BREEDING FOR THE PLEASURE HORSE
As we head into Spring, our association faces several challenges but also has unlimited opportunities. Together, we can meet those challenges and use the opportunities to further promote the Spotted Saddle Horse and SSHBEA.
A primary challenge is improving our financial condition. SSHBEA has always been (and remains) financially sound. Profits generated from inception in 1985 through 1999 have enabled the association to build a significant cushion to make it through the down times. However, three years of consecutive losses have eroded that cushion somewhat, and it is time to restore the association to profitability. The Board and Officers have committed themselves to restoring profitability in 2004 by lowering expenses, not increasing the fees paid by our members. As such, the 2004 budget projects expenses being lowered by approximately $90,000. The most major change involves our magazine. Based on changing the paper and the printing process itself, our printing and postage bill for 2004 should be about $40,000 lower than in 2003. Despite the changes, our magazine remains attractive, informative, and popular. Based on these and other changes, our association is expected to post a modest profit of approximately $45,000 in 2004.
As an association, we have tremendous opportunities. Our horse is beautiful, versatile, and popular. We need to remember that our primary task it to promote the horse, whether it is at a horse show, at a horse fair, in paid advertising, or wherever else the chance may arise. 2004 will again see us participate in Equine Affaire and other horse fairs across the country. In addition, our state clubs continue to grow and have opportunities to promote the breed at the local level, a level that can sometimes go unnoticed in a national organization.
Our corporate sponsor program is being expanded, with a renewed emphasis on "commercial corporate" sponsors and a new push for $5,000 and $3,000 sponsors. SSHBEA is a 4,000-plus member organization with a lot of buying power. We purchase trucks, trailers, feed, tack, etc. Given our size, we should be able to attract sponsors who see the value in marketing to a group of our size. One thing is needed to make this work - information. Soon, you will be receiving a marketing questionnaire in the mail. Please take a couple of minutes to fill it out and send it back in. The information gathered will enable us to provide potential sponsors with data that will allow them to know that their corporate sponsor dollars are a wise investment. This program is not designed to end our traditional corporate sponsor programs, and, if you have been a corporate sponsor in the past, I encourage you to do so again in 2004. The value you receive for your $1,000 or $500 sponsor is worth the cost, and it enables you to help us put on the Spring Show, the World Grand Championship Show, and the Sport Horse World Grand Championships.
As I said at the beginning, our association has both challenges and opportunities. The goal of your Board, Officers, and staff members is to meet those challenges and use the opportunities to better promote the breed and SSHBEA. In closing, I encourage you to be involved. This association is ours. All of us who are members have both an opinion and a vote. Be willing to let your Board and Officers know what you think, both the good and the bad. Be willing to serve, either as an elected official or as a committee member. And, finally, vote. When election time comes, don’t let your opportunity to directly impact the future of our association pass you by.
Thanks!
Hubert Perry, President
As I sit down to write my comments for this issue for the fifth time, the words until this point have simply just failed me. So with deadline staring me in the face, today is the day. First, it’s very obvious to you that there was a change made in the 2004 WGC Sport Horse/Awards Banquet issue. This change was made at the very last minute, just prior to press time. The decision to go with a lower quality paper was one that the Board suffered over prior to making and taking the final step.
It is no secret that the NEWS magazine has never been a profitable venture. However, it has been the biggest financial drain on this association in the past several years. We have been offering the membership a full page Black and White ad for $153.00 from the time I took this position as Editor in June of 1995 without a rate raise until July 2003. For sometime now our cost per page to produce and print that very same page has been $250. Not too hard to figure out why we’re in the red. There was only two ways to go…stop publishing a magazine or regroup… and regroup was the vote.
This being said, I truly hope that you the membership and the advertising customer will bear with me and your association until we can do our job, tighten our belts and overcome some of the financial problems of the magazine. This cannot be done with out the continuing support of you, the loyal advertiser. Our format may have changed, but our advertising rates are now at and most often lower than publications of equal or lesser quality.
It has been my pleasure to serve as your editor in the past and I am looking forward to reaching for a bigger and better NEWS publication in the future…together this can be accomplished.
Spring Show Silent Auction
Every year we hold a Silent Auction on Friday and Saturday night of the Spring Show. This year's dates for the Spring Show are April 29-30th and May 1st. If you have any items that you would like to donate for our Silent Auction, please contact an auxiliary member. Please stop by our auction tables in the Calsonic over the entry gates Friday and Saturday evenings and place your bids. Bidding will end at 9:00 p.m. Saturday.
Spring Show Center Ring
Every year we are asked by SSHBEA to help with the expense of center ring decorations. This year M & L Greenhouse will again do the decorations, and the Basket Case in Lewisburg will provide the floral horseshoes. All auxiliary members are asked to work various events during the year which includes helping in the center ring. Working center ring includes organizing the ribbons along with any awards to be presented, and escorting the youth during ribbon presentations and pictures. We hope to see each and every one of you at the show, and for those of you showing, "GOOD LUCK".
Ladies’ Auxiliary $1000 Scholarship
Every year the Ladies’ Auxiliary awards a $1000 scholarship to a SSHBEA member continuing his or her education at a college or trade school. Last year’s winner was Amanda Eaton who is attending MTSU. Application deadline for the 2004 scholarship must be postmarked by April 24th. Applications may be picked up at the SSHBEA office or by contacting a SSHBEA member and should be mailed to SSHBEA Ladies Auxiliary, P.O. Box 1013, Shelbyville, TN 37162
Disaster Relief Fund
The Ladies’ Auxiliary knows that disaster and tragedy come in many forms, whether it is medical or weather related, expected or not. We have elected a committee to organize and oversee a Disaster Relief Fund. Kim McMahan, Janice Higgins and Michelle Perry will be putting together some guidelines for this fund. We hope to put this project into effect during our 2004 year.
Fundraisers
The Ladies’ Auxiliary helps financially with several different projects during the year. We help provide the continental breakfast at the SSHBEA Awards Ceremony and Annual Meeting, along with center ring decorations at the Spring and Fall Shows. Every year we also give a $1,000 scholarship to a SSHBEA member that is involved in continuing education. This year we hope to have our Disaster Relief Fund functioning. These activities along with our one night show sponsorships take funding; thus, in order to continue assisting these different events as we do, we have fundraisers throughout the year. As mentioned earlier, we have a Silent Auction, and we also hold our own horse show. Plans for a new fundraising event in the form of a trail ride have been placed on hold. Watch for news on a possible fall ride in upcoming magazines.
Ladies’ Auxiliary Horse Show
As always our biggest money-making event is our horse show, and it’s also our most demanding project. Without each of our members working overtime, we wouldn’t be able to have a successful show. Last year we managed to get all classes sponsored, and in addition, all ribbons were sponsored by Fine Art (Rich and Karen Marriott). Ray Angel Stables and Equine Dentistry (Johnny Cole) donated trophies to all the juvenile classes including the stick horse. Boxwood Farms, Mark and Tammy Duke, also donated halters to all other classes. This was an added bonus to our show. This year's show has been set for August 21 in Lewisbug. We hope you will bring your family, friends, neighbors, and of course your horses to our show and enjoy a fun–filled night of good horse-showing.
Scrap Book:
This year we will be undertaking a new task. Some members thought it would be a nice idea to put together a scrapbook chronicling our endeavors. Toni Overton has volunteered to oversee this project for us this year. THANK YOU, Toni.
– Angie Thomason, Secretary
James Pennington ‘Penn’ Mohon
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
James Pennington ‘Penn’ Mohon, 81, retired John Deere dealer, died Sunday, Feb. 8 at Gibson General Hospital in Trenton. Services were Feb. 10, 2004, at Maley-Yarbrough Funeral Home. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery in Ripley, Tenn. He was a World War II veteran, director of Bancorp South Bank, co-founder of Tipton Rosemark Academy, a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and a graduate of University of Tennessee. Mr. Mohon, the husband of Anne Coleman Mohon, also leaves three sons, John White Mohon of Petersburg, and James Coleman Mohon and Walker Dayton Mohon, both of Covington, three granddaughters and a great-grandson. The family requests that any memorials be sent to Birddog Foundation in Grand Junction, Tennessee,
Garnetta Wiser Hensley
Saturday, March 6, 2004
Mrs. Garnetta Wiser Hensley, 75, of Lewisburg, Tennessee passed away March 6, 2004 at her home in Lewisburg, after a long battle with cancer. A native of the Fairfield Community, she was the daughter of the late Newman Wiser and Pearl Mankin Wiser and the wife of the late Henry Ralph Hensley.
She was a great fan and friend of the Spotted Saddle and Tennessee Walking Horse industry. Born into a horse family and marrying a horse trainer, she spent her life surround by horses. She was a homemaker and member of the Farmington Church of Christ.
Survivors include two daughters Jo Anne Bowen and Judy Hankins both of Lewisburg; a son, John Wayne Hensley of Clark Hill, S.C.; a brother, Kenneth Wiser of Shelbyville; four grandchildren and two great grand children.
Ima Jean Hobbs
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Mrs Ima Jean Hobbs, age 73 of Lynnville, Tennessee, died Thursday,m March 11, 2004 at her home.
Mrs. Hobbs was a native of Marshall County, Tennessee and daughter of the late Joe Brittian and Ina Lee Manual Taylor. She was a homemaker and member of the Lynnville Church of Christ.
Preceded in death by her husband, Harry Dean Hobbs in 1998 and brother, Alex Taylor, she is survived by two sons, Joe Wade (Kay) Hobbs and Harry Dean (Dorinda) Hobbs, son-in law, Fate Walker of Lynnville, Tennessee, Two daughters, Barbara (Stan) Smith and Susie (Jose) Guerrero all of Lynnville, Tennessee, two sisters, Maizen Wiles and Betty Cowser, both of Lewisburg, Tennessee, brother, Joe Taylor of Pulaski, Tennessee, eleven grandchildren, Mike (Sheila) Coleman, Kelsey (Suzette) Walker, Lori (Scott) Garner, Kevin (Meredith) Walker, Betsy (Chris) Lowe, Jason Hobbs, Kimberly (Chad) Roder, Matthew Hobbs, Brian (Brandy) Hobbs, Steven Smith, Brandon Hobbs, and thirteen great grandchildren, also survive.
Funeral services were conducted by milton Stephens, Saturday, March 13, 2004 from the chapel of London Funeral Home with burial in Lynnwood Cemetery at Lynnville, Tennessee.
Serving as pallbearers were Kelsey Walker, Kevin Walker, Jason Hobbs, Matthew Hobbs, Brandon Hobbs, Brian Hobbs, Steven Smith and Willie Watson.
WHAT IS TOBIANO?
The term 'tobiano' refers to the dominant gene that produces the tobiano
spotting pattern in a majority of Spotted Saddle Horses. Since it is a dominant
gene, at least one parent of a tobiano horse must be tobiano.
WHAT IS HOMOZYGOUS?
"Homo" is a prefix that means "two of the same." Homozygous
describes an animal with two of the same genes, which guarantees that particular
gene will be passed to all of that animal's offspring. A horse can be homozygous
for a wide variety of characteristics - the term is not limited to coat color.
For example, when a person talks about his or her "homozygous
stallion," and doesn't specify what the stallion is homozygous for, it
could mean just about anything. That stallion could be homozygous for big ears,
stifle problems, or the red factor gene. If a stallion owner says that his horse
is "homozygous tobiano," then the term homozygous is describing the
tobiano gene, meaning that the horse has two tobiano genes and will always
produce tobiano (spotted) offspring.
In order for a horse to be homozygous for the tobiano gene, both sire and dam MUST be tobiano. It makes no difference how many spotted horses you can count on the pedigree; if one parent is solid, the horse CANNOT be homozygous tobiano. A blood test is available to determine if a horse is homozygous tobiano.
WHAT ABOUT BREEDING TO A STALLION THAT IS
NOT HOMOZYGOUS TOBIANO?
A tobiano horse that is not homozygous for the tobiano gene is called
"heterozygous tobiano." A heterozygous tobiano will pass its tobiano
gene on to its offspring 50% of the time.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that using the color of a stallion's offspring to predict what percentage chance you have to get a specific color gene is just plain silly. First of all, that stallion must have sired AT LEAST 50 foals to even get a representative sample - and that's still a very, very small sample and inconclusive if some of the mares are solid and some of the mares are spotted. The color genetics of the mares the stallion is bred to makes a tremendous difference in the color of the foals. For example, a tobiano stallion may have produced 60 tobiano foals and 20 solid foals, but what color were the mares? A majority of the mares bred to a tobiano stallion are tobiano. Any heterozygous tobiano stallion bred to 300+ solid mares will only produce 50% spotted foals; it may be 53% or 46%, but never as high as 85%. Any heterozygous tobiano stallion bred to 300+ heterozygous tobiano mares will produce 75% tobiano offspring.
A stallion that is heterozygous for the tobiano gene will produce tobiano offspring 50% of the time when bred to mares who do not carry the gene. A stallion that is homozygous for the tobiano gene will produce tobiano offspring 100% of the time when bred to mares who do not carry the gene. Figures like 70% or 85% CANNOT refer to a single horse's ability to produce offspring with a specific gene.
HOW DO I BREED FOR A HOMOZYGOUS TOBIANO
FOAL?
As mentioned earlier, both sire and dam must be tobiano. If sire and dam are
both heterozygous tobiano, then you have a 25% chance for a homozygous tobiano
foal. If one parent is homozygous tobiano and one is heterozygous tobiano, then
you have a 50% chance for a homozygous foal. If both parents are homozygous
tobiano, then you have a 100% chance for a homozygous foal.
-Carrie Michael
BREEDING FOR THE PLEASURE HORSE
When I decided to start breeding my mares, I selected a sire for a mare by looking for a loose gait, good height, and pretty head and ears. When I finally bred my first mare, I got a beautiful spotted filly with a flighty, defensive disposition, toed-out in front and cow-hocked behind. Now I have new criteria that I use to select a stallion.
1. DISPOSITION
2. No apparent vices
3. Correct conformation
4. Naturally smooth gait
5. Color & ability to produce color
6. Pedigree
7. Shape and size of head and ears
8. Height
(The first five criteria are critical, but the last three are less important.)
As a pleasure horse breeder, my goal is to produce foals that make great pleasure companions and appeal to buyers who want a lifelong pet. When I sell a foal, I like to know that it is going to a permanent home and won’t be traded from home to home for the rest of its life. The most important thing to keep in mind when breeding pleasure horses is DISPOSITION. I had a very spooky, reactive, insecure mare, and I bred her to a stallion with a great disposition. This was my first breeding experience, and I thought I could influence the foal enough so that it would not be so insecure and afraid of everything like its mother. WRONG! The dam has such a huge influence on the foal. This foal was more agreeable than her dam because she was handled from her first day, but she was still extremely flighty and impatient. Some riders prefer this type of horse, but most pleasure horse riders don’t.
The key to successful pleasure horse breeding is to mate a good, secure, people-loving mare with a gentle stallion – not the type that charges at you when you peek into his stall. I have had beautiful, wonderfully gaited horses with bad temperaments, and these can be difficult to find a permanent home for. A horse that has average looks and talent but is lovable and gentle will always find a good home.
Much like the tobiano pattern, behavioral traits can be passed down very easily. Little things that are not always immediately obvious when selecting a stallion - such as vices, flightiness, or aggressive behavior - can easily find a way into the foal’s behavioral traits. For example, it has been proven that if the dam or the sire cribs, the chances of the foal developing the habit increase dramatically - much like alcoholism in humans.
Look very carefully when buying a mare or deciding on a stallion. I always try to lead or ride a potential purchase over a mud puddle or trail obstacle to sort of "put them in a bind" and see how well they can handle a tough decision. A willing, agreeable horse will negotiate with you and try to please, even if it is uncomfortable with the situation. A disagreeable horse might rear, jump, and get mad. A horse that is easily distracted will slop clumsily through the obstacle while looking at something completely unrelated. Try touching the horse with a scary object like a plastic bag. If he freaks out and recovers quickly, he is trying to get along, If he freaks out and doesn’t recover after a few minutes or he gets even more freaked out the next time you try it, this is something to take note of. This is not always a definite way to determine a horse’s disposition, but it helps.
I used to work with weanlings often, and after I got to know the babies, I would ask the owners about the parents. It gets to be pretty predictable. I see horses by the same sire or dam with vices like stall-walking and cribbing, or an unusually dramatic flight response. If you notice a similar undesirable behavior from horses that are related, it may not be a coincidence.
If you are strictly breeding for a show horse, disposition may not be the most important factor. However, when breeding for gentle, agreeable pleasure horses, disposition is the main factor that will determine whether or not that horse will lead a comfortable life at a permanent home.
–Carrie Michael
Carrie Michael is a graduate of MTSU with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She resides in Lewisburg, Tennessee, with her husband, Eric, and daughter, Reese. Horses have been part of her life for the past sixteen years, and pleasure horse breeding became her main interest after her first Saddle Horse foal was born in 1999. In 2000, Carrie and her Lite-Shod Spotted Saddle Horse mare, Senator’s Sundance, won the 4-Year-Old and Over Lite-Shod Lady Riders World Championship. After that victory Carrie and Sundance retired from the show ring, and Sundance is now one of her top breeding mares. In college, Carrie spent hours every week in the MTSU library researching horse color genetics, and her website - www.brownridgefarm.com - provides valuable