Horse of the Week

HVK Noble Heiress - ‘Mama Tess’ - 1997 World Championship Morgan

Dawn Diovera of the Horse and Man blog talks about her World Championship Morgan Mare HVK Noble Heiress:

I’m very proud of MamaTess.  She is a ‘been there, done that’ kind of mare who trusts me so much – it makes me feel honored.

You see, Tess was my first show horse.  I made a sudden decision to visit Kohler Farms (yes, the sink people) when I was on a business trip 20 years ago…

Tess showing in-hand at Nationals long ago… Her trainer was Forest Nealon from Illahee.

THE STORY

Long ago, one of the most famous Morgan horse sires was Noble Flaire.  He was owned by the Kohlers.

Noble Flaire won everything – or just about everything – in the Park and In-Hand divisions.

He was like a God of horses in the Morgan world.

Now, the Kohlers were smart business people, obviously, so they decided to keep his breedings close to their chests… they only bred him to their mares.

The only way you could get a foal was to buy one of theirs.

Smart marketing.

Of course, this ‘hard to get’ aspect kept all of us on the outside wanting a foal from him.

I was one of those who wanted a Kohler foal.  I was so into genetics and trying to figure which crosses would be so great with Noble Flaire… but the only way to cross to him was to buy what they had paired with him already.

Hmmmm.  How could I do this?  How could I create babies with his superior skills (I hoped)?

Tess at Nationals. She won. Many of you wonder if that knee action is natural and I will show you in the next photo… Yes, it is. She trots over level barefooted when she is showing off. Her sire was Noble Flaire.

I LANDED AT KOHLER FARMS

Well, as fate would have it…I had a layover in Chicago and decided to rent a car and drive up to Kohler, Wisconsin (where their farm was so large, they made a town of it…).

I called their trainer, Tom Caisse, and said I wanted to look over his stock and could I visit?

He actually picked up the phone and said, “Sure!”

I couldn’t believe he was going to open the doors to me… it was well known that the Kohlers didn’t need any buyers or any business; their farm was for their family to enjoy.

What I didn’t know at the time was that Tom Caisse had decided to get out of the breeding business.

I didn’t know this…

But, when I got there, he was ready to deal.

This is Tess with 2 week old Ava (Unfaithful). As you can see, her filly Ava has the over level knee and  hock action from birth. It is genetic.

THE TOUR

First of all, I arrived in February, the absolute slowest time for any horse business, as we all know… So, I had that going for me…

But my total ‘awe and star struckness’ was big!  I had never seen a private facility like this (understatement).

It was huge, clean, pristine, state-of-the-art and all the horses ALL OF THEM, were perfectly turned out.  IN WINTER!!!

I don’t think I can adequately describe what it was like touring the personal training facility of the Kohler family.

Let me just say, it was a beautiful experience (understatement).

You should have seen the fixtures in their barn bathrooms!!!

And, what really made me laugh was that there were boxes of faucets and fixtures and tubs, etc, stored in the barns.  I had to laugh.  Even these people stashed stuff in their unused spaces…

Anyway, Tommy showed me all of Flaire’s yearling and weanling (which was amazing), but I didn’t find the one.

That’s when I saw her.

This is me with Tess just after she gave birth to Ava (Unfaithful).

This is little Ava (Unfaithful) as a tiny filly.

 

She was coming 2.

Her name was HVK (Herbert V Kohler) Picnic.

Hmmmmmm.  I’d have to change the name…but she was definitely THE ONE.  In her paddock, she was trotting over level and had such presence that I gasped.

She was out of the famous mare, Maywine.

I loved her immediately – and a deal was struck.  A deal that I’m sure Tom Caisse wouldn’t have made if he thought he was going to continue breeding/training…

…which he did.

But on that day, I hit it right and she was sold to me.

Yes!

Ava (Unfaithful) winning at the Worlds.  Same knee/hock action she had as a tiny filly.

TESS’ CAREER

I changed her name to HVK Noble Heiress with the barn name of Tess.

No one had ever seen a Kohler mare on the west coast.  She was the first.  And, as hot and talented horses suffer often – there were no trainers out here who could deal with her.

Except one.

Illahee.  Forest Nealon.  He was young and willing to work really hard to understand her.

And they won together.

And won and won and won…

So we took her to Nationals, and she won again.  SHE WON!

This is Tess’ first filly, Gwen.  Ulendon is her Great-grand sire.  Orcland Bold Fox is her Grand sire.  General Crook is her sire.  (I am very proud of her lineage…) I raised and trained Gwen myself. She still lives here with me and I write about her often. She is a prankster!

This is Gwen all tacked up on a special ride we did to help the CA State Parks.

 

MY PROMISE

I told her that if she won at the World Championships, I would retire her.

She won … so I retired her.

Silly me.

I often think about what I would have done with the incredible purchase offers that were thrown my way after her victories in 1997.

But, I didn’t take them.  I let her retire.

Hmmmmmm.

The flip side of not selling her was that I was able to experience babies – 6 of them!  Babies are my favorite!

This is Ava again… She won everything for her new owner.

THE BABIES

She became ‘Mama Tess’ because she loved being a mother.

Tess pampered and spoiled all of her get – which was a problem because she was lead mare…

So, her babies were not well behaved and could taunt all the other horses without impunity.

Again, not good.

But, gawd her babies were all beautiful and mostly talented.  Tess fulfilled my secret geneticist dream of creating Kohler crossed babies.

So, on this Mother’s Day, I’m going to show you a few of her babies in tribute to her contribution to Damdom.

She has had 6 babies.   One was sold before it was born and the other sold shortly thereafter.  The photos above and below are the 4 babies that I raised… plus one grandfilly!

This is Bellorazzo when he was still living here. I call him Razzo. He was very full of himself…

He is also a Champion – those genes pass through well!

Razzo rides, too! He is the biggest of Tess’ babies.

Yup. This is Wrigley as a baby… he hasn’t changed much! ;)  Wrig is the last of Tess’ foals.  He lives here with me.

 

This is Wrigley… he is full of himself, foo.

He is very talented but very hot… and in training with a vary calm, lovely trainer.

AND THE GRANDFILLY…

And this is the lovely CBMF Cheating Heart. She is the filly of Ava (Unfaithful) by Street Talk.  Looks just like her Granddam, doesn’t she?…

 ALL THIS JOY MAMATESS HAS BROUGHT TO ME…

Which is why I will do anything to make her better. Tess, has been suffering laminitis for a few weeks now.

I’ve been speaking about the protocol we are using to help her, here.

 

 

The Grand Dam herself… eating her medicine and recovering in the barn – I will do anything for her – she has given her entire life to me.

Dawn Diovera Horse and Man

Animal Kingdom the racehorse who recovered from 2 seperate fractures and still went on to win the world's richest race the Dubai World Cup 2013

Winning the world's richest race, the $10 million Dubai World Cub, is a fairy tale result for Animal Kingdom, a horse who suffered from a slab fracture of the left hock, not once but twice,which was repaired with 2 screws in his leg.

Most horses would at best have been retired, at worst destroyed, with such devasting injury instead Animal Kingdom was treated at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and carefully brought back into training. The gamble paid off, he won the Dubai World Cup by an easy 2 lenghts.

Animal Kingdom was foaled on March 20, 2008 in Kentucky, by Leroidesanimaux out of Dalicia. He won the 137th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in 2011, was runner up in the Preakness and came 6th in the Belmont when he finished with a stiff left hind leg which scanning showed to be the slab fracture.

Animal Kingdom has been sold to the Arrowfield Stud in Australia where his breeding career will commence in September. Meantime there is talk of Royal Ascot...

Lord Avie oldest living Eclipse winner

Our Horse of the Week is Lord Avie, at 34 he is the oldest living Eclipse winner.

His trainer still comes to see him…

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The ancient stallion spends his days grazing in a spacious paddock at an historic Virginia farm. His back is swayed, his front teeth are missing, and white hairs spread across his dark face like a spiderweb.
Whenever a van rumbles up the old farm road, his long ears pop forward and he breaks into a gallop ? in case, perchance, the van is bringing him a date. But those days have long passed.
Years ago he was a champion and the early favorite for the 1981 Kentucky Derby. Now the horse is 34 ? nearly unheard of for a Thoroughbred ? and few people even know he’s alive. He has no fan club or farm guest book in which visitors scribble reverential remembrances. A Facebook page once created for him sits dormant with two lonely “likes.”
But twice a year, as regular as the seasons, one man remembers. He drives his car up the bumpy farm road bringing a bag of peppermints. His hair is white, and his memory is sharp. He can’t say whether the horse remembers him, but he remembers.
The man is 86. For three decades he has driven miles out of his way to share a few minutes with the horse that brought him his greatest glory. Why does he come? It’s the best horse he ever trained, but it goes deeper than that.
“When I first saw him, I fell in love with him.”

To read the full Daily Racing Form story and see more of Barbara Livingston's wonderful photographs of Lord Avie click here.

To find out more about the photographer Barbara Livingston please visit her website Barbara Livingston

Update: Lord Avie died in December 2012 at the age of 34

Charlie the pony found abandoned and roaming the streets in Ireland after data showed he had been slaughtered 11 months ago

This is Charlie the pony cob found wandering the streets in Ireland at the height of the horse meat scandal. Just one of thousands of abandoned equines, Charlie hit the news because he had previously been microchipped which led to his being identified as a horse that had been slaughtered in an Irish abbatoir in March 2012.

But of course Charlie wasn't dead he was, although starving, very much alive. The gardai (Irish police) asked Hungry Horse Outside an equine rescue centre in Longford to take Charlie in and it was they who discovered that he had supposedly been slaughtered.

This probably means that Charlie's passport was sold to be used so that another, possibly larger, horse could go to slaughter.

Charlie's previous owner was contacted but she had let Charlie go some 3 years ago and although upset to hear of his plight was unable to take him back. So Charlie is currently in the care of Hungry Horse Ouside but he is looking for a new home. If you think you have the facilities and knowledge to give Charlie a home please contact Hungry Horse Outside.

 

Jenny Camp one of the greatest eventing horses of all time

Jenny Camp, one of the greatest eventing horses of all time, was born in1926 as a result of the US Army's breeding program,  the ‘Army Remount Service’. For the first time in the USA there was a  scientific approach to horse breeding for the cavalry and some of the best horses from all over the USA were bought from private owners to develop the horses. Thoroughbreds,  Morgans, Standardbreds, Quarter Horses, horses with a reputation for speed, strength and jumping prowess were purchased by the Remount. Jenny Camp was foaled at the Fort Robinson Remount Station in Virginia in 1926 by the thoroughbred stallion Gordon Russell, who was himself one of the most valuable breeding stallions the U.S. Army, out of an unknown mare thought to be a throughbred /standardbred cross.

Jenny Camp grew to just under 15.3hh, quite small for an eventing horse but the bay mare was given to Col. Earl F. “Tommy” Thomson of Fort Riley's ‘Advanced Equitation School’ where the US Army 's most talented riders worked on their horse training and riding skills. Tommy Thompson and Jenny Camp went on to win individual silver and team gold at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

1936 just before the outbreak of World War II the Olympics were held in Berlin and Jenny Camp ridden by Tommy Thomson were again on the USA's eventing team. They were in second place after the dressage but the cross country course was proving devastating, one of their team members Slippery Slim had had to be destroyed after breaking a leg at the notorious Fence 4, The Pond.

The Pond actually appeared to be a  straightforward 3 foot post and rail fence into water, cross the pond, and jump out again. But as the horses started going round the course taking the quickest, straightest route through the water  they found that it was suddenly deeper than it had appeared on the course inspection, and the surface underneath was soft and boggy. Of the 48 starters only 15 successfully negoitated The Pond these included the whole German team who all took a wider, longer route to the left of the fence.

Jenny Camp was late in the starting order by which time rumors about Fence 4 had started to filter back to the waiting riders so Tommy took the longer left-hand route and they completed the course without penalties.  A clear round in the show jumping gave them the individual silver medal making Jenny Camp one of only three horses to win individual eventing medals at consecutive Olympic Games, the others being Charisma with Mark Todd, 1984 and 1988, and Marcroix with Lt. Charles F. Pahud de Mortanges, 1928 and 1932.

The 1936 games would be the last Olympics until after World War II and Jenny Camp was retired   as a broodmare in California, she died at the age of 32.

“She had tremendous heart and a willingness to do her job,”  Maj. Gen. Jonathan R. Burton.

Video footage from the 1936  Olympic Games Equestrian Cross Country event can be seen here 1936 Olympic Cross Country - Part 1 and here More 1936 Olympic Cross Country Footage - includes the notorios Fence 4 - The Pond.

Rosebud the mule, the official mascot of Central Virginia Horse Rescue

This week's Horse of the Week is Rosebud the mule, she is the official mascot of Central Virginia Horse Rescue and she has a starring role in the 2013 Horses and Hope Calendar a calendar featuring rescued auction horses.

All the equines featured in the calendar were at auction with uncertain fates and 100% of the profits of these calendars will be donated to a fund with One Horse At A Time. Inc the funds will be used to help horses in need.

Rosebud, born February 14, 1980, was formerly a working Amish mule and was purchased at auction for only $50. Rosebud  tells us, via Facebook that,

"When I came to Central Virginia Horse Rescue, I was very, very thin.  People looked at me and said I would never be fat again.  Even in the pasture full of nice green grass, I stayed thin.  The dentist came and worked on my teeth.  He said I was very old and that my teeth weren't growing the way they should.  He filed some of them off but it didn't really help me chew grass.  I chew and chew but then I end up spitting it out in a ball. 

The folks at CVHR tried all kinds of diets until they finally found one that worked for me. It took me almost a year to get fat and sassy but I am and you can see it in my pictures.  Did you know that old horses can choke to death on grass and hay? Those balls of grass or hay that I drop, are called quids and they can get stuck in a horse's throat and cause them to choke. People have asked me to share my diet so that maybe other horses can benefit from it. 

Rosebud's Weight Gain Diet

Breakfast

6 lbs of Senior feed (2 scoops)

1/2 cup rice bran oil

Lunch

2 scoops of Beet Pulp (soaked)

1 scoop of alfalfa (soaked)

Dinner

6 lbs of Senior Feed

1/2 cup rice bran oil

Midnight Snack

2 scoops of Beet Pulp (soaked)

1 scoop of alfalfa (soaked)

Snacks:  Jelly Donuts and applesauce

Supplements 

I get fed many times a day because a mule and a horse needs to have something in their stomach all the time.  I am much happier when I get a little bit off and on during the day.  Because I am eating Senior feed, I drink a LOT of water every day.  Senior feed is important because it melts in my mouth and I can swallow it easily.  Sometimes Mom soaks it so that it melts before I eat it.  

Mom says that I am cut back on to one scoop of beet pulp and no oil at each feeding because I am getting too fat.  She says that I will probably go back to 2 scoops when it gets cold. "

"I am a senior mule. It doesn't have anything to do with age but a lot to do with maturity and experience. They tell me I am a critic but I think I just have a very strong opinion."

You can keep up to date with Rosebud via her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RosebudRules

Please click here to reserve your copy of the Horses and Hope 2013 Calendar!  

Zelda the Zorse

Zelda ia a Zorse, a cross between a Grevy's Zebra stallion and a Belgian Draft mare she is believed to be one of only two Zorses in the USA out of a Belgian Draft.

16.2hh Zelda lives in Hopkins, Michigan, USA with her owners Jerry Johnson, known as her Chief of Staff and Cheryl Johnson known as Zelda's Agent. She is ridden and she attends various events that have made her a star attracting thousands of fans on her Facebook page.

14 year old Zelda started out in life as an exhibit of exotic animals in West Michigan, the Johnson's acquired her when the collection of exotic animals was broken up due to the demise of their owner. The Johnson's say that:

"Zelda is the perfect pasture buddy and a great addition to our lives. She's just "one of the herd," although unsuspecting visitors often ask, "What is That?" when she appears at the fence line.

Zelda is friendly, but a bit wary of strangers. Like a lot of mules, she bonds to the person who handles her the most (or who brings the food!)

She  loves treats and hangin with her mule, donkey and horse friends at the farm. Zelda loves personal attention. Scratch her ears and your her BFF."

 

You'll find loads more photographs and videos of Zelda the Zorse at her website where you can even purchase a Zelda t-shirt!

Goldeneye Johnny Depp ' s Horse from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow

Johnny Depp 's equine co-star in the 1999 Tim Buton film adaptation of Washington Irving's classic horror Sleepy Hollow was a one eyed horse named Goldeneye. Goldeneye played the part of Ichabod Crane 's mount Gunpowder.

Depp had a few unpleasant encounters with horses during the making of Sleepy Hollow,

 “One morning when we were filming Sleepy Hollow, Tim called me to the set, pointed to two large horses strapped to a carriage and said, ‘This is what we are going to be doing today.’”

“I was to hold on to the carriage behind the horses, being dragged along through the muck. The horses must have fed on curry. I’ve never smelt anything like that.”

Even so, when Depp learned that Goldeneye was to be destroyed after filming he stepped in and adopted his equine co-star and saved the horse's life.

The follwoing videos show the making of Sleepy Hollow make interesting viewing:

 

This second video explains some of the "tricks" used with the headless horseman's horse, Daredevil.

 

In this last video there are some good shots of the grey Goldeneye in the Western Woods along with the "famous" carriage scene and lots more about Daredevil.

 

Image found via Beth Greer

Thumbelina the World's Smallest Horse

Thumbelina of Goose Creek Farms, St Louis, Missouri, USA was certified in 2006 in the Guiness Book of Records as the world's smallest horse. She stands at only 17 ½ inches tall (44.5 cms) and weighs only 57 pounds, smaller than many dogs.

Thumbelina 's extraordinary dimutive size is due to dwarfism, her parents were normal sized miniature horses  standing at about 29 inches but Thumelina weighed only 8 ½ pounds at birth. Michael Goessling, son of breeders Kay and Paul, said in an interview with the Daily Mail

'When she was born, she was so small we thought she wasn't going to make it, She weighed eight pounds when she came out and she looked very ill. We feared the worst. Because her legs are proportionally smaller than her body and her head, she has to wear orthopaedic fittings to straighten them a lot of the time. But we love her and wouldn't want her any other way.'

But Thumbelina thrived and as the tiny chesnut mare became famous the Goessling's decided to create the 'Thumbelina Charitable Foundation' in an attempt to direct all of the attention and affection that she was receiving from around the world toward needy children. Thumbelina travels around the USA promoting the charity in her own stable on wheels the ThumbyMobile. It's a 30 ft RV converted into a horsebox with air conditioner and a side-loading ramp. It also carries her food, bedding, grooming supplies, and even the dog house that she sleeps in at home.

Thumbelina travels thousands of miles a year to raise funds for the following charitie, for more information visit Thumbelina's own website

 

Hospitals St. Jude Children's Hospital Shriners Hospitals for Children St. John's Mercy Kentucky Children's Hospital Children's Specialize Hospital Scheider Children's Hospital Cabell Huntington Hospital WVU Children's Hospital Hasbro Children's Hospital Children's Hospital of Buffalo Lutheran Children's Hospital Children's Mercy Hospital Children's Care Hospital & School MeritCare Children's Hospital

National Foundation for Children with Cancer Ronald McDonald House Tiger Woods Foundation Catholic Charities March of Dimes Big Brothers Big Sisters Special Olympics Girls and Boys Town Toys for Tots Variety Easter Seals Autism Society of America Therapeutic Fieldstone Farm Therspeutic Riding Center Equestrian Therapy Program Camp Casey The Painted Turtle

Children's Homes, Schools and Shelters: Edgewood Children's Center St. Joseph Children's Center Youth Villages Klingberg Family Centers Nokomis Child Care Centers Pendleton Academies Hays Shelter Home Marygrove Others Little People of America Big Apple Circus Circus Flora Shriners Circus Local-Regional KidsSmart The Tomorrow Fund

 

Sandy the mustang mare

Sandy, a Virginia Range wild horse who lived peacefully on Nevada USA state lands in the foothills that surround Reno was recently captured by the Nevada Department of Agriculture along with the rest of her herd, 23 adults and 7 foals.

The horses were being sold by the pound, in grave danger of being purchased by kill buyers who would ship them for slaughter in Canada or Mexico.They mobilized to rescue her after the state captured her and her band and dumped them at a livestock auction.

However, different buyers were present to purchase the horses and rescue them from the cruelest of fates. These buyers were wild horse advocates, and thanks to  the dedicated supporters of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC), they had the resources needed to purchase every one of the horses.

There was an unbelievable show of support and concern for Sandy and the rest of these horses. On Tuesday afternoon Nevada advocates were in despair due to a lack of funds to purchase all of the horses at auction. On Tuesday evening, an appeal for funds was sent out. Within six hours, enough money was transfered to the Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund to ensure that every single one of the horses could be rescued!

From the U.S. to Canada to the UK and Belgium, people responded to the appeal in force. Funds were forthcoming from people who had been laid off from their jobs, people whose funds were strapped due to medical expenses, people who had their own horses to feed. Supporters wrote that they were praying for the horses to be saved, spreading the word to all their friends, calling the Governor to protest this shameful treatment of Nevada's proud mustangs.

"Tuesday morning we felt defeated. We were in tears because we just didn't have the funds, and these horses -- who we'd come to know and love after years of watching them -- were going to slaughter. Within a few hours, a miracle happened and the funds were there, thanks to the outpouring of support. We are so grateful to AWHPC and deeply touched by the fact that so many people care about our wild horses! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who helped make this rescue possible." - Carrol Abel, Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund.

Sandy and her herd have been saved but there are others who will need help, here's what you can do to help:

►Donate to our Virginia Range Mustang Rescue Fund. All funds will be used to help with the care and feeding of Sandy, her family and the other rescued Virginia Range horses while permanent homes are found. If enough funds are raised, they will also be used for the rescue of additional Virginia Range horses who are expected to be put up for auction in the coming weeks, and to secure a humane management policy for all wild horses living on state lands in Nevada.

► Permanent homes are needed for these horses. If you or know anyone you know can offer one, please contact Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection immediately by clicking here.

►Contact Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval today! (775-684-5670 or 702-486-2500) and send him a message through his website. Tell the governor politely but in the strongest of terms that his Nevada Department of Agriculture's (NDOA's) policy toward the state's iconic wild horses is shameful. If you are from out of state, remind him that tourism is Nevada's number one industry, and tell him that you will not spend your tourism dollars in his state until this policy is changed. Inform the governor that the continued dumping of wild Nevada mustangs at livestock auctions to be sold for slaughter is unacceptable. Ask him to direct the NDOA to work with local wild horse groups to place captured horses and to implement management programs aimed at keeping the Virginia Range horses in the wild, where they belong.

 

Source

Here's a video of the rescued horse in their temporary home.