Third Time's The Charm....Maybe....

Ah, the end of the school year approaches, and with that comes the Arizona summer heat - and end of the year class swimming parties. Since I spent 10 years on a local swim team when I was younger, and spent lots of time learning water rescues, I volunteer to attend/chaperone twice each year; one for my 1st grader, and one for my 4th grader. The 1st grade class had their party today, and while watching nearly 90 7-8 year olds swim is entertaining, its also exhausting. Spending the whole day out in the sun, even at just 95 degrees, can be draining, so thank you to whomever invented sunbrellas. :) The 4th grade class is next Monday - they should be a lot more rough and tumble than the little ones were today.


As if the giant pool party wasn't fun enough, we also had a one day special election to determine whether or not a very small (less than one cent per dollar) tax will be added onto local retail sales to help fund a shrinking educational budget for next year. If it doesn't pass today, then next year the school district my children attend will loose their art, music, and media education for the next two years. My son started playing the violin this year, and was very upset over the thought of not continuing to play next year... so I hauled my tired butt to my voting station and put in my duty as a citizen of the school district to vote yes. 


We'll see how it ends up. Now the rest of my day will be filled with getting todays blog post finished, getting ready for a closing shift at the retail store I call hell work, and then, by 11pm, I should be home. What fun, eh? 


Moving right along, I promised yesterday an ad that changed - at least three times. IF she changed it more than that, we didn't catch it. 


Its interesting to see the progression of the three ads - and the thought process behind the words. 


Since she used the same four pictures each ad, I'll share those first. 

Average Arab mare. Decently pretty head, obviously not done shedding out yet. Can't help but wonder (as did Niki, who sent me of this ad, and the paso chestnut pinto gelding ad) why exactly she's being pictured on the back porch. There doesn't seem to be any barn around... does this horse literally live in the back yard? I see a storage type shed, and another building that has the architecture of a house... but no barn. There is the distinct possibility that it might be behind the picture taker, but really, your guess is as good as mine. 


Alright. Here we go. 


Ad #1. Posted May 15th, around 12 noon. 




"shes pretty here and feeling out nicely.needs more saddle work and ground work di=one. 14.3 hands five years old.worth alot more then im asking.hurry im about to change my mind and keeper. 360---0534."


If Niki hadn't  gotten the screen shot of this one, this wonderful bit of word play would have been lost forever to the cemetery of dead Craigslist ads. I just love the di=one (done?), feeling (filling), and the best of all keeper (keep her). And here I am voting to PAY MORE tax to help keep the fundamentals of my children's education going smoothly. 

"shes pretty here , and is getting the prettiest wavy mane. 2people comming to see her tonight so if your thinking aabout this mare..HURRY. I will say I love her and want her to get a good home that will love her and keep her along time ..if not id like to have the first chanch to buy her back at same price.however im going to the auction next month to save a horse and hoping to find one just right for me.if not atleast I will have  made sure it didnt turn out at the wrong places.and try and find it a good home if not.shes 14.2 to 14.3 needs trimmed and getting it done at 11am tomorrow. 5 years old.good at letting me clean her hooves.completely sound...shes worth alot more but I really want someone to get her and train her more and just be good to her.360---0534.. thanks for looking." 

Ok, really? We really need to know that you are selling her because you want to rescue another animal? That in itself is noble and great. DUMPING your perfectly fine horse on Craigslist JUST to get another stinks of a bit of bad taste. At the very least DON'T MENTION it during your ad to sell your OTHER horse. The one that at 5 years old, has the best notable quality that her feet can be handled! I'm so happy that you will say that you love her. You are still trying to dump her for $200. Lets hear MORE about her - and not this other one that (and I can't even decipher this, the grammar is so horrible) she's " hoping to find one just right for me.if not atleast I will have  made sure it didnt turn out at the wrong places.and try and find it a good home if not."


Those of you that have been to auctions, and bought a rescue, have you ever gone out there with the intent in mind to find the right horse for you out there? I've personally never gone through that route before, but if you have, and you've FOUND that 'right' horse out of the auction herd, then please let me know.


Posted 2 days later... I guess those two people she was so excited to tell the world about either fell through, or saw something on this mare that they didn't like. 

"she is 14.3 hands and needs someone to take her out on the trails with other horses so she can know whats expected well I have noone to ride with and no trailor so im looking to sell her to a good home.she will be five in june.is started in saddle.Ibve rode her about 30 times . call 360---0534 I just trimmed her hooves yesterday and she has strong hooves,takes 5-10 minutes to load in a horse trailor."


I'm not sure if this is better or worse - leaning toward worse - no, better - I can't decide. 


We learn a bit more about the mare, she has strong hooves, and is started in saddle.  I've never heard of a horse started "in saddle". Is that similar to, I dunno, Early American Modern? Like the house was started in "early american modern"? 


Ok, I'm pushing things here... but you get my drift. I have a serious feeling that this horse has been started by the writer, and why do I think she pretty much just threw the saddle on this horse's back and got on and that was it? There is NO mention of training, other than the trail riding bit where the other horses will teach her what to do. Ok. So NOW horses are training each other apparently. Wow. Wonder if they can teach this mare to load up faster than the 10 minutes the owner is bragging about? 


I just have one more question - if she didn't have a 'trailor' - how was she going to rescue a horse from the auction?

I *WANT* This Horse

I'm gonna switch things up a bit today for our WTF Wed. Lets make it.... HOLY SHIT Wed LMAO, cause thats exactly what I said when I found this ad!

Church rodeo - Play day Horse - $1800 (New Caney) Donna is an 8 year old 15.2 hand Bay mare. She is an excellent trail horse, that is also trained to run barrels and poles. We have been taking her to the church rodeo events and she is just a good all round mare. We have thrown a rope off of her at a few calves and chased a few goats. She stands quietly for the ferrier, is easy to clip and bath, and loads / ties well. For more information please contact Gayle @ 281---7204

Sounds like a pretty decent horse to me. Nothing out of the ordinary though. Standard stuff. 

Right? 

How many of you wish you could do this with your horses?

I *HAD* to post this. Aside from the fact that she is not wearing a helmet, that is pretty freaking cool! (The pictures themselves clearly prove this girl isn't really a beginner-beginner rider. 

Lets think about this. There's a LOT going on here. 

Girl is riding bareback, which means that she has to have a decent seat/leg. Mare is NOT in a bridle / bit, so most of the communication is through the girls seat/leg - which makes her that much of a better rider. Most horses will willingly enough go over a wooden board or bridge of some sort, but how many do you know will go over one thats balanced over a PVC pipe cut in half so the board 'teeter-totters' and moves under them? 

Add to all of that the twirling hula hoops - (Ok, I would NEVER be able to keep them ON MY Arms twirling....especially while bareback...)

This mare has been worked with to accept twirling giant plastic scary things that make some weird noises (cause most hula hoops I've messed with have a weird weight in them that is loud and makes this almost snake-like 'whoooshing shuuuushing' noise as it slides against the inside of the plastic ring) WHILE being asked to step up onto a moving platform with cues only given verbally and by leg. Her head is down and relaxed, her neck/body language is soft and responsive, her ears are forward, and she's obviously paying attention to where her feet are going which means she's totally unconcerned about the circus on her back. 

The hula hoops ALONE would send most horses into absolute paroxysms of terror. 

Thats one mare I would most definitely trust around my own kids.

Oh, and not one single mention of NH training - so I am going to stick a foot out there and guess (hope) that they did this training ... *gasp* in a semi-common sense method of desensitizing?

Wow. 

Did I say I want this mare yet? And she's only 8 years young! 

Anyone wanna 'lend' me around $2500 for purchase & transport from Houston to Phoenix? I will repay in home baked chocolate chip cookies and California rolls. :D :D :D Or whatever delights you request. :-}

Gonna Give You All A Headache Today!

Barbed Wire Fencing.


Three words to make any responsible, knowledgeable horse owner squirm in discomfort and instantly suffer from a panic attack while seeing visions of torn bloody skin, shattered bones, puncture wounds, dead horses, and horrific vet bills. 


Today I ask the question... 


Who the hell still uses barbed wire fencing to surround their horse pastures?

I guess some people in North Kentucky haven't yet gotten the message about how stupid they are to still be using barbed wire. 

To the right is the mare being sold in the ad. The ad states: 3 year old quarter horse - $600 (nky) Great 3 year old filly has had extensive ground training and is ridding very well no vices or problems best mannered young horse I've ever been around comes up to you in the field you dont go to her smooth light trot and canter will consider trade for TWH


NOW, if you lovely readers can actually manage to look at that picture without screaming at the horse to get away from the fence (Its a picture.... she can't hear you. I Promise.), you will see that we have a semi-fugly, nondescript quarter horse mare that might very well be on the lower end of the herd totem pole. 

Why is it that we usually see this lower level of care out in 'the sticks'? OH WAIT... because its almost always people that quite frankly don't have a lot of money to spend. 


But they ALWAYS have farm animals. AND that is what makes me want to scream. I can't help but wonder how they treat their KIDS if its ok to put an animal behind something that is now mostly used to keep federal prisoners within ranks!!! 


How many times have you seen a horse just happily playing in his/her pasture? I have video of a mare I no longer own running in a smaller arena, and slamming on the brakes reining slide stop style at the fence. She USED the fence to help her stop. 


I don't WANT to imagine what would happen should any of those horses do the same thing with this fence. I don't WANT to imagine what would happen if one of those horses in the background were to suddenly get terrified of a leaf blowing at them, and *KABOOM* go headlong into that deadly wire. I say leaf because I'm also a sarcastic biotch, but you ALL know its the silliest, stupidest things sometimes that send our horses into freakazoid mode.


I have to start giggling a bit here to myself because I am suddenly reminded of a now hysterical story a college equine science instructor told in class one day. She was the prior Stallion Manager of what was Chauncey Arabians, was while out in the pasture, doing her daily check on the pastured horses. Her habit was to bring some basic medical supplies with her, to treat on the go, so to speak. Included with her kit was one of the large rolls of basic cotton, (the kind to wrap legs up in) with the paper outer wrapping. She told the story with great enthusiasm, describing the events quite vividly, and with a great sense of humor about the situation. 


There was a yearling Arab, in the pasture, (can't remember if it was colt or filly), and thus being curious critters, this particular one decided to try to eat the purple paper outer wrap of the cotton bandaging. As you can imagine, immediate chaos occurred, as the yearling took off like a bat out of hell spooked by the crinkling purple paper that was *all of a sudden* trying to eat its chest and legs. Yearling would stop running for a few minutes, and then the breeze would suddenly move the paper, and off the horse would go again, terrified of the flapping thing that just wouldn't go away!


The poor foal ended up running itself to a lather because it never once realized that it had the paper in its mouth, the same paper that was trying to attack it from the front. It took several workers standing in the field to make sure that the yearling didn't run itself into the fence in its blind panic. They didn't attempt to try and catch it while in panic mode, just waited until it ran itself out, and then tried to calm the horse down enough to approach and try and pull the paper out of its mouth. The story was originally told to demonstrate that horses don't open up their mouths very easily during a discussion on proper bitting techniques.


I mention the story now, not just because remembering it is amusing to me, but because if it weren't for the 5 or 6 stable hands that got called to watch the foal to make sure it didn't run smack into a fence there could have been a very different ending than what it was. So- Lets just all imagine that same situation, but modified to fit our quarter horse mare up there. 


Horse sees something its curious in, lowers head to sniff it, maybe even see if its edible. Suddenly the strange object MOVES! (Doesn't matter what the strange object is. Use your imagination. Paper cup, plastic bag, a odd shaped tree limb, heck maybe even a downed bird or animal.) Horse spooks, and runs. Some horses have sense, and go only a foot or two away. Others, don't have sense. And they are the ones that go running madly into fences. The LUCKY ones have horse safe fencing that don't massacre your horses! The unlucky ones run into barbed wire and get unnecessary and potentially life threatening injuries that cause at minimum the ruin of their entire riding career - and thus leaving the mare for breeding use only.


See a pattern yet?


Why hasn't this fence been replaced yet? I'm sure the seller can come up with all sorts of fascinating excuses. Would I be willing to listen or believe them? HELL NO. 


These backwoods rednecks (and yes I CAN say that because I LIVED in South East Texas, about 45 minutes from the LA Bayou/border with some of THE most ignorant that live among us. Not everyone that lives near Beaumont qualifies for that label. Yet.... wayyy too many do.) can't spend a few afternoons putting up even a cheap rail fence. I'd rather see THAT then this uneducated, outdated, and dangerous crap.


Again, we have another example of a horse owner that is too damn cheap and lazy to get off their ass and take care of their horses properly. 


*passes out Tylenol/Advil/ibuprofen/whiskey/whatever to those that need it after that ad*

So what happens when a Big Name Trainer CAN'T train a horse?

So what happens when a Big Name Trainer CAN'T train a horse?


This question in and of itself is very interesting. See BNT's are supposed to be able to train any horse. Thats why they are a BNT. 


The BNT I am currently referring to is Mr. 2009 Unanimous National Champion Half Arabian Western Pleasure Open. *Whew* Thats a mouthful.  I'll shorten that very long name to simply BNT. (His name is Joe Reiser, btw, for those of you in the arabian/half arabian western pleasure circles.) His website is full of anecdotes about how when he was a boy, he'd dream about being like the riders that got the big wins. Thats just wonderful... I wanna know your training philosophy. (Note to Joe... You don't have the words "Natural Horsemanship" anywhere on your site, nor do you have anything up for sale aside from some shirts, jackets, and hats (amongst other apparel items) that have your barn logo. You get brownie points for that from me. If there were anything remotely resembling a carrot stick you would immediately have gotten thrown to the wolves here. Show me pictures of horses in training. Show me more pictures of your barn, stables, and pastures than just this one.)


(OT again, but my word, does that barn just scream out BNT or what?)


Now, really I'm not here to rag on our BNT today, 'cept for maybe a little bit. He's not so much the focus, though he does play a very major role in todays ad. I know very little about this guy, and from his website, though some of its not finished, it looks ok. At least there aren't any pegasus' or bible quotations on it. Its pretty strait forward and professionally done. It just needs to be finished. I wanna see on their horses for sale page what they say about their horses!


The reason he made it to this blog is because of this ad. 



Now, he's not the one behind the ad. The owner of the horse offered wrote the ad up. 


Lets see what it says; "Registered Half Arabian. Registered Name: LOTTA MOMENTUM (barn name "Oprah"). Her sire is black arabian stallion Momentum NA (Nationally accredited western pleasure), Dam was AQHA LottaChocolate Power, who has amazing western and halter bloodlines. She has been in training with Joe Reser of Setting Sun Training Center in Wakarusa, IN since Dec.2009 and has been under saddle approx. 60 days. She has a sweet personality, great size (15.1 and growing) and bone density. She is destined to be notch western horse, possibly even halter. She is SWEEPSTAKES NOMINATED."

Ok, that all sounds fine. Horse is decently bred, has a great show career ahead of her, everything is going well looks like.





Lets see what it says next; "Price has been reduced from $9500 from $1500 for a quick sale due to the following reasons: Oprah has amazing potential, HOWEVER ... her training isn't going as smoothly as we'd like."

Oh boy! The fun begins! First... thats one HELL of a major drop in the price. 


Second... "Her training isn't going as smoothly as we'd like." That just begs to ask the obvious questions. Why not? What happened? Is this a case of the owner being told 'off' by the trainer because they got too annoying? Is there something wrong with the horse? Inquiring minds want to know here!





We find out in the ads next lines; "She hates to be clipped. Her confidence is lacking, I would not describe her as a brave horse. Recently she has taught herself to throw herself over backwards to get out of working (I know ... lovely). She needs a patient, firm, experienced rider/trainer to take her further. Up for the challenge?! She'll be a good horse someday just not under my ownership.:) "

OH WOW. 


So, BNT can't get this mare, which HE started, to stop flipping over, which is a habit she developed while in training with him. What the hell was this guy, or most likely his assistants, doing to this mare during 'training' that she decided to flip over to escape working? Why couldn't the BNT or his assistants, once they saw the problem starting, immediately take steps to correct it? And whats with the confidence comment? A MAJOR part of groundwork training is instilling confidence in the horse. That didn't happen here? Why Not? The clipping comment... eh, thats the only one I'll let slide. Plenty of horses dislike clippers, and never get over it. Its not a deal breaker for me.


But the flipping? Thats one heck of a serious training issue. Its not a behavior issue, because she learned it during her training with the BNT. They allowed it to happen.


HMMMMMM. Brings me back to my original question.

So what happens when a Big Name Trainer CAN'T train a horse?

Now, to play devils advocate for a minute, the best of trainers will get horses that simply cannot be 'fixed'. They are too scared, too traumatized, too set in their ways, whatever the reason is... and once the trainer has given it his/her best shot, the only thing left to do is go back to the owner and admit they simply can't do anything else for the horse.


Whether or not BNT has or will done this I will never know. I'm just going off of what this ad reads, and it sure sounds like owner is more than a bit unhappy that her "Black Beauty" can't be ridden. Instead of her dream horse she gets a mare that has figured out "I don't get rode if I rear and throw myself to the ground." NO wonder she sounds a bit unhappy in her ad!


BUT>>>>THIS is now where I start having even more problems with this ad than the seller admitting the horse flips after just 60 days of training. 


She goes on to state; "Please don't ask to ride her, I don't want to pay anyone's medical bills."

*Sigh*. So you will market her as a decent future show mount, yet you won't let anyone try her out because she flips. Ok, I get that you don't want anyone to get hurt, that makes sense to me, but... 


I'm of two minds here on this one. I showcased this ad because of the flipping after less than 60 days of training at a BNT barn. Yet... if the seller didn't disclose it in the ad publicly, she'd get flamed for it by those saying she's not disclosing all the information on the horse.


On the other hand, BY disclosing the information, you can't very well in the same ad claim that the horse might be a great mount for someone "someday"!  YOU DON"T KNOW that the person you sell her too will A) know what to do to correct the flipping issue, or B) have the money and brains to send her to someone that would know what to do. If BNT can't correct the problem... well then there's a serious problem here isn't there. There are some really, REALLY good problem horse trainers that can and do deal with this type of vice. There are 3 times as many whackjobs that claim to do the same thing, and screw the horse up worse than it was to start with. How does one tell the difference? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is a whole 'nother blog topic. 


So what does the seller do? I actually think she was right to list the flipping in the ad. It will hopefully scare off the ones that wouldn't be equipped to deal with it, and she just might be savvy enough to weed through the ones that think they are, but aren't. By telling people they can't ride her in the test... if the BNT wants to take a commission on the sale of the horse (No idea if he is or not, just throwing it out there for the topic's sake), he will certainly make sure one of his assistants will be present during the showing of the horse, and if necessary, they should ride, or at least work the horse on the ground.


The horse should be sold with the flipping very prominent in the sales contract, so the buyer knows exactly what he/she is purchasing. That way, when the new owner does take possession of the horse, the seller is covered if / when the new owners get hurt. Beyond that, there really ISN'T much more the seller can do. So, while on the surface this might seem like a 'worst of', it really is the best the seller could do with the situation she was handed. 


(I still would like to know the back story on how the mare became a flipper...)


I was discussing this very ad with the friend of mine that sent it to me and she was telling me about a horse she once knew that was also a flipper. If the gelding wasn't ridden every day, and thats 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, the very next time you went to get on him, without fail, he'd go over. They never figured out why he did it, nor ever got rid of the vice. Its a dangerous habit, and this horse will never, ever, be 100% safe to ride. 


As an interesting side note, I just discovered another ad by the same seller, so maybe its not just this situation that is driving her decision to sell the black mare. Shes got another Half-Arabian Buckskin Pinto Mare up as well. 


Who knows... maybe she saw something, heard something, or was so pissed off that they caused her mare to become a flipper that she decided to get out of horses entirely.

HYPP-othetically Dangerous or Not? Day 2

Yesterday I went over the basics of HYPP, and showcased one ad of a gelding that was H/H who's owners/sellers were trying to sell him as a youth horse.

I can rant and rave and scream until I'm blue in the face about HYPP and what it can do, but for most people the reality comes when its shown to them. The reality of HYPP is something that most horse owners one time or another will come across, no matter what discipline you are in.

So I went and searched on youtube to see what I could find. 


This video was one of only a few on you tube showing what a HYPP attack really looks like. This mare is experiencing a mild attack, as its not forcing her to be laying fully paralyzed on the ground, just making her muscles twitch like I discussed yesterday.





As you can see, the spasms are not completely incapacitating this mare - she can move around somewhat freely. You can also see the heavily muscled hip/hindquarters so typical of these Impressive bred horses. The comments on the video show how much misinformation and just NO information there is out there about this disease. 


The comment: "actually my horse is out, well a grandaughter of Impersive. she is a halter horse and she is N/N but u can not show horses in the AQHA shows if they are HYPP P/P!!! and for bethdhoffman there is no cure for HYPP your best luck is to put them down.....sadly..." by quarterhorse42057 also proves how much some people believe the myths surrounding the disease.


AQHA DOES allow HYPP POSITIVE  horses to show, and not just allows them to show but those horses are WINNING. (just see the prior post!)  She also gets the status wrong (P/P) vs the correct H/H, or N/H - well actually two of the posters get it wrong. 


Here is a video that shows a much more severe attack. This video is from the website http://www.bringinglighttohypp.org/HVideo.html. The mare in the video was literally down on the ground partially or fully paralyzed for an hour. The clip is approximately a minute. Notes on the video. The notes state that they could not remove the foal from the mare as she would then become even more stressed and upset. Leaving the foal with the mare at least kept her somewhat calm. The attack happened while she was in a monitored veterinary equine center, and the techs that were attending the mare were in contact with the vet at  all times during the attack. At the end of the video you can see the bandage around her neck from the IV they had to give her. Unfortunately this mare went on to have several more severe attacks, and finally died from them. During this video she suffered several lacerations, bruises, a large swelling on her chest, and several other mild to moderate injuries from her struggles to get up. 

This is the harsh reality of HYPP. This is what it does. More info from the awesome HYPP website regarding common myths.

Unfortunately, only some horses that have this incurable disease are given the care they need and that home that understands that they do need to be on a special diet, and very strict management. 

So when this ad came to my attention so soon after the one from yesterday, It made my eyes literally pop out of my head. 

The ad screams: 

1994 AQHA halter mare - TAKING OFFERS NOW!!! - $1 (clarksville pa)

MISS ASHLEY BE 1994 chestnut mare. Ashley stands 15.0 hands and is HYPP N/H. Ashley is broke to ride and jump but hasnt been schooled in several months. She is very eager to please and would only be able to be used for light occasional riding due to her age. if ridden often she would most likely need joint supplements. Ashley also has been shown at congress and took 12th as a weanling in halter. She also was shown in WV and earned 1/2 point in open halter. This mare could have gone far but due to the previous owners issues was not shown continueously. Ashley has awesome conformation and is flashy with 3 white socks. Ashley is also a great mother to her foals and foals easy. Ashley has no vices and loads, bathes, clips, and ties well. Ashley is UTD in all shots and wormings. Ashley is great in the field with other horses and tends to get along with everyone. Ashley also does great with 24/7 turn out with a blanket. The weather months tend to dry out her skin so i add corn oil to her feed to enhace her coat and skin. She is an easy keeper and isnt picky about her feed. I am only selling because I will not be breeding for several years due to college and this mare shouldnt go to waste. TAKING ALL OFFERS!! TRADES WELCOME! PLEASE NO HORSES! WILL CONCIDER COWS AND PIGS....ETC..

*sigh* NOT ONCE besides the initial N/H mention does she say if this mare has had any signs of the disease. Whats worse is she's been bred. Several times to boot. The person selling her needs to be sat down and shown picture after picture, made to read story after story, watch video after video of HYPP horses that have shown no signs of the disease, then suddenly after or during the VERY FIRST ATTACK die because either they get so stressed out or their neck muscles stiffen so much they suffocate!

Whats worse, is the seller is down to accepting PIGS(?) in payment for this horse that they had listed on this site for $3000! The only good thing I can say about this ad is that at least the mare is being sold unbred. 

I'm so sad for these two horses because if the breeder had simply chosen to not breed their H/H or N/H horse this wouldn't be an issue. 

But as promised, I'm not done yet. 

Fingers get pointed at owners for purchasing these horses as show animals, creating the market for them. Fingers get pointed at the AQHA for continuing to allow the breeding of these horses. Fingers get pointed at breeders for creating the foals in the first place. 

The owners of Invest N Vital Signs is now offering with any full price breeding to their stallion (at their cost) the additive of an extender to his semen. 

This 'magic' formula has been patented as X-Extender, and the idea behind it is this: "A substance and process for preventing reproductive cells containing a genetic defect from being passed onto offspring by creating conditions, such as by adding a particular substance to extra-cellular fluid, that triggers or activates the particular disease associated with the genetic defect in defective reproductive cells, rendering those cells incapable of fertilization, implantation or embryonic development, but without significantly impairing healthy reproductive cells from producing offspring. The invention is particularly suited for channelopathies, and more particularly, for application with sperm from a Quarter Horse that is heterozygous for hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP). A solution of potassium chloride is added to a sperm extender to produce a potassium concentration of about 0.71 mg/ml. Sperm is introduced to the resulting modified sperm extender for at least five minutes, then is artificially inseminated into a mare. The high potassium concentration activates the disease solely within the sperm containing the defective gene, resulting in leakage of sodium-ion channels that under the increased potassium concentration floods the cytoplasm with positive ions, preventing repolarization of the cell membrane, immobilizing the defective sperm. The potassium concentration does not prevent repolarization in healthy sperm, which retain motility and are capable of fertilizing the egg." Link. 

Basically, they think they can stop the sperm with the defective gene in it from fertilizing the mare. Apparently they have been testing this idea, and has 'shown amazing results'. Whatever that means. If they can actually get this stallion to throw 100% N/N babies, I will be the first person to support this product for all stallions. As a result, they offer a HYPP Guarantee that says if you want to breed to their stallion, you have to have a mare that has been tested N/N. Basically if the foal turns out N/H, the X-Extender didn't work! But guess what, you get a free RE-BREED. That means "lets make MORE N/H babies!!". Cause its not like we don't have enough of them out there as it is! 

Invest N Vital Signs's owners, are also offering a $200,000 World Show Bonus Program. If the 2013 2 Year Old Western Pleasure AQHA World Champion is sired by their diseased stallion, the owner gets half, the exhibitor gets half. How many foals will be born N/H just because their breeders will have visions of getting some of that money?

Now do you believe that the HYPP industry is all about the money?

One generation of not breeding any N/H or H/H horse would nearly stop this entire disease in its tracks. Thats all it would take. 

HYPP-othetically Dangerous or Not?

I have been debating whether or not to tackle the subject of the sale of HYPP positive horses on this blog. I have come to the conclusion that one can never fight this battle too much. While my intent here is not to write a paper on HYPP, some background information is necessary,  since there are STILL people out there that believe the myths and untruths, or just flat out don't know anything about it at all. I have three examples that will blow your minds as much as it did mine. 


HYPP, or Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis, is a genetic, inherited equine disease, originating with the AQHA stallion Impressive that affects the horse's nervous system by screwing with the sodium channels and flooding the system with extreme amounts of Potassium. This creates symptoms such as "mild muscle twitching that is undetectable to the human eye; noticeable muscle twitching; "crawling" skin, ranging from slight to very noticeable and usually from the back flank area forward; hind quarter paralysis; excessive yawning; and paralysis of the muscles surrounding the heart and/or lungs, causing death due to heart attack or suffocation" (quoted from here). 


IN laymans terms, these horses literally, can freeze up in a paralytic state at any time, under any circumstances. In their stalls, in the pasture, under saddle. It is especially dangerous for a rider mounted on a HYPP horse, because they could have an attack at any time. IF they have an attack while under saddle, they will loose complete control over their limbs, and they WILL go down to the ground, hard. The rider, unless experienced enough to understand how to safely get off, will be thrown off in some manner. Often times the manner of the rider being thrown from the horses causes in injury or in rare cases, permanent paralysis or death from broken necks and spines. This article about HYPP states in the 10th paragraph down, the debate whether or not to ride these horses, and states that in all of the respondents that argued that while they had positve mounts, not a single one had an attack during a ride. Yet, here (third example down) is a story about a teenage girl that had her HYPP Positive horse go down during a ride. 


Physically, these horses often look like, and are often referred to as the 'bodybuilders' of the Halter world. They are highly sought after as AQHA halter horses because of the extreme Muscling, size, and sheer bulk they naturally have. They get this way due to their muscles in nearly constant motion, twitching from obvious spasms, to the tiniest quivers. The constant contract and relaxing of the muscles is exactly the same biological mechanisms that happen when a human bodybuilder lifts weights. It tears the muscle fibers apart, so when the body rebuilds them, they are stronger, larger, and thicker. 

HYPP Positive horses often are a-symptomatic through birth until anywhere between training and death. Yes, this is a wide time frame, but an attack can come on at any time. 


An attack happens without warning, without preamble, and at any time. It is widely believed attacks are triggered by stress, extreme changes in schedule, training, feed, surroundings, etc. 


Now, these horses inherit this disease through no fault of their own, as the disease is being KNOWINGLY perpetuated by owners of mares and stallions that are N/H. 


What does N/H mean? Its the genetic status of a horse that has the defective gene. Horses that come from known bloodlines that are positive yet did not inherit the gene are N/N. Horses with one positive genetic marker are N/H, and horses that have two genetic markers are H/H. 


Very simply, by breeding a N/H horse to a N/N horse, the resulting foal has a 1 in 2 chance of carrying the positive gene. You have a H/H horse, every single offspring of that horse will have the positive marker, and will have the disease. Not carry it, have it. Exhibit symptoms. Have to specially managed their entire lives. Cost more in Vet fees and feed fees than the average horse. Why? Why is the almighty dollar so powerful that otherwise caring people suddenly become heartless about creating more defective horses?


The controversey surrounding HYPP is one that will not end until the largest breed of horse, the breed that started it all, the mighty AQHA, finally puts it foot down and says NO MORE to breeding its thousands of HYPP H/H and HYPP N/H horses. This list is just a sample of horses that have been found out to be N/H. Here's Page Two. 


Just a bit more information before I showcase todays ads; AQHA's Official Stance on HYPP; UC Davis's Equine Research Lab on HYPP.


So, after all that, why would people actually breed sick horses? Because they win, right? Because their bloodlines are so stellar and irreplaceable that a mare owner can't go anywhere else to find the same, or similar bloodlines? Conscientious people are breeding decedents of Impressive that have his infamous bull dog look, but don't share his dirty gene.


Ad Number 1 today, posted 3/3/10 from the Columbus, OH area. 





Ad Text: 


2002 AQHA 16 HH (So, this horse is a double positive, which means its not IF but WHEN he has an attack, which odds are will eventually prove fatal.) 


Sorrel halter gelding, (at least this one is a gelding!) own son of Wincredible. (Who IS a known HYPP Positive stallion, see below...)  


Has to date 347 AQHA points including youth, amateur and open points. Has earned 77 grands and 94 reserves in the American Quarte Horse Association and won over $10,000 in incentive fund earnings. (And this is why the halter industry keeps breeding these sick, doomed horses, because AQHA, at the top showing levels, will NOT stop pinning these horses top ten!!! Dont believe me? Check out this link! She goes into the finances behind breeding HYPP Positive horses, and goes on to list on the site Well Known Currently Breeding Stallions that have owners NOT disclosing their Postitive HYPP Status. Oh, and Wincredible is one of them. His owner will gladly accept a $2,500 stud fee though!)


This gelding is HYPP H/H, but do not let this scare you as this is not a problem and he can be put on a daily medication to prevent an attack as a precaution. (What magikal medicine is this? There are several drugs that can help prevent attack, but its like taking Vitamin-C to prevent ever getting a cold or the flu. You can take massive quantities of VC and eventually you will get sick. A HYPP H/H horse is eventually going to have an attack. There is nothing any vet can do to prevent that. Its just managing the horse as best as we can to put it off as long as possible.)


This gelding can be easily maintained by a youth or amateur; (This is the sad part where some unknowing parent is going to seriously look at this poor gelding and consider purchasing it for their up and coming 4-H'er,  not having a clue what HYPP is, and what it does to the horse...not even mentioning what it does to the poor child who has to watch his/her beloved horse suffer through an attack! There are several experiences recounted on bringinglighttohypp.org that tell of parents unknowingly buying HYPP horses for their children, and the horror their children have to witness when the horse goes down. Some children never recover emotionally from the devastation and sheer helplessness they feel toward the horse/attack, and never ever go back to horses again. Thats then one more child that doesn't grow up to defend horses against abuse or breeders of HYPP. One more child that will not save a horse from nearly being slaughtered. One more child that will spend their hard earned dollars outside of the horse industry.)


He is an extremely easy keeper. (Nearly all HYPP horses are easy keepers because they sit there in their stalls and their muscles twitch and grow and it looks like they put on weight from air!)


 He has qualified for the aqha open world, youth world and amatuer world and was only shown a total of three times at the world and was top ten all three times. This gelding also has a congress top tens as well. In 2009 he was reserve champion aged gelding at the region 4 regional experience in the open division. More picutres available on his online video on youtube.com just type in "Sir Wincredible" and the linke will come up. (What can I say here except what I already have said? This bloodline has a genetic defect that will kill this gelding. End of story.)


 Asking $2500 OBO. Only selling him as we are looking for a young pleasure prospect. (Possibly because you have witnessed this horse experiencing an attack and maybe someone said something to you about having/breeding a H/H horse? Or maybe you are just looking to dump him because the owners don't want to deal with the disease?)


Not open to trades or partial trades. Would make a great youth or amateur gelding (um, NO he wouldn't!) and will take you all the way. This gelding has had weight pulled off this winter to let him rest but is currently being fit back up to begin showing in May.





So why is it that not once on his entire ad, did the seller mention his show name? If he was that accomplished, that well shown, and I had to sell this horse (sans the HYPP), I'd be blasting his name everywhere to attract those other competitors that saw him compete, hoping one of them would remember him and remember how much they would have liked to have own him themselves. Wanna bet that the owners don't want to be attached publicly to the sale of this horse?


(Quick Self Edit). I am guessing this horse's name is "Sir Wincredible". As I have been writing this, I've been following links all over the place, and checked out the you tube video mentioned in the ad. 


This is the video.  It appears they have had him up for sale for some time, and have dropped the price down quite a bit... the video lists it as $8500 OBO, the CL ad is $2500 OBO. Owners must be getting desperate to dump this poor gelding, wonder how long it will take for this guy to find himself at the local auction, paperless and amazingly enough, HYPP-status suddenly unknown?


Apparently, Wincredible's website, wincredible.com, has also been pulled, no where could I find any website for him. Now I did find the currently listed owners on the quarter horse directory, but as you can see, Wincredible is no longer listed on their website.


I will continue this post tomorrow, as I have spent much longer than I anticipated researching this topic, and work is starting to loom near for the day. Tomorrow I'll have the other ad, and another breeding stallion that is HYPP N/H, yet the breeding contract is .... something else.