Tell Me About Storm Cat Babies

[Bamgone]

I've heard great things about Storm Cat youngsters, but unfortunately I don't remember the details.

However, I did remember that for some reason eventers like them a lot, so I thought I would ask you guys.

Is it because they are bold?

[Lori B]

How about, 'your mileage may vary'???

I used to ride a Storm Cat grandson who was the best ever novice rider ride. Canter like buttah. Slow. Kind. Rarely any spook. Occasionally some runout issues. But LOVED xc. A giraffe in dressage. But could be ridden out of doors hacking in a field full of deer by a dumb beginner. :eek: A fabulous thing, for me.

Some others are quite a lot... zippier. :-)

[LexInVA]

Well there are no more babies from him as he's not able to stud anymore but I've only heard things about his offspring who race.

[Bamgone]

His great grandfather on both sides (dam and sire) are by Storm Bird who is Storm Cat's sire, which probably makes it even more pronounced.

He is super quiet though and appears to have a good mind too.

I wish I could remember what makes them so popular!:confused:

[Sightunseen]

I have heard that they are very atheletic, but tend to be crazy, I have only had experience with one, and yeah he was kind of the nutty side, but he also was self destructive, so was basically ALWAYS rehabing from something.

[Bamgone]

How about, 'your mileage may vary'???



It would seem so.:lol:

[Tnevent]

I've also heard that his babies tend to be on the tough side. I've never worked with one so no personal experience. I had a Storm Cat granddaughter that I broke and got ready for the track. She is lovely. Didn't show the desire to be a racehorse. She is back and I can't wait to start working with her after her down time! The other grand babies I've seen are all nice. They don't appear to be tough.

[Debbie]

I've had two grandbabies and the your mileage may vary comment was dead on with a sample size of 2! :lol: One was great and easy and the other was mediocre and tough.

The generalization (always scary) I've heard most often is that they are tough.

CBS Sunday Morning had a nice piece on about Storm Cat weekend before last -- a goldmine in the shed so there are LOTS of individuals out there particularly 2nd generation.

[Roney]

I have heard that they are very athletic, but tend to be crazy, I have only had experience with one, and yeah he was kind of the nutty side, but he also was self destructive, so was basically ALWAYS rehabing from something.

HEY! You have my horse! :lol:
I have a SC grandson who is somewhat as Sightunseen described, although I'd go with more nutty than crazy. He has "personality." I heard this here first, and adopted it as my personal mantra: "You have to let him think it's his idea." I have heard through various BB discussions that the sons/daughters can be more difficult...

All that being said, I enjoy the ride because it's as much a mental game as a physical game with my guy. His selling point as an eventer is that he's a super jumper and galloper, and (appropriately) cat-like through combos and tricky questions. Dressage, not so much. Not a "can't do" but more of a "doesn't want to do" there. In the end, I'd have no hesitation buying another SC grandkid based on lineage...

[jn4jenny]

Try clicking into this thread, then using the "Search This Thread" tool to find the posts relevant to Storm Cat. Lots of interesting and diverse opinions there on Storm Cat foals:

http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=138148

[Watermark Farm]

Call Joe Shelton at Thoroughbred Friends (a big OTTB rescue) in CA and ask him. He has had a ton of Storm Cat offspring come through his place. A few months ago on his blog, he wrote about characteristics of Storm Cat babies and babies from other lines. As I remember it, he was not especially complimentary about SC babies. Joe's number is at the bottom of the page of his blog: www.tbfriends.com

MTA: I can't believe I found this. I actually saved it! This is an excerpt of what Joe wrote:

Our Storm Cat and sons of Storm Cat list is long. Probably the most unsound of the bunch. And we ran out of barn names for the Storm Cat line. How many horses can you call Tiger?

Here is a documented fact: Storm Cat has a stud fee of three hundred thousand dollars. Since 2001 we have rescued 14 of his sons and daughters for an average price of 35 cents a pound.

Just from observations: Horses by Bertrando, Belong To Me and Tychonic go on to have successful jumping careers.

More observations: Horses by Victory Gallop, Memo, General Meeting and Candis Gold are beautiful movers. Many of our horses from those sires go on to have dressage careers.

Yet still more observations: Horses by Mud Route, Bertrando, B.Hoedown, Wild Again, Kissin Kris, Comic Strip, Epic Honor, Benchmark, Slewvescent, and Thunder Gulch all seem to have the same sweet personalities. (source: TB Friends blog)

[turningpointequine]

I have heard that Storm Cat grandbabies are better than direct sons/daughters.

On that note, I currently have a Storm Cat grandbaby and he is the sweetest horse I think I may have had in a long time. Willing, brave and honest. Everyone around the barn loves him. Absolutely NOTHING bothers him, haven't seen a spook in him since the day he arrived. (cute as heck jumper too!) Obviously not all horses can be catagorized, but I would own another Storm Cat descendent in a heartbeat.

[Lori B]

Unsoundness in my sample size of 1: yep. Horse had a chronic 'hitch in his getalong' -- he had an undiagnosable unsoundness from the end of his very brief racing career, (possibly a stifle problem?) and a long turnout seemed to make him serviceably sound, but he has never been great.

[sm]

I have a Storn Cat son off the track, perfect form for jumping but didn't like it. Loved dressage though: Went to Grand Prix in Dressage and did quite well locally against imported WBs.

Personality: he has a heart of gold and will do anything for you. Won going full throttle with a USEF "R" judge riding the day after he packed a twelve-year-old child to a schooling show at training level. She was short a horse and didn't know him all that well, he packed her softly and easily, like I said he has a heart of gold. Then he amped it up full power with the judge riding and won the next day in open to all classes at Intermediare II (the only level higher is Grand Prix, so that's up there).

IMHO you never want to start a fight with him because it's in the blood to win.

I think they take a confident rider, light on the aids, with more brain than brawn. Let's face it, not everyone fits the bill. Obvoiusly the twelve-year-old kid had it figured out, which is why I let her have the ride.

[olympicdreams04]

I occasionally shop at various mixed sales and occasionally 2 y/o in training sales in FL over the winter. I also break babies for a living. There are a very few SC offspring that I like THEIR offspring. The only one that comes to mind right now is Hennessy, and occasionally Tale of The Cat but very sparingly. But as a rule of thumb and almost as an ABSOLUTE rule, I will not even look at Storm Cat babies. I have had too many try to hurt me, often in a malicious and idiotic fashion. That's my two cents.

[CarolinaGirl]

I can remember two coming through our barn. Relatively close together. One was a very nice chestnut gelding (well was gelded shortly after arrival). Very nice, athletic and talented.. very sweet boy. The other was a young bay gelding... sooo naughty!! He was going to be awesome though.. very athletic, but again.. naughty. We loved him though, but we're kinda warped sometimes. Lessonlearned experienced his sense of humor when he knocked her into the water trough she was cleaning and then proceeded to not let her out. LOL

[onlyleftsocks]

i have a storm cat baby. now 5y/o 16.3+hh, black- burnt toast color- summer is bad for his hair. left hind sock, blaze
he is:
bold, super athletic, very brave, good minded, very handsome, freaky big jump, great canter, learns faster than my dog, best ride anywhere- beach to the 1.15M. i am gonna start him xcountry this year, i foresee great things from him there.
BUT he is also; a cribber, eats everything, can be lazy if he gets bored, must have constant stimulus. the trot was a battle to get- had to build it. has a wicked sneaky buck if he feels the airs right. that said at least he is thinking...

i have also had 2 storm cat fillies- they were both mean Bi***s. as i have been told many of them are. but they were athletic and pretty. and too smart.

[IveGotRhythm]

I have a Storm Cat grandson (by Forestry, so he's a half-brother to the Green Monkey :))

He'd be sound if he weren't the most accident-prone horse I've EVER met. Seriously, I don't think I've ever been able to keep him in work for more than 2 months without him doing something to make himself lame. NO other horse at the barn has this problem so it's not the stalls, not the turnout, just HIM.

He does have crappy feet, but there's a lot else in his bloodlines to account for that.

He was an evil son-of-a-bitch when he came off the track (just gelded) but has mellowed into a sweetheart. Very athletic and a tremendous work ethic. You can just feel him trying to please.

[LexInVA]

I have a Storm Cat grandson (by Forestry, so he's a half-brother to the Green Monkey :))

He'd be sound if he weren't the most accident-prone horse I've EVER met. Seriously, I don't think I've ever been able to keep him in work for more than 2 months without him doing something to make himself lame. NO other horse at the barn has this problem so it's not the stalls, not the turnout, just HIM.

He does have crappy feet, but there's a lot else in his bloodlines to account for that.

He was an evil son-of-a-bitch when he came off the track (just gelded) but has mellowed into a sweetheart. Very athletic and a tremendous work ethic. You can just feel him trying to please.

Invested1's horse must be closely related to yours...

[Regal Grace]

Just caught this piece the other day in rerun about Storm Cat. If you have cable and HBO and or HBO on Demand maybe you can view the episode. It was very interesting.

http://www.hbo.com/realsports/stories/2008/episode.135.s4.html

[Jleegriffith]

I have liked the two that I have worked with. We had one by Forestry and he started out timid but could jump the moon. I could see how he could be difficult for the wrong rider but overall I just found he was unsure of himself and needed hand holding.

The other horse is by Storm of Angels and just eats up the x-country. I would say he is difficult for the wrong type of rider but if you ride him the way he wants to be ridden he would do anything for you. He is a great jumper and a horse I would love to have to jump around a big course on. Piss him off and you will be sorry:lol:

I am not sure if these two are representatives of storm cat offspring but I would gladly take several more with the jumping talent these two displayed.

[Toomanycats]

I have a granddaughter (by Storm Creek) - amazing mare with a heart of gold IF you treat her with kindness and respect. She's been very easy to bring along for me (an ammy adult rider with a real job). But you have to show her what to do, not tell her. If you are mean to her or too rough, she could very easily kill you (seriously). She definitely needs a quiet and soft ride, but with boundaries. If she trusts you, she will try her heart out for you, but if she's afraid of you, forget it, she will either shut down or panic. And her panic attacks can be really bad. She is a lovely mover and jumper and is amazingly athletic. I think she is more like an old style event horse (eats up xc, loves to gallop and jump out of stride). Dressage, well, if we got rid of the tenseness, it would be very nice. And she is lovely to look at, even if I do say so myself. If I could clone her, I would. I wish I had gotten her before she went to the track and to New Holland - a better start in life and she might have had a totally different personality.

[chestnutmarebeware]

I have heard that Storm Cat grandbabies are better than direct sons/daughters.

On that note, I currently have a Storm Cat grandbaby and he is the sweetest horse I think I may have had in a long time. Willing, brave and honest. Everyone around the barn loves him. Absolutely NOTHING bothers him, haven't seen a spook in him since the day he arrived. (cute as heck jumper too!) Obviously not all horses can be catagorized, but I would own another Storm Cat descendent in a heartbeat.

Sounds just like my SC granddaughter! She's a feminine clone (looks-wise) of her granddad, but sweet, sweet, sweet—will climb in your lap for a peppermint. And she was successful on the track, but has the most laid-back personality ever. Her movement seems to be most suited for dressage, but it's early days yet.:)

http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p122/kmclaughlin21/?action=view&current=Bo1.jpg

[Bamgone]

Thanks Watermark.

Your comments from Joe were very informative.:)

[sm]

I found the comments puzzling: he doesn't like the SCs yet ran out of barn names, his SC "list is long" ? Couldn't he have rescued more *worthy* horses if he doesn't like them?

[AppJumpr08]

I have a SC granddaughter, and she's surely NQR in the brain department... She's very sweet, but don't ask her to do something she doesn't want to do... a switch flips, and she gets so focused on resisting you that she'll take herself (and you) out.

I got her off the track 2 years ago, and honestly I really wish I'd left her there.
:sigh:

[NMK]

I have two grandsons, one by Stormy Atlantic, the other by Stormin Fever. Both are similar in build, short backed, and athletic. Both can be a little bit willful but easy to figure out with consistency. Both are excellent jumpers with good form...here is one:

Thanks to Divasgroom for the excellent photos:

http://brantgamma.exposuremanager.com/p/kochnancyw/rxbg914817

They both have wonderful, people-oriented personalities. This one follows my little niece around like a puppy dog. He also goes in a rubber snaffle xc.

Nancy

[elmerandharriet]

my old horse was a son of sc and he was difficult in the sense that he was funny about certain people as in for me he was amazing great jumper and did well in dressage but for the vet, farrier, BO, and anyone else in between he hated and would strike at and kick but for me he was amazing... he was one of those who only worked well for a few people. However, as he got older he got to the point where other people could ride him.

he was always sound when it came to his legs but he had the worst breathing problem grade 4 roarer and flipped his palate often... he sounded horrible

[Bamgone]

I found the comments puzzling: he doesn't like the SCs yet ran out of barn names, his SC "list is long" ? Couldn't he have rescued more *worthy* horses if he doesn't like them?

He operates a TB rescue which means he takes in horses cast off from the track as well as feed lots.

I hardly think that he would reject a needy horse based upon their breeding do you?:confused:

[eventer_mi]

wow, NMK - that is one seriously gorgeous horse! Give me a TB like that any day!

[LessonLearned]

I can remember two coming through our barn. Relatively close together. One was a very nice chestnut gelding (well was gelded shortly after arrival). Very nice, athletic and talented.. very sweet boy. The other was a young bay gelding... sooo naughty!! He was going to be awesome though.. very athletic, but again.. naughty. We loved him though, but we're kinda warped sometimes. Lessonlearned experienced his sense of humor when he knocked her into the water trough she was cleaning and then proceeded to not let her out. LOL

Uh, yeah, he was a treat. We should have known, when he came to the farm he started his trip in a nice leather halter and wraps. By the time he arrived the halter was on the ground, completely mangled and all four wraps were off. He was nothing if not clever :cool:

Last I heard he was living the life in North Carolina with his new mom (she was warned about turning her back to him while doing chores). She reported that her husband had dubbed him El Terroristo and that he was feared by most of the horses at her barn. His preferred means of attack was to close his eyes, show his teeth and run hell bent at his equine victim. He was going to be a great eventer, though. . .

As Carolinagirl said, the other boy was just the sweetest, most easy going and even tempered creature you could ever meet.

[keepthelegend]

My family has raced several sons of Storm Cat (tabasco cat, etc). They are sensitive and high strung generally but have a lot of "heart" and are very hard tryers and extremely athletic. A lot of them seem to have a screw loose but seem to be able to channel it when competing. I think they are a lot like having a border collie or a working dog...they need a job and an outlet for their energy and competitiveness. I have seen several that are very good jumpers

[TBKate]

IMHO you never want to start a fight with him because it's in the blood to win.

I think they take a confident rider, light on the aids, with more brain than brawn. Let's face it, not everyone fits the bill.
I agree wholeheartedly with these comments. :yes:
My boy isn't technically Storm Cat, but his sire is by Storm Bird out of a Secretariat daughter, same as SC, so they were obviously trying to duplicate greatness there. (Missed by a mile, oh well.)

My gelding is athletic as all get out, never met a fence he couldn't jump. God help you if you try to back him off cross country--if you point him at a fence, you're going. Well, he is. Whether you go is up to you ;).

Gorgeous (it's not just me, lots of people think so! :lol:), lovely mover, and can easily hold up against the WBs in dressage. However, you cannot nitpick him, on the flat or O/F. He can be opinionated. I'm pretty sure he's smarter than me:winkgrin:, and if you are not the light, confident rider described above he can use those smarts against you. Personality wise, he's very affectionate on the ground but he thinks he's the sh*t. Sound, good feet, lovely conformation, easy keeper.

OnlyLeftSocks, my boy and his brother do the same burnt toast color!! Summer=ugliness. Wonder if it's a Storm Bird thing?

Here's my boy:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2508308060100024088sGqUhv?vhost=pets

[CoolMeadows]

Mine is a Storm of Angels son and is very sensitive. He arrived with a history of being a kicker, afraid of his own shadow, afraid of my shadow and spent too much time shaking at the back of his stall when people were in the barn. Riding him meant galloping sideways while he squealed under his breath and he did (and still does) strike at bugs, cats, dogs... anything he doesn't think needs to be in his space. Starting him over fences took 2 weeks of handwalking over cavaletti. He's been a unique OTTb for me in that while he's wickedly smart, he's not the typical "that was fun, what do I learn next?" type of Tb but more of a "you asked me to do something I've never done and now I'm going to meltdown, shut you out and maybe do something dangerous for no reason" type of ride.

Two years on and he has developed an incredible canter, although the trot is still racky when he feels anxious. He lost the ridiculous spook and grew an amazing jump with a super fast and tight front end and textbook bascule. He still demands a lot of tact and carefulness and I'm not sure that he'd have the boldness to be an eventer but he's just beginning to jump "real" jumps and is having a great time. He'll always need a job he can really get into and will always have to be asked nicely. He will still meltdown if a stranger moves too quickly anywhere near him and there are a couple of people who are permanently on his $&*t list for some reason. I had a lesson this morning with a jumper guy who said he jumped so hard and so well it gave him goosebumps. Now THAT is worth a couple of difficult years. :)

Physically he's drop dead gorgeous, built like a tank with great bone and big feet. The feet have taken 2 years to get to a good place but his quality of foot is very good. He's been pinfired (why can't we get that banned? The horse is SIX for cryin' out loud, he wasn't around in the dark ages when this was ok) but I don't know if it was because of suspected shin issues or because he just wasn't running well. He's clean legged other than the pinfire marks and (knocking on wood) has been sound and pretty tough.

I would not get one of the SC kids or grandkids like him (and it sounds like a few here have this type) lightly but if you find one with a ton of ability, like his looks and can deal with an extra slow start and a few quirks, then go for it.

[onlyleftsocks]

I agree wholeheartedly with these comments. :yes:
My boy isn't technically Storm Cat, but his sire is by Storm Bird out of a Secretariat daughter, same as SC, so they were obviously trying to duplicate greatness there. (Missed by a mile, oh well.)

My gelding is athletic as all get out, never met a fence he couldn't jump. God help you if you try to back him off cross country--if you point him at a fence, you're going. Well, he is. Whether you go is up to you ;).

Gorgeous (it's not just me, lots of people think so! :lol:), lovely mover, and can easily hold up against the WBs in dressage. However, you cannot nitpick him, on the flat or O/F. He can be opinionated. I'm pretty sure he's smarter than me:winkgrin:, and if you are not the light, confident rider described above he can use those smarts against you. Personality wise, he's very affectionate on the ground but he thinks he's the sh*t. Sound, good feet, lovely conformation, easy keeper.

OnlyLeftSocks, my boy and his brother do the same burnt toast color!! Summer=ugliness. Wonder if it's a Storm Bird thing?

Here's my boy:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2508308060100024088sGqUhv?vhost=pets

mine might be catagorized as "incinerated" toast then....

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=800455&imageID=1909470&MyToken=ce77fd31-f932-4003-8543-de785979b049

[beybladesabre]

My family has raced several sons of Storm Cat (tabasco cat, etc). They are sensitive and high strung generally but have a lot of "heart" and are very hard tryers and extremely athletic. A lot of them seem to have a screw loose but seem to be able to channel it when competing. I think they are a lot like having a border collie or a working dog...they need a job and an outlet for their energy and competitiveness. I have seen several that are very good jumpers

You organized my thoughts perfectly!! I have a SC granddaughter and she is sensitive, opinionated, and fiery, but give her a job and she would jump the moon for you if she could:) I wish I could have 10 more just like her!

Another gelding I worked with who was a SC grandson was almost exactly the same way.

[flyingtails]

I think its funny that people say a particular horse seems to be popular with eventers. :lol::lol:I think its not that he is necessarily popular with eventers as he is very popular as sire on the track. He did not run that long ago so a lot of his progeny are still running. And since there are a lot of OTTBs in eventing, they tend to be well represnted in numbers there, the same as they are on the track. He was the number one stakes winning sire (and well bred himself) for a long time and covered many, many mares. I think this may be a better question for the racing forum.:yes: So keep in mind the more prominent a sire in racing, the more poplular he will seem to be in eventing

That being said I think he produces competitive horses who tend to be forward thinking. I'm not sure that makes them rough, but like a lot of strong racing lines these are horses that need a job on a regular basis. I think thats true of many TBs, you can't not ride for a month and then just get on and go. Also the fact that a lot his get seem to retire from racing sound enough to go on to eventing says something as well. ;)

[flyingtails]

[QUOTE=TBKate;3332739]I agree wholeheartedly with these comments. :yes:
My boy isn't technically Storm Cat, but his sire is by Storm Bird out of a Secretariat daughter, same as SC, so they were obviously trying to duplicate greatness there. (Missed by a mile, oh well.)

My gelding is athletic as all get out, never met a fence he couldn't jump. God help you if you try to back him off cross country--if you point him at a fence, you're going. Well, he is. Whether you go is up to you ;).

Wow TB KATE! You did well. Secretariat daughters went on to be great broodmares. Sect's Mother was out of a line of proven bloodmares herself. The Princequillo line. They are known for staying sound and for the broodmare line. Sec is by Bold Ruler who was very athletic. Sec was very very smart and turned to antics bc he liked to play and was feeling so good. Sec babies can really be a thinking horse. Teach them how to use their brain and their awesome, if they learn to use it faster than you use yours you better be able to hang along for the ride and have a sense of humour about it as they aren't mean, just spunky. And then you have Storm Bird. Thats a jackpot bloodline in my book! Cool

[Secretariat2]

I stand a Storm Cat grandson as a sporthorse stallion and he has a wonderful temperament, great conformation, good bone and even great feet. He is by Forest Wildcat and he has Alydar, Danzig lines on his dam's side. He lives out 24/7 with a QH gelding buddy and is a pleasure to care for. Under saddle, he will jump anything you ask and moves beautifully. He's responsive and smart and tries his heart out. I'd have another SC in a heartbeat and consider it a definitely plus in a pedigree. You have to remember that SC was bred to some wonderful mares so you are going to see great horses on both sides of the line.

[Perfect Pony]

I have a SC granddaughter, and she's surely NQR in the brain department... She's very sweet, but don't ask her to do something she doesn't want to do... a switch flips, and she gets so focused on resisting you that she'll take herself (and you) out.

I got her off the track 2 years ago, and honestly I really wish I'd left her there.
:sigh:

LOL! I was given a Storm Cat grand daughter (By Future Storm) as a 3 year old and she was a lovely mover with a canter and jump to die for. She was so brave too, and so easy when she wanted to be good, or you didn't piss her off. You could hack her out anywhere, point her at anything, and she was so trainable on the flat. But boy did she have a buck. One day she didn't want to go by the arena gate and with zero warning I was launched over her head - she had that same "switch"! I never got back on her, never enjoyed riding a horse that I knew had a nasty streak, and never wanted to end up in the hospital because of it.

She was sold on to a 13 year old that loved her and didn't mind getting bucked off on a regular basis.

[tbeventer]

I am the proud mommy of two FULL BROTHER Storm Cat grand sons (By Delineator, WA bred). Had I known the negative responses I've gotten to having a Delineator, I doubtfully would have gotten the first. However, as time has gone on, I look for Delineators and other Storm Cat offspring!
The elder brother is 6 and has grown nearly a full hand since purchased as a 4 year old, has had a successful season at prelim and will hopefully move up to intermediate this fall. This horse can JUMP, JUMP, JUMP! His gallop is phenomenal! In Fact, we've been working with a former GP jumper rider who thinks he would make a phenomenal upper level jumper. Our only draw back is that he is so smart in dressage, he memorizes the tests after his second time out and then gets super anxious about upcoming movements. Sadly, it has been our downfall, as he can win a dressage test one weekend and walk ON the arena the next! He also has some excess baggage that we've been working through for nearly 2 years from his time on the track--excessive beatings, flipping him over the rail, etc. Obviously, the baggage plays its part in our issues. However, I can trust him to take my 2 year old daughter through leadline classes and she rides him around home in a halter and a leadrope.
The full brother who is just 3 retired from the track May 25. Three days later he was out on his first hack. A week after that, I had a 14 year old C1 Pony Clubber on him. He's about 17 at his bum and 16.2 at the withers, so we're expecting a big boy! He's been out and done a hunter pace all without any major upsets. I bought him sight unseen after their breeders contacted me about picking up the younger brother. An 8 hour drive North and he was coming home for good! He has the best mind I've ever dealt with and although he has to do things in "his time", he'll give most anything a go! Now, his older brother is a good looking horse that gets mistaken for a WB on a regular basis, but he makes his big bro look like a plow horse because of how fancy and leggy he is! I can't wait to get him out to the YEH in the spring!
There is also another Delineator (again, Storm Cat son) daughter who is also competing at Intermediate and Advanced. She's in Washington and from what I've been told, has the same kind of mind as my upper level gelding. There is discussion that Storm Cat grand daughters are "nicer" mentally than the geldings, but I love my geldings, so that's a toughie!
I'm fortunate to have a connection to the breeders of my boys and they have a yearling that they think may make a good third stooge in my crew... We'll see, but 3 Delineators! WHOOOOOH!
If you have any more questions on that bloodline, I'd be happy to give you contact info to the breeders of my boys. They are incredible resources!

[Benson]

Mine is a Storm of Angels son and is very sensitive.





Hey, CM, we have 1/2 brothers! Here's my guy's pedigree. He's the "athletic, but don't piss him off" horse in Jleegriffith's post.

http://www.pedigreequery.com/murmadon

Here's a shot from a xc school last winter.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2689887730102408043QoXapn

[mpack]

I have a 3yr old Storm Cat Grandson right off the track. He's still very immature: a bit higher in the rump and has that growing gangly look. I'm going to let him down for two months in the pasture-let him be a horse. He's a sweetheart to deal with really loves attention. After reading all the many views, I've settled on the side of optimism and am excited to have him and looking forward to what he'll be when he grows up :-)

[findeight]

I'm starting to see a few grand get and great grand get out that seem decent. Probably crosses well and the evil side gets diluted while retaining the heart.

The own sons and daughters have an...er...stormy reputation.

Was once offered an own son, 4 year old gelding, for free, had been a high priced yearling and quite fancy I was told. Went so far as to call somebody at the track (Beulah or up by Cleveland someplace, been a few years ago now-like 8 or 10) to go take a look and ask around.

Yep, fancy for sure and movement to die for they said...and the disposition to help you do it. I passed.

I did have an own grandson of Mr P on top and Spectacular Bid on the bottom that was unsound and had a nasty streak. But boy was he fancy.

[sm]

I'm starting to see a few grand get and great grand get out that seem decent. Probably crosses well and the evil side gets diluted while retaining the heart.
oh dear lord, I just spewed coke all over my keyboard.

This reminds me of when I first got my SC horse, he was a 4 yr old stallion off the track and his immediate sire is SC. I did ride many horses growing up but was away from them for 20 years. Not a good match with a SC youngster you say?

Working 60 hours a week I took him to an eventing barn, full training, to get a good foundation in the basics. Invariably riders would come up with the same question, "So do you ride your horse?" The answer was simple: "I don't know if you'd call what I do riding. Basically the horse goes out of his way to have me stay on."

I learned to trot all over again, not on a steady lesson horse but on my.... err... athletic boy. I didn't want to give him the wrong message that I didn't trust him and I was riding another, and I rarely got to spend any time with him anyway.

Evil?? The only thing I can think of is maybe he decided not to toss me off because there was no sport in it for him: the real challenge I'm sure was in keeping me on. So fast and athletic and he just packed me...

I will say I beleive SCs are very strong willed and you want to be sure you are on the same team, because they will WIN at whatever it is or die trying. In his younger days he never saw a fight he didn't like. Outnumbered and sure to lose? Not a problem, he'd fight to win. So, I guess I would agree if someone said you absolutely need to be smarter than the horse, confident, easy with the aids, and provide a certian type of ride.

Meanwhile, I am so thankful I got to have this horse, together we journey through this thing called life. He's amazing and a best friend. Looks a heck of a lot like his daddy too, which is a blast...

[Sabrina90]

I own a son of Storm Cat named Olympic Cat and he has been doing excellent on the trails as a pleasure horse. He was raced in NY under John Velazquez. In spite of his somewhat stubborn attitude, I love this horse and I would never sell him. As with any OTTB, it takes time and patience for them to come around.

[Eventerjazz6]

I have a Storm Cat grandson (by Hennessy) and he has been a great horse for the 8 years I've owned him. I got him at age 5 right off the track and by age 6 I was teaching beginner lessons on him. He was very trustworthy with kids. I recently had him leased out to a 9 year old who took him on the C circuit and they did quite well. He took very good care of her. Any hijinx he saved for me, lol. I bought him with the intentions of eventing him, but never had the extra money to make it to many shows and a newly diagnosed bone spur ended his jumping days, so we are focusing on dressage. He has good movement, a nice marching walk, beautiful forward trot, canter to die for, a gorgeous scopey jump, but tends to have difficulty relaxing his neck and using his top line. It takes A LOT of work, but those days where he seems to get it, it feels amazing.

When he was 10-ish we had a period of about a year or so where he was completely INSANE. He went crazy due to a change of grain at the farm where I boarded. He would rear and flip (never with me on him) over backwards, and I became so frightened to ride him that he took advantage of this. I moved him to a new farm where he got fed higher quality grain, had a great trainer to help us with our trust issues, and gradually things improved. He is now completely back to my sweet boy, and I trust him entirely.

I have seen some amazing horses in my day working at an international dressage barn, Dutch stallions doing their stunning grand prix work, Spanish horses and their haute ecole, but I wouldn't trade my boy for any of those "fancy" horses.

[Foxtrot's]

There are just so many out there in so many pedigrees - good and bad in all.
Rather like the Dancers.

[RougeEmpire]

In my expereince DIFFICULT temperments (some flat out aggressive) and often unsound. I avoid SC offspring myself.

[nextyear]

I have had several grand daughters and a couple great grand sons. Most have been easy to work with but take a little more time than some other lines. I think the unsoundness comments come from the conformation that I have seen a lot of SC offspring. I am competiting a SC great grand son now he has been very good and willing to work but you can't push him out of the comfort zone if you want better work the next day, that said he does have Mr. prospecter on the other side which can be difficult also.
The one line I will not go near anymore is Seattle Slew, have had the worst luck possible, talk about unsoundness issues.

[gumtree]

Being a TB person this tread caught my eye. I have never directly worked with the off spring of Storm Cat himself. But have bought some as agent at auction for clients when he first went to stud. As rule I am told by trainers they were difficult and unsound. Which is why a lot of his yearlings never made to the starting gate. Considering that his stud fee at one time was $500,000 and his yearlings averaged close to 1 million at auction why bother to get them to the gate to run in claimers or average allowance races if you bought or bred one. It seems with Storm Cat it was either “all or nothing”. I train and ride Steeplechase horses and have followed the sport all of my life. There may have been the odd one that was tried over jumps but I would have to dig deep to come up with a name. I see a lot people talking about working with the get of grandson’s of SC as if being “one off” is the same as being by direct blood. I can’t speak of other breeds I only work with TBs but this is a notion that should not be taken to heart nor passed on as gospel. The dam of any horse adds at least 50% of the genes passed on good or bad if not more. I have bred and or foaled, raised, broke, trained until they went to the track the get of several of his sons. The ones I have worked with by in large were easy enough with no silly quirks. One in particular a son of Storm and Half that we got on a board bill was a freak. Beautifully made, great mind and a joy to work with. As with all our 2 year olds at some point I will “pop” them over a couple of fences in case we have to go to “plan B” and he took to it like a duck to water. Never ran at them or away. Killed me to have to sell him, 1 in a million. I know one horse does not make a sire but I will go out of my way to check out any horse by Storm and Half.

FYI; Though Storm Cat was retired from the breeding shed (live cover), his semen can be purchased for AI. Also for those that refer to their TB as a being a brother to another because they share the same sire, thought technically true it is not in Thoroughbred breeding. A stallion can have over 200 foals a year by live cover, the mare can have only one. Therefore a TB can only be a half or full if out of the same dam

[Brooke]

One horse does not mean much when talking about a line - but the one Storm Cat grand baby I had, I got rid of pretty quickly. When I picked him up at the track, the trainer said, "keep his attention." Boy did he know that horse. He was ALWAYS looking for ways to test me. He'd circle left twice, and the third time he'd say 'no' and try to bully me to the right. I'm old and I don't need to ride horses that are thinking of ways to hurt me anymore. He broke away from me twice when lunging (yes, I do know how to lunge a horse) and crashed through the fence each time. He could be sweet as anything on the ground, but don't ask him to do something he didn't already want to do. I really thought it was my fault and that I was just chicken, so I gave him to a gal who had a trainer who would work with him, (yes, with full description of what I thought of the horse.) The horse bucked the trainer off twice. So I'm not ready to leap up and buy aother one any time soon.

[maxxtrot]

i just got one in for resale. by smooth jazz who is by storm boot who is by storm cat. he is big beautiful and a wonderful mover. still a little high and nerveous but really wants to work and try. 16.2,bay with chrome.so, we shall see. first storm line i have had so far.his name is two niney five, won around 60k at the track

[chism]

If I were buying one off the track (and I wouldn't), I'd x-ray the knees. There's a lot of CW out there that they just don't hold up, and the trainability (or lack thereof) factor was another strike for me. I've never owned a first generation SC, when I was at the track looking, if they had SC in their pedigree, they were off my list.
I also agree that you can't compare first generation get with grand's and great grands, with every generation the blood is diluted.

[ltmac]

I think there was another thread about Storm Cat babies, maybe I'm mixing threads up? Anyways, I love reading about everyone else's SC babies!

My guy is a Storm Cat grandson, by Mountain Cat. Bay, with a small snip of white on the very back of his left hind right above the hoof. I got him (when I was 13, wow!) as an 8-year old who had a little eventing experience (BN-N) with a kid who didn't really like riding any more after my guy dumped him a few too many times! Early on, we sadly got tangled up with a crazy trainer who ended up blowing his right front suspensory (22.82%) as well as shattering his confidence and trust in others. We brought him back in a few months from PRP, but he's never been the same with some old behavioral issues (head and especially ear shy) and his trust in others. He has always been sound, only threw one shoe in the 3 years I was riding him, and always took care of me in the saddle despite his AH behavior. After shifting around barns and trainers, my good friend piloted him to a 2nd place (one really uncharacteristic rail put him .5 away) at BN with a Dressage score of 27.5 (robbed on the freewalk, only a 4!). Wonderful, wonderful mover with a scopey as heck jump. Extremely smart mind, a good and bad thing!

To answer the OP question, my guy gets the boldness (as well as craziness) from Storm Cat and I find that it helps him when he gets in the zone for cross country. He is not an easy ride, but an extremely rewarding (and gorgeous!) one. He does get testy, but nothing a good relaxing walk or move-it canter/gallop can't fix, so it can get really frustrating but a great teacher of patience. At the same time, he's really just a large dog who wanted to follow you around everywhere and curl up at the end of bed to sleep.

Hopes this helps!

[xxlovedaniellexx]

I actually have a Storm Cat baby! She is great. She raced for a year & now she is 7 years old. We've been doing hunters together but we are starting eventing. We will be doing novice level eventing & she can jump up to 4 ft. She is wonderful! And she is gorgeous, she is a dapple grey(not sure how that happened) and she is a full Thoroughbred. She has a bit of anxiety but thats all okay. They are really great babies!

[xxlovedaniellexx]

Oops! I meant grandbaby!

[Beam Me Up]

I love my Storm Cat paternal grandson, but disagree with the original premise of the thread that eventers actively seek out this line. IME they usually try to avoid it, along with several others with reputations for insanity/unsoundness. I have never met anyone actively looking for SC offspring for sport.

That said, in most of the horses we are discussing SC is only 1/4 or 1/8 of the breeding, and you ride the horse and not the papers. I based my purchase on conformation and movement and didn't let the reputation of SC scare me away.