“There’s a weanling filly in the southwest lean-to stall and small adjacent walkout.”
It’s the first foal that’s been retained in a dozen years from the nearly 60-years’ Quarter Horse breeding operation.
After developing a 40-head broodmare band, an annual production sale for 25 years attracted buyers from throughout the country.
The business was somewhat financially successful, but mostly enjoyment of seeing new foals every spring. Then merchandizing them to those who became best friends and made the horses into outstanding achievers.
A true romance is the only completely accurate way to describe the horse breeding endeavors. Bred to be and promoted as such, they were “The Cowboy’s Kind.” Now years later, contacts are received regularly from those who have, want or are interested in the horses.
Most years, the foals sold for what then seemed high prices. At least the income made major impact on paying for the ranch.
Market demand declined not only locally but nationwide as foals sold for as much as 80 percent below previous times. Dream-come-true and thrill of producing and selling horses with six generations of ranch breeding became work. Previous gratification turned into an annual dread.
Numbers were reduced dramatically mostly by giving mares away, selling some as seed stock and marketing others inexpensively to whoever. With two handfuls of mares retained mostly all going back to the 1962-beginning, merchandizing babies was quite the burdensome ordeal.
Complete registration paperwork in hand, yet unhandled, unfit the very wild appearing weanlings were “run through” the local auction barn. With quality of full siblings high in demand a decade earlier, those foals right off their mommas sold embarrassingly cheap.
Easy decision would have been to just “get rid of” all the broodmares. Somehow that just didn’t seem right to put aside a lifetime of horse breeding because of the inconveniences involved.
Instead with a home raised stallion, the horse operation was handled exactly like the cowherd, truly with far less management.
No further attempt was made to sell foals rather giving them to those who’d appreciate and develop the horses’ potential. No foals were retained for continuation of ranch breeding until now.
That intensely inbred, line bred grey filly of lifetime ranch heritage is “Zanetta,” as the romance has returned.
Reminded of Romans 12:12: “Romance is keeping yourselves fueled and aflame.”
+++ALLELUIA+++
XV–43–10-24-2021
