GRAY ROAD TO THE 2006 AMHA CONVENTION

Every story has some drama attached to the episodes leading up to the conclusion.  Most are told emphasizing either the good or bad.  The black and white of the story is another way of saying there are both good and bad in all events.  Blending of the black and white results in a Gray story.  This is a story of many good events and a few trials and tribulations causing one to question their fortitude.  But the successes more than compensate for all the problems along the way.

My wife and I flew out to Utah in June of 2001 seeking to buy a weanling stallion prospect. We had made arrangements to visit four gaited Morgan breeders. As we were leaving the last farm on the way back to the airport, out came this foal gaiting very fast with dam chasing behind.  This was the foal—gaited every step, and just exhibited that Morgan temperament and conformation. The owner was not considering a sale since the foal was just over a day old.  Well after many phone calls,  Silvershoe Highlander (Mary Mels King Fish x Mary Mels Blu Lady) arrived in Kentucky six months later.  Highlander is a grandson of Jan Mabie Pace and Omar Sheriff.  We chose Chase as his barn name.

Horses we plan on keeping are not saddle trained until they are at least three years old and then only for 30 days or less.  Arrangements were made with a trainer to take the horse in the early spring of  2004.  In preparation for the trainer, vaccinations and worming were completed and the farrier was called to trim the hooves.  The farrier arrived and ended up cutting the toes into the quick on the front hooves and the horse was lame the next morning.  The vet was called and a six month long care program began for the stallion.

After the care program was completed, the toes on the front were still extremely short.  The trainer tried corrective shoeing, but the result was a tall heel on the front and almost straight pasterns—sort of looked like clubfeet.  An effort was made to train the horse, but the only thing accomplished was the ability to saddle and ride for very short periods.  The training was terminated after three weeks. The plans to show the horse in a demo at the 2004 Friends Of  Sound Horses (FOSH) St. Louis show had to be cancelled. 

Chase returned home for further work on the hooves—the toes were slow growing and wonderment continued if the horse was going to go lame under future training. A new farrier has insisted on using a shot to sedate the horse for trimming.  The farrier arrives for a scheduled visit and gives shot as normal; within a fraction of a second, Chase rears up, hits the wall of the stall and comes crashing down to the stall floor thrashing and having convulsions.  The shot had hit the blood supply to the brain. Our veterinarian was called and arrived on the scene approximately ten minutes later.  Luckily the base of the shot was water and not oil.  Oil would have killed the horse immediately.  Another round of vet visits and care for possible side effects of the convulsions continued for three months.  Again, we miss the 2005 FOSH show, but a person whom we had been in contact volunteered to do the St. Louis demo. 

Several months pass and the Vet pronounces the horse fit. In the fall of 2005, Chase is sent to a trainer in Paris, Kentucky.  Basically, it is start over from the beginning on saddle training. Chase makes strong gains; we e-mailed an individual connected with planning the 2006 AMHA Convention and inquired about including a Gaited Morgan clinic/demonstration. Some members of the AMHA Board of Directors had previously suggested public presentations of  the Gaited Morgan to the AMHA Membership. A reply was received stating 45 minutes would be included for a gaited Morgan demonstration.

The point of contact stipulated the horse had to be well trained, turned out and the rider needed to understand the etiquette of the arena and how to appear properly. The reason behind these comments could make another story of how things, if done wrong, leave long impressions in the minds of the observer.  

Morgan Judges visited the trainer to evaluate Chase and provide hints on the demonstration. Also, we called and talked with Morgan Show Stewards and received a complete set of USEF and AMHA show rules.  Additionally, it was decided to include a weanling to demonstrate that Gaited Morgans gait naturally from birth. The weanling filly selected was Silvershoe Blu Ebony (Silvershoe Sampson x Silvershoe Shasta) a.k.a. Blu.

In the meantime an email was received from the Director of Judges of the Independent Judges Association requesting a chapter on gaited Morgans be written to include in their Judging Rules Book for FOSH shows.  The task was accomplished and IJA included Chapter 19: Judging Specifics for the Gaited Morgan Horse (GMO) in the February 2006 IJA Rule Book.  Any gaited Morgan can be shown at a FOSH show if someone sponsors the class.

Four and one half months passes and it is demonstration day at the Kentucky Horse Park for the AMHA convention.  We were the second demonstration at ten.  Upon the arrival of  Mr. Lawson, the trainer, and Charlie DeAtley, the rider, we discussed the planned sequence of events for the demonstration.  Topics for discussion were included from   non-gaited Morgan owners who had previously completed a survey compiled by the owner.  To assist the audience in identifying gait, Mr. Lawson wrapped pink vet tape on one set of lateral legs and yellow vet tape on the other set of lateral legs.

Silvershoe Highlander and Charlie DeAtley perform for the AMHA members and convention-goers at the Kentucky Horse Park Click HERE to see a movie of Highlander doing the saddle rack.

Things were going great during the demonstration when the first little incident happened.  Chase was gaiting by a slatted gate half way down the side of the arena, opposite the crowd, when birds came flying out from underneath the gate.  Charlie kept control and then worked Chase back through the area and everything was on track again.  As Chase was approaching the slatted gate area on the crowd side, birds again flew out from the area.  He shied and was not going back there again.  So the later  trips on the crowd side were off of the wall several feet.  This incident proved to be a blessing in disguise since the crowd had a better view of the demonstration.  Mr. Lawson, throughout the demonstration, was fielding questions from the audience.  Sample questions asked were:  Why was the Rack which Chase was performing not the highly animated American Saddle Horse Rack?  What speeds were normal for gaited Morgans?  What gaits are common?.  What are the chances of getting gait from gaited and non gaited parents?  You could see the minds churning on breeding their favorite old mare to some gaited Morgan stallion. What were the training methods to bring out the gait?  Could a non-gaited Morgan be trained to gait?  They were also very interested in the bloodlines behind the stallion and filly. Chase exited after 30 minutes of continuously demonstrating an even four beat gait.  This is emphasized because the IJA Rule Book states the horse has to maintain a continuous even four beat gait at various speeds in order to place higher than second under saddle. 

Silvershoe Blu Ebony and Charlie DeAtley show viewers that a gaited Morgan is gaited from the moment it hits the ground as a foal. Click HERE to see a movie of Blu Ebony. NOTE: If a horse is pushed too fast too soon, or is very excited, the tendency is to lean toward the pace. For this reason, young gaited Morgans should not be pushed for speed in any gait. In this clip, you'll see Blu Ebony is leaning toward the pace due to her excitement of being off the farm and in the ring for the very first time.

Next, the filly entered the arena, was well behaved, gaited every step and looked every person squarely in the eye.  The one big difference in the IJA Rule Book  for an  in hand horse is that after entering the arena,  the horse cannot be touched by the one handler who has at max a 48 inch whip. The horse must also stand squarely and not be stretched.

This demonstration took the entire forty-five minutes allocated and interested people followed the horses back to the trailer for further observation of the horses and questions for the trainer and rider. Several people expressed their pleasure in getting to know something about gaited Morgans for the first time.   

The demonstration reinforced the Gaited Morgan is really accepted and other AMHA members are interested in learning more.  In addition, many see the gait as a promotional point for the Morgan horse breed.  The majority of current purchasers of horses are independent ladies in their forties or those baby boomers which are retired and have discretionary dollars. We as the grass root Morgan people need to get out there and sell people first on the Morgan breed and help them find the right Morgan whether it be gaited or not.

Sondra and I really appreciate the opportunity to own horses bred by the Grays.

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