Texas Horse Portraits | Summer the American Bashkir Curly

Summer, CMC Simitar Apache Summer, is an American Bashkir Curly. She is very closely related to the wild caught Curly Mustangs, by just a few generations. She also has a few Missouri Fox Trotter, who can occasionally have curly hair, in her bloodlines. Her grand sire is the well known sire Peacock D, bred by the Dameles who were the first to selectively breed Curly horses. She was bred by Lynda Ewer of Color Me Curlies in Magnolia, Texas.

This Buckskin Overo American Bashkir Curly is a very unique girl with her wide blaze and white chin. Summer currently is on a break from being ridden because her owner Catherine is pregnant. Summer gets a very curly winter coat, and it actually becomes like a brillo pad, but much softer. She is very level headed and when challenged, normally chooses to just listen and not pick a fight. If another horse sticks their head over the stall at dinner time, she just stands there and does not react, however in pasture she will run away from conflict. She is very content being the less dominant the group. Summer can picky when it comes to treats, and will only eat certain able and peppermint horse treats. If you bring her the wrong kind, she will turn up her nose. This curly girl, is content and loves attention from anyone.

Catherine mostly does trail riding and the pair has played around with trail obstacles. They have also started playing around with jumping and Summer took right to it- she loves going over the obstacles. Hopefully after Catherine’s baby arrives the pair will be able to get back to jumping and begin lessons to further their knowledge.

Catherine shares her story of how she found Summer, “I found her son’s sale ad not long after purchasing my first curly, Pawnee, and I really loved how great he was but I did not have the means to take in a non gelded colt. I did not want to be the one to geld such a wonderful boy, so I just stood back and watched him from afar. Summer’s owner and I played with the idea of me having her at some point because I loved her too, I just didn’t have the funds to transport her or pay for the extra boarding. A Few years passed and I ended up selling my horse of 13 years (Not curly) because my allergies were getting worse with time and I could no longer take care of her without making myself sick. At the same time, I remembered Summer and checked to see if she was still for sale. She was, and her price had been reduced. The owner and I got to talking and she ended up sending me a hair sample to be sure that the overo gene wouldn’t bother my allergies (I was the most allergic to Pintos, very odd but true). They didn’t. Her hair passed with flying colors! I paid for her, set up transport, and she finally arrived from Wisconsin to here in Texas on October 14th, 2015! My Buckskin and Overo dreams came true in one day! And she was even more fantastic in person! Deep golden Color, sweet, dapples, self-cleaning white markings, kind eyes, curl-filled ears, and a bright future!”

This sweet curly never turns down Peppermint Horse Treats.

“I got into horses the first chance I could! Starting from Pony rides at fairs, I eventually ended up riding at a family friend’s ranch when I was 8, and went to my first riding camp when I was 10. My first Horse that I ended up getting at 12, I met the day after she was born when I was 10 at the ranch. Two years later I convinced my dad to buy her. Best $400 ever spent! She was in my life for 13 years before I was forced to sell her because my allergies to horses progressively got worse. I am still sad about as she was the best horse ever and took me on many weekend rides, but a couple years before selling her I had come across a smokey black yearling curly filly that changed my world. It made the transition of losing her easier knowing that I could finally enjoy horses again without the miserable allergy issue. My favorite thing about owning horses, more specifically this people-doting breed, is how much joy they bring you just being there. Just one look can help reassure you that everything will be alright and strips you of any stresses in your day-to-day life.”

I love that Catherine shares to use your fingers when detangling their manes and tails, especially when dealing with curly or frizzy hair. If you need some extra help she suggests using Coconut Oil, and to also use a good conditioner while bathing. Catherine also adds that the Coconut Oil can help prevent fungus issues.

“My favorite memory about Summer is when we went on our first trail ride. She had only a few rides but was so in her element when we got there. She saddled easily, enjoyed all the sights and people interested in her curls, and got right into it like she had done it many times before. Rode right up next to wagons (Almost climbing in them), allowed constant rider switches between friends (Because they wanted to try her) and at the end of the day wasn’t tired and felt safe enough to lie down and take a nap. From then on I knew I had chosen a really good horse to pair with my other curly for riding. Best day ever so far.”

I can honestly say that Summer was such an incredible joy to photograph, one of the most unique things I noticed about this breed was their eye lashes have a distinctive curl upwards to them. Oh, and Summer even managed to pull off the perfect shaking picture!

Karinda K Equine Photography specializes in Texas horse portraits located in Montgomery, TX. Karinda creates timeless portraits of you with your beloved horses, and other farm animals. Serving locally Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, Texas communities. KEP also serves Wellington and Ocala, Florida, Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, Aiken, South Carolina, Tryon, North Carolina, and Norco and Woodside, California and their surrounding communities.