Yes, he's chestnut "But he's got PALOMINO genes"!

OMG!! This has got to be one of my biggest pet peeves. People who breed horses and profess to be experts and yet KNOW NOTHING!!

I had called a while back on a horse that was listed for sale. It was a Tennessee Walking Horse mare and she was advertised as "A bright red chestnut with palomino genes!" Okay, WTF? Are you a total moron or something? If your freakin mare is CHESTNUT she has NO PALOMINO GENES!! I don't care if both her parents were palominos and all four grandparents were palominos, if she is chestnut SHE HAS NO PALOMINO GENES!
First of all there is no such thing as a "Palomino" gene. It's called a 'cream gene' or a 'dilution factor' and if your horse had the gene on a chestnut base IT WOULD BE A PALOMINO! (It is a DOMINANT GENE) The fact that your RED horse is not a palomino means IT CANNOT HAVE A PALOMINO GENE!!

GET IT?!? DUH!

Back when I used to breed Peruvians there was a lady who was a breeder that used this line all the time...."Chestnut but with palomino genes". I tried to tell her on numerous ocaissions that this is not possible but she never seemed to get it. Alrighty folks it is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE! It is simple genetics 101. If your bay or chestnut had a cream gene it would be a buckskin or palomino, NOT A BAY OR CHESTNUT! Dominant gene=expressed trait. Now, this does not apply to blacks/seal browns which can and often DO mask the cream gene. So if someone has a black stallion from a buckskin sire and a palomino dam (Totally possible) he could VERY LIKELY have a cream gene! (ie..he could very likely produce dilute colors such as palomino and buckskin - depending of course on the mares color)

So the bottom line is, if you do not want to look like a complete IDIOT, do NOT tell knowledgeable folks that your chestnut "great red hope" has palomino genes, because guess what??? HE DOESN'T!!!

Look Kids!!! It's Quasimoto Equitation!

YOU PICK THE WINNER!!!

Hi boys and girls! Welcome to this weeks spectacular show of horsemanship riding skills. It's time for...

QUASIMOTO EQUITATION!!!

Featuring some of the best "Big Lick" trainers/riders in the Tennessee Walking Horse Breed!

Now children you need to pay attention to Quasimoto. Don't be listening to none of them thar uppity Saddleseat Equitation instructors that will try and tell you to keep your hands soft, your legs in proper alignment with heels down and forget that sitting up straight in the saddle shit.

That ain't how you want to ride if you plan on winning any BIG LICK classes!

Now you just take for example here our first hunchback. This rider is doing it up in a spectacular way!! Note the short, stubby hunchback appearance. See how his mighty toes point downward in the direction he's headed after he dies? See the wonderful 'agonizingly' happy look in the horses eyes? OH YES!! Horse and rider are having a wonderful time!! In fact the horse is enjoying having his mouth cranked back on by the 10" shank bit SO MUCH that he wore his best bracelets and high heels to the performance! Good thing he has those ELASTICON BANDAGES on his rear legs for support. It's very strenuous work hauling around a celebrity like Quasimoto!!! You never know when those rear legs might just SNAP OFF!!

Now lookie here at our second rider. A being so phenomenally 'out of whack' that we felt the need to feature him here on our blog, not once but TWO SEPERATE TIMES!!!

No children, this is not Donatello or Leonardo... But YES CHILDREN!!! You are correct. He is definitely a MUTANT NINJA TURTLE!! Perhaps the missing link of the quintet....

Again note the extreme happiness in the horses eyes! Boy does this horse love to perform! And Mr. Mutant Ninja Turtle is such a wonderful rider that he can manage those 10" long bit shanks without even having to keep them even!

Again, the happy horse saw fit to wear his Sunday best bracelets and high heels to the competition.

And now for our third and final rider. This guy automatically wins because not only is he the best at cranking on his horses mouth with those 10" shanks but he's a skinny little wimp and he can still HUNCH WITH THE BEST OF THEM!!

What's more. he beats them all because he started his torturing of this happy horse EARLY!! This is a MERE TWO YEAR OLD!! That's right ladies and gents, this horse is still a BABY!! A BABY in high heels and chains and with curly hair on his legs!!!

KUDOS to this young hunchback for having the foresight to start his torture on this fine example of NATURAL GAIT, while it was STILL JUST A YEARLING!!! HOORAY!! YOU WIN!!!

YOU LAZY ASS TWH BIG LICK TRAINERS ARE A DISGRACE TO THE HORSE WORLD! You should all be put in jail for torturing these wonderful animals. YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!

The Scurge of the horseshow world (JMHO)

Pictured below is a classically beautiful and natural Tennessee Walking Horse, doing his inherent gait, the Running Walk. This is how THEY ORIGINALLY LOOKED! STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

The Tennessee Walking Horse is a beautiful, wonderful tempered, ultra smooth breed of riding horse. His signature gait, the running walk, has been bred into him for over a hundred years. It is such a smooth ride that it gives the feel of gliding over water when you ride a good one. Absolutely no bounce!

Pictured here is a classic example of a beautiful and NATURALLY GAITED Tennessee Walking Horse. He's glorious to look at. A horse anyone would be proud to be seen on. Quite simply, he is stunning! Look at how nice the rider looks. He is totally relaxed. The horse is relaxed and gaiting freely. He has a happy, quiet look in his eye. His conformation is beautiuful and he looks to be the epitome of a pleasure horse. A horse anyone would love to have as a riding animal. His back is rounded and his overstride is very evident. He is graceful and full of style. His abundant action in the front is natural. He is not heavily padded. There are NO CHAINS!



So why then, would a bunch of morons and lazy ass trainers/breeders want to change this wonderful and graceful breed of horse into what has become known as the horseshow world's biggest FREAK SHOW?? The BIG LICK Tennessee Walking Horse...WHAT A BAD JOKE!!

Take a look at the poor horse shown below. This is the monstrosity known as the BIG LICK show horse (Performance Horse in TWH lingo).

So let's analyze this picture. First of all the horse shown here looks to be in total pain and extremely agitated. Whenever you see the "reds" of a horses eye when he is performing it is a sure sign of pain or agitation. He is obviously stressed, his nostrils are flared and he is heavily lathered in sweat. Now I've seen these classes in the shows. They last all of about 10 minutes. There is no way in HELL that this horse should be sweating so profusely after just ten minutes of work. NO WAY!

Next take a look at the MUTANT NINJA TURTLE that is trying to pass himself as a trainer/rider on the back of this poor horse. This has got to be the sorry-ass worst equitation I have ever seen. This guy looks like a tortoise trying to ride a horse. And what's with those hideous toes pointing down? Whatever happened to classic Saddleseat equitation? This is an abomination of a very classic style of riding.

Now let's direct our eyes away from the NINJA TURTLE and back to the poor horse. Why the HELL would anyone nail those monstrous blocks onto a horses front feet?? WHY?? Also, look how his poor heels have been sheared off and his toes grown out to what looks like an insanely long length and then BANDED onto the freaky blocks (Called 'Stacks') with a tight band of STEEL! One clip of his hind feet and he shears off the blocks and half of his front foot with it, most likely crippling him for life.

Wait it gets even better!! Not only is the poor horse being tortured this way in the name of the "Showring" but to add insult to injury, he's got heavy chains wrapped around his front pasterns that bang his already sore front legs with each and every step!

And now let's check out those cannon bones!! What's with all that damaged and curly hair on his legs? (Click on the picture for an enlarged close-up showing the follicular damage to this horses leg hair) They will tell you that the curly hair is from wrapping their front legs for support. Uh...HELLO..... I've had show horses all my life, and I too have wrapped most of their legs for support at shows, when being trailered, etc... and I have NEVER had one grow curly hair on their legs from being wrapped. NEVER! Ask any vet what causes the curly hair and they will tell you... damage to the hair follicles from APPLIED CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES. Now without mentioning anything in particular, I think you all can figure out what that means.

So what is the attraction here? I don't get it. The BIG LICK Tennessee Walking Show Horse is nothing more than a man made FREAK SHOW on four legs. There is nothing natural or humane about this horse.

So ask any BIG LICK trainer why they do this and they all say the exact same thing. "It enhances the gait and it does not hurt them."

You know what I say?? BULLSHIT!! The reason they pick their poor feet up so high is because they are IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN or are so artificially off balance because of their elevated front ends, they have no other choice than to pick their feet up higher than is natural or normal.

What they don't want to tell you is that high leg action can be bred for inherently and can be a natural way of going for many horses. Look at the Peruvian Paso below.

This is 100% NATURAL. This horse is BAREFOOT!! He has NO CHEMICALLY ALTERED HAIR GROWTH ON HIS LEGS. The reds of his eyes do not show. HE IS NOT LATHERED AND SOAKING WET WITH SWEAT. And gosh...lookie here... He has Beautiful flashy action. A gait that was bred into him, NOT artificially created. IT CAN BE DONE!!


And guess what?? Their classes can last as long as an HOUR vs. 10 minutes for the BIG LICK FREAK SHOW.... Hello people!!! It's called CONDITIONING!! You actually have to RIDE your horses to get it.


However, to breed for this type of NATURALLY FLASHY and SMOOTH gait takes time, It takes patience and it takes years and years of selective breeding, something that most of the BIG LICK Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders don't want to take. Oh..no... why do it the hard way, that takes knowledge and time, Let's just torture them and get the results we want quicker.

You people and your relentless torture of these animals make me sick.

The best thing you people could do for your breed would be to follow the example of the Peruvian Paso Horse World. SHOW YOUR HORSES BAREFOOT or with a NORMAL SHOE and TRY JUDGING THEM ON THEIR INHERENT QUALITIES instead of their UGLY MAN MADE ONES!!

Meet T.P.

Okay, tonight I'm going to write about something that does *not* annoy me! Meet "T.P." our loveable, 1400 pound 16.2 hand teddy bear, Tennessee Walking Horse Stallion! "T.P.'s" real name is "Power's Touch of Power" so you can see why we call him "T.P." Sometimes I call him "Clunker" (And I mean that in a totally affectionate manner.)

We bought T.P. from a wonderful couple in Mississippi by the name of Bob & Tommie Weathers. These people were about the nicest and most honest horse people I have ever dealt with. They promised us we would be happy with T.P. and we are not only happy, we are thrilled!

"T.P." is a perfect gentleman at all times. We trail ride him with other mares and stallions, we pony youngsters off of him, we show him out of the trailer at shows where we tie him next to our other stallion and there is NEVER a fuss. "T.P." is the perfect southern gentleman at all times.

He has been doing very well for us in the show ring and hopefully we will soon be standing him at stud to other outside mares. The horse has a hilarious personality. He is not too fond of being saddled as it usually means a long trail ride is to follow. Oh, he isn't hard to saddle at all, he basically just stands there as long as you are watching him. But if he thinks for a minute you aren't paying attention.....

Well today for example, I trailer him over to a friends to go for a trail ride. I toss the saddle on and go to cinch it only to realize I had used it on a smaller horse the day before and had changed the cinch to one that was too small for "T.P." No problem, I have another "T.P." sized cinch in the trailer. I remove the small cinch and leaving the saddle on his back turn to go back to the trailer to retrieve the longer cinch. I couldn't have gone more than 3 steps and I hear a very loud "WHUMP"! I turn back and there stands "T.P." with the saddle at his feet with this wide-eyed look of innocence on his face as if to say...."Gee mom, I really don't know how that happened"..."It must have just fallen off."

I stomp back to the innocent looking stallion, grab the pads off the ground, replace them on his back and toss the saddle back up where it belongs and turn back to the trailer to retrieve the longer cinch. Again after three steps I hear "WHUMP!" I turn to see the saddle on the ground again but this time it has landed at his front feet and he is desperately holding up one front leg, trying *not* to step on the saddle, as he knows 'then' he would really be in trouble! Again, he has this innocent look on his face as if to say..."But Mom, it just keeps jumping off! I can't help it!"

Okay "T.P."! This time I have your number. I leave the saddle at his feet and this time I get the cinch BEFORE I replace the saddle. I come back with the replacement cinch and saddle him up. Never once does the saddle try and 'jump off'. Funny how that saddle doesn't do that when I am looking at it the whole time isn't it?

I swear he was laughing at me!