QH Rugged Lark babies being wild??

[SouthernYankee]

My heart mare had her final baby last week, a cute bay filly with a small star. The farrier was out last night and made some comments about the baby… he said she looks older than a week old, she’s going to be bigger than Tango (mamma), and while he likes the Rugged Lark bloodlines under saddle they tend to be wild until you get the upper hand on the ground. Once they’re broke they are a lot of fun… great, she’s going to kill me. But it does explain her wild child ways, which isn’t a bad trait to have in an eventer (I’ll call it heart). He likes her hip and head and is iffy on her shoulder, but it should fill in as she gets older.

Has anyone else ever dealt with Rugged Lark babies? She’s a granddaughter of him, Sire is Larks Oneforthemoney, and the mare’s babies always tend to strongly take the sires traits. I bred to this stud because of the ‘trainability’ and quietness that I’ve been told comes out of the Rugged Lark lines… she’s been very independant and ‘active’ but also very friendly. She does have a wild streak but once she figures out what you want she’s been pretty easy to deal with.

Here is some cuteness:
Got an Itch??

1 week old

[magicteetango]

I knew a RL filly from his last crop. Disclaimer her owners and breeders (same people) were in their 70s and didn’t handle her much. She was well cared for but they set their whole property up so you could do all your feeding and even desperate them without doing any leading.

As a yearling she was silly, very nosey, smart and alert. She was not crazy and would never offer to kick or strike or anything hot or nasty. Which is an accomplishment for a yearling, she could just be a bit spacey.

I think that considering her lack of handling and age, granted very small sample size, I would not label the line as wild or difficult by any means. I haven’t known others super personally but friends have and I haven’t heard anything to that effect.

[fordtraktor]

I have had nothing but good experiences with RL descendants and think any smart baby (and they’ve all been smart) is going to test you a little. Establish strict ground rules early, like you would with any foal, and I am sure she will be fine.

[SouthernYankee]

That’s the impression I’ve gotten from her, and why I bred to a RL stud. The dam was crazy athletic but due to abuse prior to me was never really mentally stable and tended to be on the hot side undersaddle. The farrier does some training for the public so I’m sure the horses he’s gotten have not had the handling they should have had. The baby is smart and copies everything mom does. We had rain last week and when I turned her out she ran to a puddle, stopped, sniffed, jumped right in the middle of it then ran off.

I was just curious to see what others had to say since that was the first semi-negative thing I’ve heard about that line of horses.

[Sonesta]

I’ve only dealt with one Rugged Lark offspring and he was WONDERFUL.

[leilatigress]

Handled quite a few and one of my favorite geldings to ride is a RL decedent. He’s perfect on ground and under saddle though he does have a wicked sense of humor. I would not recommend him for a beginner but for an intermediate or just walking him around on lead he is awesome. Perfectly game for whatever you want and doesn’t have a bad attitude. Most of the Larks I have handled and ridden are smart, funny, hard workers. Mares tend to be a little hotter than the geldings but all good eggs I would happily turn loose with intermediate riders.

[netg]

I suspect it was a result of the brains - that he’s dealt with bored babies!

It’s the opposite side of every very smart baby I’ve heard of/met, and the brains are what I have always heard about the RL lines.

[Go_Fish]

[QUOTE=SouthernYankee;6934400]
they tend to be wild until you get the upper hand on the ground. Once they’re broke they are a lot of fun… great, she’s going to kill me. But it does explain her wild child ways, which isn’t a bad trait to have in an eventer (I’ll call it heart). [/QUOTE]

No, they are not wild, and I’ve seen quite a few over the years, including direct sons and daughters. Rugged Lark and many of his sons were known to produce amateur- and youth-friendly horses that anyone could ride.

[Mel0309]

I have a grandson of his (sire is Regal Solo) who is 19 and has been a packer since he was 4. He is TOO smart and can unlock stall doors, slip his halter off when tied, and plays games when you want to catch him. But to ride and handle he has always been super sweet, easy, an quiet! I would never hesitate to have another.
Here are some pics:
http://hihorsefarm.tripod.com/id10.html

[Perfect10]

I have a Rugged Lark grandbaby (his sire is Regal Lark) and he’s always looking for an opportunity to test you. He’s very mouthy, a bit of a pain on the ground, cranky, and a one person horse. Once you get the upper hand he remembers, but he will test you. He isn’t bad, not dangerous, and sweet with me, but he’s not a barn favorite. He’s very quiet and fun to ride, but he tests you undersaddle as well. You just have to pass his tests!

[Unfforgettable]

I’ve worked with several, and they were kind, willing and quiet from day one. And most were stallions.

[SouthernYankee]

Thanks for all the replies. My filly seems to have a great head on her shoulders but hasn’t embraced halter training yet (partially my fault as I haven’t taken the time to work with her like I should, new farm and we’re busy fencing and working on the house). She’s got the best personality, is into everything, and copies everything mom does. The #1 reason I bred to a RL son was because I’ve only heard great stories about them being so quiet and athletic!

[rmh_rider]

Yank, I am in love with your filly! So cute! Nice baby. Very.

I love your other photos, I peeked at the others. Cute cute cute photos.

For arabs, I know off subject here, Khemosabi is the personality, trainability, etc as RL is to QH’s.

[KBEquine]

[QUOTE=SouthernYankee;6934483]
That’s the impression I’ve gotten from her, and why I bred to a RL stud. The dam was crazy athletic but due to abuse prior to me was never really mentally stable and tended to be on the hot side undersaddle. The farrier does some training for the public so I’m sure the horses he’s gotten have not had the handling they should have had. The baby is smart and copies everything mom does. We had rain last week and when I turned her out she ran to a puddle, stopped, sniffed, jumped right in the middle of it then ran off.

I was just curious to see what others had to say since that was the first semi-negative thing I’ve heard about that line of horses.[/QUOTE]

OK, you’ve described the dam as “never really mentally stable and . . . on the hot side under saddle.” and have said twice that the baby “copes everything mom does.”

You may have left a lot of work for the Rugged Lark son to do, if the mare has passed those traits (nature) and is also teaching those traits (nurture).

But to answer the original question - our stallion Lark’s Favorite (Spencer) is a son of Rugged Lark and has a great mind, like many other Rugged Lark offspring.

Best of luck with your filly!

[SouthernYankee]

[QUOTE=KBEquine;6942353]
OK, you’ve described the dam as “never really mentally stable and . . . on the hot side under saddle.” and have said twice that the baby “copes everything mom does.”[/QUOTE]

This is the third filly out of that mare and ALL of the other horses have fantastic minds. She’s been crossed with friesian and tb previously and thrown quiet willing athletic babies. Which confirms that her neurotic behavior is man made, she’s a doll on the ground but the flip switches when she’s undersaddle. I’m not worried about the baby copying mamma now because she’s easy to deal with as long as she isn’t being ridden. I am very aware of the whole ‘don’t breed unless you would be ok getting a copy of the mare’ hence why it is important for me to have a baby out of this mare, there is a strong emotional attachment with this mare, not to mention she’s the most athletic thing I’ve ever sat on. (the 2* young rider eventer I got off the track and restarted felt like an ‘average’ horse compared to this mare) and I would have been thousands of dollars ahead to just buy a project…

This baby has the makings to be better than anything else I’ve had out of that mare and she seems to have a great head on her shoulders. My puropse in posting on here was to comfirm what I already knew about the RL lines that they do indeed have the trainability, I’ve just never dealt with any RL horses.

KBEquine- I knew Canadian Kid while he was in Alabama, and actually considered breeding this mare to him at one time. The ONLY thing that kept me from breeding to him was his size. This mare has a knack for throwing babies that mature into giant horses and I’d rather stick to a 16 hand horse. Has he passed?

[KBEquine]

If you are looking for max 16 hand sires, you have chosen well with a Rugged Lark son - while some are above 16 hands, the ones who breed true are often of the 15.2+ variety. And they do seem to consistently throw the mind that you want.

And yes - Canadian Kid has passed, I am sorry to say.

[Meggs]

Whenever I hear Rugged Lark I think of all the nice things folks have said about him, and his offspring. I’ve never heard a bad word. That’s saying something.

My favorite is a story I heard of RL at a demo in Florida. Lynn Palm had been riding him quite a while, doing dressage. His old reining rider(forget who) got on impromptu(I think), ran him down the arena stopped him…it was ugly. Turned, ran him back down, stopped him. That time he stopped like a “wormy dog”(that’s a good thing ;))

[goodhors]

If you don’t train her yourself, I would find someone who LOVES RL breeding, and that would NOT be your Farrier. He sounds more than a bit prejudiced now, and might be overly harsh with her, with his opinion on RL and him knowing her breeding. Sometimes folks just are over-reactive that way, especially if he is training horses on the side.

At her young age, she has a baby mind, sounds like quite a cutie. DAILY handling, leading her along with dam, for turnout and stalling can really change how they react to you. Removes the “choices” she has about doing stuff the way you want it done, shows her that going along with the program really is what she would like doing!

As others said, I haven’t heard any bad stuff about the RL horses beyond how smart and athletic they are. Being nosey, CONFIDENT, is part of the whole package and you don’t want to start any fights with her. Be present when Farrier is going to trim her, have a nice wall for her to lean on while lifting feet, don’t expect her to act like a much older horse until she IS a lot older. Husband is a Farrier too, does quite a few horses from foal to 2yr olds, that just are “not ready” to stand alone in the aisle for trims like an older horse. Wall to lean on gives them confidence, they are no problem to trim. Don’t start a fight with them, young horse will live with issues about it for a long time after.

Just do something with your filly every day, while she wears her halter for control. Brushing, leading, all are fun, but she IS controlled at these times.

Sounds like a great baby, congratulations!