Shannon G

I have a stallion with phenomenal bloodlines. His personality and trainability are as good as his bloodlines. The reason I state this upfront is because I don't want to hear anyone telling me I shouldn't breed him, he deserves to be bred and he will no doubt enhance the AQHA breed. He is in a steady training program and will be shown in the cutting pen. He has been off the farm at cuttings and behaved in hand, under saddle, and tied to the trailer extremely well. He is 3. At what age and what point in training should he be allowed to be bred? I am not new to the horse world but new to breeding. I don't want to start him too early and risk him turning into an obnoxious jerk. As he stands right now as a 3 yr old my 8 yr old daughter can ride him. He is really that quiet. He is an own grandson of Peptoboonsmal and his dam is a King Fritz Two mare. His sire has earned over $400k. If you know anything of these bloodlines you know they are awesome. If there are any experienced breeders out there I welcome your advice. Also, what are your thoughts on live covers vs collecting?

My mare was bred may 6. The vet checked her afterward and said it didn't take. She would now be 222 days pregnant, approx. I noticed last night she is lactating. The vet can't come until next week. What could cause this if she really isn't bred? And if she is, this is way too early to be lactating anyway so am I correct to assume something is wrong?

My horse has little hard spots under the skin of his ears. They are in different spots throughout each ear ranging from the very tip to about an inch from the base of the ear. They don't hurt him and you can't see anything from the outside of the ear, like any missing hair or skin discoloration. They are just really hard spots. I have showed him the past 2 summers so I mostly noticed the first time I was trimming his ears for a show. Any ideas what they might be? I have meant to ask my vet but I seem to always forget when he is out. It doesn't seem to be urgent enough to call the vet just for this as it has been there since I've owned him and it doesn't hurt him. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this.

I have found 2 saddles that I am considering buying. One is a Simco and the other is a Tex Tan. It will be used on a qh for work/trail riding.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item...

Any opinions?

We have a mostly "horse" 4-h club. We are planning our banquet and I need to come up with some awards. For example we usually do most improved rider, golden shovel award (best at barn duty), happiest, grumpiest, etc. I need more ideas. We have other kids with other animals so it doesn't have to be just about horses. We also have quite a few cloverbuds (little kids that are too young to do animal projects). Thanks!

I have a 4 yr old quarter horse gelding. I am having alot of trouble keeping weight on him. He just had his teeth floated, he has been wormed regularly and is utd on all vaccinations. He is boarded and up until grass was available I was paying extra for extra hay but it really made no difference. He is on a 14% pellet, 3/4 of a coffee can twice a day. He is not out on grass all the time due to the weather and the ground being too soft where we live. He is currently getting vegetable oil with his grain every feeding as well as brewers yeast. I had put him on Stradegy but he turned into a nut ball. I had thought about putting him on Hardkeeper but I am afraid it will have the same effect as the Stradegy feed. I am currently 9 months pregnant and not riding but plan to start in the next couple of months and I want his weight up. My vet (along with several others) suggested beet pulp. My horse is EXTREMELY picky, he won't even eat carrots if they are cut up. I know the people who own the barn will not feed the beet pulp every feeding. If I feed it myself 2-3 days per week when I can get there, would that be enough? Any ideas on how to get a picky horse to eat it? Any other suggestions on how I can get weight on him without relying on the barn owners?

I keep getting different answers and would like some opinions from people who show western pleasure.

I am looking to purchase a western pleasure show saddle. I have a very limited budget (like $500, which is nothing when it comes to show saddles). I only show at local shows, probably not even at the regional level. My daughter will also be using it for 4h. While I would love to buy a Circle Y or Dale Chavez or something of that quality, it's impossible to come by where I live at anywhere under $1000, even used.

I found a Showman, lightly used, fully tooled and some modest-not over the top silver. What are your personal experiences with this brand? Is it going to last more than 1 season? Are they comfortable?

Here is a link of the saddle I want to purchase. This is not the price I am paying or where I am getting it, but this is what it looks like.

http://www.montgomerysaddlesandtack.net/showman-sh...

I got this duck for my son for his 4h project. I originally thought it was a khaki campbell but now I'm not so sure. This is the most recent picture I have.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m256/slanser26/...

When I was younger we used to make these for my horse after shows or extremely long trail rides. I can't for the life of me remember how to make it. I am going on a very long, strenuous trail ride on Saturday and want to have one ready for my gelding when we get home. He is 3 yrs old. Anyone know how to make them correctly? I have heard using rice is better than wheat due to digestion. Anyone know anything about that? Thanks

I am going on an all day trail ride next weekend about 2 hours away. I know there are several things I should be bringing. Please give me suggestions! I'm panicking.

I have a quarter horse who just turned 3. I want to show him this summer but he is still learning to neck rein so I want to ride him with two hands, which I just learned you can do until they are 5 yrs old. Anyway, where do my hands go? I just switched him to a dee snaffle and he's doing ok with it, I just don't know what position my hands need to be in. Thanks

I have boarded at barns where horses with back shoes on are not allowed out with the herd and barns where they don't care and all the horses are turned out together. I have always had horses that didn't wear shoes and always protected themselves in the pasture. My current horse is getting the crap beat out of him. The alpha mare just got shoes put on and now my horse has chunks taken out of him. I don't want to see him sit in his stall all the time but I want to show and I also don't want him getting hurt. The other boarders have been there much longer than I have and I know I would lose that battle over whose horse can go out. Any suggestions?

I have a green broke 3 yr old quarter horse. I am trying to get him to neck rein. He has an awesome western pleasure jog and will set his head but only if I have the reins in both hands. He's just not getting the idea of neck reining. He is very soft mouthed and he doesn't need alot of contact at all but he's just not getting it. As soon as I put both reins in one hand he speeds up and puts his head up. I am using a training snaffle with rollers. Any suggestions?

My quarter horse gelding just turned 3 and I'm getting ready to start taking him to some local shows. I have been out of showing for quite some time and I need some pointers to get ready for the show ring. He does good on the lead as far as keeping his head down, staying next to me, stopping etc. We are still working on the pivot and backing in a straight line. What else do I need to know? Also, need some pointers on what to trim, clip, what his mane should look like, what products to use, etc. What is the latest in quarter horse halter world, lol?

I have two ducklings, one of which is a white Peking. I got the second duck and the seller told me what it was and I can't remember for the life of me. He (or she) is much smaller than the Peking and all brown. The seller said it is a smaller breed and lays alot of eggs. I have pictures if I can post them on here.

I am looking to buy this saddle. The seller does not know the maker. I think it might be an American Saddlery saddle. Does anyone know anything about this? Hopefully these links work.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m256/slanser26/...

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m256/slanser26/...

I found a beautiful saddle that is about 25 yrs old that has been stored away for 23 yrs. It has beautiful tooling and is the perfect size. My old saddle was ancient and I loved it, no silver or glamor just a nice solid saddle. It's not really the color I want but I'm thinking it might be a really good deal at under $300. Any thoughts?