Pointers on transferring your American Quarter Horse.

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By AQHA Executive Director of Registration Gary Griffith

The first thing professional tie-down roper Stran Smith asks when purchasing a horse is if the horse has AQHA papers.

“The papers help me verify the bloodlines because a horse’s pedigree is one of the things I value,” he says. “I have American Quarter Horses, and I have the papers to prove it!”

That testimonial was part of a promotion that we ran a few years ago to encourage horse owners to transfer a horse’s registration into the new owner’s name when the horse is sold. Read the rest of this entry »

Registering your foal with AQHA can be a snap.

Download a helpful brochure on taking correct pictures for your foal's registration certificate.

AQHA’s online registration system saves horse owners time and helps catch omissions that could delay the registration process.

Before you sit down to your computer, use this checklist to gather everything you’ll need.

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Three brothers qualified for the same World Show halter geldings class.

Sacreds Touch and Rita Crundwell at the 2008 AQHA World Show

The 2008 AQHA World Championship Show 2-year-old geldings class was a lot like a family reunion.

Two of the geldings were half brothers - both embryos out of two-time world champion mare Sacred Sierra, owned by Rita Crundwell. And a third qualifier, who didn’t attend the show, was a full brother to one of the competitors.

Sacreds Touch, by Mr Touchdown Kid, finished eighth in the class, while Hez Sacred, by MH Supremo, finished ninth. Sacreds Touch Too - a twin to Sacreds Touch - didn’t show. Rita showed him at the 2008 Bayer Select World Show, finishing third. Read the rest of this entry »

Gray is a common horse color that’s tricky to pin down.

At age 2, All American Futurity winner AB What A Runner, owned by Dennie and Kris Hill of Blackfoot, Idaho, was a steel gray.

By Andrea Caudill

If your dream horse is a handsome dark gray and you want him to stay that way forever, he’d best be on a poster on your wall. The gray color is confusing and frustrating, because while a horse’s coat may be dark and dappled when young, it progressively turns white as he ages.

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You don’t have to look hard to find Doc Bar progeny at the National Finals Steer Roping.

Larneds Ricoche Doc and Dan Fisher. Photo by Dan Hubbell

There’s no doubting the fact that the 1956 chestnut stallion Doc Bar had speed and cow sense wrapped up into one very talented package. His direct offspring earned more than $3 million in the cutting arena and more than 8,800 AQHA points. And today, horses that trace to him are found in win pictures around the world — and in rodeo arenas, as well.

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Strategies for saving on your horse breeding bill.

1. Hunt for bargain stud fees

• Look for cheaper stud fees at the stallion service auctions many associations offer. These auctions can also be found with futurities or through your state affiliate. The stallion owners donate stud fees, and the money raised is usually used by the organization for added money at a future show. The best stallions go fast. For a list of stallion service auctions, check for advertisements in The American Quarter Horse Journal or click here.

• Read the rest of this entry »

What mare owners should know about artificial insemination.

By Dr. Thomas R. Lenz

Today’s mare owner has more breeding options than ever before. One of the options is artificial insemination with cooled/shipped semen, making it possible to breed your mare to any stallion in the country, without her leaving your property.

Shipping cooled semen from the stud farm to the mare allows owners to control mare care and reduce transportation costs. Because the mare (and her foal) remains at home, there is less danger of injury or illness that might be encountered on a broodmare farm. In addition, mares in training or competition can be bred without interrupting their schedule.

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In the midst of a successful racing career, this mare became one good mama.

Buy this photo of Miss Night Bar!

By Richard Chamberlain

There was a saying among old-time breeders of Quarter Horses that went, “Good horses, like good men, have good mothers.”

If you subscribe to that theory, then you would likely accept as fact that Miss Night Bar was a good mother.

Most Quarter Horse people remember Miss Night Bar as the mother of Jet Deck. And true enough, when Jet Deck made a name for himself, the glory was more than abundant, spilling over to everything else connected with him, his mother included. Read the rest of this entry »