19 replies to this topic

[ShannonC]

Does anyone know what ever happen to The Society for the Preservation of the Egyptian Arabian Horse (SPEAH)??

Shannon

[Ray]

Hi Shannon,

Don't hold your breath for any answers.  I'm still waiting to hear from anyone who knows, as I've asked about this organization in more than one topic.  

I was given to understand that SPEAH was originally started by TPS, or TPS members.  I was very impressed at the time, but was also laboring under some false impressions and making some assumptions about the organization that proved to be incorrect.  Assumptions like: the group was there to actually do as the name suggests - preserve the Egyptian Arabian Horse.  Meaning, to me, they come to the rescue as needed to save horses from the killer auctions and the like.

Instead, the few select "officials" of this organization - mostly high-ranking TPS members - made decisions with regard to which horses and which people would be "helped", and acquired horses of bloodlines to their own tastes, placing them in homes where the new caretakers often spent many hundreds of dollars in vet and feed bills, only to have the horse removed by these "officials" on some bullcrap excuse.  The horse later shows up in the ownership of some big-shot friend of the SPEAH "official".  So it would appear to be a society for the preservation of the interests of TPS big shots.    

Perhaps this was an isolated example and SPEAH has turned over a new leaf and I am still misinformed.  However, at least on the forums, no one comes forward with any explanations.

[Aimbri]

Several years ago . . . at least 15 or more, when this organization was fairly new, I phoned the contact number, and inquired as to how one would go about aquiring some of the mares they advertised as for lease.  At the time, I had 2 SE mares, and 1 SE stallion.  My stallion was Gleannloch bred, and was accomplished in the show ring, with a multitude of wins in both halter and performance.  I had been riding and showing grade horses, then part breds and finally purebred arabians for most of my life.   I had my own farm, access to plenty of great feed, and was very interested in the mares that they were offering for lease, many who had predominantly Gleannloch lines, like my stallion!

The man that I spoke to . . . and I do NOT recall his name at all . . . didn't seem interested in my inquiry at all, and left me with the impression that I had a snowball's chance in HE(double hockey sticks) to have access to any of the mares that I was interested in leasing.  He said that he would send me the materials, however . . . nothing ever became of it.

Several years later, I was contacted by a young woman who had somehow aquired one of the mares that I had been interested in.  She wanted to breed this mare to my stallion.  She told me that her father had done some work for one of the "big shots" and was given the mare in exchange.  The mare was EXTREMELY well bred, and was, in fact, one of the mares I had been originally interested in, however . . . she had breeding problems, and the young lady told me that she had NEVER managed to maintain a pregnancy, and although accomplished under saddle, this mare now had some soundness issues, as well.  Sad!

So . . . some of these horses WERE distributed to outsiders, once it was established that they had breeding and/or soundness issues, and were NO LONGER a valuable commodity, it seems!

Please, someone . . . . I truly hope that you are able to correct Ray and I, and tell us that these are isolated incidents . . . I truly do!

[M Huprich]

I don't think the PS has ANY relationship now with SPEAH nor have they for many years.  

I have had similar dismal results in the past in trying to contact anyone from SPEAH or to get any replies of substance.

[Aimbri]

I just took a quick look at the SPEAH website.  Seems to be quite outdated.  The mares that they have listed as "For Lease" are said to be available as of Jan. 2008.  There is a contact name and number there, but I did NOT attempt to contact.  Maybe more info can be obtained through her.

[chiron]

      OH, my the stories I could share.  & Sandy (CalicoArab) too.  The aforementioned gentleman would have been Dwayne Scudder---------more stories---he has retired from "managing" SPEAH.   As recent as last month I got an email offering 5 or 6 mares in the SPEAH program.
Altho the orginal non-profit charter was all about education & research requiring quarterly reports with breeding & health records on each horse in the program....Not sure that was ever done.  And, yeah, it did sorta become a "good ol boy's club"  with little or no financial accounting.   A really good idea gone sideways.

Bonny Kenney fell heir to the mess SPEAH was allowed to become.  I think she is doing her best to get an accounting & get things turned around but it's not going to be easy or quick.  Wishing Bonny all the best, she is a really neat Lady.  & Actually RIDES her horses.  

[Aimbri]

chiron, on 06 September 2010 - 06:01 PM, said:

      OH, my the stories I could share.  & Sandy (CalicoArab) too.  The aforementioned gentleman would have been Dwayne Scudder---------more stories---he has retired from "managing" SPEAH.   As recent as last month I got an email offering 5 or 6 mares in the SPEAH program.
Altho the orginal non-profit charter was all about education & research requiring quarterly reports with breeding & health records on each horse in the program....Not sure that was ever done.  And, yeah, it did sorta become a "good ol boy's club"  with little or no financial accounting.   A really good idea gone sideways.

Bonny Kenney fell heir to the mess SPEAH was allowed to become.  I think she is doing her best to get an accounting & get things turned around but it's not going to be easy or quick.  Wishing Bonny all the best, she is a really neat Lady.  & Actually RIDES her horses.  

I would LOVE to hear the stories . . . . will you share???  If not on here . . . e-mail me!

[hansi]

Aimbri, on 06 September 2010 - 10:03 PM, said:

I would LOVE to hear the stories . . . . will you share???  If not on here . . . e-mail me!

well, here is what i know.

when jim kline died he had to leave his herd to some-one. so he donated it and with is speah was created, managed by duain scudder.
i found duain always a straight shooter. the PS was in financial trouble and it was speah who pulled them out and helped them to sustain. most of the horses donated and added were of average
concept, while the best were sold prior. i wrote in my Se index-' i wonder how wisely the millions were spent' because the ps made a lot of money to about 1990 or so. when i came out with that all bookeeping records of the PS were destroyed in 1992. also two tapes of memberships existed, sent to me in error. just amazing what they indicated. When a certain president took over the arrogance, splenderous spending for certain endevours for their own farms/horses/friends here and abroad becamse frustratingly obvious. it brought the PS down to its ankels. Only certain bloodlines were "in" all others only used to pay bills. but has this been changed todate? hell No.

but it can be changed. Just ask to have the garden ornaments compete in a race.then you will see which is the wheat and which is the straw. will people learn, very seldom.

hansi

[Nancy Bourque]

I know for a fact that some of these horses went to pretty poor homes where they were not fed well
or cared for. I also know that SPEAH was aware of these conditions.

[hansi]

Nancy Bourque, on 07 September 2010 - 12:33 PM, said:

I know for a fact that some of these horses went to pretty poor homes where they were not fed well
or cared for. I also know that SPEAH was aware of these conditions.

dear nancy.
as i said, duaine scudder is a straight shooter, that's why jim kline trusted him, because also jim kline was a very straight shooter.

i was told that the donations of horses to that speah program received that tax credit status, and in some cases large prices for horses were
applied. i dont know to what extend duaine was/is involved with accepting donated horses, nor do i know how they were leased out and/or sold or prices involved.

hansi

[Heidi]

Nancy Bourque, on 07 September 2010 - 12:33 PM, said:

I know for a fact that some of these horses went to pretty poor homes where they were not fed well
or cared for. I also know that SPEAH was aware of these conditions.

Yup. the Speah mare I had was in real poor condition when I got her. Full of worms and skinny. I know they have no idea where some of the horses are.I had Etheena for 2 1/2 years and never got a contract for the lease.

[Roze]

I spoke with a lady several months ago, I'd have to go through emails to dig up her name, as I was inquiring about their program, what they did etc. She said she had just taken over and was working on tracking the horses down and getting the program running again. I expressed that I was very interested in their lease program, she indicated she'd send me a list of mares available and I've never heard from her since. Data Source has a lot of horses registered to the organization's name. It sounded like it was a great program at one time. It's ashamed to think what may have happened to all of the horses registered to them.

[chiron]

Roze, on 07 September 2010 - 06:59 PM, said:

It sounded like it was a great program at one time.

It was a SUPER GREAT program, especially if your name was Sherri Mose.    

Bonnie Kenney is the lady trying to get the program straightened out.  Used to be a So Cal gal now in Texas.     Not sure she is a member here.  Was over on "Thee other site" at one time.

After the big tax advantages of donating evaporated, SPEAH may have become a dumping ground for infertile/sub-fertile animals and looks like maybe more than a handful of CA & LFS producers.
Just saying    

[Avalondales]

I have two mares that were in this program... When they originally came to Michigan they were in pretty bad shape.. They were removed from the situation they were in and placed with the Malinowski's who took excellent care of them... They both have proven to be fertile.. Five fillies between the two of them... In regards to LFS or CA none have been produced and they are yet to be tested..

They do seem actually a sad pair as you can see the that in their early lives being shifted around has made them wary of people... I have had Ishtar for 6 years and just now she will seek my company out in the pasture.. It has taken her that long to decide I am OKAY... She is better with men, so I suspect she was abused by a woman at some point in her life.  Baby is more trusting and loves to be groomed... They both are very attached to each other more so than they are to their daughters...

The concept of SPEAH is a good one... In practice I think it has some up short... Tracy

[Heidi]

http://www.speah.org/contact.html

[ShannonC]

Roze, on 07 September 2010 - 06:59 PM, said:

I spoke with a lady several months ago, I'd have to go through emails to dig up her name, as I was inquiring about their program, what they did etc. She said she had just taken over and was working on tracking the horses down and getting the program running again. I expressed that I was very interested in their lease program, she indicated she'd send me a list of mares available and I've never heard from her since. Data Source has a lot of horses registered to the organization's name. It sounded like it was a great program at one time. It's ashamed to think what may have happened to all of the horses registered to them.

Well I got a response from Bonnie from email standing that the program is now in Waco, Texas and ask her for a list of horses that they have now.  That was three days ago so we will see if I get anything back and what's going on with the program.  

Shannon

[1rider]

Somebody mentioned Sherri Mose.   She sold a friend of mine many of the straight egyptions handbooks, think almost the whole set. It took many months after my friend payed her.  then got a call from another lady saying she was once a friend of Sherris and that Sherri had barrowed them to make copies then sold them. Some were taken apart. Crazy the things people do.

[Lysette]

AHA still has SPEAH coming up as being located in Louisville when you type in a search for Discovery Farms. So it looks like that needs to be updated!

Best wishes for the new organizers!  It seems as though this could be such a wonderful program and I know how very excited I was when I first learned of it.

[nevermimic]

After reading everyone's posts....it sounds like a program that I would NOT want to do business with.

[ponygirl]

Shannon let me know what you find out.