Nestled near the outer boundaries of the U.S. National Grasslands, on land once claimed by vast herds of American Bison, lies an exclusive Paint horse farm owned by Thales "Tom" Secrest. This website has been christened "Thales Tails", offering an overview of the horses produced on Secrest's farm, and an insight to his breeding philosophy.
With integrity, a solid work ethic, and a thorough understanding and love of horses as the core of his Paint horse operation, Secrest has been able to breed Paint horses that reflect their rich background....as those descendants of the legendary horses first introduced in this country by ancient Spanish Conquistadors. Through line breeding, a technique which is built on the principle of breeding like to get like, Secrest has bred quality horses that are shown to be carrying "good" genes. By breeding these animals back to their ancestors, with two lines that are unrelated to each other, he has achieved horses with as many of these "good" genes as was possible to breed. With his like to like method of breeding, (with mares the result of breeding half-sister to half-brother), Secrest has been more able than not, to get the most favorable like qualities in his offspring.
Working hard to achieve hybrid vigor in his animals, Secrest compares the breeding of his mares to the scientific hybrid development of the best corn, those "super plants" produced in our nation's rich grain belt. By combining two genetically favorable horses (rather than corn seed), he has worked to achieve increased vigor and other superior qualities in his mares which arise from careful crossbreeding. It is with hybrid vigor that Secrest's Paint offspring have a better chance of becoming high quality show and arena horses.
Secrest's Paint horses are of two types, the Overo, with its recessive gene, and the Tobiano which comes from the old Indian pony and having dominant genes. Although both display the beauty of the classic Paint horse, their coloring is varied. In a simple explanation of this difference, the Tobiano looks like a solid-color horse that has had a bucket of white paint poured down it from the top, while the Overo looks like paint was splashed up from the bottom.
All important in the breeding of Secrest's Paints is his pride palomino Quarter Horse stallion "Spanish Rifle", out of Skipper W bloodlines, bought as a weanling in Minnesota. Now a 5 year old stud, he has been test bred, and is likely to be a quality stallion producing high quality show and arena horses. As a result of careful breeding, the genes of Secrest's Paint mares are in the range of 3/4 to 7/8 Quarter Horse, truly remarkable animals genetically, with agreeable temperaments, and athletic stamina. It is hoped that "Rifle" will produce outstanding foals out of Secrest's line bred "Cherokee Levan" mares.
Secrest's ultimate goal for his Paint mares is to make them winners in the show ring. He is following the expertise of John Lyons, a leading horse trainer from Colorado, and will be using Lyons' proven methods in training his show and arena horses. It's Secrest's philosophy and goal to ensure that his high quality young horses will be trained properly, so that their full potential as show and arena horses can be achieved. Once proven, the outstanding offspring will be placed with trainers to finish them for arena and halter events. The purpose of this is to increase the marketability of his other horses who are closely related.
In training Secrest's ultimate mares, for those that have the greatest potential to be winners in the arena or halter events, the John Lyons method will be used. Those mares will be turned over to a fully qualified trainer, who will then show the horses at both halter and arena events. The basic purpose in this will be to increase the marketability of all the close relations of those horses that are shown, and who win in both the halter and arena events.
Plans for showing Secrest's Paints in competition will commence in various regional events, and as his horses win and look like they have viable prospects for competing nationally, he says he will "go for it!" Feel free to check back as often as you'd like to Thales Tails, as Secrest's horses continue to evolve into true champions and more information becomes available on our website. We will continue to update it as often as necessary.
For those who would like more information about Secrest's Paint horses, or anyone who is a prospective buyer of a Secrest quality Paint horse, you may contact Tom Secrest directly at:
Email: tlsecrest@ndgateway.com
Fax: 701-567-4284
Telephone: 701-567-6420
Or, come see our Paint horse operation in southwest North Dakota. We are located just east of Hettinger, off U.S. Highway 12. We look forward to seeing you and we know you'll be favorably impressed with Secrest's Paint horses!
Tell me what you think about our web site. I welcome all of your comments and suggestions.