We visited Easy on Saturday, a beautiful sunny day. After warming him up, Liz took him to the arena where we got to see him loping. He is getting much fitter now, and looking very handsome! His round belly is gone and you can see muscles everywhere. He showed a little resistance, but that was mainly when he would pass by the gate where us spectators were standing; can't hardly blame him for that! We still hope and expect that he will be ready for the Grants Pass race meeting starting June 14.
I learned some more about how races are entered. For the Grants Pass meet, they will publish a "Condition Book" about a month before the races. This is a list of all of the scheduled races for the first two weekends. Horses who have everything in order (gate approvals, DNA, tattoos, etc.) can then order races for which they are eligible on the Wednesday before a Saturday race or the Thursday before a Sunday race. The same day they enter, the lineup for each race will be decided. If fewer than 5 horses enter a race, it will be cancelled. If more than 14 horses enter a race, they can either split it into two races, or basically draw straws to see which ones will run. These races that are entered just a few days ahead are called "overnight" races. That's as opposed to Stakes races or Futurities which are entered months or sometimes years in advance. Easy will be eligible for Paint Horse or Mixed Breed (includes Paints, Quarter Horses and Appaloosas) races. Until he wins a race, he will be eligible for Maiden races. Once be "breaks his Maiden" (wins his first race), he will be eligible for other types of races.
Paints and Quarter horses don't race long races like Thoroughbreds. The TBs run races up to a mile or more. Paints and QHs run no more than 870 yards (called a "hook"). The 870s are fairly rare. Most QH races are 350-600 yards.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Koko goes to the trainer
On Saturday Feb. 9, we took Koko to the trainer in Los Molinos. We had taken her over to the vet's for her very first trailer ride the day before, and she handled it like a pro. But I was still a nervous wreck trailering her the two hours South. We could occasionally feel her moving in the trailer, but for the most part she rode quietly. When we arrived, she unloaded no problem, and hadn't even broken a sweat! Diamond P Ranch is a very busy place, with lots of people and horses doing things all the time. But Koko wasn't bothered by that, and happily followed us over to her appointed stall, next to a Palomino Quarter Pony. It was hard to leave her, but she's off to college now....
Reports on Easy's progress are very encouraging. He has quit the head-tossing resistance and is now doing 35-40 minute workouts every day in the outdoor arena. We hope to go see him next weekend. I've got the name and contact info for a licensed race trainer now, and will be in touch with him soon. I've got the dates for the Grants Pass Downs race meet now: opening day is June 14, closing day is July 6. I'll let everyone know when we have an actual race date for Easy!
General update on Painters Hideaway: it has finally quit snowing, and started to melt. It's turning into the mud bowl around here! Ah well, it won't last. We go through this every year, we just don't usually have 3 ft of snow to melt!
Reports on Easy's progress are very encouraging. He has quit the head-tossing resistance and is now doing 35-40 minute workouts every day in the outdoor arena. We hope to go see him next weekend. I've got the name and contact info for a licensed race trainer now, and will be in touch with him soon. I've got the dates for the Grants Pass Downs race meet now: opening day is June 14, closing day is July 6. I'll let everyone know when we have an actual race date for Easy!
General update on Painters Hideaway: it has finally quit snowing, and started to melt. It's turning into the mud bowl around here! Ah well, it won't last. We go through this every year, we just don't usually have 3 ft of snow to melt!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
A little bit about DNA
One thing Easy will need before he can race is a DNA test to prove his parentage. On Paint horses we also sometimes have DNA tests done to determine what other genetic traits they possess. Some DNA tests that can be run rule out negative traits; others rule in positive traits. We recently had a bunch of DNA tests run on Bodhi (Sacred Wardance), since we may keep him for a stallion. We got some great results! He tested negative for the Frame Overo gene (also commonly referred to as the Overo Lethal White Syndrome gene). His sire, Sacred Indian, does carry that gene, so there was a 50/50 chance Bodhi would inherit it. It is not a negative trait in itself, in fact it represents a very popular paint spotting pattern, the Frame Overo pattern. We have two other horses, both mares, who do carry this gene, and it is a very nice spotting pattern. But if a foal receives two copies of this gene, one from each parent, there is a Syndrome called Overo Lethal White which that foal will have, and these foals are not viable. So, long story short, Bodhi doesn't carry that gene and can therefore be bred to ANY mare, and never have to worry about producing a Lethal White foal. Yay!
The other good DNA news on Bodhi is that he carries two copies of the Tobiano gene. This means he is homozygous for that gene. In fact, they can't really test for the gene itself, but there are increasingly sophisticated tests available for "markers" for tobiano. So when UCDavis says he tested positive, they only say it is highly likely that he is homozygous for tobiano. Therefore, since the Tobiano pattern is a dominant gene (always expressed, never hidden), all of Bodhi's foals will have the Tobiano white pattern; none of them will ever be solid colored. Again, yay!
The other tests we had done were a bit more obscure, but for completeness, I'll mention them here. He carries both Red and Black genes, so can throw red, black, and any combinations of those colors. And he is homozygous for the agouti gene, which means any genetically black offspring of his will actually be Bay in color (the agouti gene restricts black coloration to the "points": ears, legs, tail and mane). And he does not carry the Sabino 1 gene (another overo spotting pattern). But since he has blue eyes, he almost certainly carries SOME overo spotting gene, but now we know it is not Sabino 1 or Frame. It may be Sabino 2 or Splash, but there aren't any tests for those yet.
The other good DNA news on Bodhi is that he carries two copies of the Tobiano gene. This means he is homozygous for that gene. In fact, they can't really test for the gene itself, but there are increasingly sophisticated tests available for "markers" for tobiano. So when UCDavis says he tested positive, they only say it is highly likely that he is homozygous for tobiano. Therefore, since the Tobiano pattern is a dominant gene (always expressed, never hidden), all of Bodhi's foals will have the Tobiano white pattern; none of them will ever be solid colored. Again, yay!
The other tests we had done were a bit more obscure, but for completeness, I'll mention them here. He carries both Red and Black genes, so can throw red, black, and any combinations of those colors. And he is homozygous for the agouti gene, which means any genetically black offspring of his will actually be Bay in color (the agouti gene restricts black coloration to the "points": ears, legs, tail and mane). And he does not carry the Sabino 1 gene (another overo spotting pattern). But since he has blue eyes, he almost certainly carries SOME overo spotting gene, but now we know it is not Sabino 1 or Frame. It may be Sabino 2 or Splash, but there aren't any tests for those yet.
Visit to Easy
On Friday, Jan. 25, we drove up to Merlin, OR, to visit Easy. It had only been two weeks since we dropped him off, so we can't expect too much. He was resistant to having the bit put in his mouth, but Liz says he has never done that before. Maybe he just thought since we were there, he wouldn't be expected to behave. Just like kids! She got him saddled, and took him out to the round pen, where she lunged him briefly before getting on. It was pretty cold out, probably right around freezing, so we got COLD standing around watching. She only rode him for about 15minutes, mostly at a nice trot, but he was breathing hard and sweaty by then! Just like any couch potato, he hasn't become an athlete overnight. But boy howdy, could we see the difference in him! He is so much fitter looking, and I could feel the muscle when I stroked him along the sides. Next she took him over to the hotwalker for a lesson (Liz has a very clever way of teaching him to use the hotwalker). He was cooled off in 5 minutes or so. She didn't want to hose him off since it was so cold, so we just curried him a bit to fluff up the damp hair. He's looking so handsome!
Then on Wednesday, Jan. 30, Liz called to give us an update. Easy is now loping (cantering) in the round pen, and soon she'll have him out in the arena. He has learned to walk on the hotwalker by himself, although Liz still stays right with him to make sure he doesn't get scared. She says he hasn't offered any trouble again on being bitted up, so I guess he was just misbehaving because his "parents" were there!
No progress on getting Koko down to the trainer in Los Molinos. We have been snowed in most of the time for over a week, and now it's practically a blizzard out there. Come on, Spring!
Then on Wednesday, Jan. 30, Liz called to give us an update. Easy is now loping (cantering) in the round pen, and soon she'll have him out in the arena. He has learned to walk on the hotwalker by himself, although Liz still stays right with him to make sure he doesn't get scared. She says he hasn't offered any trouble again on being bitted up, so I guess he was just misbehaving because his "parents" were there!
No progress on getting Koko down to the trainer in Los Molinos. We have been snowed in most of the time for over a week, and now it's practically a blizzard out there. Come on, Spring!
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