We do have two horses who aren't Morgans. This page is for Cameo,
our "mutt" mare who holds a special place in our hearts because she's... well, depends on what day you
ask us and what she's been up to, but we love her most of the time. And for Rusty, AKA Chazz's Matador, a AQHA-registered
gelding whom we are excited to welcome to our herd.
Cameo was Kayla's 13th birthday present. We picked her up for $700 from a guy
in Gardiner, ME who called her a Morgan (she's not, or at least not 100%, that much was pretty obvious at first sight)
and also described her as a green broke 3-year-old (she's neither one; our vet estimated her age at about 2). She was
skinny and flighty but possessed of the most breathtaking natural movement we've ever seen, as well as a curious, intelligent,
and mischievous disposition. Having gotten her properly fed up, she has filled out into a lovely mare with great potential
to be a dressage horse, a lower-level event horse, or maybe both. Although it has become clear over the year we've owned
her that someone before us handled this horse unnecessarily roughly—and indeed, given her sensitive, intelligent nature,
nearly ruined her—with time, patience, and care we've moved her along. She's currently at Mark's sister's
place in Pennsylvania getting saddle broke. She's also in foal to a Thoroughbred stallion, Our Jeff's Lad (at Kane's
Kountry Farm in Scarborough, Maine) who has similar conformation and grace; we're hoping she'll produce a colt with
the beautiful action that characterizes both its parents. Update: at 5:50 am on May 20, Cameo
gave birth to a filly! For the record, we think she's a Sport Morgan-Arab cross, but
who the heck knows.
Rusty comes to us from
Hemphill's via Photo Finish Stables. He's a 15-year-old, 14-hand Quarter Horse gelding cross-registered with both
the AQHA and the AQPA. I think officially he's 1/4 inch shy of 14 hands, which makes him eligible to be considered a pony,
but to my eyes he looks like anything BUT a pony. When we first saw him at Photo Finish, he had a few problems--lame in his
off hind leg, a big knot on his near foreleg at the knee, and a strange sadness in his eyes that we later decided was due
to sleep deprivation. We liked him because despite his obvious stiffness, he refused to quit working--he was obedient, patient,
and quite clearly willing to do what was asked of him. We put Nate on him and it was love at first ride; we brought him home
to see if he could room with Stevie and it was... well, not QUITE love at first sight, there was a certain amount of squealing
and kicking at first, but they came to an accommodation once Stevie realized Rusty wasn't the mare in heat that he knew
was around somewhere (Bessie was the culprit). And once we put our farrier on the case and found out what ailed this boy (see
September 30 2007 blog entry) and how to fix it, well... one day of treatment followed by a good night's sleep in the
barn, and Rusty perked right up. He will likely be the main source of riding education for both our younger boys, and possibly
some of the older members of the clan as well. He's a good boy, for sure.
| Cameo's foal, Precious Emerald, in June 2008 |
|
| Cameo and Emmy with Lyn |
|
| Cameo and Emmy in June 2008 |
|
