GCA & Sport Horses

11/19/2024

How ironic…..

Esquire as the next door babysitter in photo #1. Fast forward 4 years and now Vikhtory is the next door babysitter.

Not all stallions have poor temperaments and/or behave badly. Breeding and how they are managed and allowed to or not to live makes a huge difference! We’re very proud to say we have great minded and pleasant dispositioned boys!

11/17/2024

It's almost time!

11/16/2024

I might be a little of both 🤔

11/15/2024

Yep! Only 482 years. But then again, who’s counting 🤣

11/14/2024

SOMETHING NEW IS ON THE WAY...

I am a tad excited!

11/12/2024

When you think you know everything……..

P**f! Something happens to show you that there is still much to learn!

Just like for so many years AKC did not recognize white as a color for the GSD, the same held true for AHA with the Purebred Arabians. But then, testing became available and much more was discovered and continues to be.

Exciting Discovery Alert: Meet Hello Colordream, a very unique purebred Arabian with TWO copies of the W19 gene! Unlike most "white" Arabians, who appear white but are actually gray, Colordream IS actually white with blue eyes (no gray variants in this boy).
W19 is a Dominant White mutation commonly believed to be homozygous lethal, meaning that horses who have 2 copies are either A) born dead, or B) not born at all - yet here he is alive and beautiful.
Genetics is an ever-changing world of discovery, reminding us every day how much more there is to learn!
To learn more about the W19 variant, check out this published article co-authored by our own Dr. Samantha Brooks: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23659293/.
Thanks to Hello Colordream's owner, Laetitia Lheritier, for allowing us to share him!
Photography by Anne Blocher Brun - Orientika Arabians

11/11/2024

It first began with an idea........

11/11/2024

Yes - we do breed Swedish Warmbloods BUT.....not just any Swedish Warmbloods....
We focus on a few of the original Swedish lines brought to the US some many years back.
Sharing a post and photo submitted by Gail Hoff some time back about one stallion that is in everyone of our Swedish horses pedigree's ~ L.A. Baltic Sun. And ALL have one or the other of the following mares, L.A. Utrilla and L.A. Rose of Sweden

"Can't help myself with an explanation. Today I am so pleased to share photos of the incredible SWB stallion, L.A. Baltic Sun by Pontus. Imported from Sweden as a yearling, "Sun" was approved by the SWB association as a breeding stallion when he was 3 year old. Based on his own performance record (trained and showed through Grand Prix dressage by me) as well as his record as a sire of outstanding offspring, he was the first SWB stallion ever approved in the United States to earn a Premium A rating as a sire. I am so grateful to Jan-ove Olsson, a long time friend in Sweden, who helped us find and import several SWB horses including L.A. Baltic Sun and 2 foundation mares, L.A. Utrilla and L.A. Rose of Sweden. Offspring from these 2 mares by Sun won so many championships at Dressage At Devon, I stopped counting. L.A. Baltic Sun was not only Young Horse Champion of Dressage At Devon himself, but he earned more Get of Sire and Breeder's Group trophies than any other stallion ever won in those days. One could pick out his offspring in any field of horses because they all were so typey with strong backs, hindquarters and beautiful heads and necks. He created a line of SWB horses that even today, one can see his remarkable influence on offspring which are now often generations removed. Maj Hector Carmona and I fell in love with Sun the moment he stepped out of a horse trailer to join other horses Jan Ove had gathered for us to see. He just had that "something" that makes one stop in their tracks, turn around and be magnetized towards him. His movement was incredibly free and he was probably the most naturally supple horse I have ever sat upon. A horse of a lifetime. Thanks to his breeder, Per Paulsson, Jan-ove Olsson for finding him, The Swedish Warmblood Assoc in Sweden for their guidance and expertise, Dr. Joseph Pollara for his veterinary skills and ability to help me manage my breeding programs on a daily basis, AnaMaria Espinosa who trained and prepared him for a horse trial (necessary for his approval) and to all the many, many friends I have met through so many incredible horses I have come to know over the years. L.A. Baltic Sun will never die. I know his blood will flow in many more generations of wonderful SWB horses."

11/09/2024

The absolute best place to be and best thing to do when working to solve all the worlds problems 😊

11/08/2024

Magic is right around the corner!

11/08/2024

And so many think 🤔 us humans are the smart ones 😂🤣😆

11/07/2024

If you are not prepared to have a horse ‘read’ you before you interact don’t go to the pasture or the barn.

A word to the wise ~ our horses know much more about us than one might expect or consider 😉

11/06/2024

Nope, 👎 they’re not always chestnut and no mask 😷 required. But…….. I guarantee you if they are chestnut you wouldn’t even know they had ears 👂 lol 😂

11/05/2024

So shouldn’t the same question be asked/answered regarding broodmares? Has this discussion been had? Researched?? Do you know??

As breeders it’s always in our best interest to learn as much as we can. Sometimes thinking outside of the box and generating new questions can create enough interest to find a validated and confirmed answer. It then becomes our knowledge which gives us power to help us make informed breeding decisions.

I recall many years ago attending a breeding seminar with Dr. Ed Squires from CSU. Having personal experience being RH Negative and knowing how it can affect a human pregnancy I inquired if this could happen with equines. At this time I was told unlikely and there were no known cases of such. Fast forward ⏩ ⏩ and guess what?? While not identical, enough similarities to now say yes, you can have blood based incompatible individuals.

Point and case ~ there is never a wrong question so always ask. And if it is a subject you are interested in stay involved and informed. The answer may change with more research and information that becomes available.

So, How many eggs does your broodmare have?

11/03/2024

As I’m scrolling through a few of my older private messages, along with looking at a lot of my stored photos, I was once again reminded just how much of an impact our very special Flower 🌻 Power has had here at GCA.
It was because of Flower we were introduced to the Swedish Warmbloods, specifically the Baltic bred Swedish horses. They have been a “Magic Cross” creating multiple National winning individuals when bred to Esquire.

Below is just one of many we’re proud of and excited to see what GA E-Finnity accomplishes next year. All photos were taken at World Equestrian Center during Sport Horse Nationals in September. Sharing with permission from Finn’s owner Anne Welch Neville.

GA E-Finnity, sired by HG Esquire and out of one of our Baltic Sundance daughters, Maybelline. He’s tall, dark and handsome ☺️

11/15/2023

What the world????

A flight heading to Belgium from New York was forced to return to John F. Kennedy International Airport after a horse reportedly escaped its crate inside the plane.

An Air Atlanta Icelandic cargo aircraft took off from JFK at 2.30 PM on Nov. 9, it was in the air for less than half an hour and rose to about 31,000 feet when the pilot sent out a message to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) about a horse getting loose in the carrier, according to news reports.

The flight audio was shared on the YouTube channel "You can see ATC", with the pilot saying, "We are a cargo plane with a live animal, a horse, on board the airplane. And the horse managed to escape his stall."

"We don't have a problem as of flying wise but we need to return back to New York. We cannot get the horse back secured." The pilot called ahead for a veterinarian to meet them in NYC to help with handling the animal, and he later said upon landing that they had a "horse problem, in difficulty," the pilot was heard further saying.

THIS VIDEO IS A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE FOLLOWING SITUATION IN FLIGHT: 09-NOV-2023. An Air Atlanta Icelandic Boeing 747-400 (B747), registration TF-AMM, perfor...

11/13/2023

Most interesting discussion regarding footing(s) for our performance horses.

Ok H/J industry …we need to pay attention… the NFL is calling for artificial turf to be removed in all stadiums …WHY? Because injuries on AT are 65% higher and more catastrophic than seen on GRASS!

We put these artificial surfaces in because we are not willing to do the work to keep grass or in our case - drag daily or even more often - our natural sand rings. Vets, farriers and the equine insurance industry have all stated that these artificial footings are causing a rise in micro tears within the hoof capsule, side bone injuries, suspensory issues and shoulder/back and stifle injuries.

A horse’s hoof is meant to SCOOP dirt and fling it so it gives ….these new ring additives do not allow this to happen so the force of landing and cantering across these footings is then moved into the horse - ever notice there are NO divots? Or not as much dirt to clean off your horses belly?

Also … because we think these footings are superior we do not drag as often nor water enough - so the footing gets thick, gummy and gooey - you can feel the sludgy texture when you walk across the schooling area …

We have seen racetracks starting to study the increase in fractures and career ending catastrophic injuries in race horses on these same artificial products

We have seen increases in cases of bacterial infections such as scratches - does this fabric additive hold bacteria??

Did you know that if you sell your equine property your new fangled ring footing is considered hazardous waste? It cannot be disposed or removed without special handling as other equine properties disappear into development some have been sued by the new owner when it costs thousands to clear this material away

We have seen more tragic injuries from even simple falls because of horses tripping in the sludge or the impact of a fall not being as absorbed by a naturally giving material

Something we need to pay attention to - yet - we keep seeing more and more of it even though a lot of horseman and well qualified people are seeing huge issues …WHY?

We are fooling ourselves into thinking any footing can be low maintenance - footing is crucial and whether it’s protecting and seeding your grass field and rolling out divots or dragging your 131 screenings while keeping it watered properly … even the new footings require manure to be removed and must be watered and dragged properly to be cared for

This is just my opinion and I am sure many will disagree with me …but…. I think we should all pay attention

11/12/2023

True ❤️