ridecamp@endurance.net: CA TWHs

CA TWHs

Lynne Glazer (lglazer@cyberg8t.com)
Fri, 14 Mar 1997 12:06:22 -0800

Hi, Susan;

I need to make a few comments and corrections on your post.

My assumption is that you are talking about pre-1986 AHSA shows in the
Southern Cal area, mostly at Griffith Park.

Flatshod TWH were invited to show in the Fall Classic again about 4
years ago, and have been exhibiting along with the ASBs ever since.
Apparently the Earl Warren showgrounds in Santa Barbara have also
welcomed back the TWH this year for a TWHAC show, but I'm pretty sure
that one includes the big lick horses as well. TWHAC is the Calif breed
assoc.

IMO, a 15 minute class is a long class for a big lick horse. The stake
class at the Celebration is that long, and a lot of horses have to be
excused. A padded horse works very hard, but in short bursts compared
to TWH trail horses. It is where the bucks are, unfortunately, in the
breed. Out here in Calif, the flatshod horses outnumber the big lick
horses in the show classes to the point where the class has to be split
into sections. It isn't a completely fair comparison, though, because
the quality of the big lick horses out here matches the best of that to
be had in TN, and the show record reflects that.

I was involved with TWHs from 1986-1993, exhibiting flatshod horses and
for almost 7 years as a volunteer for the Brass Ring, which used TWHs in
their recreational handicapped riding program almost exclusively. I
have a coming-32 retired gelding, and lost my weanling-to-endurance
prospect TWH at 5 (I bought a young Arabian as her replacement). My
enormous gelding doesn't look his age, but he has arthritis from his
career as a show horse in speed classes and 10 years of carrying a
heavyweight former owner in mounted posse search and rescue in the local
mountains. He was sored in the front and rear of his front pasterns,
though that shouldn't be a surprise for a horse foaled way before the
Horse Protection Act of 1970.

My .02 on TWHs for endurance is that they can all do slow rides, but
there are few elite athletes that can condition to top ten level. Like
Arabs, there are chunks and radiators out there, very damn few leg
problems--you don't see sidebone, ringbone, navicular in TWHs. I
evaluated all the donated horses for the Brass Ring for 6 years and
these were mostly elderly or teenaged ex-TWH show horses. Their
temperaments were wonderful--TWHs are so willing that I feel that's how
the abuse occurred; if you tried some of that stuff on an Arab, you
might not survive the experiment. There are hot TWHs out there, as
Truman has pointed out about Misty. My late mare was also one of the
hot ones. It took forever to "warm" up enough for show, combining that
hotness along with endurance conditioning made that "possible".

For TWH fans, there was also a good article on Truman and Misty in the
Walking Horse Report (the weekly breed journal) 6/17/96, Vol 25, Issue
37.

A former show trainer, Eddie Paradez, and his wife have been showing up
at our local rides doing 25s on TWHs, top tenning because they're still
figuring out our sport. He was amazed that there weren't more TWHs
participating. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them at SoCal rides;
I'm interested once he gets to 50s.

Lynne Glazer
and Rem-member Me
Ontario, Calif.

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