Colida SkipNTwist, part of a lasting legacy

STALLION STATS for Colida SkipNTwist!

Registrations: ApHC, SSB, ASHDA AC
Proven In: Halter, Hunter in Hand, HUS, Western Pleasure, Speed Events
Color Testing: Ee aa Dd LPlp
5panel Status: N/N for HERDA, PSSM1, HYPP, MH, and GBED

Foal Stats:
63% BLACK BASED
56% FILLIES
44% DUN FACTOR
92% LP ('appaloosa' color)

Stud Fee for 2020 is PRIVATE TREATY. We are standing to an extremely limited number of registered ApHC, JC, AQHA, AHA, ASHDA, and Stonewall mares that meet our requirements for breeding. Shipped semen available. Book now for $150 to reserve your spot! (Booking fee is applied to stud fee). Located in VA. Our breeding season starts in February. Money back is offered for foals successfully dual (or more) registered ApHC, ASHDA, SSB, ABRA (buckskin bred), CRHA, and/or Half-Arabian. Discounts available for proven mares, veterans, repeat clients. Improves the mares he is bred to without fail. All foals to date have good minds and are very people oriented. Sire of champions in Conformation, Western Pleasure, Jumping, Speed Events, Dressage, Saddleseat, Halter, Showmanship, English Suitability, and more across 4 registries.

Copyrighted

Bron Stark
2019
Trinity Appaloosa Farm

The Vicious Color Cycle

The horse industry has a love/hate relationship with color. It certainly draws the eye, making a horse stand out in a herd of plain browns, but it also is sneered down upon by many aspects of the industry. It means that in some ways, a colored horse has MORE value to the market than an equivalent (or even better) plain colored horse. But, because of stigma surrounding color horses, competing in rings dominated by quarter horses, TBs, and WBs, a colored horse not only has to be better than his competition, but has to be absolutely the top horse by a large margin to win- and sometimes, he still won't.

So where does the stigma arise? A few places, in fact. The first is one not a lot of people want to hear, but in established color breeds, a lot of fault goes to the breeders themselves. By striving for color over any other trait, low quality horses often flood the market. Some breeders even go so far as to cull solids from their bloodlines- even excellent quality ones, rather keeping a poorly made leopard than a good using solid to breed forward. When this happens, color blind buyers purchase these lower quality horses, which end up performing poorly against their non-color-bred counterparts. This feeds the idea that color horses are inferior as a whole, that ALL color breed horses are low quality. And as a result, many people who grow up on this adage will not purchase one, even if it is ultimately a better animal for the job they want.

The second place stigma comes in is 'Tradition'. Tradition in a lot of realms of competition calls for solid colors of bay, black, chestnut and grey and anything beyond that is viewed as less fitting for the job on color alone. Even a blue eye can knock you down a few placings if the judge is a stickler. But, we must call into question tradition. Tradition for whom? There's a whole wide world out there. Is it tradition for a dressage horse to only be solid? Tell that to the Spanish Riding School, often touted as the end all be all of dressage, where loudly leopard and blanketed horses once were, before the fad for greys only arose. Spotted horses were once synonymous with wealth and status among many cultures. Tradition in the horse world is a narrow avenue, and mostly kept in check by a few elitists who would rather not broaden their own horizons.

We've dealt with it plenty. People will come to our farm and proudly tell us they hate Appaloosas. Okay, then leave! We've heard judges make snide remarks about our spotted horses, noticeably scoring them lower than equivalent, or worse, competitors. Judges like this keep the uniquely patterned horse in a self-fulfilling cycle, where they have a hard time being taken seriously except in a group of their own peers. Biased judges place a colored horse unfairly, then that animal is devalued by their loss, then the solid-preference market has proof that colored horses are lower quality by default. Because if the best colored horse on the market places under your average chestnut plodder, that means every other colored horse is worth even LESS. Even showing in your own color breed shows is not always the best judge of quality or skill, as judges with backgrounds in non-color breeds bring their bias into color-breed show rings.

The only thing you can do is simply keep going. Keep putting high quality horses out there. Strive to separate your horses from color only programs. Get acclaim in arenas where color can't effect your score. Get your stock in jobs where ribbons don't matter, but a hard working and high caliber animal is worth their weight in gold. Get your solid and minimal foals into top arenas and boggle a few minds when you say, "No- he's actually a...." after walking out with a blue ribbon. Eventually, you'll get someplace, even if you have to work hard to overcome breed stereotypes and breed biases.

And the best way to make change: don't contribute to stereotypes by breeding for color first! You can always add color in one generation of breeding to the right horse, but undoing poor conformation, attitude, and genetic faults can take many generations, and sometimes those poor traits stick like glue. Better to start with a high quality solid than a poor quality horse of any color or pattern! The second best way is to throw your hat into the ring and become a judge, a competitor, a journalist, or someone else that helps spotlight less popular breeds when they deserve to win.

Help promote the idea that the best horse for the job can't be a bad color!


Copyrighted
Bron Stark
2019
Trinity Appaloosa Farm

Letting go, it's hard, but kind

Sometimes horse owning comes with hard decisions. One of them is letting your old stock tell you when it's their time. At the beginning of 2019, we knew it might be this year. Chica was starting to have trouble getting back up from naps, and as the year wore on, began to be visibly tired and distant, choosing the quiet shade of her stall over even the unchallenged round bale. Peso was already deaf as a post, but her eyesight was clearly starting to go as she approached 35, and she spent long hours resting, more time down than up and took longer and longer to come back up to the barn at night. When the cold weather really socked in, their discomfort became less of a sometimes thing and more of an every day thing, the pair of them making the slow walk down the fenceline to their preferred napping tree each day to stay away from the hubbub of the weanlings playing.

When you have older stock, you have a responsibility. You have to listen to them. A good, well-bred, and well-taken care of horse will keep ticking along, even as their body starts to fall down around them until a catastrophic injury, illness, or act of God happens. And we don't believe in keeping them around when they have no quality of life, when they're in pain, when they'd rather sleep through their days than experience them. There's no honor in making an old horse keep living in pain so you can hit a milestone, or because you simply won't do them a final kindness.

                            

                   Chick O'Lena aka Chica                                           Skip's Sierra Gold aka Peso

                                            Pictured earlier this year, enjoying their retirement

These two old girls have given us everything. They've brought our foals into the world, and now they've both got grandcolts, even great grandcolts in Peso's case, out there carrying on their legacy. They've brought home ribbons, trophies, national titles, saddles, and more between them. They've taught countless friends, family, clients, and students to ride and to love horses. They've been ambassadors, not just for our farm, but for the Appaloosa as a whole. And we've made sure to repay them as much as we can. They've both been done having foals a good many years, both been done showing about that long as well. These last several years, for the most part, they've just been horses. They've done the occasional trail ride. They've nannied our foals each year when it suits them. They've had warm stalls, a grass paddock, other friends when they want them, and each other's constant company when they don't. We've made sure they have never wanted for feed, for hoof care, for treats and petting, for anything else to keep them as comfortable as two elderly ladies who've worked a hard 60+ years between them could be.

And today, after we made sure they had a good several years of practice for the green pastures on the other side, we brushed them and fed them one last time. And we said goodbye.

RIP

Chick Olena, "Chica"
2/27/1990 - 12/23/2019

And

Skips Sierra Gold, "Peso"
3/8/1986 - 12/23/2019


Copyrighted to
Bron Stark
2019
Trinity Appaloosa Farm

.

Heza Docolida- One Sexy Beast!

STALLION STATS for Heza Docolida!

Registrations: ApHC, SSB, ASHDA AC
Proven in: Conformation, Liberty, Western Pleasure, Trail, Dressage, Western Performance
Color Testing: Ee aa LPLP nd1/nd1
5panel Status: N/N For HERDA, HYPP, PSSM1, GBED, and MH

Foal Stats:
70% BLACK BASED
50% FILLIES
50% COLTS
100% LP ('appaloosa' color)

Stud fee for 2020 is $600. We are standing to a limited number of registered ApHC, JC, AQHA, AHA, ASHDA, and Stonewall mares that meet our requirements for breeding. Shipped semen available. Book now for $150 to reserve your spot! (Booking fee is applied to stud fee). Located in VA. Our breeding season starts in February. Money back is offered for foals successfully dual (or more) registered ApHC, ASHDA, SSB, ABRA (buckskin bred), CRHA, and/or Half-Arabian. Discounts available for proven mares, veterans, repeat clients. Improves the mares he is bred to without fail. All foals to date have good minds and are very people oriented.

Photo by Marion Berg.

Copyrighted
Bron Stark
2019
Trinity Appaloosa Farm

We have swag!!

Our Roaring 20's logo on various T shirt colors, plus our popular Twister artwork design. Available through our Red Bubble store. T-shirts, tote bags, cups, posters and more!

Get your own here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/starkhorse/works/42742168-trinity-appaloosa-farm-art-deco-logo

Being prepared, it takes more than few pool noodles.

We try to trai our horse for most things, but there are some things you can't train for, so you have to breed for the mindset that will take things in stride instead! When we agreed to do the Cherry Blossom parade in Washington D.C. with Miss Rodeo Virginia in 2018, we had no idea we'd have a balloon right over our two horses the whole ride. But, Heza Docolida and Stonewall Rascal took it (and the dozen other balloons, the marching bands, the flag twirlers, floats, beauty queens, cars, acapella groups, and everything else!) in stride. If you can't train for a scary situation, breed for a brain that will see you through it safely!


Copyright by
Bron Stark
2019
Trinity Appaloosa Farm
Please do not use without permission.

Tracy Meisenbach: Mister, you just lost a sale.

                                                          Mister, you just lost a sale.

          If you’re like me, even when your barn is full of horses you’re still looking at horse ads. I have no need to buy another one, but I’m still trolling craigslist, dream horse, equine now and all the facebook groups that offer horses for sale, trade or free, it’s an addiction, don’t judge me. Sometimes I return several times to one ad and think “hmmmmmm maybe just one more.” Thankfully common sense applies and no more hairy eating machines arrive at my door

        While browsing the various sites I am always amazed to see ads that clearly show the horse, and its owner, in a bad light. You’re trying to sell this animal, why are you making him look terrible? If people tried to sell cars the same way they try to sell horses it would be impossible to make a sale. The cars would be dirty, in the middle of an overgrown field, with wire inches from the tires, a nasty rope dragging from the bumper, and in all probability some form of half-naked human standing on top of the car to prove it was safe. This is not marketing! These things are huge warning signs that the horse is going to come with baggage. Bad first impressions have cost many a sale, and the sad thing is that they are so easy to avoid with just a little time, thought and effort. So here’s a list of things that automatically make me decide to not even think about contacting you to look at your horse.

In print:
1) If your ad has any words relating to horses that are misspelled such a philly, gilding, studded, breaded, or the breed name is wrong I’m not contacting you.

2) If the first thing you tout is Man O’War in your horse’s pedigree I’m already done. Unless the famous horse is the sire or dam, or at most the grandparent, I really don’t care.

3) If you cite a rare color, and then don’t really know how it was created. Hint: Line back bays are not rare. That’s countershading and it’s common. There is nothing remotely rare about black, any shade of chestnut, bay, dun, cremello or pretty much anything else found on American horses. Unless your horse is a purple and pink brindle with green eyes he’s not rare.

4) If your horse’s list of accomplishments ends with being friendly, he’s not worth my time. In fact, he’s a good candidate for the free ads.

5) If your horse has no other merit than a set of papers. I really don’t care who his ancestors are, if he’s not trained to do a job (with the exception of horses two and under) then he’s not worth anything to me.

6) Stallions that are not genetically tested and free of defects and that have never left the property. If he isn’t an excellent specimen and can’t perform then he doesn’t need to be reproducing. Color and pedigree are NOT reasons to breed a stallion. The same holds true for mares. When I ask about testing you need to have an educated answer, not “huh?”


In a photo:
1) Ribs. If your horse is ribby, with his spine standing up I’m not only not calling you, I’m calling the sheriff. Feed your horse before you try to sell it. If it gets in that condition give it to a good home before letting it starve while you wait to make money off of it.

2) If your horse is in a nasty cluttered area with wire fences and old cars, count me out. I’m not planning on dealing with old wire cuts, ingested shrapnel or embedded splinters. Your horse doesn’t have to stay in a pristine barn, but reasonable safety applies.

3) If there is a photo of you standing on the horse, it’s over. You’re already showing me you aren’t smart enough to practice reasonable safety and husbandry. Standing in the saddle proves that for that second your horse tolerated your stupidity. It doesn’t prove you’re a great trainer or horseman. It doesn’t prove your horse is always safe. The only thing is does prove is that you’re not a smart trainer.

4) If there are people in the ad with open toed shoes, especially children, I’m not even picking up the phone. There is no point trying to carry on a conversation with someone that has that little sense.

5) If the horse is dirty. Seriously, you’re trying to sell this animal, give him every shot at making a good impression. I can handle a little dust, but knee deep dried mud, tangled manes, burrs in the tail and bots on the legs are NOT working in your favor. I can buy a clean well cared for horse for the same price.

6) If your tack is broken, abusive, used incorrectly etc. Again, another sign that the horse is coming with baggage and you aren’t sensible enough to deal with.

7) Children with no helmets. Again, a sure sign that safety is not practiced and if you’re not going to care about your children’s safety then I’m sure your horse isn’t kept in a safe manner either.

It’s easy to sell a good, well trained, well bred horse. People are begging for them. Trying to sell a horse with any of the strikes above on it is going to be next to impossible. So don’t blame the market, look at what you are offering people and ask yourself if you would go look at a car or house or any item that is in the same condition and environment your horse is in. The same holds true for trainer ads. If you’ve got any of the above in your ad you’re going to get passed by, because you are showing that you are not educated, not safe, and not capable of handling horses or students. So give your horse, and yourself, the best chance at a good sale.

Tracy Meisenbach
Copyright December 2nd, 2013

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