Tonka came to me with the stable name "Kelly", which I hated. Here's what the standardbred registry comes up with for HR015:
Sardis, BC is just around the corner from here. This horse had one pacing start in 1993, and I can't help but wonder whether he broke down on the track. More time on the registry tonight will give me more information.
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Don't you believe it. I am convinced he's a long-lost winner of the Preakness.
(Er, do standardbreds race in the Preakness?)
Well, it seems like the correlation between the names makes the second "match" more likely, but it might still be the first guy. You're right about the genetics of gray--they do really confuse the matter, sometimes. And your bay guess seems pretty likely to me. The fellow in Nova Scotia might be able to rule out the first possibility, if he had the horse more than a year or so. You can usually see the gray "peeking thru" pretty early.
I have a black-based flea-bitten gray Paint mare who was pretty white when we got her at 10, especially in her winter coat (had to hose her down to see her overo markings). Her first foal for us was born black and white, but within a week we could see the white hairs showing up in his black coat. By the time we sold him at two, he was definitely gray, but still quite a bit less than 50/50--one might have described him as "roan" if one didn't know better. When I visited him this summer, he was actually lighter than his mama (he's now 8), but he doesn't have the flea-bites to give him the "illusion" of color.
I've learned more about color genetics since I've been raising Paints than I ever imagined was possible!
I did manage to get in touch with people on the east coast who knew Kilkerran Jake and they have confirmed that he was not grayed or graying in 2003. The fellow listed as owning Kellys Mountain in 1993 is a big name in Ontario racing now, so I hope that he will remember this horse from the very early days of his career.
Sooo... will you be updating his registration?
How awesome to be able to find out a bit of history on your big beautiful guy!
He's looking great compared to those first photos...
I was thinking, maybe chiro, horsie massage, or even accupuncture on those paraspinal muscles right in front of his hip bones, they look tight... But his general posture is so much better, it changes his conformation from "no butt" to "nice butt"! Amazing!
Wow, Brandy -- did you read the whole boring saga?
Thanks for your positive comments. Tonka is definitely looking better than when he arrived, but we still have a long way to go. I have been in touch with a chiropractor who will come to see him next week, and of course I will blog about it. Today I noticed that he sometimes shuffles instead of walks, moving lateral legs together -- I am going to try to get it on video for y'all.
If I can confirm that this is Kellys Mountain I will try to get his registration switched to my name. A nice way to mark a happy ending, I think.
Congradulations! Looks like you just might be the proud owner of a Standardbred. I have two and they are the best!
I'd always heard good things about standardbreds, so now I guess that I can say good things about them too. It still strikes me as strange that a racing breed could be so placid and level-headed, but I've read that these are important characteristics when strategy is more important than speed.
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