Paint Sensational Design.
Details: 2011 APHA mare by Zippos Sensation and out of Kiss Me Cuervo, by RR Jose Cuervo. Barn name: Minnie. Owned by: Melvin and Pamela Mousley of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Trained and shown by: Wade Parks and Carly Veldman Parks of Colbert, Georgia. Surprise package: “When I was shopping for an amateur Western pleasure horse, I had three requirements: I wanted a 4- or 5-year- old gelding with minimal white,” Melvin recalls. “Wade called and said he found the perfect horse for me: A 2-yearold, mostly white filly. I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me!’” Model mover: “Minne has the most slow-legged, flat- kneed, all- natural lope I’ve ever seen,” Melvin says. “Her gaits aren’t man- made. She’ll ride like that every single time.” Show- off: Wade prepped the 2-year- old Minnie for the Western pleasure Color Classic at the Reichert Celebration. “I looked around at all the high- end trainers, turned to my wife, and asked, ‘ What are we doing here?’ I felt so out of my element,” Melvin recalls. “And then Minnie won the thing.” The right stuff: As a 3-year- old, Minnie and Melvin earned reserve champion in amateur Western pleasure at the APHA World Show. Minnie was also the 3-year- old Western Pleasure Challenge world champion and the green Western pleasure reserve champion, with Wade aboard. “She’s just a natural- born, Western pleasure machine,” Melvin says. Sweet as sugar: “You gotta hang on when you put on her on the longe line— she’ll squeal, kick, and buck,” Melvin laughs. “But the second you climb on her back, she’s gentle as a lamb. She knows what her job is, and she does it perfectly.”
… Alana Harrison
If your horse is experiencing pain or discomfort in his neck, he may express it in vague ways—such as reluctance to move forward. Or an occasional and mysterious lameness. Or even tripping and falling. Equine neck problems are difficult to diagnose and challenging to treat. If you have any concerns about a potential pain in your horse’s neck, ask your veterinarian about it and learn more online at HorseandRider.com.