When my friend Kirsten Lotter arrived on a Saturday afternoon last spring, we were looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Kirsten had hauled her Arabian/Saddlebred mare Stella Luna BF the nearly 800 miles from her place in Manor, Texas, to the ranch

There’s a reason why nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are found in horse barns across America. Phenylbutazone, flunixin meglumine and other frequently prescribed NSAIDs are well understood, easy on the wallet and effective. Indeed, rare

In the western world, the ancestry or pedigree of horses is traditionally reckoned by the sireline—also known as the “top line”—of the pedigree, and secondarily by the male ancestors of the dam. But modern science tells us that the mare has the great

A picture is worth a thousand words in explaining the bone structure that underlies the ability to freely turn the head, which is found not only in Saddlebreds but in some Thoroughbreds, Arabians and warmbloods. In skull A, the plate of bone that for

The mare shown here is Milady Minton by Crouch’s Chief, a descendant of Clark Chief and thus yet another descendant of Annie C. She is out of Bessie Wetherlite by Monte Mark by Monte Cristo by Montrose, with tail-female harking back to Washington Den

Pain, swelling, redness and heat; healing chemicals are drawn to the injured area. Damaged tissues are removed, new blood supply and temporary tissue forms. Inflammation starts to subside as stronger tissue replaces temporary tissues. ■

There are no photos of Lute Boyd, but this color rendition of Lute Boyd’s son Harrison Chief 1872 gives an idea of what she must have looked like. Harrison Chief is important in his own right, because he is the sire of Bourbon Chief, who in turn is t

Here are Tom Bass’ three champion High School horses. We see Miss Rex in collected trot and the other two horses in passage, all correctly collected, deeply engaged, and very expressive in their movement. Miss Rex is by Rex Denmark and thus a descend

If spring comes, can rainrot be far behind? When you’ve got horses, it pays to be prepared for this relentless, all-too-common, crusty skin affliction. By the end of winter, your horse’s skin, whether insulated by a long, shaggy haircoat or bundled u

Charming King, foaled in 1909, tacked up for a pleasure hack on the grounds of his owner’s estate. I fully concur with Saddlebred historian Emily Ellen Scharf’s description of Charming King as a horse of “balanced and symmetrical perfection, who comp

Nestled amongst 165 acres of woodland near Union, Missouri, the Humane Society of Missouri’s (HSMO) Longmeadow Rescue Ranch is a haven for hundreds of abused and neglected horses, cows, goats, pigs, ducks and other farm animals. The ranch is one of t

The Saddlebredgeldingcalled Allegro was once part of the U.S. Olympic Team jumper squad. His rider is Dan Marks, VMD, who has been kind enough to supply the accompanying photo, taken at Madison Square Garden in 1958. Dan tells me that Allegro “strugg

This chart shows the relationships within the Clark Chief family. Not all of Bourbon Chief’s sons are shown; the chart is constructed to reflect broodmares whose photos are obtainable and who are the dams or damside ancestors of sporthorseadapted sir

The first thing I needed was a few good horses. The phrase “good horse” means different things to different people, but essentially, a good horse is one suited to the job being asked of it. Horses come in a lot of shapes and sizes; I wanted Pony Expr

When I bought my mare Audie, many people at my boarding barn assumed I was trying to duplicate my previous horse, Sugar, who died at age 30 in 2022. On paper at least, Audie and Sugar had a lot in common. They were both chestnut mares with a lot of c

Ware’s Sensation, foaled in 1919, is by King Phelps by Bourbon King and thus another descendant of Annie C. She is out of Rexie Madison by Rex Peavine, who is out of Daisy 2nd, another foundational Saddlebred mare that we will look at in our next ins

Have a question about your horse’s health, care or training? Our experts offer solutions for a range of equine-management problems. Write to EQUUS Consultants, P.O. Box 7510, Falls Church, Virginia 22040; email: EQLetters@equinenetwork.com. Send phot

Flight Time Gold 1984, multi-champion and sire of sporthorse champions, has been approved by several verbands. The Dutch have been particularly interested in him as a sire of Friesians suitable for competitive driving and for ride-drive mounts. He is

Have a question about your horse’s health, care or training? Our experts offer solutions for a range of equine-management problems. Write to EQUUS Consultants, P.O. Box 7510, Falls Church, Virginia 22040; email: EQLetters@equinenetwork.com. Send phot

The naming system commonly used by Saddlebred breeders leads me to expect that Stonewall King and Easter Cloud both appear in the pedigree of Stonewall’s Easter Sunrise. Stonewall King, foaled in 1920, is sired by My King, a sireline descendant of Bl