Live Foal, Finally!

This morning when I did the 5:30 a.m. check, I could tell my bay mare was very close to foaling. I moved her into a corral by herself, fed her and the rest of the horses, then went back in to make coffee and breakfast. When I went back out in about an hour, she had foaled, passed the placenta, cleaned the little filly off and Pooh was trying to stand up. I was more than thrilled. This is Permalight Junior's first live offspring. She already shows his great disposition. I just did the noon feeding, and she "talked" to me. She was near the fence when I went to throw the hay over, and she faced me and nickered! She's sorrel with a big, even white blaze and hind stockings, plus maybe a short sock on at least one front. It's hard to tell sometimes when they are first born, because their legs are kind of grey and the white is not very distinct. Here's a picture of Pooh and her dam.

This mare is wonderful. Anyone can ride her and she is very responsive and soft-mouthed. She also has a great disposition. Prescription Check is her registered name, but her common name is Peggy. She is AQHA Incentive Fund registered and goes back to Doc Bar, Dash for Cash and Poco Bueno. Here's another pic that shows her maternal side. She's nuzzling Pooh's behind as she nurses.

Call me Calamity Jane

I am so discouraged. It feels like my prayers have been hitting the ceiling, bouncing off and not getting to God for a whole year now. I thought He was leading me to retire from my job and move back here, and that all worked out beautifully, but almost nothing has worked as I planned since then. I heard an interview with Art Linkletter on the radio the other day and he said, "If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans." I must be a continual source of amusement for God.
I knew the finances were going to be a little tight until I either get my newest truck paid off or sold. I tried selling it and that didn't work. Nobody wants to buy used vehicles anymore, or if they do, they want a bargain basement price. I tried selling some horses and that didn't work, either. I even tried to give one away and she came up lame, so no one wanted her. I just took one to a sale, but had to pass him out and bring him home. I thought God had given me a good position in the sale line-up, but it turned out to be a bad one. My horse was number nine, but several ahead of him just didn't show up, so everyone was reluctant to bid, because the market was not yet established. Several lesser quality horses sold later in the sale for more money than my bid. With all commodities for living and ranching going sky high, I am considering looking for another job.
Disaster struck again when one of my best mares died trying to foal. It was her first attempt, but she was nearly five years old, so she should have been able to foal on her own. The foal looked completely healthy, but had a front foot folded back. She was the last mare to breed, so I wasn't expecting her to be the first to foal and I wasn't paying as close attention as I could have been. I have three more pregnant mares and I have been arising out of bed two or three times each night to check for trouble. They have all foaled before, so hopefully, there won't be any further problems. Does lightening ever strike twice in the same place? I hope not. I've had enough setbacks.

Do you Boycott Roedos?

Well another band pulled their magic carpet out from under Cheyenne Frontier Days and what few fans may have attended their scheduled concert. This time it's Matchbox Twenty, of whom I had never before heard. They cited potential animal abuse that may or may not occur at rodeos. Carrie Underwood did the same a couple of years ago.
I've really had to search my heart about this subject since my younger sister, who has lived in New York for over 20 years, told me her family boycotts rodeo. I, on the other hand, have been not only a fan, but a participant at times. Frankly, I think the livestock that is supplied to the rodeo circuit has a better life than a lot of "pet" animals, especially horses. I have seen far more horses abused by their riders in the English Equestrian type sports, such as jumping and eventing, than I have at rodeos.
The bucking horse has an advantage in that there is no bit in its mouth and it is expected to buck. Some horses are just renegades, and not good for anything except being in a bucking string. They love to buck. They revel in it. If not for rodeo, they would be otherwise dispatched in a hurry.
I had the pleasure of seeing Khadafy Skoal being paraded around the Thomas and Mack Arena in Las Vegas the year he was voted the top bucking horse in the world. He was the picture of health and didn't look abused to me--but then I was two seats from outside and way up in the nosebleed section! I did have a good pair of binoculars, though. His perfect blue roan flesh rippled as he came through the arch of roses they prepared just for him. He pranced and arched his neck in enjoyment as he gazed at all the spectators, then went on to drill another cowboy's head into the arena sand that evening. Hank Franzen retired him a couple of years later to their ranch in Wyoming.
My sister seemed to object mostly to the use of spurs on the animals. Professional rodeo regulations call for blunt tips on the rowels (little wheelie things) and that they roll freely so that they are just more of an irritation than anything. Horses and cattle have much thicker skin than we do, usually with a thick hair coat, and normally don't feel pain from the spurs, just an irritation, same as the mild shock from a cattle prod. Rodeo is a part of our western heritage, and spurs are part of that tradition.
There are over 60 rules in place and enforced by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and others governing the care and handling of rodeo stock. Also, statistics are kept on the rate of injury to the animals and according to the National Animal Interest Alliance that rate is somewhere around five hundredths of one percent per animal exposure. I think that compares favorably with the rate at which my domesticated livestock gets injured as it lives life out in the pastures on my ranch.
The comments in the Casper Star Tribune online concerning the cancellation by Matchbox Twenty, were running about 50 percent more in favor of the sport of rodeo than those opposed the last I checked. But this is Wyoming, not Long Island. That would probably be reversed out there.

Riding a Turkey

I have been getting a gelding ready to sell, so I have been riding nearly every day. I love to ride, but riding by yourself is definitely not fun. Turkey has never bucked, but he is a little herd-bound. He doesn't like to go out by himself, either. However, I've been making him do it. I worry about getting bucked off, hurt, and nobody would know for a week or more. Here's a picture of me on Turkey.

Turkey got his barn name when he was a weanling. He picked up a nail in his front hoof and became lame. My daughter and her boyfriend had the task of dislodging the nail and disinfecting the wound. Turkey really didn't appreciate what they were doing and he acted like a real "turkey." They got the job done and Robin Boy Blue (his registered name) got his common name.
Turkey has a unique personality. He can't keep his lips off anything, especially anything plastic or rubber. He would turn the hydrant on, so I put a splitter on and covered the hydrant with a plastic bucket, which I wired to the fence. Well, it took him a few days, but somehow Turkey was able to wiggle the bucket up and managed to turn the little flipper on the hose splitter. The hydrant was gushing water when I got home from work that day. Between Turkey and me, we are not very good conservators of water.
I got so mad at myself yesterday. I needed to fill the stock tanks with water. I started the first one, which was almost empty. I figured it would take about 20 minutes to fill, so I went in the house to have coffee. Guess what, I forgot. I goofed around for over an hour before I remembered the water was running. I even went back outside, unloaded some hay, and moved some equipment around without remembering the overflowing tank. I cursed myself and went to fill the next tank. Guess what? I forgot again. That one was in the barn, so now I have a wet barn, and it's not due to the five to six inches of snow that has fallen in the past 12 hours. I think old age has come and lit. Somebody close the gate.

Cutter Bill

Cutter Bill was a palomino stallion bred by R.L. Underwood of Wichita Falls, Texas, and foaled in 1955. Bill was a great grandson of the foundation stallion Golden Chief, owned by Underwood. Cutter Bill was owned by Rex Cauble of Houston, Texas.
Bill was started in cutting as a three year old and proved very capable at it, thus the name Cutter was added to Bill. In 1962, he carried his owner to a world championship in the National Cutting Horse Association, then came back for a reserve world championship in 1963. His lifetime earnings in the NCHA amounted to $35,964, which was a lot of money in those days. Cauble built a showplace for Cutter Bill outside Denton, Texas, and there was also a western wear line named for Cutter Bill.
Permalight Junior displays a throwback to the temperament of Cutter Bill in that neither had a buck in them. Rex Cauble relates that when he first saddled Cutter Bill and got on, there was no funny business. Cutter Bill just walked out. My trainer related the same routine with Permalight Junior.
Cutter bill was a very beautiful horse, with a pretty head and outstanding conformation. He also won American Quarter Horse Show points at halter. He was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2003, as he had been to the Palomino Horse Breed Association in 1982, which was also the year he died.

JR's Ancestors

This will be the first in a series about Permalight Junior's Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred ancestors. Here's our stallion, JR under trainer, Tim Millikin.


One of Permalight Junior's foundation ancestors was Peter McCue. Peter McCue was foaled around the turn of the century; records indicate 1895, by the stallion Dan Tucker and out of a mare known as Nora M. Peter McCue was foaled on Samuel Watkins' farm outside of Petersburg, Illinois, and was registered as a Thoroughbred so that he could be raced at that time..
Known for his blazing speed, he ran the quarter-mile in 21 seconds flat, a time that wasn't beaten for decades. A Peter McCue son, Badger, sired Midnight, in 1916 and Midnight became even more of a racing sensation, winning so many matches that eventually, no one would race against him.
Peter McCue sired Hickory Bill in 1907, the horse through which Permalight Junior traces his lineage to Peter McCue. Among Peter McCue's other famous offspring are Joe Hancock, Sheik, Harmon Baker, John Wilkins, Buck Thomas, Harry D. Duck Hunter, Carrie Nation, Chief, Squaw (won 49 out of 50 starts) and Jack McCue. Harmon Baker sired Sancho, Harmon Baker, Jr., Seal Skin, Dodger, Big Nigger, and Little Joe (New Mexico), John Wilkins sired Joe Hancock. About a third of all Quarter Horses trace their lineage back to Peter McCue.
Although there was not an American Quarter Horse Registry during Peter McCue's active life, such foundation Quarter Horse sires as Old Sorrel, Wimpy P-1, Peppy, Bert, Ding Bob, Midnight Jr, Grey Badger II, Pretty Boy, Pretty Buck, Blackburn, Nowata Star, Poco Bueno, King Fritz, Cowboy P-12, Plaudit, Nick S, Skipper W, Jessie James, King's Pistol, and a host of others, in addition to those noted above, are all descendants of Peter McCue.
Coy's Bonanza, Blondy's Dude, Two Eyed Jack, Zan Parr Bar, and Rugged Lark and other prominent current Quarter Horse sires trace to Peter McCue. Here at Harveys Horses, we also have mares that trace to Two Eyed Jack and Zan Parr Bar.
To be continued.....next installment--Cutter Bill.