Our big black filly Zorra participated in a large public event recently. More on that in another post, but will say that she proved she is every bit as lovely as I've always believed. Easy to be biased when you've raised them yourself so is nice to see others reactions your horse. I got tons of questions about her. She drew many admirers and even more compliments. When you first see her, one might think she was bred for beauty. Not so! My foremost thought in matching her parents was temperament. That said, beauty, conformation & movement were all important in the equation . Zorra is an unusual cross of two breeds. Her dam is a registered Tennessee Walking Horse and sire an Andalusian stallion of Spanish & Portuguese bloodlines. Zorra's mother, Foxy, is a chestnut mare who never spooks, is trainable in the extreme & is very forward to ride. She is also gentle enough to be handled & ridden (in an arena) by children of about any age. She's quietly given many 1st rides to children and adults alike, even bareback rides to a couple of two year darling girls. If you've been around horses long, you know that the combination of forward energy & no spook/no argument is rare. The type we all dream of having....including myself. I imagined for several years a horse like that who also trotted. When I decided to try to breed for just that, I went in search of the perfect stallion. Zorra's sire, Chulo, was the perfect fit. His temperament is relaxed & friendly. One of those stallions people think is a gelding. I had also seen many foals by him in which he consistently added that nice temperament but also added height & good bone. Zorra is tall, at least 15.3 and stout of body. She's wide through her body & put together with total harmony. She has three floaty forward gaits...plus one. As a foal, I did observe her gait like her mother. She was a big leggy foal. At two weeks old, she figured out those longs legs & began to trot. So while I have not encouraged or observed her to gait much since then, the ability is there if someone wanted to develop it. She is an easy keeper, has a long thick mane & tail, a beautiful face & excellent feet. I missed her birth by 40 minutes. When I arrived she was up, walking around & nursing. Excluding one injury, she has always been strong & healthy. Zorra has been handled literally daily from birth. She happily comes in the barn, stands tied, is good for farrier & vet & has recently been started under saddle. Her first ride was a beautiful experience where she was ridden in a hackamore...walk/trot/canter with not a hint of wanting to buck or rear. She has experience in front of a large & loud crowd, has had several trailer rides with other horses & alone, has always been up to date on farrier & veterinary care. We've given the best start one could want for a young horse. She has true "dream horse" quality & beauty. She is the epitome of what we are trying to bring to the table with our breeding & young horse training program. She had her 1st ride with me yesterday in the round pen. We'll start going out on some trail rides around the property. Zorra is registered with IALHA and therefore eligable to participate in their shows. It's our intention to take her to Nationals next year to show in halter. Her sire is a two time IALHA national champion stallion and I expect she will easily follow in his footsteps. A new video of her 1st ride is in the works so watch for it here. Inquire with alicefbarr@gmail.com with serious inquiries on this special individual.
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