Re: OT foaling (was OT-BIO: Kathy Palmer)
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: OT foaling (was OT-BIO: Kathy Palmer)
  • From: &* G* C* <j*@cox.net>
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:16:11 -0500
Christian -- My g-g-g-grandfather, Alexander Breckenridge, was one of Kentucky's early throughbred breeders. His land was where Claiborne Farms and other farms farther west along the Lexington-Paris road now stand. I have some of his early racing results and a long court case regarding water rights, but your narrative depicts an experience that he must have gone through many times and gives me a fuller appreciation of the risks and rewards of his life. Thanks for posting it -- and Loic, thanks for asking. -- Griff
----- Original Message ----- From: "christian foster" <flatnflashy@yahoo.com> 
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: [iris] OT-BIO: Kathy Palmer



Loic,
Foaling out a mare is like meeting a new person at a crowded party. There is a lot going on all at once. You watch all night or all week as the wax on the udder turns watery and then milky. There is "romantic" tension as the mare begins to stir in her stall. You feel like an intruder when she cocks her ear toward every sound you make while you are just trying to get a better view. You hold your breath and listen with every toss of her tail to see if that will be the one that finally breaks her water.
When the foal's hoof emerges you check to make sure the other is nearby, and that that softer than latex little nose is laying just behind the knee, and on top. When the foal finally spills out there is infatuation with the shape of his blaze or the fine blackness of his coat. Then there are myriad differences between how each foal deals with their new life. Some jump and squirm and whinny almost immediately and demand the milk they know is there...somewhere. Others must be gently coaxed by their dam into every wobbly attempt to find their legs.
And through all of this the waiting human must remain just far enough outside the picture to keep track of the time, each stage must be accomplished within a certain window. And then, when all the t's are crossed and all the i's dotted, there is calm, there is nothing left to do but go on to bed. Tomorrow and tomorrow you can stand at the fence and watch him as he sleeps, or plays, or wonder at how quickly he has grown and how big he will grow. But it will be many years before you will know if he is all that you hoped for, or worthy of breeding.
In breeding horses there is a thoughtfulness about the process of raising that foal. Everything you do, or don't do, in preparing to breed and in raising that foal will have an effect on how he fills out his genetic potential. Ultimately, the horse breeder uses genetics as a tape measure to determine the "usefulness" of a horse, but the horse is nothing if he is never used. He has the same needs as an iris; water, food, space, but ignoring them is at least cruelty.
I breed irises because I love the consideration of two parents and what they may bring forth. I love the "what you see is what you get" quality of evaluating the offspring. I love that I'm the only one who gets to decide what has merit in my breeding program. I love the idea that if I get bored, or don't feel like weeding the irises this year, they will probably make it through anyway. I love that I can decide that I don't like a particular seedling and just wrench it out of the bed and toss it, no fuss, no muss.
I like the process of weeding overgrown beds and I like the process of planning the crosses and I like the process of watching as the seedlings bloom. As a matter of fact, my husband once complained, "You only like those irises because you like to watch things grow." I simply could not argue the point. But, just as simply, I cannot watch thousands of horses grow every year. 

Christian




________________________________
From: loic tasquier <tasquierloic@cs.com>
To: iris@hort.net
Sent: Sun, January 24, 2010 5:17:43 AM
Subject: Re: [iris] OT-BIO: Kathy Palmer
Bill, can you tell us about the night you sometimes spend helping a mare give birth to her foal, and the emotion that overwhelms you on top of the tiredness 
?
I would imagine that compared to the adrenaline that has been pumping through 
your system then, the sweet shiver that gets down your spine when a new
seedling opens must seem a bit understated to call it fun?
So, it would be interesting to know what is it in hybridizing that still gets 
you so excited?

Can you share this secret with us ?

Loic


 ----- Original Message -----
 From: Bill Chaney
 To: iris@hort.net
 Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 3:27 AM
 Subject: Re: [iris] OT-BIO: Kathy Palmer


 Hi Kathy,
WELCOME, I think you'll find this group friendly and helpful. I encourage 
you to try your hand at hybridizing, nothing could be more fun (well,
almost).

 Bill




 ________________________________
 From: Kathy Palmer <irismilkduds@yahoo.com>
 To: Iris Digest <iris@hort.net>
 Sent: Sat, January 23, 2010 5:25:32 PM
 Subject: [iris] OT-BIO: Kathy Palmer

 Hello,
This is my introduction to iris-digest. I grew irises in Amarillo, TX for 
 about 10 years and worked with the North Plains Iris Society; a fun and
friendly group. I moved to Santa Fe, NM about 4 years ago and had nowhere 
to
 grow irises until last season.  So, I have about 50 new plants and am
eagerly
awaiting May this year. So far, it has been very difficult to get anything 
to
grow here. (High altitude, poor, high pH soil, cold dry winters and hot dry 
 summers.) I've been with the Santa Fe Iris Society here and just got
elected
 (coerced) to be VP this year.  (In small groups everyone has to take a
turn.)
 I'm hoping to retire in the next couple of years and would very much like
to
 try some hybridizing.  I have been reading 'The World of Iris' and will
have
 many questions I'm sure.

 Well, I guess that's me.
 Kathy
 (Iris Milkduds)

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