Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A Family Tree for Courage

Our photographer/historian/biggest fan, Ellie, put together a sweet pedigree with pictures for my man C-rage. I'm not a bloodline nut (although I should be), but I really, really like going through it.

I don't know enough about thoroughbred research yet to say anything really definitive, but Ellie's addition of pictures is fascinating.

Blushing Groom
Courage naturally moves with a tense underline and his head up. It's not just race training because A) different race horses go different ways and B) the angle at which his head joins is neck just accommodates it. Here's Blushing Groom, from his sire line.

Look familiar? I'm seeing that extreme engagement and uphill movement with head up and ears pricked. It's like my horse in red!




yup. all those things.
I don't have a picture, but his next closest relative on the male line is Explosive bid. In her searchings, Ellie ran across a COTH thread discussing his offspring.

And I quote: "Brilliant over fences, very balanced, the older he gets the better. Requires a very firm, quiet rider, at this point could not be ridden by someone who wasn't very sure of themselves, not because he's bad but because he requires leadership. "

Huh. It's like they were writing about my horse.




Majestic Prince
Then there's Majestic Prince. He's pretty far back. We could talk about the slope of his shoulder or that strong loin connection or that nice hind end or even his well set neck and intelligent head, but why break it down like that when we can all just admit one thing:

That is one sexy-ass horse.







So is that. 







Obv
And who can forget Lord Carson? He was one of the classiest sires on the west coast until his untimely death in a tragic breeding accident.

Yeah, try explaining that one to your non-horse friends with a straight face. I can't.

Still. This isn't an action or conformation shot, but I love the way it catches his confidence and soft, intelligent eye. You might also catch a wiff of plain bay...








I'm the farthest thing from a bloodlines guru, but I love looking at where my horse came from and I absolutely believe in learning these names. I find that because Thoroughbreds require live cover, bloodlines tend to be very regional. Thus, the popular sporthorse TB sires on the east coast are pretty inaccessibly to me, but by learning about horses I know and like, I can find lines to follow. :-)

18 comments:

  1. Wooooooow Majestic Prince is NICE. Damn. I would not kick that out of the barn.

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  2. What a cool idea! Lots of handsome horses in there :)

    I'm going to steal your idea once I finally get Henry's papers in the mail...if that's ok with you :)

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  3. My first eventer had blushing groom and he was the most epic jumping horse in the world!

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  4. this is super cool! you've got yourself an awesome horse there :)

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  5. It is really nice to find out where your pony came from. I love knowing B came from a racing stock line of Quarter Horses that come for TBs, all the way back to Man O War. It goes with my OTTB obsession. :)

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  6. Our horses are like 5th cousins! =P (as pretty much all west coast TBs are I think...)

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  7. I'm such an idiot with TB pedigree. Would love for someone to help me out with Simon's! This is cool.

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    Replies
    1. I would love to help! I'm a huge pedigree nerd. Well, obviously. ahem. :)

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    2. Send me an email: ElementBCs (at) gmail.com. :)

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  8. Makes me wish I knew Miles' family tree!

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  9. Majestic Prince and C-Rage are both bangin

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  10. Very nice horses! I love the quote about Explosive Bid!

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  11. Majestic Prince lives up to his name! I went digging in my horse's pedigree as well. He looks almost exactly like his maternal grandsire, Kenmare, except younger and with stockings. Right down to the big withers and kind face.

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  12. I've gotten behind on my reading but have seen all your pictures on FB and Courage is looking amazing. I'm not surprised at all to see so many really nice horses in his pedigree.

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  13. Courage looks so much like Royal Charger and BG. Wowie!

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  14. Fascinating post! You've inspired me to do the same thing sometime.

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