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IN THIS ISSUE |
* New to our Website - the Media Page
* To Geld or Not to Geld?
* New Videos Posted
* New Spruce Meadows Photos
* Coming Soon - Photos from Gina
Photographer and Artist
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Newsletter for October 2009
Well it seems in this month of pumpkins and leaves, brilliant blue skies interspersed with grey and cloudy days, and quickly turning leaves (did they turn or just fall??!!) - the autumn season is coming and going faster than we can say pumpkin pie! But as usual we've been busy, getting new water bowls put in for the winter months, adding new things for you (our customers and fellow horse lovers) on our website, and making plans for more shows, more training and more foals! We hope you enjoy our "guest" writer today, my husband Dale, speaking to the gelding issue. To geld or not to geld, well read on and see what the dilemma is all about!
We hope you enjoy our updates and find something we've shared to be of help or interest. Make sure you stop by our website for more on the highlighted stories.
North Fork e-news - your source for news, information and fun facts. |
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 Our New Media Page
As promised, we have finally launched our new Media page! As you see in the screen shot, it is a simple drop down menu to get any visitor to coverage of Events we attend, articles we've had published in magazines or newspapers, and samples of some of the publications we advertise in.
As well there is "one stop shop" for viewing photos and videos posted throughout the rest of the website or centering on specific photographers, artists or events. Our gallery of photographs were often missed as they were available on the bottom of the drop down menu on "Our Horses" page, but they now have their very own place of honour under the Media page. The Videos drop down is an easy way to see any video without bopping around throughout the site (unless you want to!), and our Links page has now been moved from it's original location to part of the media selection.
We hope you find this an easier way to discover what you are looking for and enjoy some of the various mediums we use to share the good news of our wonderful Gypsy Cobs. We are truly grateful to our designer guys, who always put our vision into action so well. As usual, all feedback is welcome through our "Contact us" page. Enjoy!
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 To Geld or Not to Geld?
To Geld or not to geld...That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrag-ed breeders
Angered by putting aside magnificent colts
From ever producing offspring
Or leave un-gelded the fine young horse
To help represent the breed at it's best?
Ah the dilemma!
Ok so I have defiled Shakespeare here but I guy's gotta have some fun sometimes when a writer he is not!! I just want to raise some questions for us to ponder in regards to our breeding operations and practices so am writing from the heart...
It seems to me that because the breed is still so rare here in North America, everyone is a little shy to geld a perfectly fine colt in the hopes that he will sell as a stallion prospect instead. Is this a wise decision for our breed as a whole? Are we ok with "average" stallions with our names behind them or should we be looking for the "best of the best" while we are still building the foundation for the breed here in Canada and the USA? Hey trust me, I struggle with this right along with everyone else.
Here is another fact that bears consideration. This particular issue became abundantly clear to us while showing our horses at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta this year. Because most of the Gypsy Cobs out there are still considered breeding stock, there is a dramatic lack of high quality geldings out there to really show off the varied abilities of the Gypsy Cob. Geldings are the key to being able to truly promote the breed as they have the time and mind to train regularly without their attention being elsewhere. Stallions are focused on the mares and mares are focused on making babies.
And what about our customers...especially those that are just wanting to buy their first few horses? Is it responsible of us to sell someone who doesn't know much about the breed a colt that THEY think will make a nice stallion? I don't think so. As responsible breeders, we need to educate our customers to the best of our ability and help them start out on the right foot, just as we hope someone did for us when we bought our first horse.
I don't pretend for a second to be an expert in any way shape or form when it comes to this breeding business, but we have surrounded ourselves with the resources and people able to give us guidance when needed. We are also resources for each other. The breed is just too new to North America for us not to be working together as a whole. Educating our customers, selective breeding practices and learning from each other are going to be key aspects to all our successes in the future and will also have a big impact on what the prices of this breed becomes in the future.
Well there are my thoughts for the day. Hopefully this made sense and if you'd like to make any comments or weigh in on the gelding issue, we'd love to hear from you through our contact page. Thanks!
Dale
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 New Videos Posted
We finally got a chance to post some of the videos we've taken throughout the year of Riot, Cash and Prince. These are not the most up to date but it will give you an idea of how they move. We hope you especially enjoy the video of the boys just playin' around. It's one of our favourites!
We'll have more to add as time goes on so stay tuned
to see the list grow.
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New Spruce Meadows Photos
The September newsletter included some of the photos from Spruce Meadows, but we've added some more for you as promised. They are available through the Events link on our new media page or through the photo gallery. If you've still not had enough, feel free to view some of our video of the event, posted, of course, on our Videos page!
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