*Leo is rising 3, and progressing so well. 

 

With his buddy, *Leo is full of himself and is a very active young guy.  *Jack is very tolerant of *Leo's young horse hi-jinks, and spends plenty of time playing with him.   It is incredible to see how much his dam has influenced him.  He is very much like his half-brother, *Sage at the same age.  I love watching how older horses "deal" with youngsters.  As the young horse ages, they tolerate less and insist on correct behavior more.  Each adult horse is a bit different in tolerance levels, and what behaviors they will accept, but all in all it is far easier to allow a horse to teach correct, responsible behavior than it is for us to have to do so.  For instance, *Jack has been recently insisting on "no barging" when it comes to feed time.  It took about a week, and as *Leo understood more, *Jack needed to use less "force" to insist.  What started out as a small hind leg kick, or bump-up of his hips, has now progressed to simply pinned ears on *Jack's part.  In the meanwhile, *Leo has also translated that to coming in to get his bucket of grain more gently and subserviently.

 

*Leo paced often as a youngster, but from about 7 months to a year we have only seen him foxtrot and canter.  Recently, we saw him hard trot, but now he is back to pacing.  After speaking with other gaited horse breeders we have learned that a horse doesn't truly settle into their alternate gait until about three years of age.   His body is developing well thanks to his boundless energy and enthusiasm for running around and playing.  *Leo has a high play drive, and keen intelligence.  He is sensitive and yet brave, so something new is attended to immediately.  His newest joy is the Jolly ball, which you see him pictured with below.

*Leo is a Gold Champagne.  To learn more about the Champagne gene and coloring please visit the website of the International Champagne Horse Registry  You will notice in the picture of his eye at left, taken at almost one year, that it is not the dark brown color of most horses.  This is one of the hallmarks of a horse with the Champagne gene.  *Leo inherited the gene from his sire, Lobo, a Missouri Foxtrotter.  For pictures of his eyes from birth until now, please refer to his second page.  You will also notice the freckling around the eye.  That is another hallmark of his Champagne lineage as well.

 

*Leo is one of the few American Curly colts with the Champagne gene IN THE WORLD, but the oldest one who is GOLD Champagne.   This means the Champagne gene is layered over Chestnut genes.  He is heterozygous for the Curly expression, and the Champagne gene.

 

Because we have decided, with the graduation of our youngest daughter, to downsize, we will consider selling *Leo.  If you are interested in him, please contact us.  He is presently listed at $20,000; however, his price will rise quickly as his handling and training proceed.

Pre-gelding price reduction: $10,000.