Genetic Predisposition of the QH

[ducks4you]

Did anybody else read "Practical Horseman" during the late 80's-early 90's? I WORE MY ISSUES OUT!!!
There was this marvelous story about a QH filly that the cattle rancher had to wean but had no place to put her. So...he put her in with the cattle. He was kinda worried about her, being so young, so he kept tabs on her to make sure that she was okay. Well, apparantly her genetics kicked in, because it wasn't long before she had sized up the herd and had taken over. She was first to drink, first to eat, pushed the other herd bosses out of the way--she was the head broodmare/head cow, find the right term...She would even "herd" the cows around, when it pleased her.

I was hoping to find this article online but it's been about 20 years since I read it in print. Just thought I'd share.

 

[big brown horse]

That sounds pretty interesting to me.

My bffs appy mare was like that with goats. In the evening goat owners would let their goats roam the runway of our Houston area stable. "Flag" would round them up like a cowdog and drive them down to the very end of the runway and turn around and walk away. She would peek at them so see if they were staying put, if not she would run them back into the end of the runway. (Her ears were back the whole time too.) It was quite a site.

 

[freemotion]

When I was a teenager my dad put our beef calf in the pasture with my horse. She would round him up and put him into the barn, all at a walk, whenever he dared come out to graze. They had to be separated so the calf could gain weight!

I was reading PH back then, and I remember....I think it was in that mag....a little article about a rancher who had some horses and cattle running together in a very large pasture. The cattle were all sold, and rounded up and trucked away.

Some weeks later, the horses were checked up on, and they found a 16 year old maiden mare nursing a calf! Apparently a very young calf must've been hiding in the brush and was missed in the round-up, and it's cries or nursing reflex must've stimulated the mare's hormones, and she began lactating and adopted the calf. They kept the calf as a novelty, and said it didn't make normal calf noises, and always wanted to be with the horses, not other cows!

 

[big brown horse]

When I was a teenager my dad put our beef calf in the pasture with my horse. She would round him up and put him into the barn, all at a walk, whenever he dared come out to graze. They had to be separated so the calf could gain weight!

I was reading PH back then, and I remember....I think it was in that mag....a little article about a rancher who had some horses and cattle running together in a very large pasture. The cattle were all sold, and rounded up and trucked away.

Some weeks later, the horses were checked up on, and they found a 16 year old maiden mare nursing a calf! Apparently a very young calf must've been hiding in the brush and was missed in the round-up, and it's cries or nursing reflex must've stimulated the mare's hormones, and she began lactating and adopted the calf. They kept the calf as a novelty, and said it didn't make normal calf noises, and always wanted to be with the horses, not other cows!

I love stories like that!!