Crow Country Curlies
International Curly Horse Organization
I chose Sage in part because I thought his relatives exemplified many of the traits that make a Curly a Curly. At the same time he had good conformation, a wonderful temperament, and a sparkly presence that had earned him the name of Flash. When I first got him, I had the dream of raising him as a stallion and starting my own breeding program. There are only 3-4,000 Curlies in the world,(as opposed to 4 MILLION Quarterhorses) so it felt urgently important to increase the numbers of this rare breed. What I learned after owning Sage for about a year, is that small numbers should never mean sacrificing the horse's comfort, or the breed's quality. After boarding Sage for 10 months, I discovered how hard it is to board a stallion, and still give him the room to just be a horse. Second, springtime with a stallion can be no fun. Third, breeding would take far more energy, effort, money, tears, and stress than I have to give. So we cut off his balls, and life has been wonderful ever since. I think a lot of people get into Curlies thinking they'll breed them, but its really not something to do as a way of making money. And its also not something to do unless you know enough to add a lot of quality to the breed. I've been around horses my whole life and thought I knew enough to start breeding Curlies, but I don't! Its much much harder than it looks, and is a passion that often sucks away money, time and energy of those who are truly dedicated. My hats are off to those individuals; I've had a glimpse of what you are made of.
In the 18 months that I've had him, Sage and I have done a lot of groundwork. Owning a young horse is a great way of realizing just how much happens on the ground. I have read a LOT of books in the past year, in an effort to keep Sage's brain busy. Some of my favorites include Buck Brannaman's book "Believe" and Linda Kohanov's book "Tao of Equus." Right now I am studying the Parelli method, and using Natural Horsemanship to start Sage. During our time together, my mindset towards horses has really shifted. I went into owning him knowing the basics; I went through 4-H, and had 10 years of dressage lessons under my belt. My time with him has taught me how much I had to learn about TRAINING horses. And I also know that Sage's wonderful presence now means a lot more to me than his gaits or conformation. I'm just glad he's healthy, and beyond that I am no longer so concerned about whether or not he will one day win blue ribbons.
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