Happy Friday! Here is your Friday Flashback, from the first Annual Stallion Issue of The Lippitt Club News, published in 1983:
(Editor’s note: In this, our first Annual Stallion issue, we are proud to feature on the cover, the 1982 Lippitt Country Show Grand Champion Stallion. We asked his owner, Clara Hendin, for a story about Mouse. She graciously sent along the following. We appreciate it.)
Rohan Mighty Mouse – A Short History
by Clara Hendin
Rohan Might Mouse is one of the few Lippitts by Lippitt Norman; some of the others that come to mind are Rohan Ethan Moro and Rohan Lassie Moro (out of Moro Hill’s Emelyn), CC Eres Tu (out of Stillwater Hope) and a couple of An-Nel-Le Lippitts. Mouse had a full sister who suffocated at birth. After that experience, you may be sure that I was in attendance at Mouse’s birth!
Mouse’s dam is Rohan Athena, Grand Champion Mare, and winner of the Justin Morgan Standard Class. Athena is a very choosy mare, who won’t admit that she’s ready to breed unless she approves of the stallion you’ve selected for her. While breeding her to Norman, we broke a set of hobbles each of the two years. Mouse is a recognizable amlagam of his parents, with the flat Norma shoulder, and the Athena head and hindquarters.
Mouse got a late start in being civilized. After an uneventful birth, he spent a very protected infanthood (Athena lets no one near her foals.) He was sold at a young age, but never left Rohan. When he was two, I bought him back, as he was obviously an outstanding individual and I wanted to start at least halter training him. He had been running free for two years.
Drawing on my calf-roping experience (two summers in Wyoming), I managed to drop a rope over his head, and snubbed him to the nearest post. I gradually worked him closer until we could get the halter on him. (It wasn’t that he was scared of, or disliked people, simply that he’d never been handled, other than neck scratching.)
Well, the little tyke almost killed the two of us learning to lead. I remember the day my part-time stable hand, Ron, tripped while leading him, landed on his stomach, and was dragged 40 feet. He would not let go, as he knew the gate was open. That was the day Mouse decided people weren’t easy to push – or pull around – as he had thought.
At age 4 I sent Mouse to Harold Child’s for training. Unfortunately, Mr. Childs broke his arm that summer and decided not to take stallions for training anymore. In 1981, I took Mouse to Barbara Ackley to finish his training. You saw the results at the 1982 Lippitt Country Show.
Mouse has two offspring on the ground; the 5 year old gelding, Medovue Spitfire (X Rygate Donna) owned by Melissa Carpenter, and the 3 year old filly, Rohan Elwing (X Rohan Sweet Adeline) owned by Harrison Miles. Both resemble Mouse; they are well-made and carry his gorgeous head. I expect great things from him as a sire.
Mouse will be shown at some Morgan shows in 1983; he is nicely broke Western, and may be shown Western rather than saddle seat. You’ll see him again at the Lippitt Country Show.
