Standardbreds are very addictive! Other than the rare badass, they are a very loving and tolerant breed.
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I have always appreciated them. My first exposure was at a summer camp where I taught lessons as a teen. Our horse supplier sent us several each season, sometimes straight off the track. I wonder how many of those horses’ first ride was with a beginner who had never ridden before?!?
After college I did mare & foal care for several standardbred breeding farms in the mid-Atlantic and maintained my respect for them. I got to care for Artsplace at the end of his life, and to this day, he remains one of my favorite horses I have ever met.
I always joked “my next horse is going to be a standardbred,” yet my main involvement in the sport horse disciplines and thoroughbred racing prevented that from happening.
I tried for several years to get a thoroughbred breeding program off the ground with no luck at all. My last retired TB broodmare died in January, leaving me with an empty stall.
The past few years just won’t seem to calm down for me, so when I saw an adorable, low maintainace, older standardbred mare for adoption, I thought, “this is perfect for me right now!” Hahahahaha. I should have known there would be a catch.
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Could you post pictures here so we don’t have to go looking for them elsewhere? I’d love to see your mare and baby!
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Precious!
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Adorable! Is there Camluck in the pedigree? The huge star is so common in Camlucks.
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No Camluck as far as I can see:
Sire: https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/capt+midnight2
Dam: https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/bcs+jesse
Sorry for the all breed links, it’s just easier than screenshooting the pathway stuff.
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Just showed the pedigrees to my SO who’s been in the Standardbred business for years and he asked what you want for it! LOL Lot’s of great bloodlines, and he really liked the doubling up of Ambercrombie in the dam. Looks like you missed the Laag grey on this one. We had a Western Ideal with a big moon shaped star, must be where the white is coming from. 
ETA: He says to should pay it up for whatever states programs it’s eligible for (sorry can’t remember if you were blessed with a filly or colt).
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Very cool info @jvanrens!
The mare’s yearlings to lesser stallions sold for an average of about $20K. While I don’t know much about standardbred bloodlines, Capt Midnight has been very popular, overbooked his first two years at stud and doing dual hemisphere duty. The foal really favors him so far.
I have a bit of a stud fee conundrum with the foal that I’m trying to work out with all the parties involved. However, the farm that stands the stallion offered to buy the foal already. I did not immediately take them up on that.
The state incentives got screwed, too. Foal was supposed to be IN-bred. She is still eligible for the IN stallion stakes I’m told, but poor mare was thought to be open so she shipped to OH in the fall for under saddle training, shipped to MD when unknowingly 330 days pregnant, then foaled at the university hospital in PA. I am told IN state-bred incentives are not that great so not to stress too much, but I have no firsthand experience with it.
That’s where we are at.
In theory, the foal should be able to cover these huge surprise expenses… but ya know, horses. Plus I’m kinda attached.
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What a cutie!! Are you keeping her?
One of my favorite horses when I was growing up was a TB/STB cross. His owner didn’t ride him much so I got to ride him a good bit. He loved to jump and was athletic and very sweet. He was a blast. I bet he would have been a good eventer.
My point in telling you this is maybe you can breed the gray mare to a nice sport horse stallion. Or the filly when she’s older! 
Question - Will the filly have a regular walk, trot, and canter if she’s not trained to race? I don’t really know if STB’s are born with a regular trot and canter and then the gaits are changed at the track.
Cool about your horse @ravenclaw. I think my mare really wants to be retired at this point so I probably won’t consider breeding her. But she is sooooo sweet.
The foal has a normal walk/trot/canter plus she paces and does all sorts of funny gaited stuff in the field. But her favorite thing to do is gallop FAST. She is fast to my thoroughbred eye, though I’m sure my eye is rusty and heavily biased. If she was a thoroughbred foal I’d be cautiously excited by what I’m seeing. For what it’s worth, mom was a successful pacer yet I almost never see her pace. She always just trots or canters. Mom has a nice, normal walk on her, the foal has a big but very lateral walk. I don’t know if that’s indicative of anything.
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Poor mare sure did travel a lot in a short amount of time. BTW Rockin Image is one heck a fine sire. We’ve had two, down to one. Unfortunately not great ones so far, we’re hopeful for the one we still have.
I’ve just started looking at the Indiana website (boy it sucks!), do they require foaling in Indiana? I would assume that would be posted clearly somewhere, but haven’t found it yet.
Yes, Rockin Image was the best she was bred to and her highest selling foals. Everyone is really excited about Capt Midnight night now, but I’m parroting what I’ve been told. 
. Obviously I don’t really know the sh*t from the shinola.
I was told Indiana is different from most states and that the foal would still be eligible for their stallion stakes but not their fair stakes. I was told not to worry about the fair stakes. Again, parroting…
Right now I just need to figure out this registration thing. Standardbreds do it right away, which is very different than the breeds I’m familiar with where you do it around weaning after the foal coat has shed. I guess when 90% of the breed is bay with minimal white there’s no need to wait.
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Yeah, your baby is definitely bay. Missed the grey. Fair stakes aren’t a huge deal, but the states sires stakes, if you can work the stud fee, would be something to pay into. Looks like that doesn’t have to be done until the year they race. Good luck with the name selection, any chance you’ll share?
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Thanks!
I tried to go with Bogo but that is ineligible.
I might spell it out: Buy One Get One
I was playing with ways to keep the BOGO, since that’s what I’ve been calling her (Bogo/Bee).
Bogo Deal, Bogo Sale, Bogo at Midnight
I don’t love any of it. I hate naming things. Considering leaving her unnamed for now but also want to get a name secured if I settle on one.
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Spell it out! I like that. Sure will have people scratching their heads.
I did that the other day watching races somewhere (sorry, can’t remember which track) but the letters were a combination of something that came up in the urban dictionary and the airport code for Regina. It translated to I love you (or I like you) Regina (if memory serves), but the track announcer didn’t bother to google it first obviously. We had a mare MYCPRNTHVRHNVR (My Cup Runeth Over Hanover) that the track announcer got first go, but he was pretty sharp as I discovered when he started jogging for us. Shame he was rather alarming as a jogger.
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Two For One?
Or play with the spelling. Buy Won Get Won, etc.
Congratulations….she is adorable!
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Oh man, she’s cute…I think you might be in trouble…
I like Bogo at Midnight! Or what about Beesplace, in tribute to Artsplace?
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Great name ideas. I’m so indecisive.
