Skipper W bred horses

[skeeter]

Does anybody have experience with Skipper W bred horses? I'm looking at a 2 yr old. The top side is all Skipper W breeding. The bottom side is Dash for Cash, Jet Deck, and Blondy's Dude. The bottom side I'm not worried about.

[loomixguy]

Then I wouldn't worry too much about the top side. That bottom side will carry through.

[Faster horses]

That's a different cross for sure. I would hope what loomixguy said
would be right. The Skipper W's are pretty, but I never knew any of
them to be much for using horses. And they can get mad easy.

[Denny]

We've got a grandson. He's about 20 now not the most handy a bit clumsy but very easy to handle. Rides with a snaffle bit. Anyone can ride him and he's been that way since a 2 year old. Great trail horse but not enough cattyness to make a good cowhorse.Hell of a kids horse though and pretty light sorrel with a flaxen mane and tail.

[VB RANCH]

i have known a few skipper w's, all broncs, all were pretty good arena horses for this country, one was really good in the pasture but was pretty much cow killed, so he had to get good or die

[cowwrangler]

most of them i seen were weak in the pasterns,but some people loved them.i myself didnt care for them

[Jigger Boss]

My old mare has a touch of Skipper W in her. She was my saddle horse for the past 20 years. She always done what I asked of her and she's never quit me. I haven't ridden her for a couple of years now, but she still has "life". She's been a great mare. She loves moving cows and she's always there for you when you have a cow at the end of the rope.

[cure]

I would run as far from the horse as I could I have just about that same breeding here. All I can say is if you are going to ride everyday 365 days a year than that is the horse for you. Like FH said they are pretty to look at but that it a very hot cross that can get you hurt if you are not ready.
Personally if I were you I just walk away and not look back.

[flcowgirl5491]

We just bought a horse that came from the Barthle Bros. Ranch in Florida. His name is "Flit Maverick", their Flit horses are known for roping, steer wrestling, and general cow sense, etc. You would think this boy would be a bit crazy but he is so good around the barn. He is great with little kids and he is not "hot" at all. He is a joy to have around because we have a big family and don't know just who might come around. I am glad we bought him. No buyer's remorse. (And no, I don't get any money from that family.)

[skeeter]

Thanks for all the responses, here's a couple pictures of him. He just turned 2 yrs old Aug 1. I currently ride a grandson of Blondy"s Dude but he's starting to get some age on him.

[Faster horses]

He's pretty plain looking, to me anyway. I can't see much to get
excited about. Young horses are pretty cheap nowdays, so I think
I would be more selective. FWIW

I have to say, I like a horse with a droopy bottom lip like this
colt has. That shows
he's probably pretty low key. Watch out for horses that have a tight
bottom lip or swallow their bottom lip. They are pretty sensitive and
tend to be more high-strung.

[Chimenea]

Well, I might as well throw in my two cents' worth, also.

We've used the Skipper W bloodlines in our breeding program for about ten years, and have had really good results. Good natured, athletic, and pretty hardy; and, they are extremely smart, with good memories and a pretty good stubborn streak. I've found that, in most cases, people either love them and get along with them well, or really dislike them and flat out don't like the bloodline. As I stated, we've had really good results with them and are really happy with ours. But you absolutely have to have the "right" Skippers in order to consistently have good results with them. The good ones are really nice; the bad ones absolutely stink.

Hank Wiescamp had a reputation for pawning off his dinks along with the really good horses as a condition of sale of the really good horses; that put a lot of dinks out of Alamosa and into the breeding world, with the dinks' only claim to fame being that they were branded Wiescamp and with little consideration for how, when, or why Hank Wiescamp sold those horses. Not only that, a lot of "Skipper" breeders over the past several years have crossed horses just because both the mare and stallion were Skipper bred, crossing individuals -- and entire branches of the bloodline -- that I think Hank Wiescamp himself would probably never have crossed. So the result, after several generations of these practices, is that you have some pretty nice Skippers out there, some pretty bad ones, and a lot of really average ones.

Generically, the speed breeding on the two-year-old's bottom side doesn't make me the tiniest bit nervous crossed on some Skippers, and Blondys Dude has some shared lineage with some of the Skippers (through Plaudit). But depending on exactly what Skipper horses are in the top half of the two-year-old's pedigree, it might or might not be a good cross.

I agree with FH's comment about the droopy bottom lip; at least the horse wasn't nervous when you took the pictures. But I don't know how representative two photographs are of a horse's overall disposition or what he's been exposed to over the course of his short life. And for a two year old, he's not a bad looking horse. He's not spectacular in his conformation, but the basics seem to be where they should be: his bone and feet look good; his muscling is adequate for a long two year old; his pasterns, hocks, and shoulder have a nice angle to them; he has a nice heart girth and withers; his neck ties in right and goes to a nice, tight throat latch; and his head is pretty nice. Sure looks like he could use a course of Ivermectin. It's hard to tell from the pictures what his back, loin, and hip look like, but he looks like he'll be a good, stout horse that cleans up nicely as a four or five year old. Most of the Skippers (even when they have a lot of outcross blood, like this one) will be late bloomers in their physical maturity; a lot of them will look like long yearlings well into their three year old year.

Anyway, if you like the horse and his attitude, I wouldn't be afraid of him just because he's Skipper bred; but I wouldn't fall in love with him just because he's Skipper bred, either. If you're buying him from the breeder, take a look at his older siblings and check out their attitudes and athleticism; a lot of that is heritable and could be indicative of your horse's future. If you'd like, let me know what his Skipper breeding is on the top side and I'll be happy to share with you what I know about those individuals (if I know them).

Cheers.