Starkist
09-29-2003, 01:38 PM
A prize-winning 'stallion', tipped for a lucrative life on a stud farm, has been found to be missing some vital equipment.
Clydesdale colt, Black Prince, has been stripped of several awards he won in Scotland after it was found he'd been castrated as a foal.
Among his honours were a blue ribbon at this year's Doune and Dunblane Show and a prize at the National Stallion Show.
That made him eligible for a place in The Stud Book, the Clydesdale horsebreeders' main reference.
His virility came into question only when his owner, Kevin Cargill, decided to sell him to a breeder and a vet's inspection was requested.
A vet informed the surprised parties the two-year-old had been castrated as a foal, says The Times.
Robert Hamilton, president of the Clydesdale Horse Society, said the organisation had no choice but to remove the awards.
"Put simply, the necessary ammunition wasn't there - and no balls means no awards," he said.
Mr Hamilton said prize judges, who were representatives of various fairs endorsed by his society, had made a mistake that, although obvious, was easy enough to make.
"When horses are on display they often retract their testicles. You cannot see them, and judges are not at liberty to start groping horses' balls."
Source (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_824050.html?menu=news.latestheadlines)
How could it take this long to find out? Should the owner have something to ask whomever he bought the horse from? Or did he know, and just forget?
Clydesdale colt, Black Prince, has been stripped of several awards he won in Scotland after it was found he'd been castrated as a foal.
Among his honours were a blue ribbon at this year's Doune and Dunblane Show and a prize at the National Stallion Show.
That made him eligible for a place in The Stud Book, the Clydesdale horsebreeders' main reference.
His virility came into question only when his owner, Kevin Cargill, decided to sell him to a breeder and a vet's inspection was requested.
A vet informed the surprised parties the two-year-old had been castrated as a foal, says The Times.
Robert Hamilton, president of the Clydesdale Horse Society, said the organisation had no choice but to remove the awards.
"Put simply, the necessary ammunition wasn't there - and no balls means no awards," he said.
Mr Hamilton said prize judges, who were representatives of various fairs endorsed by his society, had made a mistake that, although obvious, was easy enough to make.
"When horses are on display they often retract their testicles. You cannot see them, and judges are not at liberty to start groping horses' balls."
Source (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_824050.html?menu=news.latestheadlines)
How could it take this long to find out? Should the owner have something to ask whomever he bought the horse from? Or did he know, and just forget?