Year 204 Breedings

Its been a long winter this year at Winchester Performance.  Impatiently waiting for the birth of new babies makes for a virtual stop of the clock!  But Spring has just rolled in beautifully.  I have been equally blessed with the warm sun and lots of pretty new foals to look forward to.

That in mind, my breeding took a turn this year.  In light of all my recent goals, I used careful thought for this year's breeding.  No more than two mares were bred to the same stallion and I have used quite a few new boys for the first time.  It scares me a little bit to think these handsome horses have not been tested and proven, but as I am starting over and readjusting what I am thinking about when I am choosing pairs, I realize that this too is all part of the growing pains.

The first new stallion I used is BranNew Double Brrel.  He has his Intermediate title in English and goes back to National Champ High Ball Shooter ROM (another one of my favorites).  I have bred him to Bold Mover and LS Color Coded.  The foal out of Code will be a brand new set of lines, top and bottom, so fingers crossed for a filly as I am about overrun with my precious stallions!

The next stallion I used was Justifyed, a local stock horse that I purchased and got fit.  I did sell him after collecting from him because I just dont have a need to have that many stallions standing around doing nothing.  The lovely Delphinia has him now and she is working him towards Harness Racing on the fun circuit.  Good luck to her!

I bred Justifyed to Saturdays Investment whose COI is through the roof, but I just cant bring myself to cull her from the herd.  I have loved her since she was born and my sentimentality will not relent and allow me to be reasonable about her!  I also bred Whole Lotto Winter to him.  This will be her first foal.

The next stallion I used is Xclusive.  I wont lie, I used this horse purely to add a kick of color to my herd.  I did breed him, but I was able to cross him on mares that weren't related.  I am still dreaming of that amber stud colt that shows like Sage, is built like Blue, and wins everything in sight.  Hey, we can all dream.  Xclusive was bred to Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Rare Form.  These are probably the foals I am most excited about for next season.

Gonna Be Up All Night is my favorite guilty pleasure.  Once upon a time, this horse was built just sensational.  If I EVER regretted selling any horse, it's this one.  I miss him desperately and my heart breaks for him to see him like this.  But at any rate, he is an incredibly strong stallion and he sure makes some beautiful babies.  I like to use him on untested mares because I know he will throw a foal with some potential.  He was bred to Gunz And Rosez and Rainy Day Serenade (a custom I was happy to grab up in the open market, LOOK at her intelligence already!).

I was fortunate to grab up two brand new girls that don't trace back to my lines at all.  I have no clue what they are like when they are in shape, so I used the wonderful Jonn Snow to give the babies a strong start for now.

And finally, Blue Eyed Wonder also makes the list with a single breeding to True Instinct. I do limit this stallion's exposure to my herd because he really throws fantastic babies and I will not part with him. So, to keep him fresh and viable, I usually skip a season with him and limit the mares he breeds.

~Ps~

Lil Lone Star Jake is a total mind reader.  He is showing most of his fitness ratings now, but guess what his first two were?  Intelligence AND speed.  ;)  Thinking a problem has just been put on the road to a solution!

Pictures Property of Snow Wolfe Games

Performance Horse Explosion!

The foaling season is in full swing and in a season I needed it to produce more lack luster horses (so my job of culling would be easier) you would have to know, some of the prettiest babies I have ever seen are running around my barn and making me groan.

Not all of them have made it hard on me, so I am just going to talk about my "keepers" at this point.

The first baby to make the "keeper" list is Velvet.  She is by Extremely Good II and Velveeta.  Her COI takes a significant drop down to 2.6%.  Although her sire has a lot of my lines him, he also brings brand new names to Velvet's pedigree.  I think she is a great start to my goals here.

The next filly is Dyla and she is out of the late Mr. Banned and Supernatural Asphixiation.  When she weans, her dam will be for sale, but Dyla looks like a great addition to my Appendix lines, bringing the cream and sabino 2 genes, as well as her fantastic temperament.  Her COI is an awesome 0.23%.

GR has to be  one of the neatest colts I have ever seen.  I fell in love with his mahogany bay coat, but then learned he is in fact, grey.  He is out of NCh Bold Movin on the Bay and Gunz N Rosez. I am going to keep him for a bit to see how he develops.  I am not being as critical of my Appendix Horses as I am the Quarter Horses, so we will see.

When I do make a decision GR's future at Winchester, it will be by comparison to his half brother Sho Stopper.

My next filly is yet another Appendix, Bravery.  She is also out of NCh Bold Movin On the Bay.  I am starting to see how restricting my stallions to a specific number of outside and home mares would work more positively in my favor.  I have a lot of great potential show horses here, but generation by generation, I am tying them together, just as I have done with my Quarter Horse herd.  At any rate, this beautiful filly will hang out with me for a while why I try to decide, filly or colts?

Tiberious is an American Quarter Horse colt and he brings a lower COI and new blood to my herd.  Both his sire and dam have my lines in them, but they also have two seperate lines that have not been used in my program before.

I will update with another entry when the rest of the babies are born.  I think I am doing a good job of being objective and trying really hard to not let the "shiney" as Bactris puts it, get to me.  I have already sold several mares and foals, and have listed several colts,  stallions, and show horses.  I will be listing more as these foals are born and I can make preliminary decisions on their purpose with Winchester Performance.

EDIT To add Foals!

I am not sure what this little girl is just yet, but Sketches sure is adorable!  She is Appendix bred and out of Sage, but wow this baby is beautiful!  She has low COI and I do plan on keeping her :)

Mystery is one of the newest colts born.  He got his name because he got the cream gene from somewhere making him a smoky black.  The latter part of this season has got my mind boggled trying to figure out where these dilutions are coming from!  :)

Flare will be the one foal I keep based on her color alone.  I absolutely LOVE her pangare and hope to make lots of apricot dun babies with her!

Pictures Property of Snow Wolfe Games

Beginnings of Change

I was going to wait until after foaling season, but patience was never one of my virtues.  I have been thinking about and discussing changes coming to Winchester Performance and I have begun the process of culling my herd.  So far, I have sorted 14 horses for future sale and I am going through my stallion barn to see who is next.  In the mean time, I have given some thought to the shape I want WP to take in the future.  With that in mind, I contacted ER Imports and told them what I was looking for.

They sent me 4 colts and 1 filly.  That's a lot of colts to the one filly, but fresh blood is fresh blood, boy or girl.

The first new colt (and my favorite) is Chromed Out Six Shooter.  He is agreeable and clear of genetic disorder but that is about all I can tell you about him at this point.  In theory, he should add to the intelligence, conformation, and temperament of my herd.  I am excited to see how he will develop as he grows.

The second colt (and the prettiest imho) has been named Showdown Matt Dillon.  I am sticking with a Western theme with these boys to pay homage to their home here in San Antonio.  Here again, if I am doing this correctly, I am assuming this young man will be built strong towards helping me breed and train the perfect reining horse.

The third colt is (and I love this name ;)) Texas Lies N Alibis.  Alibi shows the most promise to add speed and intelligence back into my lines.  He also has an agreeable temperament and is clear of genetic defects.

And the final colt in the new lineup is Lil Lone Star Jake.  His pedigree hints at strong conformation and temperament, stamina and surefoot.

And finally, the single filly with a bunch of big brothers to hide from, Miss Kitty's Faith.  She too has strong potential to help WP put speed and intelligence back into ER's American Quarter Horses.

I am really excited about how things are starting to shape up.  I haven't done the hard part yet, which is getting everyone ready to list for sale and then the following interviews with potential new owners.  But, this is what I love and continue to do because of that love.

The thing about change....

It's unavoidable and neccesary, and for me it's downright SCARY! I have spent several generations shaping and forming my Quarter Horse lines into what I wanted.  On the upside, I now have a herd of incredible horses with talent, but on the downside I am watching the COI slowly creep through the roof.  I am always searching for fresh blood and new lines that wont reduce what I have worked so hard to build, but alas, this is beginning to affect my herd in ways I don't want.  For example, I am seeing a universal trait across the board with reductions in speed and now intelligence.

The problem comes in with trying to decide who stays and who goes.  Each and every one of my broodmares have something to offer my program that I am either in need of or hoarding.  Precious blood lines such as Reyn, Silver Duet, Lotto Jackpot, and My Own Mudpit are hard to find, but run plentiful through my herd.  My problem is that I know other breeders will benefit from the use of some of my mares with their existing lines and by hoarding these horses I am playing a part that isn't beneficial to the future of the American Quarter Horse on ER.

So now that I have established two solid reasons for culling down my herd, the really tough part is deciding who goes and who stays.  I am waiting to make any big decisions until the foaling season.  Once the culling has been done, I will be in a position to rebuild.  That also leaves two very important decisions to make.  Do I incorporate the use of local stock (as that is exactly what I did when I started breeding) or do I invest in Performance Customs?  I am iffy on Local Stock as each one brings tremendous strengths and tremendous weaknesses.  I have worked incredibly hard to eliminate weakness and have created it, so using Local Stock does put me in a position to incorporate new lines and add exciting genetic possibilities to my future generations, but am I brave enough to try it again?  The other possibility of using Performance Customs I find much more appealing, however, like the Local Stock, it can be a bit of a gamble.

I am at a cross roads in this decision and it's a choice that will not be made lightly.  I am very fond of each of my horses and I know that despite what the foaling season brings, I will lose sleep trying to make the right choices for what is best for my herd and my future.

Winchester Performance Welcomes Home a Brand New National Champion!

When Blue loaded was loaded up onto the trailer this morning, I had a sneaking tiny suspicion that I would be welcoming home a National Champion instead of the phenomenal Grand Champion.  My intuition proved to be correct this evening when Blue's rig arrived home.  This makes Winchester's second homebred National Champion.

English National Champion Bold Movin On The Bay

Blue had a very rough start. In fact, it was so bad, that he never should have survived to see his first birthday.  A heavy handed trainer was too hard on Blue when he was just a suckling and disabled him during his first week of training.  Blue wasn't the only one.  Several of his brothers, sisters, and friends were also killed or badly injured during the ordeal.  I made a tough decision.  Blue was in a lot of pain and my vet refused to put him down.  I couldn't just watch him suffer as his quality of life diminished, so I did the only thing I could think of, despite how sick to my stomach it made me.  I sold him to the kill buyer and prayed that his time left on this earth would be short and he would run greener pastures in Rainbow Ridge.

After I sold Blue, I got home and prayed and prayed for him and all the others like him.  My neighbors also took significant losses with this group of trainers and we were all reeling from our shared sadness.  The next day as I was going over what was left of my stock, that kill buyer and his rig rolled up on  my property and I walked out to him to give him a piece of my mind for making the "rounds" at my house.  I was already feeling HORRIBLE about Blue, no need to rub it in!  He raised both his hands and defense and said, "now hold on a minute ma'am."  He opened up the back of that rusted trailer and out jumped my little Blue....SOUND as a whistle.  His bright blue eyes were shining and locked on me as he dragged that butcher back to me.  I started to cry when that buyer said I was a lucky girl and my colt was a lucky boy.  Said he saw him running this morning and he just couldn't slaughter him.  I hugged that little colt and thanked my lucky stars that he was healed.

I personally began his training the next day.  He is the one horse that I refused to let a trainer get near until he was a stallion.  I did so because by then, he was a big boy that wouldn't be pushed around by heavy handed trainers.

And the rest they say is history.  Blue took off in the show ring, and has never looked back upon those dreadful days.

Picture property of Snow Wolfe Games

New Addition to the Show String

It's no secret that Western World Champion Lotto Jackpot is missed terribly beyond words by anyone who knew him, so I when I spoke with his owner, Eireann about purchasing any semen she might be willing to part with after he passed away, I was completely stoked when she answered me....

Initially, there were 4 straws listed in the semen sales for $100,000.  I didn't bat an eye when making that purchase.  Only one of my mares caught and from her, I got a gorgeous filly.  What I wanted was another LJ stud colt, but Invest In A Jackpot looked incredibly promising.  I don't usually add mares to the show string because I would rather use them for breeding, but I just cant stand the idea of not letting my little LJ get out there and try to earn titles befitting a daughter of Jack. She will begin her show career in the morning, so fingers crossed that she is does more than just look like her daddy!

Getting back to my original point, Eireann did answer my request for additional semen.  She had only 2 straws left and was willing to part with them.  I started sweating bullets trying to imagine who on my ranch would take the first time.  These last two straws were golden and my one last chance at a colt.  I ended up breeding to a lovely filly who was just coming of age, and she took!!  11 months later, I was the proud owner of a brand new filly.  Yep, another filly.  So, I have another mare to add to the show string in a few months.  I just refuse to let these LJ babies go unnoticed!   Lotto Supernatural Blues is Jack's final foal as far as I know.

But, not to worry, Eireann, has a simply gorgeous stud colt that I plan to visit VERY soon.  Hey Big Spender is absolutely the kind of horse that I am known for breeding to and I can't wait to add him to my herd!

Pictures property of Snow Wolfe Games.

A little something worth sharing.

I am so glad to finally have some new babies ready to begin their show careers.  One colt began his show career yesterday and he did fantastic.  Heza Reyn N Jackpot "Graham" was entered into the stallion division and was shown in Western Halter, Pleasure, and Trail.  He wowed the judges in his Halter class, earning him a score of 79.9.  He ended up taking the blue out of the class of six entries.  He placed second in his Pleasure class, following Stormy's Hott Shot Sage, and third in his Trail class.  His score sheet can be found here.

To finish the day, he did snag his first point towards his Beginner title.  As this was only his first show, I am extremely proud of him and can't wait to see how is going to grow and improve.

~Picture is property of Snow Wolfe Games.~

Year 203 Breedings

Year 203 Breeding Report

I may have gone way too far overboard.  I have an incredible 20 mares in foal!  I have no idea what I am going to do with all those babies.  As long as I have been breeding these horses, you would think I would know better.

Sires used this year were:

 

His Allure  I just purchased this stallion from Color Blind Farms and my sole reason for doing so was because he is a direct son of the now deceased Iyudaliha stallion, Non Timebo Mala.  As time progresses, these lines will become harder to find, so I bit the bullet and bought the beautiful horse.  I am excited about his future foals.  I am expecting three from him next year.

The second sire I used this year is Bold Movin On The Bay.  He is an English Grand Champion and a direct son of English Grand Champion Burpin On The Bay.  Currently Blue has 64 points towards his national championship and has made a habit of throwing strong foals that carry his and Burb's incredible line.  He packs a punch with Betty Boopie ROMX and National Champion Laers Black Bourbon.

The next sire to leave his mark on my herd is Extremely Good II.  This is this stallion's first time at Winchester Performance.  He is a Futurity Winner and has his Advanced title.  Nothing in his pedigree has surpassed him, but as strong as he is, I believe him to be a viable producer of competitors.

You would have to know that a breeding season doesn't pass at my place, without Hott Sage N Silver.  He is my homebred English National Champion who is currently progressing towards a World title.  Fingers crossed he makes it, but in the mean time, he allows me the chance to pass down the wonderful genetics of the Grand Champion Classic Sagebrush lines.

And how about this wonderful horse, Blue Eyed Wonder?  He is being used for my Appendix lines.  I purchased him as a suckling from Three Chimneys Farms and I have never looked back.  I have never considered selling him despite his affected status.  He too has proven himself to be a strong daddy, and I hope to be working one of his babies under saddle soon.  He brings with him Grand Champ Playyboy, World Champ Spark of Confidence, and World Champ Banned!  Not to mention, he is incredibly good looking.

Sadly, this next stallion has passed away, like so many greats before him.  Mr. Banned will only be used this season as a sire.  He himself is a National Champion and his pedigree includes World Champion Banned.

Black Tie Kustom is another of my homebred stallions that represents so much to me as a sire and friend.  I sold him several years ago, and he too has passed on.  He goes back to my all time favorite, Grand Champion My Own Mudpit, My Kinda Party II, and Iyudaliha lines.  He brings classic and rock solid strength to my program.

Gonna Be Up All Night.  Never in my lifetime have I met a sire so strong.  I have never seen a less than stellar foal come out of this horse.

And finally, the last stallion to be used this year is Sarpedon II.  He is relatively untested at my ranch, but I am encouraged by his personal fitness and  his pedigree.  He is son to World Champion Sarpedon  and grandson to National Champion FrontPage.  On his Quarter Horse side, he is a grandson to World Champion Sheza Hott Commodity.

 

All pictures belong to Snow Wolf Games