It's impossible to visit Legacy Sport Horses and not encounter Silverdown at some point. "If you don't come here to see him," owner Lauri Kiger explains, "we'll let you know you came here for the wrong reason... and then take you to see him! No, there are other things here than Silver. But that horse is special."
Five eventful years ago, Silverdown was nearly Legacy itself. "He was the first member of our stud row," Lauri remembers. "I can't remember why... probably because I had my hands on him and wasn't letting go, no matter how hard he tried to dissuade me. And try he did... try my patience, that is." Stallion handler Derian Kiger can explain. "That colt was all spit and fire, no brains whatsoever. He was like a super ADHD horse... on caffine. I've never seen anything so wildly brainless before. If it weren't for his incredible movement and charisma, he would've been gone before he could blink."
And Silverdown's attitude did help him out. "He was once the most-ribboned Arabian in Clip Clop," Lauri recalls. "He may have been a total pain in the rear to handle, but it paid off majorly in the show ring. He LOVED to show off, he got everyone's attention."
Silverdown still does show off, but in a different sphere. "He's a hunter now," rider Macy O'Shale informs. "Nobody trusted him over jumps when he was younger, and he wouldn't submit to his rider well enough to be a hunter anyway. That's why Lauri started him out in dressage--he needed to learn submission, badly, and no one trusted him over fences." Apparently either the training worked, or Silver calmed down a lot. "Both," Macy agrees. "He's become a semi-respectful mount, and part of that is because he's learned it, but part is because he's settled down enough to learn it. I think he was really such a hyper colt that he couldn't bring himself down to earth long enough to focus."
So, is the settling complete? "I sure hope not!" laughs Macy. "He's still a trickster. Riding him requires 110% of my attention, because he knows as soon as I pay attention to something else, and takes advantage of me. He's not mean, he's sneaky; and he's so intelligent that he's a very devious sneaky. One of his favourite things to do now, though, is gallop in the woods. There's a flat trail leading directly away from the ring we usually school in, and if you take him out and point him down it, he just takes off. It's his favourite. I can safely say that when he was three or four, NO ONE would have trusted him out of the ring, much less galloping out of the ring."
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Silverdown is confirmed SCID clear.
Colour tests:
Ee - heterozygous for red, meaning he can sire a chestnut foal if the mare is Ee or ee. (The foal must be ee to be chestnut.)
aa - homozygous recessive agouti, meaning he cannot sire a bay foal unless the mare is Aa or AA. (aa is black; Aa or AA is bay.) This means if the mare is black and does not have the red gene (e), the foal will be black (or grey).
Gg - heterozygous grey, meaning Silverdown has a 50% chance of siring a grey foal when bred to a non-grey mare. (A grey mare will result in a 75% - 100% chance of grey.)
Silverdown's stud book is currently open.
Mares must be approved for breeding to Silverdown. Mares considered for approval must be of the following breeding:
- Arabian (foal must be registered Domestic Arabian)
- Morgan (for Morab foal)
- German warmblood (for German warmblood foal)
- German Riding Pony (for German Riding Pony foal)
- Other sporting breeds possibly considered if the mare has an exemplary showing record.
Mares must be competing in one or more sporting disciplines (i.e. dressage, jumping, hunters considered--no saddleseat, halter only, etc.). They must have a clean bill of health and be UTD on vaccinations.
To request more information or to book a breeding, please contact Lauri via Clip Clop forum private messaging.
Progeny:
Silverdevera L: 2008 Quarab filly out of Had Me At Hello. Owned by Jhinnua of The Far Side.
Adelaide: 2004 Shagya Arabian filly out of King's Damsel. Owned by Saoirse Talon.
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