Zenyatta News

[BaroqueAgain1]

Yeah, there's no way Tonalist is that small. If short stallions get their measurements 'rounded up,' then probably very tall stallions have their stats rounded down.
For example, Americain is listed as 16.3. Phfft. You want to talk about 17-hand-or-over horses, IMO he qualifies. I watched his Melbourne Cup win, and he made the other horses look like hunter ponies.
I don't think any owner wants his stud to seem either too short or too tall; it makes the pool of mares that would fit them physically much smaller.

[Life At Zen]

You don't really expect Tapit to sire a "moose."
I wonder how tall Tonalist is? His Stallion Register page doesn't provide that info, and those stallion profiles usually give the height of the stud.

Means he's probably 15.2hh or under. 15.3 gets "rounded" up to 16hh in TB stallion ads and if a horse is shorter than that his height is omitted altogether.

Ha. Tonalist is not under 15.2. The only question is how much over 17 hands he is.

^^^^^

[SSilence86]

Tonalist is 17 h and weighs 1,355 lbs.

[middleground]

Judging from the new photos at Zenyatta.com, I'd guess that the MDO filly is going to be good-sized when she's grown.

[BaroqueAgain1]

I wonder if Lane's End is getting any inquires from Warmblood breeders?
Seriously, it wouldn't be hard for any TB farm to set up a second revenue stream for their stallions, by using semen collection for AI in other breeds. Set a lower, second-tier charge for other breeds, knowing that Jockey Club rules would prevent anyone from turning around and trying to race the offspring (if the dam was a TB).
IIRC, there have been TB sprinters who have been popular with QH breeders, and I suspect that AI would have been used.

[Insane Crazy]

I wonder if Lane's End is getting any inquires from Warmblood breeders?
Seriously, it wouldn't be hard for any TB farm to set up a second revenue stream for their stallions, by using semen collection for AI in other breeds. Set a lower, second-tier charge for other breeds, knowing that Jockey Club rules would prevent anyone from turning around and trying to race the offspring (if the dam was a TB).
IIRC, there have been TB sprinters who have been popular with QH breeders, and I suspect that AI would have been used.

They could also do this in the off season, because you freeze the swimmers anyway. They don't have the facilities, but it's not hard.

Always risk with every collection though. I get that. But Union Rags would pop out an awful pretty hunter.

[bare it all]

Wasn't Storm cat being used for QH breeding even after he retired? I swear I recall something like that. I imagine it's much easier on an older stallion to collect for AI than doing live mounts... and probably can do several insemination off a single collection.

[PONYRCR]

Wasn't Storm cat being used for QH breeding even after he retired? I swear I recall something like that. I imagine it's much easier on an older stallion to collect for AI than doing live mounts... and probably can do several insemination off a single collection.

DWL bred a QH mare to him. Other than that I don't know if he was bred to any other QH on a regular basis.

[Squally]

Wasn't Storm cat being used for QH breeding even after he retired? I swear I recall something like that. I imagine it's much easier on an older stallion to collect for AI than doing live mounts... and probably can do several insemination off a single collection.

DWL bred a QH mare to him. Other than that I don't know if he was bred to any other QH on a regular basis.

I remember reading that too. I think after he was pensioned he did breed a few. But I don't think it was more than one or two, since his fertility wasn't great. (I don't have any inside info, just remember reading this in the Blood horse or something)

[mariasmon]

Wasn't Storm cat being used for QH breeding even after he retired? I swear I recall something like that. I imagine it's much easier on an older stallion to collect for AI than doing live mounts... and probably can do several insemination off a single collection.

DWL bred a QH mare to him. Other than that I don't know if he was bred to any other QH on a regular basis.

I remember reading that too. I think after he was pensioned he did breed a few. But I don't think it was more than one or two, since his fertility wasn't great. (I don't have any inside info, just remember reading this in the Blood horse or something)

I think the QH offspring were conceived from frozen semen that had been collected well before he was pensioned from stud. He was also cloned, with the clones aimed for use as polo ponies.

[BaroqueAgain1]

I remember watching a Storm Cat offspring run at Los Al. He was decent and, IIRC, NOT a gelding. Considering how frequently QH boys get snipped, I would guess that having Storm Cat as a sire made him too valuable to geld.

[bare it all]

Ah! I totally remember the whole cloning story. Didn't one of the 2 original clones die?

If someone has the ear of a BH writer, they should look into doing a followup. Next year will be 5 years since we lost the grand old man.

**sorry to hijack the Z thread, lol!!**

[Treve]

The Storm Cat clones belong to a Polo player with a Polo pony outfit who already own a string of 5 clones from his favourite/best polo pony mare ever. One of the Storm Cat clones died in a freak accident unrelated to him being a clone, yah.
The other one, he hopes will become a popular polo pony sire and he sounded like he was also hoping to develop an unofficial racing circuit for clones and unreg. horses or something. I remember thinking there was something vaguely shady about it.
I do not think this Storm Cat clone could be used for AQHA though because he himself can't be registered with either the JC or the AQHA.

[lurkey mclurker]

Didn't know whether to post here or in the foals thread :::throws up hands::: Apparently Z17 is "the little boss lady of her group"... http://www.zenyatta.com/news/friday-photos-13



ETA: in the comments (so take FWIW) someone asks about the filly's club foot?!?! Not sure whether it's an assumption b/c the pics "never show the feet" or whether it's something that's been noted/mentioned...

[BaroqueAgain1]

ETA: in the comments (so take FWIW) someone asks about the filly's club foot?!?!

I think there were questions here about her right front foot after the photos on this page were posted:
http://thoroughbredchampions.com/forum/ ... &start=890
In the 2nd photo, below the one of her rearing/playing with Zen, her right fetlock looks fat, while the cannon bone of the foreleg looks thin. IIRC, the consensus here was that it was just a wonky angle and that the leg looked fine from other angles.
If there are now comments with this most recent photo that talk about a "club foot," are they reacting to the photo I linked above...or a more recent one that appears to show a "club foot?"

[ThreeMustangs]

Maybe it's this photo?

[BaroqueAgain1]

Well, that does make it look like the right front fetlock is a bit bulbous.
Could it be a trick of light because that foot is dark?
IIRC, a 'club foot' is a thickening of the fetlock and pastern (due to some bone deformation?), and her pastern looks normal. The 'swelling' looks like it's above her fetlock joint.

[Treve]

A club foot in horses is usually a misshapen hoof and an enlarged coronary band (rather than the entire pastern) as a result, it shouldn't really affect the fetlock.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Thanks for the correction. I knew I should have done some Googling first.

[Diver52]

I hope being the boss in the paddock translates into having the desire to actually pass horses, which Ziconic at least seems to utterly lack. l