Seeking a special someone

Not just any stud was good enough for the Stewarts’ “little Peanut.”

He had to have the right build and a pleasant personality.

Jim and Judy Stewart searched diligently Saturday to find that stud for their Arabian mare during the first Morgan Horse Open House at Spokane Valley Mission Park’s arena.

If only Peanut, the 14-year-old mare, knew how tough it was for them to choose.

The Stewarts brought their friend Brad Harr, an experienced horseman, to help pick a stud for Peanut.

“What I can’t see that Brad does is the build (of the horse),” Jim Stewart said.

Harr and Jim Stewart went from stall to stall at the arena evaluating the stallions during the one-day event.

Harr pointed out that the length of the neck, hoof color, width of the hips, the horse’s overall size and its personality were all qualities to consider.

Disposition is a hereditary trait in horses, Harr said.

Jim Stewart had his own test for disposition. If he could walk up to the horse and pick up its legs to look at the hooves, then that was a good sign.

The Stewarts were among about 300 people who attended the Morgan Horse Open House.

Breeders from 10 farms from as far away as Boise were on site with nearly 20 male Morgans ready to be studded out for a fee – $300 to about $750.

Horses also were available for sale from about $1,200 to about $7,500.

Margo Mossburg, event organizer, said “we are here to get some mares bred and some horse sold.”

She was thrilled with the turnout at the first-year event from both breeders and customers.

The horse owners gladly trotted their studs out and led them around the arena at people’s request.

Harr admired the dark hooves of one horse, saying that the deep brown or black indicates good hoof strength.

Look at that one, “he looks like he’s floating when he runs,” Jim Stewart said of another horse in the arena.

Harr and the Stewarts narrowed it down to three studs, Spanish – a nicely built black stallion, Dynamite – a mild-mannered chestnut stud, and Cobra’s Promise – a surly, yet stunning fellow.

“That’s the trouble when you get in the candy jar,” Harr said of the selection of horses. “There are so many things to look at, it’s hard to choose.”