Darbi

Just found out.

Darbs most likely has cancer.

I think we caught it really early, so that's the good news.  The lumps are the size of peas.

The one lump came back as a tumour, and it was inconclusive whether it was benign or malignant.  Chances are it's malignant as it's very hard and irregularly shaped.  The other two breast lumps came back as inconclusive entirely, so we're taking them all out.

And it sounds like the leg lump is of no concern, which is good news.

I told the vet I wasn't planning on spaying her as she was old and only had one heat cycle per year.  He told me that the chances of her developing pyometra after 8 years old is 75%.  That's all I needed to hear to decide to spay her the same time the lumps are taken out.

Surgery booked for this Thursday.  She'll be out for awhile, obviously, recovering.  Spaying is VERY hard on an older bitch, and I saw that first hand with Miikka.

But trials, schmials...I need to look after sweet Darbs and I don't care if she runs another trial again.

So, moral of the story...do regular breast exams on bitches older then 6, especially if they have not been spayed until after their second cycle.  I think her daily tummy rubs may have caught this before it turned into something very bad.  Let's hope anyways.

I had a fun week-end at a Field Trial in Nebraska this week-end.

I took 4 Open dogs and had two in the last series...Boomer and Meg.

While both had to handle it the fourth, it was SO much fun to stand beside a daughter of Darbi's in the last series.  I'd never run her at a trial before and she was a joy to run.  She's only 3 years old.

Darbi got dropped after the water blind.  She was very sick all Friday night and got me up in the hotel every hour to go outside.  Bad diarrhea and some vomiting.  I treated her with some metronidazole and she seemed to feel better Saturday morning, but I only had a shell of her on the water blind.

I think she caught a bug, as she's fully recovered today.

Still no word on any test results for her yet, but it's been on my mind.

I found some interesting facts on dogs and mammary cancer though.

If you spay a dog before her first heat cycle, then the risk of this type of cancer is less then 1%.
If you spay them before their second heat cycle, it's 8%.
But if you spay a dog at any time in their life after their second heat cycle, the risk is 28%.  So me spaying Miikka last year did nothing to reduce her chance of breast cancer.

But my vet is more worried about Darbi's leg lump, which surprised me.

I hope to get some news soon.

Fingers crossed...

I've been a little blog lazy since we've been home.  Sorry.

I've been bragging on here about how GREAT Darbi is doing.  Feeling great, training great and trialing great.  She's had a fabulous winter.  Especially for a dog her age.

And now...

3 breast lumps and a leg lump.

My wonderful vet is very worried.

He did fine needle aspiration on all 4 lumps and sent them off to pathology.

I'm off to a field trial tomorrow with Momma D.  No point sitting around and worrying when she's feeling so fantastic.

Keep your fingers crossed for her and me.

I'm a bit of a wreck at the THOUGHT of it.  That nasty bad word.  I can't even say it.

Good to be home

After almost 4 months on the road in Texas, it is sure nice to be home.

Darbi thinks so too.

Momma D got a RJAM in the Open at Cimarron this past week-end.  She was SO much fun to run!!  She stomped the last series water quad.  I just can't get over how, at 9 1/2 years old, she is having more fun running trials and training then she ever has.  We're going to have her best year ever...I can feel it.  She's already finished 2 of the 4 Opens she's run so far.  She had an almost 50% completion rate last year...pretty incredible in these tough Opens.

The Cimarron trial, which was in Oklahoma, was the first trial I'd ever been to where I knew the location of the closest Tornado shelter and had an emergency plan.  It was pretty hairy there for awhile.

(For reference: Willie attacking Miikka on the other side of the doggy door-giant toy snake beside Darbi).

Doggy Disneyland

The winter trip is winding down.  I'm ready.  All work and no play for us in Texas and we're both dragging our behinds a little bit.  All told we have 24 dogs here, and that includes the retired Miikka and puppy Willie.  Lots of work looking after this crew.  They are young and they are fun.  Willie is as much work as the rest of our dogs put together.  Kenny said I'm not allowed to raise another puppy for a little while after her.  We'll see...

This picture doesn't give it justice and you'd have to click on it to enlarge it for a better look, but this is the infamous technical water at Pin Oak Kennel in Ravenna, TX.  So many dipsy doodles that one loses count of the re-entries.  It can actually be a bit mind blowing, especially for young dogs trying to sort water work out.  Should I stay in?  Should I get out?

A smattering of Texas wild flowers near the piece of water we trained on today.  I thought it was time to put my four girls together for a photo.  From left to right: Darbi (I will NOT smile for the camera, ever), Ahti, Libby and Miikka.  Ahti still needs to grow into those ears.

Ahti had her cast removed last week and she's been given the green light to start light work...mostly water work.  She is happy to be back at it.  It was a 10 hour round trip to see the ortho specialist, who looked at her for 20 minutes and sent me out the door.  And on the way down I happened to be driving through Dallas WHILE 12 tornados were touching down around the city during a gale force rain storm.  You probably heard about it?  It was a hair raising experience.  The things I do for my furry friends.

And the "kids" had quite a play session today.  Gordie (Arson x Miikka 2011) found a turtle shell and played keep-away with Willie (Chopper x Hoodoo 2011).

No, I don't want your stinky treasure.  But thanks anyways Gordie.

Open WIN for Adey!!

A daughter of Darbi's from her first litter WON the Open in Washington this week-end!!

Her name is Elmingo's Chasing A Whim (Adey) and is from the Tiger x Darbi litter.

VERY FUN and CONGRATS to Adey and her owners and trainer!!

I ran my girls this week-end at the Metro trial in North Texas.

Darbi pinned the first two birds of the triple and then was only 10 yards upwind of the difficult long retired bird and she kept punching.  It was heartbreaking to watch as lots of dogs never made it all the way out there to begin with, but I was so pleased with her effort.  She never recovered after running way deep and I asked the judges to have the gun help her as the mark was WAY out there and I didn't think I could get a handle on her back to the bird.  She got a pat and a "good work Momma" on the way back to the truck.  She really showed her warrior heart.

Darbi's son Turq (Prime x Darbi) ran a great trial competing against his mom and then handled on a very difficult quad in the last series of the Open.  And his sister Meg was dropped after the water blind.  Pretty good showing for those two young "kids".

Littermates Zink and Libby (Shaq x Miikka) both JAM'd the Qualifying at this trial.  They had great work going into the 4th series and both went a little bonkers on a tight test.  An "up the shore mark" messed with their heads a little bit and it was all over.  They're both very exciting young dogs and have bright futures in front of them.

I'm a pretty proud breeder this week-end.  I'm so happy to see the kids do well.

Mini Boom

Kenny and I call Willie mini Boom.  She reminds us so much of a dog we train named Boomer.  Willie happens to share the same sire as Boomer (NFC AFC Clubmead's Road Warrior).  We largely bought Willie based on Boomer, and other "Chopper" pups we know.

She's a handful, plain and simple.  Wild, intense and athletic.  Everything that Boomer is too.

I hope she is as talented as him too.

Willie in the beautiful Texas wildflowers.

Boomer at dusk.

I certainly see a resemblance.

Willie hams it up during the photo shoot.  I don't think I'd ever seen a dog roll their eyes before until I saw Boomer in this picture.  Even he thinks she's too much.

Ahti's Boo Boo

I think I'm breeding accident prone dogs.

Foundation stock all good and first generation trying to kill themselves.  The first year of Libby's life was full of many bodily injuries, and now Ahti.

Ahti somehow badly hurt her leg.  In her kennel we think.  We're not sure how she did it, but some imagination gives us some ideas.  Regardless, she came out of her kennel in the morning dead lame on a front leg.  We also considered that she may have hurt it training the day before and not shown any signs at the time.  We just don't know.  Regardless, she was non weight bearing and that is always a concern.

We sat on it for one day to see if she had a minor injury.  I palpated it and manipulated it and got no response, so I felt nothing was broken.  When she was no better the following morning, we took her in to the vet.  We got a referral to an ortho specialist the following morning after that.  We were told, by the first vet, that she possibly had a dislocated wrist (carpus) and might need surgery involving fusion of the joint and plates and pins put in her leg.

Ahti's career might have been over before it started.  I was a little devastated, but tried to keep positive.

We went to the ortho specialist this morning and received great news!  She basically has a badly sprained ankle.  Very badly sprained.  He put her in a cast and we hope we can remove it in two weeks and then spend some time rehabbing her back to training over a period of time.  She should be out two months-max, but not even that long.

He told me her saving grace was that I brought her in so soon.  I didn't think 72 hours after injury was very soon, but he assured me that I was much faster then most people whose dogs suffer these types of injuries.

What I loved about this vet is that he was an old-timer, who was obviously very knowledgable.  He was an orthopaedic professor at the Texas A & M vet school and was well versed in his subject obviously.  But what impressed me most was that he went straight to Ahti and spent a great deal of time assessing her and her injury without yet referring to her x-rays.  I always told my paramedic students to "treat the patient and not the machines" and loved seeing someone as knowledgeable as him not need machines to make a thorough and accurate evaluation.  After this, he then referred to her x-rays to confirm his thoughts.  I was awe-struck and somewhat smitten.

Here is Ahti with her cast this evening.  She thinks she's living large being back in the house and she'll be spoiled rotten.  While I'd love to have every dog in the kennel inside, it's just not possible, so she has now become one of the "chosen ones" that gets to come in every night.

And no, she is not possessed...I just used my iPhone to take the picture.

The moral to my story is two-fold...

1)  I have always believed, in both human and canine medicine, that one needs to find the "guy" when cases such as these arise.  Whoever the "guy" is...find him/her and heed his/her words.  General practitioners are wonderful and I respect their work immensely, but if I would have followed a general practitioner's advice with Ahti, then I would have had someone trying to reduce an ankle that wasn't dislocated to begin with.  Seek out the "guy"...and do whatever it takes to go see them.  15 years in Emergency Medical Services led me to this conclusive long before I found out it was the same in Veterinary Medicine.

and

2) If you have a first generation Elmingo dog...wrap it in bubble wrap.

Duck, Duck, Goose

This is Goose.  You've seen pictures of him before.

He's from the 2011 Arson x Miikka litter and he just turned 6 months old.

What a handsome little guy!!!

Kudos Crufts!!

I usually don't post my "opinion" on this blog.  I try to keep it about my dogs and their kids.  Poor Kenny is usually the brunt of all my "opinions", which are many if you know me.

But I have been reading with interest what is going on at the Crufts show in England.

I have been disheartened, since I got into the dog world, to see the ever widening gap between the show dogs and field dogs in the Sporting Group.  Some of them don't even look like the same breed.  The dog above did not compete at Crufts, as far as I know, but he's a representative of a show winning Labrador of recent years.  It's gross.

Some breeders are doing it right.  My friend Liz breeds Flat Coated Retrievers (Blazingstar) and I have always admired her dogs and the fact they win in the show ring AND do what they're bred to do.  Sadly, this is not the case for most Sporting breeds, nor CAN it be the case.  The PIGador shown above could not be expected to withstand a full day's hunt, and my own dogs would be laughed out of the show ring.

3x NFC AFC AND Ch Shed Of Arden

Dual Champion Cherokee Rocket

But looking at the above photos of Dual Champion (show and field champion) labradors from the 40s and 50s, shows that the breed has gone in the wrong direction in the show ring, as far as I'm concerned.  The over exaggerated head was not present 50 years ago, and the dogs had some leg.  I'd like to think that my dogs are closer to these old dual champion dogs then the dogs showing in AKC bench shows are today.

True, I admit, that many current Field Trial dogs are as far removed from these great dogs of yester-year as the show labs are: snipey heads, curl tails and slim frames.  In breeding for the elusive Field Trial blue ribbons, many of the field breeders are forgetting the labrador's breed type as well.  We're also guilty for breeding some manic, frothing at the mouth dogs that would be an absolute NIGHTMARE to have on a day's hunt, or just living in our house with us.

And it's not just in labradors that the gap is widening.  I'm proud to say that I was once owned by a very self important English Springer Spaniel.  She was 100% of the show variety.  She had zero, zip, zilch desire to retrieve birds.  I know this, because I tried.  And her long, down to the ground coat was tangled in more burrs than you could count after a walk in the field.  I had to tie her ears up when she ate so as not to get in the way, and groom her incessantly.  Of course, this very pretty dog was a show Champion.  But so far removed from the job which she was bred to do that I was discouraged from buying anything "show" bred again.

The field bred English Springers looked absolutely nothing like her.  Not even of the same breed.

Isn't there a way to meet in the middle?  

I'll admit that I'm far from perfect, but I've always kept the Labrador type in mind when doing a breeding.  Mostly, my quest for performance overrides that of beauty and form, but form follows function as they say.  I've bred a couple dogs that I think are close to the ideal specimen of a labrador retriever in my mind, both in form AND function, but I've also bred dogs I judge with a critical eye in that they are too tall, too small, too snipey or poor coated.  But my critical eye also has to look out for performance shortcomings, such as dogs I've bred that are too wild, have questionable desire or intelligence and everything in between.  A critical eye to performance is something show breeders are mostly not concerned about at all.  I will keep trying to produce the perfect dog, but an outcross to a show bred lab to thicken my dogs' tails or broaden their heads is NOT in my future, I can promise you.

But I digress.  Crufts disqualified several of the breed winners for failing a post-win health check.  The Clumber Spaniel, specifically, for having ectropic eyes.  Certainly NOT something somebody wants in a gun dog. The Kennel Club over there may be trying to garner publicity for this "stunt", but they are also trying to preserve the health of 15 breeds they deem to be in danger, including the Clumber Spaniel.

I applaude them and hope it's a wake up call for all of us.

Should this dog be removed from the gene pool as she has many wonderful qualities?  No.  But should she win one of the biggest dog shows of the year as the IDEAL example of her breed.  I say no to that too.

More on what is happening at Crufts on my new favourite blog:

http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2012/03/ectropion-and-the-failed-crufts-dogs.html

On a happy note

Gordie has a new home.

He is from the Arson x Miikka breeding and is very special to us as Arson passed away just a couple months ago.  We are all still reeling from his loss.  We were not going to let Gordie go far, and he looks like a very promising puppy.

Gordie is now owned by Brad & Diane Clow, who also owned Arson.

I couldn't think of a more fitting home.

And I took a picture of the Clow's other dog.  His name is Riot, and he's a riot.  Riot got third in the Qualifying this past week-end at the Red River trial!  He's also a handsome dude.

And Willie T!  She's growing up!

She loves to stick her tongue out.

The Bluebonnets are starting to come out in Texas.  The fields will be flush with them in the coming weeks.  Such a beautiful time of the year.

Red River

Just a little vent from me today.

Why is it so difficult for some judges to give out Green ribbons??  Why?

Please, judges, don't think you're withholding the ribbons from the pros, you're withholding them from the Amateurs that own those dogs.  If you say "it's no big deal", then you're wrong.  A green ribbon IS a big deal to some people...no matter the stake.

I'm not suggesting calling back bad work so that everyone feels warm and fuzzy.  I'm suggesting that dogs that finish a trial without a disqualifying fault or collection of faults is worthy enough of recognition of a ribbon that awards no points and qualifies no one for any Nationals.

Just because a judge lays an egg doesn't mean the contestants have to pay for it.

Phew...there it is.  That's my rant.

Anywho, the Red River trial happened this week-end in Bonham, Texas.

I could not be more pleased with how my sweet Darbi ran.  She ran a very nice first and second series.  Ran a better than most water blind and then had a very respectable fourth series with a hunt on the long retired.  I think you all know what I have to show for it.  And 12 other people feel the same as me today I suspect.

Libby was Loosey Goosey in the Qualifying.  She has a problem with check down birds right now and she is ALL punch these days.  We're working on it.  We're always working on something with these athletes.  There was a nice short bird thrown onto an island in a large channel of water and a longer bird behind it.  Libby went through the island bird...twice.  And that was that.  Short bird.  And short bird thrown in front of more water...definitely not Libby's strong points right now.  Give me a long retired at 400 yards and I'll show you a dog.  Give me a short bird thrown in front of water at 100 yards and I'll show you a dog that looks like a 14 year old girl who just got told Justin Bieber is down the street.

And don't even get me started on the Derby.

Sigh...I'm glad this week-end is over.

I'll be in a better mood next time you hear from me.  Promise.

Rain Day

Had to take a rain day today.

Was out working a yard dog when the weather started rolling in.  We went running for cover.

It poured and poured, and is still raining, though not as hard.

We were really worried about the water situation in Texas after their extreme drought.  We're not worried anymore.

A picture of one of the ponds at Vinwood on my first winter trip here a few years ago.  It's at the perfect level.  It's been quite low since we got here.

A picture of the same pond taken just an hour ago.  You can see the river flowing down the hill from an upper "technical" pond.

I think we're all good now.  It can stop raining.  No really.  Please stop.

Harper in Arizona

Harper made the trip south from Alaska to compete in a Hunt Test in Arizona with her owner.

She got two Master passes!!

WAY TO GO HARPER!

She is Elmingo's Violence On Request (Prime x Darbi 2008).

And she looks like she has her mother's affinity for having her picture taken.

Abbey

YEAH ABBEY!!!

Horsetooth Retrievers had 92 Derby points in 2011.  We're aiming high again for 2012.

Off to a good start.

Coastal Bend

I ran the Coastal Bend Trial in Texas this week-end with my "truck load" of 4 dogs.  I took my two girls Darbi and Libby, plus two client dogs, Boomer and Abbey.

Abbey and I WON the Derby.  It was so much fun.  The last series was a triple, which I'd never seen before in a derby, but happens from time to time.  She really was a doll and a joy to run.  Abbey is owned by a fellow Canadian.

Libby and I went out on the land blind in the Qual after doing a fabulous first series.  It happens and it was both our faults.  It's quite a jump for most dogs from Derby to Qual.  The blind in the Qual was behind the flyer and between the flyer and the long retired and we ran it immediately after the marks.  She was freaked out thinking I was sending her back to a mark.  She is VERY heady, just like her mama.  She just needs more exposure to this concept at trials and she'll be all good.  We do it in training and she does just fine, but she's still of the mind set that trials are places where "nice men" in white coats just throw her stuff.  I think she thinks trials are solely for her benefit.  As one vet put it, she is definitely "affected" with the Happy Gene.
I was MOST proud of Libby for running test dog in the first series of the Open the second morning the test was run and she did the two long retired birds of the Quad as good as anyone!

My buddy Boomer and I ran in the Open.  Him and I made it to the water blind and were dropped.  It was a tough blind that didn't suit a powerhouse like Boom, but we gave it our best shot.
And Boomer ran the best land blind I've ever had the privilege of running at a field trial.  It was hard and super long and he did it in 3 whistles.  I was shaking afterwards, it was such a high!  Only 21 of the 95 starters made it to the water blind and I was pretty thrilled to be there in such a huge Open.  Boomer is owned by yet another Canadian.

And sweet Darbi.  She was fun.  I was a little surprised when she was dropped after the first series and Boomer back, as I thought they had similar work.  I thought they'd both be back, or both out, depending on what the judges were looking for.  She had 2 extra loops on the flyer and a little wider line on the long retired, and that was all it took to make a difference.  She ran hard and looked good.  I couldn't be happier with her effort.

All in all a great week-end.  Lots of fun and lots of laughs.  The dogs tried and I couldn't ask for more.

Libby Third!

Libby ran her "first" Qualifying Stake today.  Well, it's actually not her first.  I ran her in one last year after Kenny told me specifically not to.  I listen so well that I entered her anyways.  She wasn't ready and Kenny was right...but don't tell him I said so.

So now she's ready.  She finished her "first" Qualifying with a third place!  I was so proud of her.  She had a giant hunt on the retired gun in the first series and I thought all was lost, but the judges kindly called me back and she nailed the last three series.  Waydago Wibb!

Momma Peanut came along for the day and she found her very own turtle on the trial grounds!  She was obsessed with it.

And Willie came along too!  We found two other puppies her age (one a littermate!) to play with.  Willie promptly beat them both up and we were quickly uninvited from the play group.  I gave Willie a little "time out" to think about what she'd done, but that didn't work either.  She's a renegade and that's that I guess.

A Day In The Life Of Willie

Willie has pretty big days.

Any puppy I raise does.

She decided that the holding blind was the place to hang out this morning.  Essentially kicking us out of there for awhile.  She runs the show and knows it.

She helps us train.  A big part of her day.  It's looking like these days are numbered as she gets braver.  The older dogs could care less.  The younger ones, we put her away.  She gets mad when we "fire" her as she takes this job very seriously.

And what happens when I leave the door open to my truck.  I looked and looked for her...and here she was.  

And this was Willie's day today.  Now, as I type this, she's lying in the chair with me...fast asleep.

Seminar

Libby and I went to a Dave Rorem seminar this past week-end.

It was a great learning experience and lots of fun.  I highly recommend it to anyone.

I was worried that it would all be over Libby's head as it was all All-Age set-ups we ran, but she made me so proud of her I could barely stand it.  She saw her first poison bird, her first quad (with a momma bird off the flyer station!!) and her first interrupted double.  She handled it all just fine.  Kenny told me all the parts were there and not to worry.  He was right...but don't tell him I said that.  She was the youngest dog at the seminar.

I can't wait for the DVD I'm getting on our work so I can review what I learned.  Will be interesting to have video tape of me handling on blinds from different angles.

I have a lot to learn and there is a lot of places to learn from.

Tired girls

Darbi is a tired lady after a long week training.

Not sure what Miikka's excuse is.

A quick update on Miika's leg (torn achilles).  It's SO much better!!  The brace and rest has worked miracles and one can't tell by looking at her how badly injured her leg was a few months ago.  She actually ran a water test in training this week and loved it!

Darbi is an old lady now, but nobody told her!  She was driving us bonkers having a break before Christmas and is so happy to be back to work.  No retirement in sight for her yet!  She has no soundness issues, no hearing issues and I'm so happy to have what appears to be another year with my bestest girl.

Willie T!

And here she is!!!

My new pup Willie.

She is officially known as Horsetooth's Willie T Wiffic.

From the last "Chopper" breeding ever.

And the best part??  I've only had her a week and she's already scratching at the door to go outside.  Pretty smart little cookie.

Poor Gordie.  She beats on him pretty good already.

Winter fun in the snow

Gordie's brother "Goose" (Arson x Miikka) is enjoying the snow in New Jersey!!

I can't get over how much his eyes look like his mom's.

Bonzai!!!

Elmingo Family

We've arrived in Texas for our annual Winter Trip.

It's also time for the annual Elmingo Family Portrait!!

No dogs were harmed in the taking of this picture...although a number of them were threatened.

From left to right (click on the picture for a bigger view):

Elmingo's Little Man "Zink" (Shaq x Miikka 2009)

Elmingo's Flip Your Lid "Libby" (Shaq x Miikka 2009)

FTCH AFTCH Revilo's Red Hot Rumors "Miikka"

Elmingo's Hat Trick "Gordie" (Arson x Miikka 2011)

FTCH Revilo's At Full Tilt "Darbi" (she beats me, I swear she does)

Elmingo's Cutting Edge "Razor" (Prize x Darbi 2011)

Backwater Smokin Turq "Turq" (Prime x Darbi 2008)

Elmingo's Tic A Tee Boo "Ahti" (Prize x Darbi 2011)

Elmingo's Prime Suspect "Meg" (Prime x Darbi 2008)

As you can see from the Darbi puppies on the right, she seems to throw very LARGE males and little females no matter who she's bred to.

Gordie looks like the biggest Miikka pup I've seen so far.  He's only 4 months old and has a lot of bone.

I'm very proud of all my "kids"...near and far.  I'm so lucky that a few have come back to us to train so I can spoil them still.

I'll try to get a better pic of them all in the future, but Meg is in season...so we had to stick her off in the corner.

I'm especially proud of the up and comers in this picture.  Zink was a top ten derby dog in the US last year.  Libby was top 20.  Turq was a Canadian National Finalist at 2 years old and his sister Meg is hot on his tail becoming QAA in 2011.  Momma D finally got her Canadian FTCH last year and her Prize pups look like they'll be fun in the derby this year.  So much to be proud of.

And Gordie...sweet Gordie.  With his father's recent passing we are holding him near and dear.  He shows a lot of promise and we're excited about his future.

Arson-Gone Too Soon

FC FTCH LKY'S CONTROLLED BURN

2005-2012

Finalist 2010 Canadian National

I'm very sorry to announce the passing of Arson after a short illness.

He was a special dog to everyone that knew him and will be sorely missed.

The very first time I stood beside Arson was when I won an Open with him in Canada, and it was also standing beside him that I got my first US Open placement.

I know that his owners, Brad & Diane, have broken hearts this evening.  My condolences to them.

He was a kind hearted spirit who could be trusted alone with a newborn puppy or small child, but also could be trusted to make a difficult 350 yard swim to the bird with more heart than I had ever seen before.

My husband also mourns his loss this evening.  Arson came into Kenny's life as a 6 month old pup with promise and hope.  He was a little slow to mature and didn't truly shine until he became an All-Age dog, and shine there he did.

He was in the prime of his life and taken too soon.

His son Gordie, who is lying at my feet as I type this, has very big paws to fill and a very wonderful daddy to look up to.

Arson and Kenny at 2010 US National

Me n Zed

I love my horse Zed.

He's the coolest.

He's now for sale and I'm sad about that.  We've taken him a long ways from being an off the track Thoroughbred to having a second career.

It was the plan to sell him when I bought him, but it's still hard.  I'll get another "project" when he goes.

It's also been a tough adjustment going from an ex Western rider to the world of Hunters/Jumpers.  The learning curve has been very steep for both of us.  

I have a lot to learn, and so does he....but I've had so much fun learning with him.