charm [Doura Major (r) -x- Royal Candy Floss (r)] and Lochleven Nobleman's Desire ZI [Gowanlea Ambition (r) -x- Premier's Nobleman Perfection (r)]. I could find no color mention on Doura Major or Royal Candy Floss. I could find absolutely nothing on Gowanlea Ambition or Premier's Nobleman Perfection. Another dead end.

Her other horse, a mare, is full sister to a real sorrel Clydesdale mare seen here (very bottom). The pedigree of the mare's dam is here. There is no information listed for the horse, but far back in the pedigree, Bardrill Vintage is shown as a chestnut roan. The only yahoo search that comes up for Bardrill Vintage is my own site LOL. As I've already used him for one of my mares, I'll have to keep looking for fresh bloodlines.

Here is where it gets even more confusing. West Edge Commander has a foal called Red Barney's Amazin Grace here. This horse LOOKS sorrel, but it's hard to tell how young the horse is in the photo, as well. Many, many Clydesdale babies start out with a light coat and mane/tail, and then darken with age. Sometimes the darkness comes in at first with gray streaks that are hard to see in a young horse.

Now, West Edge Commander's progeny page in allbreed here shows he has *three* chestnut foals. Two of them "Miss Liberty" are the same horse with the name spelled different. As you can see here, Miss Liberty is clearly a bay, although she looked chestnut as a baby.

His other foal, Desert Rose can be seen here. They have her listed as a bay roan. I'm not sure if they tested her genetically or not. But I see two conflicting things that prevent me from making a personal decision. One: Her right hindleg doesn't have white around the knee, and the knee does not look black. This would suggest a chestnut. However, her mane looks awfully "dirty", with aforementioned gray streaks coming in.

Is West Edge Commander heterozygous? Maybe. But his pedigree doesn't lend any help to determining if he had any chestnut or chestnut-producing ancestors.

OT: Loss

An off-topic post, but I had to.

We lost our cat Zena last night. She had been losing weight for the past month, and recently she had been hacking like she needed to puke a hairball, but nothing would come up. She wasn't looking too good in general.

Well, last night I got a distressed call from my mom saying I needed to come say my goodbye. I pretty much sped over there, but even then, I was too late. She was gone before I got there.

If you've ever seen a beloved animal still with death, you know that heart-wrenching feeling that slams into you like a train, knowing they're gone forever.

Zena was with us for about five years. She had been my (at the time) boyfriend's cat, and was with us while he lived with us temporarily. When his parents moved to a different city, he decided to go with them for better job opportunities. He was going to take his dog, a pitbull puppy, but leave Zena at the pound. I said F that, I'll take her. I couldn't believe he would just abandon her like that.

My parents took her in and let her live with them, and she became part of the family. We know she had a rough past--she was fixed, and the vets found out she was pregnant, but did the operation anyway. She lost her kittens. When she lived with my ex-bf's, she was a strictly outdoor cat and you could tell it had been rough on her. She was a grumpy cat, but I never blamed her for it.

My parents opened the front door on a sunny day to see if she wanted to go out onto the porch to get some sun. She never showed the slightest interest. That's how much she appreciated being inside and part of a family.

She had two extra toes on her front feet. She got along really well with my dad (who doesn't like cats in general). She absolutely adored me and my mom.

We loved her more than anyone else on this planet, and she will be sorely missed.

Cleaning Day!

So my newest Breyer additions have been congregating and multiplying in my closet, which is where the Christmas tree and decorations usually go. These were crowded into a corner of the living room, creating a not-so-pleasant sight. So, today we went and bought yet another (this makes #4!) set of shelves. The boyfriend assembled the shelves, and I cleared out all the Breyers from the closet and moved some that were harassing my Grand Champions. The Christmas decorations went back into the closet and viola! A much neater living room, much neater closet, and much safer home for the Breyers! (Some Schleichs sneaked in too....)

New Background

I finally got around to setting up my new background. I found this poster half off at a craft store, and it seemed perfect for my bigger traditional Breyer models. Here is my Barbaro, modeling the new backdrop. He sure is long!

The bottom still needs to be cropped off, but it is a huge area, and I'm happy with it.

I did spend part of the day finding those dang gray rocks!

Also, these are the first photos I've ever taken indoors that actually turned out alright. They still have a little of a tint to them, but I'm impressed with the overall turn-out. Hopefully this means more great photos in the future! It also means I'll be getting updated photos of all my Trads here soon!

Temptation and Good Karma

Today I was in my local flea market. They have a Hartland grazing mare and suckling foal for $15. I was very tempted to get them. They also have a pinto "Merrylegs" Breyer for $18, in fairly good condition. And a really beat up Paddock Pal for $15, definitely not worth it, but I felt so bad for him I really wanted to bring him home. I'm thinking those Hartlands will come home with me eventually, but I just don't have the money for them now.

*sigh*

However, I did my very good deed for the month, if not the whole year. I bought a stranded guy some gas. Now, I know what automatically jumps into everyone's mind--scammer. Well, he didn't ask for money, he asked for gas. And he was polite enough to wait to come up to my car (I was sitting in front of Wendy's, which is attached to a gas station, while my boyfriend was inside getting lunch) until my boyfriend came back. He explained about how his van had broke outside of Salt Lake and he'd had to pay his extra money to get it fixed. His goal was Cheyenne. I don't really have any extra money, but I had some saved in case of an emergency. I figured I could spare enough to get him to Cheyenne.

Trust me, the entire time I was thinking, if he's trying to scam me, what is he getting out of it? A half tank of gas? How is that going to hurt anybody? I figured, eh, what's the big deal? I at least got some major good karma out of it (and yes, I totally 100% believe in karma).

So, along with the snakes I posted about in facebook, and helping out a stranded dude, and hunting for gray rocks, I had a very entertaining day!

(In case anyone is wondering how this ties into model horses, you better believe I'm hoping that good karma=TH Arabians!)

And Just When I Thought....

....I might ever get the hang of it!

While searching for Babson horses of the Kuhaylan Jellabi strain, I ran across two articles,
http://egyptianarabian.blogspot.com/2009/10/kuhaylan-jellabi-versus-saqlawi-jedran.html
and
http://daughterofthewind.org/the-myth-of-kuhaylan-jellabi-in-egyptian-arabian-breeding/
(Note: the second article is duplicated on the page, so mind where one ends and the next one starts).

They say that based on genetics research done by a Michael Bowling, there are no Kuhaylan Jellabi asil horses in the Egyptian Arabian breeding. They also mention that although these findings came out over ten years ago, horse breeders still believe the "myth".

So....what am I to believe? And how does that affect my Kuhaylan Jellabi Egyptian Arabian I just bred?

Horse Highlight of the Week

Copper Traveler III

I've had this horse since about 1995 and he was my first herd stallion. He came in a set with three mares, but he was the only one with tack included. I had absolutely no idea what a Plantation Walker was, but he looked muscular. So when I played with him, he became the solid, sturdy fall-back guy. He was a guardian, a defender.

When my new herd stallion, Eclipse, came along, "Copper Traveler" for short (I never did call him just "Copper") became a second lieutenant, if you will. He was the back-up warrior, who was reliable and trustworthy and always did what was right.

Nowadays, I look on him with the gentleness I might look upon an old man who's been in my family for as long as I can remember. He's got rubs and battle scars all over. I feel sorta bad because I never did get his mare and foal until after I stopped playing and became just a collector. He always was the bachelor. I'm surprised, too. After all these years, and all the playing, his mane and tail are still as shiny and silky as ever.

The true meaning of "Treasure Hunt"

I sometimes think the "Hunt" part of that word is eclipsed by the excitement of the "Treasure" part. I can at least say for myself that I usually neglect the fact that it's considered a hunt to be difficult. Although, this brings back fond memories of childhood Easter Egg hunts, which were never very difficult. We always knew we could find eggs under the sofa cushions, in the tv cabinet, and in the organ. The baskets filled with the toys and bigger treats were always hidden in the corners.

Well, I attempted to find the 2011 Treasure Hunts today. That was a massive fail. Not a single Breyer carrier in my small town had even one of the beauties.

*sigh*

I guess I'll just have to wait until summer and try again. It might even require a trip down to Fort Collins or *shudder* Denver. I could always go the easy route and order them online, but....how is that a hunt if they're just given to you? :P

Sad Day

Today was the last day of my Horsemanship class. I'm going to miss Wisdom! I didn't get to ride him today, which would have been nice as a farewell. My friend actually got to ride him, and since she didn't have a partner, she rode both iterations. That would've made my day! She did ask me to come over and help her clean out his back hooves. He was being a pain and kicked out a little bit at her. I walked up to his head, talked to him, and then tried to pick up his foot. He behaved perfectly for me. I'd like to think he likes me, or else I'm pretty good at convincing horses to pick up their feet. Either way, it made me feel good!

I rode April, a quick Quarter horse mare. She was very responsive, and her trot was brisk. I about lost my stirrups when she sped up and took a corner fast--I had to rein her in before I fell off! LOL I was able to post on her for several strides. She had a nice even trot, so it wasn't hard to pick up on the rhythm. I'm getting better!

I am going to try and sign up for the class next semester and take the more advanced class on Saturday mornings, since the Thursday class will interfere with another of my important classes.

One of these days I'm going to get a custom done of Wisdom, as a tribute to the first horse I fell in love with.

I'm thinking about asking my friend Samantha--she does some very good black Stablemate customs ;) However, I'm not sure which mold would suit him best. He's half Arabian, but he doesn't have very strong Arabian traits. He's much more muscular and he doesn't have very much of a dish at all.

Any suggestions?

I'm thinking the G4 driving mare (with boy part added; Wisdom is a gelding), or the Trad. Black Stallion. Those two "feel" more like him.

The Things I Do for Ebay

Last night was a LONG one! Stayed up til one in the morning watching several ebay lots. Seriously, who puts ebay lots on there to end in the middle of the night?! Thankfully I was able to snag a few, including my absolute needed one--Silk 'n Speedy (the 1997 Spanish Barb foal).

Photo credit to Twistertoyz, who sold these lots

I also got:

• the UK Boulonaise mare and foal
• Fitzbrae (Irish Hunter colt)
• the UK buckskin Mustang
• Coronado Blaze (who I will be selling, as I have double)
• the Arabian Parade mare
  

I think that was it. Quite a good haul, if I do say so myself. Definitely worth staying up super late for!

Sadly, I missed out on getting Harmony, the NSH colt. That one is fairly hard to find, but I didn't want to pay more than $30 for him. Also missed Lucky's Chance, one of the harder to find pinto horses. Ah, well, next time.

The crazy lot of the night went to the rearing bay stallion. He sold for $113! That is a lot for a Grand Champion! It makes me sad, because I had the chance to buy one for $50 awhile ago and missed out on the opportunity.

But, I want to end on a good note. It was a great bounty! I will be taking photos once they arrive. Yay!

PIS Babson Arabians

I bred my first Babson Arabian today. Sirr Muhib is out of two Indigo Creek Stables horses. I am still fuzzy on the different strains, but Cindi helped me out a lot. You can see her wonderful horses and S/D list here.

I first came across the acronym PIS on Cindi's website. I had never seen it before, and only after asking after a breeding, did it come to my attention that it meant Pure In Strain. This is in regards to "fixing" a specific type and traits. It often requires some inbreeding to achieve the desired traits, and is therefore frowned upon by some breeders. But when two horses of the same strain are bred, the resulting foal is considered PIS. If not, as in the sire is of a different strain than the dam, the foal's strain is determined by what strain the mother is. This is significant, as it means that the dams pass on the strain, not the sire. In order to keep a strain alive, the mares of that strain must be bred.

From an article I read titled "Evolution of Arabian Strains: Part 1", I learned there are potentially more than 20 strains within the straight Egyptian community. The five most common are
1. Kuhaylan/Kuhayla/Koheilan/Koheila (as you can see, they often have different ways to spell them!)
2. Abbayan/Abbaya/Abbeyan/Abbeya
3. Saqlawi/Saqlawiyah/Sekalwi/Seklawiyah
4. Hadban Enzahi/Hadbah Enzahiyah
5. Dahman/Dahmah/Dehmen/Dehme

The Kuhaylan is often muscular, masculine and wide, even the mares! They are often heavier in bone and bay, with dark eyes. However, they may also come in gray.

The Abbayan is relatively more feminine, fine boned with feminine features. Their back may be longer than normal.

The Saqlawi is known for feminine grace and elegance. They are also comparable to the Kuhaylan in endurance. Extreme beauty, refinement, light in weight, and light in frame. They tend to be lighter in the behind, as well. Crossing them with the Kuhaylan strain is considered the "golden" cross.

The Hadban are handsome and great all-around horses. Bint Samiha, through Venus, has bred forward these characteristics.

Finally, the Dahman was known as the ideal blending of the Saqlawi and Kuhaylan strains. Therefore, they commonly have the elegance of the Saqlawi and strength of the Kuhaylan. Their heads are wide, relatively short, and tend to be more dished.

I usually have a hard time dissecting a model's traits and being able to "see" the specific traits and what strain would fit best. However, the Saqlawi makes me think of the Breyer Khemosabi, and most resins probably resemble the Dahman, with all that extra dish!

Edit: I came across this site: http://www.ranchobulakenyo.com/mares.shtm while looking for pure in strain horses. It lists what strain their mares fall under, which could be a potentially helpful tool.

Another helpful link, explaining strains: http://www.abraxasarabians.com/strain.cfm

Scammers and Photo Thiefs

A hot topic in the forums right now is about scammers and photo stealing. The general consensus is that they are young, pre-teen or at least young teens, and have absolutely no common sense about using what doesn't belong to them. I have a feeling this is going to be a common occurrence. Kids are being given this amazing device--a computer-- and they are suddenly finding the freedom that comes with the internet. Yet at the same time, I don't think their parents have been teaching them about copyright and that not everything on the internet is free. So they find a photo of something they like, and put it up on their website. Facebook seems to be the favorite hunting ground for this.
These cases are usually harmless, and the kids will be scared off by a couple warnings/threats (legal ones, of course, not physical!) about using photos that don't belong to them.

What worries me more are the scammers. High school, college-aged kids who have figured out a sly way to get "free" horses. Illegally borrowing photos from really good customizers, calling them their own work, and convincing others (probably younger girls) to "trade" them. Well, the innocent horse goes through the mail, and the customized horse is never to be found. Why? Because they never owned them in the first place. If the person didn't get caught in a month, say, imagine the damage they would wreak among the young collectors. They could gather quite a bounty of "free" horses in that time.

This irritates me. When I was six, an older friend convinced me that if I copied a book in my own handwriting, I could claim I was the one who wrote it. Well, my mother didn't exactly see the same way, and I learned right then and there that copying things that didn't belong to me was wrong. Who are these parents that raise their children to not know these things?!

Moral check: Taking something that doesn't belong to you, without permission, is stealing. This is wrong!

Am I worried about having my photos stolen and used by little girls wishing they had that horse? No. I grew up with a younger sister, and learned that this is a sign of flattery. It is irritating, yes, but not harmful. Am I worried about the scammers? Myself, I don't buy from anyone I haven't dealt with before. And that first dealing is usually a small one, so if I do get scammed, it's not as bad. And I don't create masterpieces of customized horses, so no worries there.

However, I have several friends in the model horse hobby that I will defend in cases such as this. If you steal their photos, or try to scam someone using said photos, I will not be your favorite person.

Thankfully, most of the women in this hobby have each others back, so I'm not very worried about the thieving.

How This is Going to Work

As this is the first post, it is usually customary to explain what this blog is about, who it's for, and why I'm doing it.

As to what this blog is about, the title says it all. This blog will track my successes, failures, surprises, buys, losses, and discoveries in my model horse collecting hobby.

This blog is for any one of my fellow model horse addicts, especially my friends, who can empathize with my adventures, perhaps learn a thing or two from the lessons I learn along the way, and who enjoy hearing about the life of the collector behind the horses. A stable doesn't run itself, you know!

Why am I doing it? Well, I enjoy writing, I enjoy blogging and sharing my insights and personal experiences, and I absolutely love horses. I've been inspired by some other bloggers and model horse collectors

See here: http://braymere.blogspot.com/
and here: http://modelhorsepedigrees.blogspot.com

Perhaps I can inspire someone else. At the very least, I'll entertain myself!