Well for a breeding season that started out like SH** it has ended...

[crosscreeksh]

just as badly!! On January 26, '09 we lost our fabulous, much loved Jagged Illusion (17+ hand, seal brown/white overo TB). April 15th (Tax Day) his first foal (3/4 TB, 1/4 RID) was born. Despite horrific complications the big, gorgeous PAINTED Iriash Sport Horse filly has survived and is growing into a stunning foal. One thumbs up. May 2, 20 minutes to post time for the Preakness Stakes a big, leggy, gorgeous paint filly was born. NO complications. Second thumbs up. After 12 days of false alarms, this past Friday, June 5, Jag's only pure TB foal was born. Good delivery, no complications, HUGE (measured 47 Inches before he stretched full height!) dark bay, star, stockings, white splotches, but not really a paint, vigorous, strong, hungry, up quickly, got lots of colostrum. Third thumbs up???? At 17 hours he crashed and even with the attending vet using every skill, we lost him!!! That makes the end of an era spanning 4 generations...Jag's Best Son > Jagged Illusion > Puchi's Rambo > Puchilingui!! We still have 4 painted fillies by Rambo, but the male line is dead! Depressing!!! Tell me again why we do this???

[Tasker]

Oh Jackie...I am so so so sorry...words really aren't capable of saying the right thing.

Big cyber {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to you and yours from all of us here in PA.

[Cindyg]

Oh, what a disaster! I'm sorry!

[Horsecrazy27]

just as badly!! On January 26, '09 we lost our fabulous, much loved Jagged Illusion (17+ hand, seal brown/white overo TB). April 15th (Tax Day) his first foal (3/4 TB, 1/4 RID) was born. Despite horrific complications the big, gorgeous PAINTED Iriash Sport Horse filly has survived and is growing into a stunning foal. One thumbs up. May 2, 20 minutes to post time for the Preakness Stakes a big, leggy, gorgeous paint filly was born. NO complications. Second thumbs up. After 12 days of false alarms, this past Friday, June 5, Jag's only pure TB foal was born. Good delivery, no complications, HUGE (measured 47 Inches before he stretched full height!) dark bay, star, stockings, white splotches, but not really a paint, vigorous, strong, hungry, up quickly, got lots of colostrum. Third thumbs up???? At 17 hours he crashed and even with the attending vet using every skill, we lost him!!! That makes the end of an era spanning 4 generations...Jag's Best Son > Jagged Illusion > Puchi's Rambo > Puchilingui!! We still have 4 painted fillies by Rambo, but the male line is dead! Depressing!!! Tell me again why we do this???

:(

[crosscreeksh]

Thanks for the hug Ellie - I appreciated it! I was just telling someone this very day about your colt, Puck!!! Is he still in one piece??? Thanks to all of you. This is the one place I know where other horse people understand what we go through!!!

[Painted Wings]

Oh, so sorry. I look at your web page frequently and admire your horses. Sad to hear you've had a tough go of it. Breeding is so difficult. My last foal ran up quite a few vet bills but did survive at least. Really turned me off of breeding though.

[tucktaway]

Oh I hear you!!!! Having lost my FAVORITE, wonderful, wonderful mare during foaling this year, I ask the same question!!!! But, we accept what we can't change, and relish what is good! Enjoy and be grateful for your healthy foals, I know that I am!!
My sincere condolences on your loss!

[SpecialEffects]

Jackie, I'm truly sorry. :( I can't even imagine.

Laurie

[aurum]

I am very very sorry, loved Jagged Illusion!

[spacely]

I am so, so sorry. :(

[pintopiaffe]

Jacki, I am so, so sorry.

I can't imagine, truly, how hard this season is on you. You certainly put forth heroic efforts from the first.

Sometimes I *don't* know why we do it.

Thoughts and prayers your way. I wish I could say or do something to help make it hurt less. :cry:

[Dressage_Diva333]

Crap, I'm so sorry to hear that :( It seems like it's been a rough year for many.


I don't know why we do it. It's extremly straining both financially and even more-so, emotionally. Yet it can be so rewarding at the same time. I think one of the most important tools in owning horses is pure dumb luck, and when the bad luck comes, it often seems like it will never end..

[Equilibrium]

Jackie,

I'm so sorry. I don't know why we do this sometimes either. Sending you a big hug.

Terri

[Sunnydays]

I'm so sorry! You must really feel beaten-up after this season. Hugs and best wishes.

[foxhavenfarm]

So sorry for your loss!

[kookicat]

I'm so sorry. :( {{hugs}}

[can't re-]

Jackie - that is beyond awful! I am so sorry......:(

[Laurierace]

Without question, breeding can break your heart. Anyone with more than a foal or two has experienced the ups and downs that come with the territory. Hopefully you got all your bad luck out of the way for a while and it will be smooth sailing from here on out. Godspeed.

[Home Again Farm]

I am so sorry. To lose your special boy and then lose his lovely son is just too much. Sending hugs... :cry:

[TouchstoneAcres]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is heartbreaking to lose the horse plus all the plans you had for him.

[VirginiaBred]

I am so sorry. :(:(:(

[paintjumper]

He was bred by True Colours Farm in 2000 and was sold according to their website to Robyn Stowell of Fla. The colt is registered TB and APHA by PR and out of a TB mare named Old Standby.
His name is Spotted Up North. Maybe he is still a stallion. I realize he is not by your PR but it could keep your stallion line open. There is a picture of him on their site. JFYO, if you are interested. Sorry you are having so much trouble, it seems this was not a good year overall, God Bless.

[graustarkian]

I'm so sorry ): I had the same thing happen this spring. Lost my dream colt at nine days old. I'm really trying to be grateful for the beautiful filly I DO have, but the sire is not getting any younger, and is the last of his line in the world.

It's been a terrible year for a lot of people. I hope you can find peace and acceptance - lord knows I've yet to!!

[crosscreeksh]

Paintjumper...Spotted Up North WAS by our stallion, Puchi's Rambo. Donna sent a mare to us in North Carolina to breed in '97 ...that first foal was a painted one, but was lost at birth due to melanomas in the birth canal - as we were told. The following year she sent Old Standby to breed and the resulting foal was Spotted Up North. Since she was wayyyy up in Canada and we were never made aware of the colt and the fact that she had Spot Pocket, we assumed that S.U.N. was by "that" stud. It wasn't until my daughter ran across his accomplishments on the internet...he won ALL the big APHA hunter championships that year, that we even knew he was by OUR stud!!! He has been gelded however!!!
And thanks to all of you who have sent your good wishes and condolenses. It's fresh right now and hard to think about the loss of these great horses, but we DO have sisters and 1/2 sisters (sort of) of Jag's and the most gorgeous ISH filly by him. Life WILL go on, but it is a b***h. Our biggest hopes were to establish a line of "painted" Irish Sport Horses. We can still do that, but using the ISH stud we have, Seattle Blues, bred to our painted TB fillies. But I'll think about that another day...when my head stops hurting!!!

[TrueColours]

Paintjumper...Spotted Up North WAS by our stallion, Puchi's Rambo. Donna sent a mare to us in North Carolina to breed in '97 ...that first foal was a painted one, but was lost at birth due to melanomas in the birth canal - as we were told. The following year she sent Old Standby to breed and the resulting foal was Spotted Up North. Since she was wayyyy up in Canada and we were never made aware of the colt and the fact that she had Spot Pocket, we assumed that S.U.N. was by "that" stud.

Jackie - I am really and honestly sorry for the losses you have incurred, but I really do want to set the record straight here

You absolutely had to and DID know about this colt, right from the very beginning! I could never have registered him without the breeders certificate that you had to sign and send me, from both the Jockey Club AND the APHA!

So - I have no idea how you could have assumed that this colt was by Spot Pocket when all of the documents that you signed and sent to me were based on a breeding to your stallion??? :confused:

Again - sorry for your losses ...

[crosscreeksh]

Yes, we knew you got a APHA colt by Rambo, but never knew his name or put two and two together as it being Spotted Up North!

[wehrlegirl]

what a shame, Im so sorry for your loss... its been a crappy year. Dont give up..

[vtwmbld]

:no::( Cyber hugs to you for sure. Luck can certainly be a nasty companion. Keep your chin up! We all support and understand!

[LisaO]

I'm so sorry to hear your terrible news. Breeding is a true labor of love for most of us or we simply couldn't do it year after year.

[camohn]

We do it because we love em anyway!
We also lost our colored TB a couple years ago along with our only full TB son. (Any other sons APHA or TB were by outside breeders and are gelded to my knowledge...and he ended up with mostly fillies!) I do have an APHA 2 YO son intact....but we lost his only full TB son out of my best mare to a pasture accident (badly broken leg) at only 2 months old. The mare was VERY protective of him and had a habit of literally standing over the top of him whenever he slept. Our best guess is that she managed to step on him.

[spotsinabox]

Sure sorry to hear about loosing your stallion . . .especially one that you had developed from a longtime program. And Cahmon, we lost one of our best colts this year to exactly the same thing . . . about 2 months old, he apparently got stepped on or kicked . . . he was going to be my replacement for my senior stallion. It always seems to happen to the best ones . . .

[2WBs1TB]

I am sorry to hear of your loss. Breeding is a tough game.

That being said, when a breeding program focuses on one element it sure seems to produce more than its fair share of problems. Perhaps due to limited gene pool and line breeding? I'm not a breeding expert but there is something to be said for genetic diversity and breeding for an all around horse.

And before I get flamed, were it not for humans breeding to achieve some weird, unusual or excessive genetic trait, we wouldn't have things like lethal white, HYPP and other genetic conditions.

Again, sorry for your loss.

[TrueColours]

Sorry - these comments are a TOTALLY unfair and unjustified rap against the OP and against ANY breeders who happen to like colour with their Sporthorse prospects ...

That being said, when a breeding program focuses on one element it sure seems to produce more than its fair share of problems. Perhaps due to limited gene pool and line breeding? I'm not a breeding expert but there is something to be said for genetic diversity and breeding for an all around horse.


If she was breeding sons to daughters or daughters to uncles or sires to nieces - I would 100% agree with your comments but all of the REPUTABLE colour breeders bring in totally unrelated mares to EXPAND the gene pool as much as possible

As well - this particular breeder has found that her plain black - unrelated - mare bred to her coloured stallion(s) produced the best possible colour patterns, so its not like they were looking for wildly coloured RELATED mares to breed to their boys. Not at all ... She has bred Clyde cross mares to coloured TB stallions - how is that limiting ANY gene pool???

Its totally different with HYPP and OLW. HYPP breeders were breeding for a type. A specific Look. And the best/only available bloodlines that HAD that look was the Impressive line so yes - the inbreeding was rampant to ACHIEVE that look and so HYPP positive horses were solidified very strongly into the breed

Breeders that breed OLW positive horses to OLW positive horses ought to be shot, IMO as they KNOW they are playing Russian Roulette and its only a matter of time before a lethal white foal is born

The Arabian breeders that breed sons to dams to sires to daughters for 10-20-30 generations JUST to get the black gene solidified again - IMO - should be shot, because the genetic issues that arise and are solidified for multiple generations when COLOUR is the only goal are horrific and can never be eradicated

Yes - there are definately some breeders out there where colour is the main goal and we see the results of THOSE genetic misfits hitting the ground and all you can do is feel sorry for the poor damned animals that are involved in their breeding program ... They never had a choice or a say in who ended up owning them ... :(

But - this breeder is absolutely NOT one of them ...

Comparing this breeder, or any REPUTABLE breeder who is breeding correct, athletic Sporthorses who just happen to have some fabulous colour going on, to HYPP or OLW breeders, or those that rampantly inbreed, is completely and totally unfair and SO far off the mark, its laughable ...

[crosscreeksh]

Thank you True Colors for making a reply...I was going to let the last comment slide because the bile in my throat and the smoke coming out my ears was clouding my sight and thoughts!!! A very rude comment indeed. Second only to those who say we "breed only for color"!!! All the mares we have ever bred to Rambo or Jag have been solid colored with no inbreeding. OUR family trees BRANCH!!! Rude to "think" otherwise without checking pedigree query results and especially rude to "say" while addressing all of us "color breeders"!!!