NASS Newsletter 2010 - North American Shagya-Arabian Society

Farm News
Patty Betts
OLYMPIA, WA
This has been a busy spring. Besides
continuing ground training
for our 2- and 3- year old boys (Rising
Star and Rhuidean), we had
some equine guests arrive in April.
Bridget (Almos/Bravita AF by H.
Bravo) is a 10-year-old Shagya
mare owned by Cindy Smith who
lives in Saudi Arabia. Bridget
stayed a week before traveling to
Indiana to stay with Gwyn Davis
until Cindy returns to the
U.S. She is a tall, and gentle
mare who loves to be
groomed.
Our flashier guest is Almos
(*Shandor/*Arriva by
Bajar), Cindy’s 19-year-old
stallion. As I understand
it , Almos has made an
important contribution to
the Shagya gene pool. Almos
is here while Cindy locates
a longer term placement
for him.
Although he is a stallion,
Almos has been very easy.
He is basically quiet and gentle,
and likes people. Within a couple
of days he was nickering to us
when we brought his hay and is
easy to work around. He was on
the thin side when he arrived but
not too bad. He likes to walk a lot
so putting weight on will be a little
slower than I would like; but he has
a very good appetite. The vet gave
NASS NEWS Summer 2010
him a thorough inspection and all
is well. Adele Furby stopped by
shortly after Almos came to our
farm. She and Charlie were attending
a wedding in Seattle. She had
bred Almos and had stories to tell
about his birth and early days. She
also owns Rising Star’s sire, Starwalker
and had produced his dam
Ramona AF. So, the horses at my
farm definitely have connections
to her breeding program.
Almos - happy in his new foster home.
We had a good visit. She told me,
“Keep the stallion and the other
horses separate.” Good advice,
Adele. We have had to make some
adjustments such as keeping our
intact colt and mares out of adjacent
pastures. It has been interesting
to see what gets a stallion’s attention
and what doesn’t.
Dear friends and fellow
Shagya enthusiasts,
I need to find a home for my
stallion, Almos. He is an older
stallion by *Shandor out of
*Arriva by Bajar. He is currently
staying with Patty Betts in
Olympia, WA, but Patty does
not have the facilities to continue
caring for him.
Almos carries valuable
bloodlines and
produces classic
Shagya offspring. I
have not handled
him for a long
while, but I used to
hand breed him all
by myself and he
was great to work
with. Due to complications
at birth,
Almos is not trianed
for or suitable
for riding.
If you are interested in adopting
Almos please contact me.
I am in Saudi Arabia so e-mail
is the best way.
Cindy (Lewis) Smith
Saudi Arabia
cindyjosmith@hotmail.com
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