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July
Anderson Co. Elkhart, TX 16th SD Elite Horse Sale Martin Arena, SD 30th
August
League of Ledends Livingston, MT 5th|6th SC Online Sales 15th, 29th Anderson Co. Elkhart, TX 20th Blain Krogman Online 20th-27th Reindl QH Billings, MT 25th-30th Come to the Sourse Laramie, WY 27th Lauing Mill Iron Online 27th-30th RQHBA Belle Fourche, SD 28th Spader Ranch Kansas City, KS 28th
September
Lolli Bros. Macon, MO 3rd Munns Prod. Sale Rexburg, ID 3rd Spader Ranch Kansas City, KS 3rd Louie Krogman Valentine, NE 4th Dakota Breeders Classic Mobridge, SD 9th Pitzer Ranch Ericson, NE 8th-10th BV&D Springfield, MO 10th Raymond Sutton Gettysburg, SD 11th SC Online Sales 12th, 19th, 26th, 27th Hermanson-Kist Mandan, ND 15th-17th Van Norman Elko, NV 16th|17th Anderson Co. Elkhart, TX 17th Weaver QH Great Falls, MT 17th Ozark FB Midway, AR 17th Central NE Broken Bow, NE 18th Anderson Co. Elkhart, TX 18th Sugar Bars Legacy Sheridan, WY 18th Troyer Fork Lupton ,CO 30th - Oct. 1 4 Working Horse Magazine Summer 2022
October
6666 Guthrie, TX 1st Shawnee Shawnee, OK 1st SC Online Sales 3rd Jamison Quiter, KS 6th Waverly, IA 6th|8th Farmers & Ranchers Salina, KS 7th Open Box Rafter Rapid City, SD 10th Anderson Co. Elkhart, TX 15th Stanley Horse Sale 15th|16th Nile Billings, MT 22nd
November
Anderson Co. Elkhart, TX 19th Horsemans Mission Sullivan, OH 18th|19th
December Anderson Co. Elkhart, TX 17th
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CONTENTS
On the cover
WorkingHorseMagazine.com | Summer 2022
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2|3 WHM Horse Sale Calendar 12 Mares N More Sandy Sueleo Part 1
28 Advantages & Disadvantages of Using “Bute” in Horses 40 Hock Injuries
PRCA roper Clint Weston and “Stella” Weavers Perks Dandy
49 Honest People, Honest Horses 52 The Working Lines
(Perkster x HLC Smooth Quote)
WeaverHorses.com
....................................................................................................................................................................................................... Mike Gerbaz | Managing Partner & Sales mikegerbaz@gmail.com | 970.948.5523
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Jane Klingson | Sales janeklingson@yahoo.com | 515.571.2832
Competitor News | Art & Production competitornews@yahoo.com | 541.938.0608
....................................................................................................................................................................................................... Working Horse Magazine has been serving the performance horse industry since 1997. Main Office | 355 Watson Divide Road, Snowmass, CO 81654. For questions regarding subscriptions and distribution call 970.948.5523. The views and/or opinions in articles and advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of Working Horse Magazine and are the responsibility of the author or advertiser.
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Mares with More| Sandy Sueleo Part 1
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By Larry Thornton .....................................................................................................................................................
f you were a kid like me, you grew up dreaming of having a horse. Your dream was fed by TV shows like Fury the wild black stallion and his owner Joey. If you read the series of books about THE GOLDEN STALLION, the story of Golden Boy and his owner Charlie you have another example that fed your dreams. We all may have dreamed of riding a great stallion to success, but one young boy did it. Jon Mixer, the son of Orren Mixer, the famous artist, did just that on the great Okie Leo at the World Series of 4-H and FFA Show in Dallas, Texas. It also shows Orren Mixer’s faith in Okie Leo, a little-known fact that this great stallion was his favorite horse. This is the story of how a boy and a famous stallion give us our Mare with More this time around as the foundation of the young boy’s breeding program. We will let Dick Robey tells us how it all got started by fulfilling a boy’s dream, “Jon Mixer was ten, and Orren wanted to go to what they called the World Series of 4-H and FFA members. It was at Dallas, and Orren wanted Jon to ride Okie Leo.” Yes, this was when the youth could show a stallion. He went on with his story, “I wanted Jon to work with Okie, so we had him ride the horse. Jon rode him about ten times, and the weather got bad. I didn’t think anything about it until early one Saturday morning in December, and here comes Ole Mixer driving in with his trailer and Jon. It was raining and sleeting, and he wanted to go to Dallas. I said, ‘My God, Jon hasn’t ridden Okie in so long.’ Well, Orren wanted to go, so we loaded up
JET QUILLO sor 15.2 1972 QUARTER HORSE #0844387
PISTOL JERRY sor 1977 QUARTER HORSE
KIDS MISS SUPREME sor 1969 QUARTER HORSE
EASY JET sor 1967 QUARTER HORSE #0573195
DUCHESS QUILLO sor 1962 QUARTER HORSE #0587625
KID MEYERS sor 1963 QUARTER HORSE #0408509
SANDY SUELEO 1962 QUARTER HORSE
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and went. We liked to froze to death.” “They had about 85 entries in it. So, I put a big ole coat on Jon to keep him from freezing. He was the 20th reiner, and Ole Mixer couldn’t take it; he goes out and wouldn’t stay in there. When the time came, I pulled that coat off Jon, and he ran the pattern. They had two judges, and when they finished running that pattern, you should have seen the trainers jerking those kids off those horses and go to tuning. It was obvious that someone was going to have to be really good or that reining was over. Jon won the class by 10 points.” Here is how Jon Mixer recalls his ride on Okie Leo, “When the reining came up, we were all bunched up with 80 some horse in the ally way and when they called my number I blew in there full speed, sat him down, backed him up and set there with a loose rein for 4 or 5 seconds then started my slow small figure 8 then went into the large 8 with more speed when I came out and went to do my roll back I opened him up, went in and turn him back, and he came around so hard and fast it pulled my little butt clean out of the saddle. I grab the horn, threw my leg back over him, and opened him up for the second roll back. I was ready this time and grabbed the horn going into it and came out flying into my second stop, did my pivots, and walked to the judge. Jon continued, “I rode back to where Dick was and apologized to him for losing my stirrup. Then they announced my score as 78, and I really felt bad and thought I had really let him down. Dick then told me that 78 was out of a possible 80. When it was
JET DECK b 1960 QUARTER HORSE #0167014 LENAS BAR ch 1954 THOROUGHBRED (USA) CHARLEVOIX ch 1953 THOROUGHBRED (USA) BANDIDO BRUJA b 1957 QUARTER HORSE #0070439 THREE BARS ch 15.3 1940 THOROUGHBRED (USA) MISS MEYERS ch 1949 QUARTER HORSE #0062508 OKIE LEO sor 1956 QUARTER HORSE #0062301 STAPLES BABE sor 1958 QUARTER HORSE #0173554
MOON DECK br 1950 MISS NIGHT BAR ch 1950 THREE BARS ch 15.3 1940 LENA VALENTI b 15.2 1946 PRINCEQUILLO b 1940 ROYAL TYPE b 1947 EL BANDIDO b 1935 LOMA LINDA sor 1948 PERCENTAGE ch 1923 MYRTLE DEE blk 1923 LEO sor 14.2 1940 STARS LOU b 1936 LEO sor 14.2 1940 SORREL SUE sor 1944 BILLY BOB b 1944 TRIM PAT sor 1953
TOP DECK MOONLIGHT NIGHT BARRED BELLE OF MIDNIGHT PERCENTAGE MYRTLE DEE GRAY DREAM PERHOBO PRINCE ROSE COSQUILLA BULL DOG SUN CELTIC ZANTANON JEANNETT JOE BOB GEORGIA LEE MIDWAY GOSSIP AVENUE LUKE MCLUKE CIVIL MAID JOE REED II LITTLE FANNY OKLAHOMA STAR OWEN E ACTON MARE JOE REED II LITTLE FANNY KING TOMMY KING MARE FLYING BOB BILLY JACK CHESTER B PATTY B
br 1945 br 1940 ch 15.2 1946 ch 1943 ch 1923 blk 1923 gr 1939 b 1939 b 1928 b 1933 br 1927 ch 1931 ch 1917 b sor 1940 b 1930 ch 1914 ch 1918 b 1911 b 1915 ch 1936 b 1937 b 14.2 1915 ch 1936 b 1937 b 14.3 1932 b 15.1 1929 b 1938 b 1938 b 1943
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Jon getting the famous trophy for the 4-H and FFA World Series Championship Photo Courtesy Jon Mixer
Okie Leo and Dick Roby Photo Courtesy Helen Robey
Jon on Okie Leo
Photo Courtesy Jon Mixer
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all over, we had won it by 10 points over the 2nd place horse.” Robey had an interesting postscript to the story, “Orren was so proud that he hauled that trophy to every horse place he went for 90 days. And then Orren said that the trophy went with the horse, so we got the trophy. When Jon was about 30, I finally gave him the trophy and the ribbon.” The love Jon Mixer had for Okie Leo in his youth hasn’t diminished over the years. He still fondly remembers his days riding this great horse. Jon has now taken on the role of being a breeder, and he has built a small quarter horse breeding program around a mare named Sandy Sueleo, and he is seeing some interesting results these days through linebreeding to this mare about the versatility of the American Quarter Horse. Jon recalls how he got Sandy Sueleo, “Dick Robey brought me a colt to break that was too small for him to ride. I got him going good, and he brought some people to look at him. They were so impressed with the way he handled and moved they bought him for a real good price to breed to their pony mares.” “About a month later, Dick pulled in with a stock trailer and backed it up to the barn and unloaded this wild two-year-old filly. She had never been touched or messed with. Someone owed Dick some money and told him to come get this filly for payment. So, Dick backed up to his barn, and they drove her into the trailer. Dick gave her to me for starting that colt. I got her gentled down and started working with her. It wasn’t long before I started riding with a rope bosal George Garret had made for me.” “I rode Sandy Sueleo for a few months and then started showing her. I took her to the Cowboy Hall of Fame Horse Show at the fairgrounds and entered her in halter, placed third, western pleasure placed 3rd or 4th, the reining placed 2nd, the barrels placed 3rd again, and the pole bending and won it. I was kind of disappointed that I hadn’t done any better. Now I look back and wonder how she was even able to place at all the way she did with only a few months of training riding pastures and county rodeos. If I would have known, then what I know now, she could have been a world champion.” “I had been farming for our neighbor who had a large dairy. I was making a $1 an hour working from 6 in the morning till dark and used what I earned to haul my mares to AQHA shows. I met a boy who was the stepson of a man that worked for Dick, and he had been riding in high school rodeos. He entered us in an open rodeo at Owasso, Oklahoma.” “I told Dad I was going to watch him ride. My truck was down, so dad took me to his house and dropped me off; the last thing he said before he drove off was, don’t get hurt. I won 2nd in the bull riding that night and got $148, that was more than I could make in two weeks farming. So showing horses went on the back burner, and I was going to rodeos every weekend. The next spring, I graduated and became the show cattle herdsman for KerMac Angus Ranch. That fall Black Watch Ranch (The biggest registered ranch in the world) offered me a job managing a division in Kansas. So, I went to Kansas and used that mare as a ranch horse.” Okie Leo sired Sandy Sueleo. He was an AQHA Champion son of Leo, and he was out of the mare Sorrel Sue by King P-234. He has become a legend in the annals of quarter horse history. He earned his performance ROM with 20 halter points, 16 cutting points, 57 reining points, and 15.5 western pleasure
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points. He earned his NCHA Certificate Ability with over $1,000 in earnings. He earned his Superior in reining by winning 50 of 55 reining classes he entered. The dam of Sandy Sueleo was Staples’ Babe by Billy Bob, who was by the sire Flying Bob a son of Chicaro and the Cajun-Bred race mare Zeringue’s Belle. She was sired by Dewey and out of Walla by War Eagle. The dam of Billy Bob was Billy Jack by Ace Of Hearts II and out of Lady by Ace Of Hearts. Ace of Hearts was sired by the Duderstadt Horse by Sykes Rondo. Duderstadt Horse was out of a daughter of Old DJ. Old DJ was the broodmare sire of Joe Reed P-3, the double grandsire of Leo, and the sire of Okie Leo. Trim Pat was the dam of Staples’ Babe. She was sired by Chester B by Chubby, a son of Midnight, and he was out of Fourth of July by Bobby Lowe and the mare Old Mary. Old Mary was the dam of Yellow Wolf. Joe Bailey was a full brother to Bobby Lowe, and this makes Fourth of July a full sister in blood to Yellow Wolf, a prominent sire for the Waggoner Ranch. The dam of Trim Pat was Patty B by Hooper’s Pat. The dam of Patty B was a daughter of Chubby, which gives Trim Pat a breeding pattern of 2 X 3 to Chubby. The dam of Chester B was the Old Vaughn Mare, a mare with more. Chester B is a full sister to Miss Chubby, the foundation dam whose daughters and granddaughters produced the Supreme Champions Goodbye Sam, Leo Maudie, Joe Fax, and Fairbars. Joe Fax is double bred to Miss Chubby as his sire is out of a daughter of Miss Chubby. Now we will let Jon continue about how he started breeding Sandy Sueleo, “Later I bred her to a stud I was training for a friend. That colt broke his leg in the pasture. Jerry Wells had just made Kid Meyers the 1st Supreme Champion, and he gave me a breeding, that got Kid’s Miss Supreme. Dad was painting and promoting Goldseeker Bars and got a breeding to him, and I got another filly.” The filly Kid’s Miss Supreme marks the beginning of the Sandy Sueleo and her influence on the Jon Mixer bred horses. Kid Meyers, the first AQHA Supreme Champion, was sired by Three Bars. He was out of Miss Meyers, an AQHA Racing World Champion. The sire of Miss Meyers was the great Leo by Joe Reed II and out of Little Fanny. They were both sired by Joe Reed P-3. The dam of Miss Meyers was Star’s Lou by Oklahoma Star P-6. We will let Jon continue his story, “Kid’s Miss Supreme produced my stud Pistol, Jerry, by Jet Quillo. I was at Bob Sutherland’s dispersal sale and saw Jet Quillo and really took a liken to him. He sold for a lot more than I could afford, so I kept track of him. A couple of years later, when he came off the track, I made a deal with his owner to breed two mares to him, and I got the foal out of Miss Supreme, and he could have the other one. I wanted a horse that could win on the track and make an allaround performance champion. That’s where Pistol Jerry came in.” He added, “When I rode him, I could feel Sandy Sueleo in him.” Jet Quillo would go to the racetrack to win five of 17 starts with earnings of $2,573. He earned his racing ROM with a 91-speed index. He was shown at halter in two AQHA Shows, earning three AQHA points and standing Grand Champion both times. His sire was Easy Jet, the AQHA Racing World Champion, and leading sire. Easy Jet was sired by Jet Deck, and he was
out of Lena’s Bar by Three Bars. Jet Quillo was out of Duchess Quillo by Charlevoix, a Thoroughbred by Princequillo, and he was out of Royal Type by Bull Dog. The dam of Duchess Quillo was Bandido Bruja by El Bandito by Zantanon the sire of King P-234. The dam of El Bandido was Jeanette by Harmon Baker by Peter McCue. The dam of Bandido Bruja was Loma Linda a mare bred by R. L. Underwood. Her sire was Joe Bob by Joe Reed P-3, and his dam was Diamond Oakes by A D Reed by Peter McCue. Jon continues about what he found with Pistol Jerry, “I started him on the ranch, and he was such a performance horse I almost didn’t run him but then remembered my goal and got him ready to run. We had put up a new gate, and the hired help left it opened, and he got out one night and ran through a one barb wire electric fence and all most cut his front leg off. That set him back almost a year, so I didn’t get him to the track until the fall of his three-year-old year. Two weeks after he got there, he ran his first race and won by two lengths with an 85-speed index.” “I brought him home from the track the next year, and I started showing him in reining that fall. I went to shows in four states, and he was undefeated. That January, he was circuit champion reining horse at the Flatland Circuit. That spring, I started showing him in working cow horse and heeling, winning several circuit all-around championships. By summer, I started showing him in heading. That January, my goal was to win the All-Around; by June, I raised my goals to win championships in the four classes I was showing him in. Reining and working cow horse were in the same category, and heading and heeling were in another, so I put him in the pole bend at a show for third category points, and he won it. At the end of the year, he won championships in 3 of the four classes and reserve in the one and the all-around in both the Kansas Quarter Horse Association and Northeast Kansas Quarter Horse Association.” Pistol Jerry shows the versatility of the Mixer line of horses. He earned his racing ROM with one win in three starts and an 88-speed index. He was ROM in the arena with three points in heading, six points in heeling, one pole bending point, six reining points, and eight working cow horse points for a total of 24 points. He won eight of the ten AQHA working cow horse classes he entered. He amassed over 255 state points, winning his state All-Around titles. Pistol Jerry the sire had only 34 foals with only one performer in the AQHA. That foal is Pistol Packin Anna with 22 AQHA points in the open, amateur and youth with an open ROM. Many of the performers sired by Pistol Jerry were rodeo horses in roping and barrels and jackpot ropers, where earnings and title wins are hard to document, which includes Sans Rusty Bullet, a PRCA Barrel Horse at rodeos like Cody, Wyoming, and Cheyenne Frontier Days. Jon continued his story about the next foal from Sandy Sueleo, “Matlock Rose was standing Peppy San, and he wanted to breed an Okie Leo mare to him. So, I did and got Sueleo San. Matlock offered me $25,000 for her when she was born. Man, that was a lot of money for a young broke cowboy, but I turned it down. So, he said, bring Sandy Sueleo back, and he’d buy the next one; I did, and they got her bred on her foal heat. They vaccinated her for something, and she had a reaction to the vaccine, and it parallelized her, and they had to put her down.” That orphaned
filly was San Sueleo (Peppy San X Sandy Sueleo X Okie Leo). He continued, “Dick had a mare that lost her foal, so I brought San Sueleo home and put her on his mare. By then, I had started the American Beefalo Producers and had bought my own ranch. That filly grew up on the ranch, and I had just got her started good and turned her out to pasture to freshen her up when she stepped on a locust thorn and ran it through her foot; it crippled her, so she became a broodmare. Her best offspring was Latchit San.” “I bred to Latch On Quick, and she had Latchit San. I broke her to ride, and she made a real performance horse. My wife at the time considered her as her horse. I bred her to Pistol Jerry that spring and turned her out. I sold Latchit San to a 14-year-old girl to make a barrel horse. Two years later, that little girl started thinking about boys and forgot about barrel racing. I went to her mother and bought the mare and her yearling colt, Sans Rusty Bullet.” Latch On Quick was a home bred by Orren Mixer’s Circle M Ranch. He was sired by Night Latch by Bar The Door by Three Bars. The dam of Night Latch was Time Beat by Time Prince. Her dam was Anni Bomar by Dick McCue by Jack McCue. The dam of Annie Bomar was Reckless Ann by Jack McCue. Jack McCue was sired by Peter McCue. The dam of Latch On Quick was Donna Fay by Moco by Adam by Joe Moore. The dam of Moco was Jo Mo Ca by Joe Moore. Joe Moore was sired by Little Joe and out of Della Moore, the dam of Joe Reed P-3, which makes Joe Moore and Joe Reed P-3 half-brothers. The dam of Donna Fay was Sans Adonna by Leo San by Leo, who was sired by Joe Reed II and out of Little Fanny both by Joe Reed P-3. V’s Adonna was the dam of Sans Adonna, and she was sired by Oklahoma Star Jr by Oklahoma Star P-6. The dam of V’s Adonna was Adonna by Bert P-227. Donna Fay was a founding mare for Orren Mixer. She was the dam of horses like Sinto Win, the dam of the Mixer bred Miss Zan Mixer, an AQHA Superior Halter Horse, and AQHA Champion sired by Zan Parr Bar. Jon recalled Latch On Quick this way, “Latch was probably the stoutest horse I ever rode. I roped a bull that weighed over 2000 pounds and drug him to the trailer on him; he had no quit. I match raced him on the track, and he was never beat. I won rodeos and jackpot team roping all over Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri.” “In 1983, I haul him to some AQHA shows in the area, and he won state championships in heading, heeling, and working cow horse and was a world show qualifier. I didn’t go to the world, though. I wish I would have sent him to a racehorse trainer because he was fast. He had a big heart and would never quit you. He was so smooth moving you could lope across the pasture and drink a cup of coffee and never spill a drop. He loved working cattle and roping. Anyone could ride him.” The yearling foal was Sans Rusty Bullett (Pistol Jerry X Latchit San X Peppy San), and Jon will tell us about him, “I started Sans Rusty Bullet then sold him to a friend for a roping horse. He roped on him a couple of years, and then his wife started running barrels on him and was winning everything in the area. They were at a barrel race, and a lady asked what they would take for him, and he just popped off and said $20,000, and she said she’d take him. Her husband was a PRCA team roper, and she wanted a horse to compete in roping and barrels.
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They left on the 4th of July and went to Greeley, Colorado. She couldn’t enter because she hadn’t filled her permit. They went on to Cody, Wyoming, and she won it, and that filled her permit, so she went on to Cheyenne and placed there and at several others. By the time they came home, she had won enough to pay for
him and was offered $40,000 and turned it down; later, she was offered $75,000 and turned it down.” Next time we will continue the story of Sandy Sueleo and how she has become the foundation of Jon Mixer’s linebreeding program to Okie Leo.
........................................................................................................................................................................................ About the Author | Larry Thornton is a Pedigree Analyst and freelance writer for Working Horse Magazine, Speedhorse and Quarter Horse News. Thorton started his writing career in 1984 with his first article being printed in the Speed Horse Magazine. He was also an Agriculture Instructor for 37 years.
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Pistol Jerry on the track
Pistol Jerry Performance Champion
Sans Rusty Bullet
Latch On Quick and Jon Mixer
Photos Courtesy Jon Mixer
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s t l u s e R e l a S 8 2 May J $34,000.00
High Seller
Hip 196 • SPOOKS NIFTY DUN, 2015 Buckskin Gelding by Haidas Lil Gun x Nifty Tivio Cloud Consigned by Garrett Oland agent for Karla Lyons • Buyer Steve Kitchen
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$27,500.00
Reserve High Seller Hip 181 • SHINES FLASHY 2018 Sorrel Gelding by Shine Chic Shine x Spooks Stylin Consigned by Leroy Yoder • Buyer Carl Knox
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3rd High Seller Hip 115 • SUPER SHINEY GUN 2018 Palomino Gelding by Shine Chic Shine x Super Smokin Cady Consigned by Pond Hill Performance Horses • Buyer Estevan Castillo
t s u g u A e n i l d a e D t n e m n g Consi
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Fall Consignment
SALE 2022
Saturday, October 1
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The Source for America’s Horse
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Contact: Jennifer Anderson 405-401-4759 Tiffany Caravella 405-615-9171 • John Carlson 405-612-0188 Working Horse Magazine Summer 2022 19
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Advantages of Harlan Using “Bute” The Workingand LinesDisadvantages | Bob Robey & Part II in Horses
P
By Heather Smith Thomas............................................................................................................................................. henylbutazone (“bute”) is an anti-inflammatory drug—a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory similar to aspirin, Advil, Motrin, Banamine, etc. Bute has been used for decades in horses to relieve pain, particularly in musculoskeletal injuries, navicular syndrome, arthritis, and so o n . Melinda Freckleton, DVM (a private practitioner in Virginia) says this drug is a comparatively safe and effective way to reduce pain and inflammation. Veterinarians prescribe it for a wide number of problems, but horse owners should be aware of possible side effects. “Even though most humans can tolerate using a little aspirin or ibuprofin once in awhile and it makes our lives more comfortable, there are a few individuals who cannot use these. The same is true with horses and bute. There are also risks when using these drugs inappropriately—such as at too high a dose or for too long a duration,” she says. “This is why there are very specific dosing recommendations that horse owners need to be aware of, realizing that even though the drug is helpful, giving more than the recommended dose won’t give more benefit. Several studies have shown that there are diminishing returns when increasing dosage. One gram will give a certain amount of pain relief, but 3 grams will not give you more,” explains Freckleton. Giving an increased dose may result in more side effects (and could be quite dangerous to the horse) without giving more pain relief. This is why horse owners should try to administer the lowest dose that gives benefit to the horse. Giving more may cause problems that include gastric ulcers, kidney dysfunction, and right dorsal colitis. Gastric ulcers are probably the most common risk. “There are certain horses that probably won’t get gastric ulcers no matter what we do to them (like certain humans who can tolerate continual use of aspirin with no problems). But you have to realize that often the horses that are receiving the most bute, the most frequently, have other risks at the same time (such as stress, pain) that also make them more prone to ulcers. A drug like bute is a risk factor for gastric ulcers, but so is any kind of physiologic stress. This could include the condition you are treating, or being confined in a stall. Often whatever painful condition you are treating requires you to confine the horse or change its routine and restrict its activity,” she says. Thus the risks are often multiplied. “The horses at risk for gastric ulcers should probably receive a different drug, or we might in addition to the bute recommend giving some kind of gastric protective product, such as omeprazole (Gastrogard or Ulcergard) or ranitidine (a generic ulcer treatment). We have options for dealing with this risk and need to keep these in mind,” says Freckleton.
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Less common side effects of bute include right dorsal colitis. “This is a serious GI tract condition that bute and other NSAIDs can cause; the horse has diarrhea and sometimes fever. I have only seen two horses in which this problem was confirmed. I’ve never confirmed it as having been directly related to use of bute, but any horse that has a history of right dorsal colitis should not be given bute.” That horse could be treated with the newer drug Equioxx instead. Kidney failure is also a possibility when overusing bute. “I have not seen kidney failure in any horse where bute was administered correctly, but there are some reports of owners accidentally giving the entire tube of bute paste in one dose—20 grams at once. That can cause kidney failure,” she says. Some people forget that they have to adjust the dosage on the tube. “When you use a tube of dewormer, you typically give the horse the whole tube. We also have Equioxx that is marketed in individual doses—one tube or one small tablet per average size horse,” she explains. But with bute paste, you must not give it all at once; the tube is calibrated for multiple dosings and you have to change the setting to give the correct dose. If you give all 20 grams at once you will make the horse very ill. If this ever happens, it is a serious emergency. You must have veterinary assistance immediately, to save your horse’s life. “We can lavage the stomach (flushing some of the drug back out) and give the horse charcoal to help bind some of the rest of the bute (so it can’t be absorbed by the horse). We’ll also start the horse on IV fluids to make sure the kidneys are well flushed,” says Freckleton. “A horse that gets an accidental overdose should also be given gastric protection such as Gastrogard, because the excess bute will have GI tract effects as well. Treatment may also be needed for right dorsal colitis,” she says. “When using bute, make sure you read labels and are giving the correct amount,” she says. In earlier years, the only form of bute available was pills, which were often difficult to give to the horse. We typically crushed these with a hammer, to create a powder to be mixed with feed or with applesauce or molasses and water and given by oral dose syringe. This was more time consuming and inconvenient than the powders or tubes of paste we have today, but the dosage was much more specific. One tablet was one gram.. You might waste a little when crushing it into a powder, but you knew how much you were giving the horse. Bute tablets are still available, and these newer versions break or crush up more readily than the older types, and also dissolve nicely in water—and can be mixed with a little molasses and water and squirted into the back of the mouth with a dose syringe.
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CONTINUED|Advantages and Disadvantages of Using “Bute” in Horses Today there are also some different formulations of bute powder, but they come in varying concentrations. “In our area, in people’s tack or feed rooms I see some brands in which a tablespoon of the powder contains a gram of bute, and some in which a teaspoon equals a gram of bute,” she says. This can get you into trouble if you can’t remember what the dosage should be. Always keep labels from the package, and read them before administering the powder. “I’ve seen some people keep bute powder in a plastic baggie, and then wonder how much to give. If they no longer have the original label, they should just throw it away. There is no way to know the concentration of that powder, without a laboratory analysis,” says Freckleton. She advises saving the original package, and not moving the product from package to package, and always read the label. The label may say to give one scoop. So don’t lose the scoop! If you own a horse that you know has trouble with bute, avoid this drug. “You can use Equioxx, which acts a little differently. It’s a COX2 inhibitor, and does not produce a lot of the side effects that bute may cause. It’s a little more expensive than bute, about the same price as Banamine paste, but is cheaper than giving a horse bute and Gastrogard,” she says. Not every horse needs to have this instead of bute, but for the ones that can’t handle bute, this is a good alternative. The possible side effects with bute are the reason this is a prescription product, to be given to a certain horse in a certain dosage, as recommended by your veterinarian. “Because it is a prescription for a certain horse, you should not hand it to your neighbor to give, without a veterinarian saying the horse should receive it. But it is a fairly safe prescription product and has been used on thousands of horses for many decades.” One thing to remember when using bute or any other NSAID,
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is to take your horse’s temperature before you give the drug. The anti-inflammatory drug will lower a fever, and may also make the horse feel better and mask the pain of lameness. “If the owner has given bute and then calls the veterinarian, who takes the horse’s temperature, it won’t give a true picture. And if your horse has a minor lameness please don’t give bute before you call the vet to come diagnose the lameness. The veterinarian must be able to see the lameness to pinpoint the problem,” explains Freckleton. “We see this a lot, and it’s very frustrating. The owner feels bad for the horse, and gives it bute, and then is annoyed when the veterinarian can’t see the lameness well enough to diagnose it.” It just prolongs the interim before they can figure out what is really wrong with the horse. One advantage with bute is that it has been around such a long time and it has been studied more than some of the newer drugs or alternative therapies. “We’ve certainly studied it a lot more than the herbal treatments some people like to give as an alternative. There are a number of herbal products that may or may not help the horse, and we don’t know what the side effects might be. There are lots of people who feel very good about giving these alternative medications to their horse, and maybe it’s a good thing and maybe not. We have no idea. We don’t know if these herbal products are effective and we don’t know if they have adverse effects.” Just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean it is better, or safer. There are many “natural” poisons. Willow bark was one of the first pain relievers used by humans, and aspirin (that contains the same compound) is a great drug. But it does have some serious side effects, similar to the side effects of bute. So just because something is natural does not mean it is any safer than a prescription drug.
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Hock Injuries The W orking Lines | Bob Robey & Harlan Part II
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By Heather Smith Thomas......................................................................................................................................... he hock is one of the largest, most complex and hardest worked joints in the horse’s body so it must be strong and sturdy to avoid injury. The hock is often under great stress because of the activities we ask the horse to do, and it may be injured during high speed performance—especially if a horse must stop and turn quickly. Duncan Peters DVM, DACVSMR, ISELP Certified Member, East-West Equine Sports Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky says we often see hock soreness in performance horses due to strain and stress. “In young horses (weanlings, yearlings) we may see Developmental Orthopedic Disease (DOD), such as OCD or bone cysts, in the hock joints. These defects are usually discovered early on, and many are taken care of surgically. Occasionally some of those are not evident until the young horse starts training and then gets a little osteochondral fragment (usually in the tibial tarsal joint) and associated swelling and lameness within the joint,” he says. “Most of those chips in the joint will occur early in their training or when they start racing or athletic performance. The horse has to stop training and have the chip removed surgically. Some of those horses can get back to work and training within 90 days or so and don’t miss very much time,” says Peters. If the problem is discovered early and taken care of, the outcome is usually good. “More commonly, the hock problems we see in young horses are just a soreness. As the horse starts working and being asked to do more, the hock joints get sore, just because of the mechanics of that area of the leg. The hock is unique because the upper joint is a high-motion joint and the lower joints are low-motion but must endure a lot of concussion. Those lower joints are held together with many small ligaments—holding those two rows of small bones together.” The hock has seven bones and is similar to the human ankle. If there is too much strain on the hock, there will be inflammation associated with the ligaments holding those small bones together, as well as inflammation within the joint itself--which causes synovitis in the joint. “Depending on what we find, it may require a different course of treatment,” says Peters. “The other thing we might see in some of these young horses coming into racing and performance is bone soreness related to concussion in the lower joints. This may depend on the surfaces they work on, the level of activity, and the maturity and quality of the bone.” Some of these horses will get some bone bruising and bone soreness. Synovitis and bone trauma can lead to arthritis in those lower joints. “This can progress and become serious if not taken care of early on. Usually for treatment we use some injections in those joints (steroids, hyaluronic acid, IRAP, stem cells, platelet rich plasma, amnionic fluid isolates, etc.) in an effort to reduce the inflammation and curb the development of arthritis. We’ll also back off on the exer-
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cise and training for a while. If there is bone soreness and trauma—perhaps some micro-fractures associated with the bone bruising—this may take 4 to 6 months of rest before the horse can go back to work, and some people don’t like to miss that much time in training and performance events.” This is time and money lost. “If the joint has synovitis, many of those horses will respond favorably if we change their routine a little, backing off on the level of work, and treating the joints themselves with injections. Those horses may only lose 2 to 4 weeks of work and then can get right back to it,” says Peters. Proper diagnosis is very important. Several of these problems may show up with similar signs, but may need a completely different course of treatment and a different length of time off, in terms of how they respond. “Another thing that’s interesting about the hock is that there is sometimes some involvement with the proximal suspensory ligament. There may be some pain-causing damage to that ligament where it originates at the back of the hock. This may actually be the primary problem that leads to secondary hock problems. We find this on MRIs more than with any other type of diagnostic tool,” he says. “These horses won’t be performing well; they have a soft-tissue problem related to the origin of the suspensory ligament, either at the back of the cannon bone (just below the hock) or even into the plantar ligament—since some of those fibers attach up into the plantar ligament at the back of the hock,” he explains. “That whole area functions as one unit. There may be general hock soreness that includes a soft tissue component. The high suspensory area may need to be addressed or explored to make sure we are taking care of all the problems that are causing the soreness,” says Peters. There are also some unusual aspects that are occasionally encountered with hock joint soreness. “There may be collateral ligament injuries. These are interesting because the hock has 2 sets of collateral ligaments. One set is under tension during flexion and the other set is under tension during extension of the hock joint. Occasionally we see some ligament damage in one or the other set, depending on what kind of trauma occurred. Collateral ligament injury can certainly occur.” Basically the things that can happen to the hock joints in a young horse are osteochondral fragments (chips) in the upper tibial tarsal joint, inflammation in any of the three joints for a variety of reasons (generally related to exercise), associated soreness of the proximal suspensory apparatus (as part of the functioning unit of the hock) and collateral ligament injuries. Some of these injuries may be due to the horse’s conformation (putting more stress on certain parts of the joint) or just to an occasional bad step or excessive trauma. Dr. Olivia Rudolphi (Rudolphi Veterinary Services, in
....................................................................................................................................................................................................... Noble, Illinois) says some injuries may be due to a simple blunt trauma or perhaps a puncture if the horse runs into something while running around the pasture. “In older horses with hock changes we may see a narrowing of the joint due to arthritic changes. Some of this could be due to how they were used as a young horse (how much stress on the joints in an athletic career). If those early problems are not seen and addressed, there may be some cartilage weakening later on and arthritic changes later in life,” she says. Some hock problems may be due to conformation, and how straight or angled the hind leg is, and which stresses are put on the hock joint. “Poor hoof management and shoeing can also have repercussions on up the leg.
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Saturday
SEPTEMBER 17, 2022
SALE AT 12 NOON (CST)
BAR NONE COWBOY CHURCH - MIDWAY, AR 72651-
10 MILES NORTH OF MOUNTAIN HOME, ARKANSAS
N O I T A D N U O F K R A Z O N O I T A I C O S S A S R E D BREwEw w . o f b a h o r s e s a l e . c o m REFERENCE SIRES OWN SONS OF:
nd
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l nua n An io t duc ale o r P S se Hor
French Streaktovegas Once In A Blu Boon Mr Joes Song Hollywood Dun It Bet Hesa Cat Hollywood Heat Cats Greystone Spooks Gotta Gun Twice As Shiney Fiddlin Beau Jack Smart Lena Boon CL Poco Gold Doc Peppy Gabilan Joe Jack Honey Bar Mr Gold Bucks Mr Red Bartender Dun It Like Lena Reds Diamond Jack A Streak of Fling
Selling Approximately 120 Head of AQHA Horses Approximately 20 Riding Horses
FOR INFORMATION OR CATALOG: SCOTT WALKER, PRES: 870-321-0106 DONNIE PERRY, VICE PRES: 870-656-2198 TERESA WALKER, TREASURER: 870-321-0110
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The Original Source For Blue Valentine Bloodlines
Production Sale August 27, 2022 • Laramie, Wyoming Albany County Farigrounds • Preview at 8:30 • Sale at 1:00 Customer Testimonials:
“We purchased a filly at your sale and were so pleased with her that we bought 2 more the following year. We are training all 3 for versatility ranch horse events. They are sound-minded with excellent conformation.” “In our business we work with a lot of different horses, but have not come across any that compare to “Blue”. He is very level-headed and athletic, both as a stud and a using horse. We are so pleased to have him.” “What a mind - there’s just nothing this filly can’t or won’t do! In a barn full of exceptional horses, she is a stand-out.”
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Working Horse Magazine Summer 2022 47 Call us or visit our website or find us on facebook
48 Working Horse Magazine Summer 2022
Honest People, Honest Horses
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By Amy Olson.................................................................................................................................................................. obin Scherbarth was still in college when she began the Legend Buttes Catalog Sale in 2019. Five sales later, Scherbarth and her husband Cody had the top seller, a home raised and trained palomino named Pep in her Gold Step. The hammer dropped at $21,500 and the top twenty horses all brought over $10,000. The sale was hosted June 10th at Crawford Livestock Market in Crawford Nebraska. Robin’s grandparents owned the operation and encouraged she and Cody to start a horse sale. In their first year they hosted two sales that featured a catalog as well as open and loose horses. Now they hold one sale per year and it boasted a catalog of 90 horses in 2022. Horses are mainly consigned from Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota, but this year they also had some from Texas, Missouri and Iowa. The Legend Buttes sale partnered with Branded A Equine Transportation as well as Covered by Corey Insurance so that buyers from across the country can feel comfortable purchasing a horse from Crawford. This year horses were sold to bidders in Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Twenty-five of the horses sold this year were born, raised and trained on the ranch of the consignor. Leg-
end Buttes mostly offered ranch horses, but many of them have rodeo or show potential. “We market the kind of horses that will keep someone safe. The kids can junior rodeo or take them to 4-H, and you can saddle up after a long winter and go right to branding on them,” Robin said. Their sale preview is extremely inclusive, offering 2 minutes to each seller to show reining maneuvers, cow work, team roping or whatever they desire. Then they have a ranch rodeo style event to show buyers that they’re buying a horse that could really go branding or doctor out in the pasture. They end with time to evaluate horses or let the buyers ride. Each horse comes with a soundness guarantee until the Monday after the sale at noon. “We’ve found that it’s a really good way to keep people honest and open about things. People will buy a horse with a scar or some maintenance as long as they know up front, it’s not fair to anyone to be blindsided by that type of thing,” Robin said. Robin tries to set a good example with the horses she offers at her sale. Pep in Her Gold Step is the first she’s offered that wears their family brand. She is sad to see the mare go before she was able to show her, but was proud to offer such a high quality, home raised horse at the largest Legend Buttes Horse Sale yet!
$18K | Peptos Smokey Lynx
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The Working Lines | The Lauing Ranch | The Evolution of the Stallion Roster
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By Larry Thornton ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ n 1920 George Sias founded what is today the Lauing Ranch of Blunt, South Dakota. This purchase started his family on the road to success in the ranching industry. When George’s daughter Marie married Hank Lauing, the ranch continued to grow. Hank and Marie’s son Bernie would buy the ranch in 1975, and today along with his son JD they have become known as breeders of their own branch of Blue Valentine and Driftwood bred horses. A recent interview with JD Lauing started with his pointing out the tradition the family has had to breed and ride good horses. He stated it this way, “The horses have been a part of the family for over 100 years. They are in our bloodstream.” The family relied on horses from the beginning, but the first registered horse Hank Lauing bought is remembered today as Chalky. He is somewhat of a mystery. JD explained, “He was registered, but he never transferred him. He was a big brown horse that came out of Texas on the train and came up here. They believe he was a race-bred horse. They paid more for him than what my grandma made in teaching in a year, and she was really disappointed about that.” So Chalky’s pedigree is unknown today. Bernie carried on the family’s horse tradition as a boy beginning as a successful 4-H participant with two Appaloosas, Lucy Pillsbury, and Chief Keen Hawk. JD tells us about these two horses, “Lucy Pillsbury was an Appaloosa mare. Gene sent me a picture of the ribbon that has her name on it from 1961. She was the South Dakota State Fair Champion Mare. He also showed an Ap-
HANCOCKS BLUE BOY bl ro 15.1 1986 QUARTER HORSE #2528432
REVUE HANCOCK bl ro 16.0 1990 QUARTER HORSE Lauing Ranch #2944170
TIGERESS BAR LEO b ro 1978 QUARTER HORSE #1450887
MR ROAN HANCOCK bl ro 15.3 1980 QUARTER HORSE The Great Gary Tarver
BLUEBIRD HANCOCK bl ro 1982 QUARTER HORSE #1930927
TIGER BARS CHUNK rd ro 1972 QUARTER HORSE #0861703
LEOS PATRON b 1966 QUARTER HORSE #0448450
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paloosa stud, I believe before that, and his name was Chief Keen Hawk. Those were the ones he showed as a kid.” Genie Lauing reported that was the year the South Dakota Quarter Horse Association awarded him the Best 4-H Light Horse Project that was presented at the Hughes County 4-H Awards Night. The Lauing Ranch breeding program we see today had its beginning when Bernie started to register their horses. JD stated it this way, “Dad always had quarter horses, and he has a good eye for horses. There were even times when he bred to donkeys, but at the same time, he’s always bred quarter horses. Some of them he didn’t register right away, but this is our 40th year of registering horses.” Bernie Lauing attended a lot of sales in the form of horse sales, cattle sales, and buffalo sales. JD grew up riding with his dad to these sales. It was JD’s fascination with the sale catalogs that drew him to study pedigrees which helps them today with the development of the breeding program. THE EVOLUTION OF THE STALLION ROSTER Our look at the Lauing Ranch breeding program will begin with their stallion roster and how it evolved to the stallions they use today. We will begin with a stallion named Billy Star Pat. JD reported this, “Ole Billy Star Pat was one in a million. I would love to have another horse like Billy Star Pat but not in a million years would I be able to go out and try to get another crossed like him and think that I’m going to get the same thing. That is how special he was.”
SALTY ROAN b ro 1960 QUARTER HORSE #0150976 GILA JO HANCOCK br 1965 QUARTER HORSE #0383873 APACHE JOE HANCOCK b ro 1974 QUARTER HORSE #1002725 WYO LADY 24 bl ro 1972 QUARTER HORSE #0841842 CHUNKY JOE ro 1956 QUARTER HORSE #0062221 PEAVYS ALICIA br 1964 QUARTER HORSE #0456638 OKEY DOKEY b 1952 QUARTER HORSE #0059257 BROWNY PATRON sor 1955 QUARTER HORSE #0068493
BLUE VALENTINE bl ro 1956 GLASSY sor 1947 BALDY JOE br 1941 GILA GIRL 3 sor 1962 DAKOTA JOE HANCOCK b ro 1968 ESTRELLA AZUL bl ro 1971 BLUE VALENTINE bl ro 1956 WYO LADY 10 dun 1966 BALDY JOE br 1941 FL SAGE HEN ro 1937 BOB H BARS b 1957 SOBRES ALICE MCCUE ch 1950 LEO sor 14.2 1940 LUCKY LADY ch 1948 PATRONS KING sor 1950 SCOOP br 1948
RED MAN BEAUTYS DREAM PATRON HAYES HONEY JOE HANCOCK TRIANGLE LADY 8 BLUE EYES MCCUE MISS MEAT BALL HANDY JOE FLEETLINE JOSE BLUE VALENTINE MISSUS ROBIN RED MAN BEAUTYS DREAM PLENTY COUP BLUE EASTER 8 JOE HANCOCK TRIANGLE LADY 8 WAGGONER DEPRESSION TONTO BARS GILL SUE PEAVY SOBRE RIBBON ANDES JOE REED II LITTLE FANNY COLONY BOY WAR MIRACLE PATRON PEG LEG FRED MCCUE DOTTY C
b ro 1935 blk 1938 ch 1940 dun 1929 br 15.3 1923 gr 1930 sor 1946 br 1958 bl ro 1947 b ro 1960 bl ro 1956 ch 1966 b ro 1935 blk 1938 dun 1955 grul 1961 br 15.3 1923 gr 1930 gr buck 1930 ro 1901 sor 1949 b 1937 pal 1936 br 1932 ch 1936 b 1937 b 1943 br 1943 ch 1940 ch 1943 sor 1942
....................................................................................................................................................................................................... ....... They first saw Billy Star Pat in a Pitzer Ranch sale catalog as a weanling. They didn’t buy him but later found him in another sale as a three or four-year-old, and they bought him. His daughters would form the foundation of the Lauing broodmare band. Billy Star Pat was sired by Billy Two Hat 2 by Roan Bar by Bar Nothing Springer. The dam of Billy Two Hat 2 was Barmaid Reeves by Bar Nothing Springer. The dam of Billy Two Hat 2 was Fancy Baker 2 by Tom Baker by Little Tom B by King P-234. Her dam was Fancy Priss by Bar Nothing Springer. Bar Nothing Springer was sired by Bartender, by Manitobian, and out of the blue hen mare, the Old Vaughn Mare. The dam of Billy Star Pat was Watch Joy by Watch Joe Jack by Two Eyed Jack, and she was out of Joy Pat Star by Pat Star Jr. The role of Billy Star Pat as a sire was not only a contribution to the broodmare band but also as a show presence for the Lauing family. A great example of that is Dakota Star Pat by Billy Star Pat, who carried Levi Lauing (one of Bernie’s grandsons) to the winners circle in the tie-down roping at the Central South Dakota 4-H Rodeo. Then he carried Levi to success as a college rodeo roper. Dakota Star Pat, or Blaze as he is known, carried several of the Lauing grandchildren to success in the arena over the years. As we were visiting, JD paused a minute to recall a horse that I thought was interesting in our discussion of Billy Star Pat. He reflected on this memory, “I remember telling my dad when I was little that I wanted one that looked just like a horse from Pitzer’s named Two Id Bartender. I absolutely loved the looks of that horse, and for that reason, he caught my eye, and when I got a little older, there was another stallion that really caught my eye, and that was Two Eyed Red Buck.” It is the Two Id Bartender that caught my attention. He was an AQHA Champion with 19 halter points and 164 performance points with a Superior in Heeling. He was the 1983 AQHA World Champion Open Heeling Horse. He was sired by Two Eyed Jack and out of Prissy Joann by Roan Bar, and she was out of Jo Ann Bar by Bar Nothing Springer. The dam of Jo Ann Bar was Prissy Anne Reeves by Harmon King. Now let’s step back and look at the pedigrees of Billy Star Pat and Two Id Bartender, and of course, we see the Two Eyed Jack and the bloodlines developed by Art Reeves through Bar Nothing Springer that the two horses share. Then we look at two mares in the pedigrees. They are Prissy Ann and Prissy Ann Reeves. We see that Prissy Ann Reeves is AQHA registered as #68135 and that Prissy Ann is registered in the National Quarter Horse Breeders Association with the #1395. Well, a look at the NQHBA Stud Book tells us that these two mares are the same mare giving Billy Star Pat and Two Id Bartender an even more interesting pedigree connection. Then came the cutting horse infusion, “So then we had cutters for several years, and we had some pretty nice studs that we picked up. We owned a son of Young Gun out of a three-quarter sister to Smart Little Lena, and his name was Docs Semi-Automatic, and then we bred him to a bunch of our Billy Star Pat daughters and some of the other cutting bred mares that we had. Then we bought another stallion. We went to Billings to look at
LR BLUE BOYS BONNET Elsie Fortune Photo
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Bonny Blues Photo Courtesy the Lauing Ranch
a Freckles Playboy stud that didn’t pan out, and we didn’t buy. Then we bought a stud named Peppys Intrepid. He was a Haidas Little Pep by Peppy San Badger and out of an NCHA Futurity Champion named Millie Montana by Montana Doc. He was a finished cutter and a finished Reiner, and we bought him. Instead of being similar to Peppy San Badger, he looked more like a Mr. San Peppy bred horse. He was great to ride, and he produced really good colts. He had size, bone, withers, straight legs, and a good foot, everything that we always look for in our horses.” Then the Blue Valentine bred horses entered the picture, and JD explained how that came about, “Then finally we made the transition and started breeding some of these Hancock/Blue Valentine horses back on some of those cutters. At the time, there were very few people that would even look at them, but they still liked the idea. We didn’t know a ton about the Blue Valentine’s and the Hancock’s.” JD related this about what they meant with their interest in the Blue Valentine horses, “One of the first things when I said something to somebody one time about wanting a Blue Valen-
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tine, they said ‘Are you sure you want one of those? I’ve always heard they had a bad disposition.’ I wasn’t trying to be a smart Alec, but right off, I said, ‘Have you ever had one?’ When they said no, I said, ‘Then you don’t know for sure.” JD continued, “But it didn’t take us long as we put on quite a few miles going to look at them, and we found that was not true. Some of those stallions were very easy to be around. Some of them and their babies would be the first ones that would come up to you and want to be petted and everything else. They just seemed like they were easier to get along with than some of the cutters, and the old Billy Star Pat kind of spoiled us for roans. He was not homozygous roan, but he sired a lot of roan babies on solid colored mares, so we started looking for something roan.” Revue Hancock entered the picture, and JD explained how he came to South Dakota, “We started out with a son of Royal Blue Hancock, which was a Hancocks Blue Boy son. But he wasn’t very big but had a good disposition but never got very big. Then we got Revue Hancock, and he was as good looking as he looked in the pictures of him.”
“I found him for sale in California, and I tried calling the number, and I never got any answer back; never heard anything. So, I called the AQHA to find out who owned him, and it was somebody else’s name other than who had him advertised for sale. I ended up calling James Manton of Yreka, California. I said is James there and his wife asked who’s calling. I told her I was interested in the stud. James told me he had people that were interested, so he was supposed to be spoken for. Then he told me if I don’t get the money by Tuesday, he’s yours. He would give us first shot to buy the horse.” “Tuesday morning rolls around, and I was driving through some cows, and I thought to myself they are two hours behind, so I better wait till later this afternoon to call. You know, 30 minutes later, my phone rang, and he said this is James Manton of Yreka; if you want the horse, he’s yours. He asked if we wanted some pictures, and he sent some pictures. We get the pictures; it was some Polaroid pictures, and dad looked at them and said, “If he looks anything like the pictures, he’s coming home with us. We met the guy in Salt Lake City, and he looked better than the pictures. Dad shook his hand and told him that’s the first time I’ve ever bought something in my life that somebody told me he’s exactly what they told me he looked like. He looked fabulous, so we brought him home.” Revue Hancock was a son of Hancocks Blue Boy, and he was sired by Mr Roan Hancock by Salty Roan by Blue Valentine. The dam PF Mr Roan Hancock was Gila Jo Hancock by Baldy Joe by Joe Hancock. The dam of Hancocks Blue Boy was Bluebird Hancock by Apache Joe Hancock by Dakota Joe Hancock by Handy Joe. Handy Joe was sired by Bullet Hancock by Joe Hancock, and he was out of Blue Sage by Red Man by Joe Hancock. The dam of Apache Joe Hancock was Estrella Azul by Blue Valentine. The dam of Bluebird Hancock was Wyo Lady 24 by Blue Valentine. The dam of Wyo Lady 24 as Wyo Lady 10 by Plenty Coup by Texas Blue Bonnet by Joe Hancock. The dam of Wyo Lady 10 was Blue Easter 8, who was sired by Yellow Calf who was out of Blue Easter by Texas Blue Bonnet by Joe Hancock. The dam of blue Easter 8 was Blue Easter 6 by Tom Hancock, and she was out of Blue Easter by Texas Blue Bonnet by Joe Hancock. The dam of Revue sue Hancock was Tigress Bar Leo by Tiger Bars Chunk by Chunky Joe by Baldy Joe by Joe Hancock. Revue Hancock is the sire of Ms Marilyn Monroan, an AQHA Champion with 160.5 AQHA halter and performance points with Superiors in heading and heeling. She was a Grand Champion at halter. Revue Hancock is also the sire of LR Hancocks Red Ed, an NCHA money earner. His dam was sired by Billy Star Pat. Now back to our story with JD, “We raised a bunch of daughters out of Revue Hancock. We were raising some really nice babies. The horse market was still not great at that time, but the roan color did help sell.” JD continued about the next stallion on the roster, “Then we happen to stumble across another horse Hancocks Two Boys. We went and looked at the horse. Dad and the guy visited for a while. They did a little horse-trading. It was pretty cold out, and dad ended up getting him bought. We brought him home. Hancocks Two Boys basically played second fiddle to Revue,
and looking back now, he was just as important for our program as Revue was.” A close examination of the pedigree of Hancocks Two Boys shows his sire to be Whipps Chunky Joe by Hancocks Blue Boy. The dam of Whipps Chunky Joe is Tigress Bar Leo, the dam of Revue Hancock. This makes Wimps Chunky Joe and Revue Hancock ¾ brothers. The dam of Hancocks Blue Boys is Whipps Hancock Hydel by Hancocks Blue Cloud by Blues Beard by Blue Valintine. Pink Pants is the dam of Hancocks Blue Cloud, who is sired by Clown Hancock by Tom Hancock by Joe Hancock. Pink Pants is out of Madge Hancock by Red Man (the sire of Blue Valentine). The dam of Whipps Hancock Hydel is Mandy Girl Hancock by Hancocks Blue Boy, and her dam is Miss Hydy Girl by Blue Valentine. Hancocks Two Boys is the sire of the outstanding rodeo arena pickup horses Woodrow Sniper Leo and LR Hancocks Two Bugs. Woodrows Sniper Leo is out of a daughter of Billy Star Pat. The next major step in the evolution of the Lauing stallion roster came with another stallion named Bonny Blues. JD explains, “After we start getting these Two Boys daughters and these Revue daughters put together, and Revue was starting to get some age on him. We looked for another stud. We looked at our mares, the mares that we bought, the mares that we raised out of Revue daughters. We were looking for what would cross really well on them. We started looking at a few things, and I had a little different direction in mind till the day that I saw Bonny Blues was going to be for sale. He didn’t sell the first time that he was there, and then we ended up buying him in 2012. He was exactly what I wanted.” “I remember talking to dad about it, and he asked me do we need to find something different, a different blue roan or a homozygous roan? I told him no, Bonny Blues has fewer crosses to Blue Valentine, and he’s still 43.75%. He’s a son Roan Ambrose, and out of a really good Plenty Try daughter. At that time in 2012, there was a Leo Hancock Hayes and Rowdy Blues Man on every corner, and there would be for quite some time. So, we bought Bonny Blues. He worked phenomenal, I mean better than we even thought he would, and I looked at everything from their conformation to the feet to just everything that I just thought they would really click, and they have.” Bonny Blues was sired by Roan Ambrose by Blue Valentine. His dam was Ambrose Sue 30 by Plenty Coup by Texas Blue Bonnett. The dam of Bonny Blue was Bonnie O Blue by Plenty Try by Goodberry by Blue Valentine. Gooseberry was out of Fox Hastings by Plent Coup by Texas Blue Bonnet. Bonnie O Blue was out of Bonny 02 by Blue Valentine, and she was out of Bonnie Owens 11 by Texas Blue Bonnet. Texas Blue Bonnet was sired by Joe Hancock. BLUE FOX HANCOCK AND MR JUNEWOOD The latest addition to the stallion roster is Blue Fox Hancock and Mr Junewood. JD talked about the significance of these two stallions coming to their breeding program, “It is my opinion that Blue Fox Hancock and Mr Junewood are living legends; they have both been to the World Show. They both have off-
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Blue Fox Hancock at the AQHA World Show Photo Courtesy the Lauing Ranch
Mid Left | Plenty Coup Bonnet Elsie Fortune Photo Mid Right | JM Rowdy Blue Hayes Doug Busby photo Bottom | Hancocks Two Boys Lauing Ranch photo 60 Working Horse Magazine Summer 2022
spring that has been to the world show. I believe the history of Blue Valentine is still being written through Blue Fox, his get and grandget. In the Driftwood world, Mr Junewood is the highest percentage of Driftwood with the most achievements with his world show appearances.” He continued about the role Blue Fox Hancock played in the Blue Valentine blood coming to their breeding program, “I had bugged Sam Schultz since probably 2005 somewhere in there about buying Blue Fox Hancock. Blue Fox is the first horse that I saw when he was younger that caught my eye that got me interested in the Blue Valentine horses. He was the one that sparked my interest.” “Sam had never wanted to sell Blue Fox; it was years later that I told Sam that I was grateful that he did not sell me Blue Fox because he wouldn’t have had the show record that he did.” He continued about how Blue Fox Hancock came to the ranch, “Sam had tried selling me Red Fox Hancock a full brother to Blue Fox when he was a yearling, and I had my heart set on a blue roan. So, it was a few years later that I asked Sam about buying Red Fox, and he said no, I want to hang on to him for a little while. He did offer him for sale one time and didn’t sell him. Then a few years later, I asked him again, and he said yes, he would sell us, Red Fox. So, we bought him and had him 2 or 3 years, and then he died of colic complications.” He continued, “Then after that, Sam had his dispersal sale; he kept his studs. He contacted Daniel Gardner of Sunrise Farms and Lauing Ranch if we would be interested in partnering on Blue Fox. We talked about how to make it work. Finally, Sam said he would lease us Mr Junewood, and so we went back to the drawing board, and we settled on a price getting Blue Fox and
leasing Mr Junewood along with it. We got a little Driftwood Sensation semen to go along with it, and a dream came true.” Blue Fox Hancock earned 722 AQHA performance points with 6.5 halter points. He was Superior in heeling, heading, and tie-down roping. This makes him an AQHA Performance Champion. He was the 2009 AQHA Reserve High Point All-Around Horse, the High Point All-Around Stallion, and the High Point All-Around Senior Horse. He was a multiple world show qualifier in heading, heeling, tie-down roping, halter stallions, and barrel racing. The sire of Blue Fox Hancock was Leo Hancock Hayes by Blue Valentine. His dam was the Blue Hen mare Fox Coup by Plenty Try by Gooseberry. The dam of Fox Coup was Diane Valentine by Gooseberry, and she was out of Jenny Valentine by Blue Valentine. Gooseberry was by Blue Valentine and out of Fox Hastings by Plenty Coup by Texas Blue Bonnet. The third dam of Leo Hancock Hayes and Fox Coup is Molly Hayes. She is sired by Zandy and out of a daughter of Texas Blue Bonnet by Joe Hancock. Blue Fox Hancock is the sire of 13 performers in the AQHA records with 10-point/money earners. They include Fox Coup Deuce with 234 AQHA points with a Superior in heeling and heading, Try A Blue Fox with 106.5 AQHA points and a Superior in heading, Blue Partee Fox with 51 AQHA points and a Superior in heeling, and Snazzy Blue Fox with 48 AQHA points in heading and heeling. Now that we have seen how the stallions came to the Lauing Ranch, we will turn our attention to the mare side of the pedigree in our next installment of The Working Lines.
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