High Plains 2020 foals

[Silver City Heritage Farm]

Thank you for the pedigrees, I do truly enjoy reading them!  I see that many of the horses I like have NFC Egyptian King in them.  It's usually on the top line of the mare.  Funny how that works, isn't it?  For all that many miniature people say that "pedigree doesn't matter, they're a height breed, not a REAL breed", if one likes a specific type there is usually a pedigree consistency to it.

I'm glad your little Flame is getting over the sand eating.  I always used the generic orange psyllium from Walmart.  It was inexpensive and seemed to do the job well.

[dcwolcott]

Pedigrees DO matter!  Some horses just have such strong genes, they produce a well know type!  Look at Gold Melody Boy lines, or Boones Little Buckeroo -- you can "see" Buckeroo offspring and identify the line almost at birth.  Then there's Hemlock Brooks Egyptian King, Flying W Farms Little Blue Boy, Rowdy and others.

Then there are the Falabellas.  Falabellas are NOT a height breed, they are a real breed.  They are psysiologically different -- with pure Falabellas having seventeen vertebrae instead of eighteen, and one less pair of ribsc. There are other differences and the breed is just that....a breed, not a height registry.  Falabellas have their own registries in several countries and most require DNA testing for purity.

How is Flame doing with the sand eating??  Praying he's given it up!   

[elizabeth.conder]

Been a while since an update. Flame is still sentenced to stall rest since he still finds dirt appetizing. He?s doing better though and not eating it as often or as much. Onyx is doing great, thankfully he does not find dirt tasty. They have both slowed on growth. Onyx is 24.5 inches at 3 months which has him on pace to mature between 30 and 31 inches. Flame is 25.5 inches at 2 months which has him on pace to mature between 33 and 34 inches. Both colts have developed a lot of personality. Flame is more laid back and people friendly. Onyx is friendly but a bit higher strung. Speaking of which I entered Onyx on an online show last month. He took first in weanling and 4th our of 8 in weanling/yearling. There were 2 yearlings almost 2 years old ahead of him and a 6 month old Shetland ahead of him. Trying again this month. I still think I?ll probably keep Onyx for now and sell Flame. I?ll see if I can add some pictures...

[elizabeth.conder]

Flame first, you can see how many white hairs are coming in around his eyes. Definitely going grey like Izzy

Still working on posing for the camera with Onyx. He likes to stretch way out.

[Chanda]

They look good, and well-behaved.
Mine are little heathens, but I've left them to their own devices.  With wet weather and running all over, I've not done much with them, yet.

[elizabeth.conder]

They look good, and well-behaved.
Mine are little heathens, but I've left them to their own devices.  With wet weather and running all over, I've not done much with them, yet.

Thank you! They are pretty well behaved but I can?t take credit for that. Their mamas have been excellent. Izzy is very experienced and Belle is a natural.

That?s totally understandable! I?m sure they?ll learn very quickly.

[elizabeth.conder]

Onyx is officially 4.5 months and Flame is almost 4 months. Onyx measured 26 inches and Flame 27. So it looks like Flame actually will stay under 34 inches. I haven?t listed him yet. Just haven?t got good pictures. I entered Onyx in a couple online shows and he actually did really well for his age. I?ve talked to a couple trainers and trying to decide if I want to send him away to be trained or do it myself. With what little time I have hahahaha. Anyway here?s a few fun pictures of them. As you can see Flame is definitely going grey...and fast.

[dcwolcott]

Those are some handsome boys!!!

I always used an outside trainer for the many horses I had shown.  There was one year I had two boys shown, and literally had to choose who and where.  So I had a trainer in the midwest show one young stallion only AMHR, and had a trainer in Florida show the other young stallion in AMHA only.  It was a bit crazy that year, and after that I tried never to show two horses that would compete against each other in the same class in the registries  But that crazy year the boys did me proud and we got a 2nd place in color with a leopard appaloosa boy in AMHA Nationals, with the other boy doing All Stars and scoring very well nationally.  The trainer didn't take him to Nationals like he was contracted to, and wound up taking his own young stallion instead.  Needless to say, Contract broken and money returned with the horse.  LOL

After that, I used a Florida trainer and showed both AMHA & AMHR and did very well with several of my horses.  It does get expensive and you really need to stay on top of how many shows your horse(s) is going to and making sure the trainer is not just promoting their business.  Show fees, travel, health certificates for crossing state lines, etc., can all add up.  Be prudent in doing enough shows to qualify for Nationals, but look at the outcomes of the shows and be critical of your own horse to see if going to Nationals is financially reasonable -- i.e., the horse has a real possibility of getting a National Title and/or placement.

Best of luck!!

[elizabeth.conder]

Thank you! I have talked to a couple of trainers. One is pretty high profile and she wants him on her showstring. She does 3 local shows and the regional show and then nationals. Problem is she is across the country hahaha.