Silky Fox

Silky Fox was born in 1965, bred and raised by Reed Hill, Canadian, Texas. Sire: Rapid Bar TAAA, AQHA Champion. Dam: Ima Pixie, Stakes winner, show champion, daughter of Custus Rastus TB. My Dad, Frank, and I always thought Three Bars TB and Custus Rastus TB were the best TB stallions ever used on QH mares. Of course we leaned more toward correct conformation than speed alone. We liked the TB frame, perfected over hundreds of years, then the right kind of QH muscle added to it. Custus Rastus never had Walter Merrick to manage him so his contribution was miniscule compared to Three Bars. Custus Rastus sired a stifle that was a plow disk shape superior to all other TB stallions. Ima Pixie had that stifle. Hoss Inman of Lamar, CO was a sport. He bought and sold some great horses. He owned Royal Bar, Ima Pixie, Rapid Bar, and a strong string of bucking stock. In fact he was one of the first stock contractors to shoe all his bucking horses for better performance at the National Finals. Hoss would get broke and Reed Hill would buy a half interest in his best horses and then pretty soon Reed would somehow get the other half. Ima Pixie and Rapid Bar came through Hoss Inman's pens. In 1966 Reed Hill had his annual QH production sale and Dad was set on buying the 1965 dark chestnut stud colt by Rapid Bar out of Ima Pixie. Dad had to give $1700 for him and that was the top of the market that day. A lengthy chapter in the eBook sold by Amazon, FILLET OF HORN II, has the whole story of Silky Fox and my Dad's love for him, to the end. The chapter is "THE BURIALS OF SILKY FOX." If you have ever loved a great horse you will identify with Dad through the victories and tears of the life of this brilliant stallion. I encourage everyone to acquire this eBook and read the Silky chapter and the other 36 chapters, all about buying, selling and dealing with livestock. Silky Fox won in 7 AQHA point divisions all at the same time and won his AQHA Championship in 31 days. He did reining, pleasure, steer roping, calf roping, and trail at the same time as getting his halter points. His progeny have earned several World Championships, the Congress, Denver, etc. and nearly 3000 AQHA points. I wish everyone could read the detailed chapter in Fillet of Horn II. You would love the read. Dad had a dairy most of his life. Every time I took photos of one of our horses Dad insisted on posing them. Dad would take charge like dads do, and get excited, hollering "take it" "take it." From the camera angle it might not look so good but Dad couldn't tell that. Early one morning we didn't tell dad the plan. He milked cows from 5 AM to 8:30. My friend Jay Handle agreed to help take photos of Silky so we cleaned him up about 6 AM and started taking photos with the beautiful low Colorado Summer light. Dad couldn't "help." He was watching from about a city block away and frustrated to no end. This rear view with the low light was my choice. Silky was easy to photograph, if Dad wasn't involved. He didn't need photo shopped. This was the Ryon Supreme buck stitched halter made to one of my early Fitted patterns. It had the high jaw placement, no slop hanging down and the throat piece perfectly tight in the throat. Windy Ryan made the strap behind the ears too long and the buckle too high. A huge buckle should never poke into the horse's ear -- should have been lower. Dad bred mares to Silky at $1000 and used the money to buy land and more land. Silky never took a lame step, was perfectly sound into his mid twenties, until the last hour of his life. You will have to read the book from there on.