Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Wild Eyed Rose

(Sting Ray x Sheer Elegance)


Pretty Girl 

My Rosie girl was actually my second equine acquisition, but without her, neither of my other two would exist, so she gets first billing. Fair? I think so. She is the most inaccurately named horse I have ever met. Haha. She has such soft, lovely eyes.

Rose (Rosie Posie, Rosalynn, Mama) is a 1996 model 3/4 Saddlebred mare. She's by my absolute favorite National Show Horse (Nish =  National Show Horse. Arabian x Saddlebred as the registry used to be, it has since been opened up to any breed crossed with Arabian as long as the Arabian blood is 50%. So, pretty much a glorified second Half Arabian registry... meh. By these standards Rose wouldn't even qualify for registration today as she's only 1/4 Arabian) stallion, Sting Ray (*Erros x Sultan's Secret Love).

Sting Ray (Rose's sire).
He's so sexy. He had a Fabio-forelock that was longer than his nose!

Rose is 3/4 sister to one of my all-time favorite show horses, the incredible 3-gaited mare, Sting's Finesse. It is a shame I'm struggling to find photos of her on the interwebs because she literally took my breath watching her. If you had told me while I was sitting captivated in the stands watching that mare do her thing that I would own a sister of hers, I would have hit you and said 'shut up!'. I now own TWO siblings of my favorite show horses... mind blowing really! I don't know a lot about her mother and les googles has not been of much assistance. Rose has Supreme Sultan on both sides of her pedigree and Wing Commander in her mother's genes. Old skedaddlebred blood and I love it.

Sunset Muggin'

She is the matriarch of my little Nerd Herd. Both of my other horses are her children. I was given the opportunity to own her soon after I got my gelding, but after talking it over with my boss at the time we decided we didn't have room to add another horse to the herd. So, I declined. However, I couldn't get her out of my mind. She was so dear to me and her son is very much her clone so it was like looking her in the eyes every day. A year or so passed, then her owners contacted me once more and said they had another potential buyer but were giving me one last chance to own her. I couldn't stand the thought of her disappearing from my radar and not being able to love on her when I visited the farm where she lived. So, I sucked it up (after all, I needed another horse like I needed another hole in my head). I found a friend who had an open pasture space about an hour from where I lived, made boarding arrangements and made the 20 hour round trip to pick her up. She stayed an hour away for about a year, until our herd at the barn I managed was down to a much more manageable size and I got the ok from Boss-Lady to bring her home to live with her son. She is extraordinarily bonded with her son. They were apart for many years as he was off showing and then with me after the age of 2. But when I unloaded her from the trailer and brought her into the barn, he all but squished himself through the bars of his stall nickering to her. She had an accident 2 years ago where she was cast against a round bale and couldn't get up until I got to the barn in the morning to get her free. He had been frantically trying to assist her, biting her ear and pawing at her head and neck earnestly trying to get her up as best he knew how. She's still missing hair around that ear from his efforts. Ugh, they make my heart mush.


Posin'

The rest is history. She's my girl. She is spoiled and she 100% deserves it. Her early life was not easy, this part is bittersweet for me because I hate the thought of her hurt or suffering, but if her story wasn't the way it is, I wouldn't have her because she would have been in the show ring like her sister (she'd be 5 gaited though, she has slow-gaited walking alongside me and you can see her natural ability and tendency when she's loose in the pasture) and then would be making national champion babies. When she was a kiddo in training, whomever was breaking her to ride left her tied head to tail in a round pen unsupervised and she flipped herself over breaking her c3 and c4 vertebrae. I'm sure there was more that had happened, but that is the story I got. She was then stalled for years and as a result HATES being stalled now. As a result of her injuries, she was pretty beat up and is very arthritic in her knees/neck/hocks. She gets all the love and treats she can handle and lives outdoors where she is happiest. She is kind and sweet and the picture of matronly elegance.

 About a week pre-foaling 2014
 Still able to roll with a belly full of filly!

She is legal to drink in human years as of last spring. I offered her a beer which she declined, she says she's more of a wine girl. She is retired from any responsibilities as of her last foal in 2014. Her only job is to exist and be spoiled. She and the rest of my Nerd Herd live about an 8 min drive from my house at a wonderful private boarding facility run by a fantastic woman who has become a friend. She takes great care of my kids and I have zero worries. Rose is a hard keeper, she's built long and lean and tends to be a bit ribby. Even heavy in foal, she didn't really look it. She could have passed for a normal weighted horse until her belly dropped a week or so before she foaled. Haha. Well, after I felt like a horrible owner last fall as she dropped weight before our eyes despite her mesh fly sheet and boots, Barn Owner and I devised a plan that consisted of her Progressive Senior, Beet Pulp and Progressive Envision served in a mash twice a day. She's been on that through the winter and I am happy to report that she is now pleasantly plump and even has a booty! She's as close as she gets to fat, sassy and happy. :)

This last group of photos were taken by DressageBarbie during what was 'supposed' to be a foal photo shoot in 2014 when she visited us in Illinois. As you can see, Rose had other plans!


 That belly!


She will live out her days with me. Not confined in a stall, but free to move about her pen and out in her pasture with her herd. Loved.

2 comments:

  1. Awww Mama Rose! Such a stunning matron 😍 it was a pleasure to snap her pics when I hot to visit you, even if pics WITH a foal would have been cuter! 😉 She's so lucky to have a conscientious owner like you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I'm certainly the lucky one. She's an incredible mare.

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