Cowboy quote : The best way to cook any part of a rangy ol' longhorn is to toss it in a pot with a horseshoe, and when the horseshoe is soft and tender, you can eat the beef.

This information is reprinted from the Centralia Washington "Chronicle." We think you'll find it very interesting.

"White Tennessee Walker born in Onalaska rare breed"

She is close to her animals. Three years earlier, she helped deliver Snowy River's mother, Cinnamon Sailor. "When she was a baby, she used to climb on my lap," Weiss said. So, it was natural for Weiss to deliver Snow River. The horse is a different color from his parents. His father is a lavender roan, his mother a strawberry roan. Weiss said she was amazed when Snowy River arrived. With all the horses she had brought into the world, she has never delivered a white colt.

"I have yet to find anyone that has seen a white one, or a curly one," she said. Even white stallions usually come into the world with some color and turn white as them matrure, she said.

Phil Sponenberg, a professional at Virginia Tech who specializes in horse genetics, confirms that Snowy River is specisl. While he has heard of white Tennessee Walkers, they are rare. Maybe one in 200, he said. "But curly ones are fiarly uncommon," Sponenberg said. "I've never heard of it happening in related breeds." He gave the odds of a Tennesse Walker mare having a curly foal as 1-in-1,000.

Weiss breeds Tennesse Walkers and pintos at her Onalaska farm. Tennessee Walkers are bred for their good anture and their gait, Weiss explained. The breed originated in the South where plantation owners needed to ride long distances and wanted a smooth-riding horse. "These horses don't trot," she said. "One foot is always on the ground."

Tennessee Walkers can bring between $1,500 to $15,000, Weiss said. "But I dont' even know if I'd let (Snowy River) go for that." Weiss said. "He's a one of a kind."

Confirmation of breeding will take place with a blood sample to the Tennessee Walker Association, based in Tennessee.

More Bits 'N' Pieces about real horses in the next newsletter.

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