We said goodbye to our old fellow yesterday. Scenics Cowboy, or "Chance" as we called him was 18 years old and had been with my mom since he was 3. They were a formidable team, virtually undefeated in western pleasure locally, and I am sure that horse would have crawled under a car if he thought that would please mom. He was a true testament to her training techniques, as after only two weeks of "training" - consistent asking, no aides besides saddle, bridle and rider, she showed him under saddle in a western pleasure class of 17 and placed third. I remember riding him around showgrounds with my dad at hand during a show when I was about ten years old.
He was an incredible stallion - that sort of once in a lifetime horse, truly my mom's soulmate, and absolutely everything I like to see embodied in a stallion. Impeccable manners, undeniable talent, and an affinity for throwing his trainability and beautiful personality onto his offspring.
He was plagued with breathing problems since he was just a young fellow and this year has taken an especially big toll on him. He was losing weight, breathing hard and just miserable. No amount of management of environment or medications could help him. He told me about a month ago he was ready to go, and it took us this long to work up our courage, but it was definitely time for the old man to be free of pain. Didn't make it any easier, knowing that we weren't being selfish anymore, though.
He was our first paint stallion, and between losing him and my Angel, one of our best broodmares, it truly feels as though something has ended at our farm. We decided this year, for the reasons of the market, to discontinue our breeding programme and now we feel a bit lost, admittedly.
The last three months have been some of the most personally challenging times I have experienced, by far and away. Between losing my "soulmare" and now this fellow who I can almost not remember life before, it has been a struggle to stay on top of things for me - both personally and financially. Surely, Autumn 2006 will go on remembered in our family forever.
He was an incredible stallion - that sort of once in a lifetime horse, truly my mom's soulmate, and absolutely everything I like to see embodied in a stallion. Impeccable manners, undeniable talent, and an affinity for throwing his trainability and beautiful personality onto his offspring.
He was plagued with breathing problems since he was just a young fellow and this year has taken an especially big toll on him. He was losing weight, breathing hard and just miserable. No amount of management of environment or medications could help him. He told me about a month ago he was ready to go, and it took us this long to work up our courage, but it was definitely time for the old man to be free of pain. Didn't make it any easier, knowing that we weren't being selfish anymore, though.
He was our first paint stallion, and between losing him and my Angel, one of our best broodmares, it truly feels as though something has ended at our farm. We decided this year, for the reasons of the market, to discontinue our breeding programme and now we feel a bit lost, admittedly.
The last three months have been some of the most personally challenging times I have experienced, by far and away. Between losing my "soulmare" and now this fellow who I can almost not remember life before, it has been a struggle to stay on top of things for me - both personally and financially. Surely, Autumn 2006 will go on remembered in our family forever.
He just had a medicine hat and some roaning on his chest, down his back a bit and on his flanks. He had an affinity for throwing that color pattern, too, lol - we have an own son of his (yearling) in our barn right now that looks exactly like him, and a GRANDDAUGHTER (weanling) that looks exactly like him as well.
