Canyon Western Horses

Canyon Western Horses Breeding Appaloosas, QHs & Paints | North Central VIC | Australian agent for ApHC stallions Stolen Identity & Te Coolest Welcome to Canyon! But I want more.

I'm Kathleen Fisher, a boutique breeder of Appaloosas, Paints and Quarter Horses in North Central Victoria, Australia. At Canyon, I breed western horses that are beautiful, trainable and kind — horses that are easy to love and treasure for life. As the Australian agent for ApHC stallions Stolen Identity and Te Coolest, I’m proud to bring world-class Appaloosa genetics to Australia. These proven bl

oodlines help strengthen our gene pool and open up more opportunities for breeders and riders here at home. Most breeders talk about conformation, temperament, trainability and pedigrees, and those things matter to me too. I want to produce horses that people truly love: horses that are confident, curious and naturally enjoy being around people. These horses are a joy to be around, effortless to train and usually find their forever person straight away. At Canyon, I believe professionalism and collaboration matter. When breeders support each other, we produce better horses and build a community people actually want to be part of. The more we work together, the more newcomers will discover how special our horses really are.

My vetting process is very thorough and not at all biased.PS: Yep, that's actually me. I now star in my own memes 😂🤣
11/04/2026

My vetting process is very thorough and not at all biased.

PS: Yep, that's actually me. I now star in my own memes 😂🤣

Someone anonymously posted my friend’s new stallion to a “geld that 💩” Facebook group. She picked him up on a Sunday, go...
10/04/2026

Someone anonymously posted my friend’s new stallion to a “geld that 💩” Facebook group.

She picked him up on a Sunday, got him home that evening, posted the news to her stud page … and woke the next morning to find people all over the world trashing him.

All within 12 hours.

I was angry. That’s not surprising. But here’s why.

They criticised without knowing the facts.
They picked apart his conformation without knowing he’s aged.
They went after his back feet without knowing he’s had two surgeries after a serious hoof injury.

They didn’t do their homework.

They didn’t know this stallion has:
⭐ An old-school pedigree that makes rodeo and reining people salivate
⭐ Half-siblings, top and bottom, who are champion stallions and also produce champions.

They also stole my friend’s photos, ones she took straight after unloading him from the float, and reposted them elsewhere. That’s a breach of copyright, and something Meta takes seriously.

Of course, they did it anonymously. Hidden behind a wall of secrecy to avoid accountability.

At the end of this, I have two questions.

First, what was the motivation? I doubt it was really about the stallion. It feels like a calculated attack on a fellow breeder.

Second, what kind of person is part of a group that exists purely to tear down other people’s horses? This group hides in a dirty corner of Facebook … buried so deep you have to actively dig it out and get approval to join.

That tells me you’re frustrated, insecure or wanting to feel “better” than other people by dragging them down.

The reality is we don’t have to like every stallion. Or every bloodline. Or every breeding program. We’re all aiming for different things and that’s fine.

But the breeders I respect and want to be like don’t do that. They don’t hide behind fake names. They don’t go looking for places to tear others down. And they don’t take aim at a horse someone has barely had time to unload.

They put their precious time and energy into their own horses instead.

07/04/2026

I’m 52 and tech scares me 😬

Finally took my new phone out of the box and did a test video of moving the broodmares to a new paddock.

Do you think they’ll appreciate having their big apple butts on the Internet? 🍎

My first horse as an adult was wildly unsuitable.A green OTTB gelding with separation anxiety. He couldn’t tie solid. An...
06/04/2026

My first horse as an adult was wildly unsuitable.

A green OTTB gelding with separation anxiety. He couldn’t tie solid. And I started my life-long habit of wearing gloves because I regularly got rope burn just from leading him.

Thumper Maloney was a rusty liver chestnut, and he made my return to horses at the age of 37 very difficult.

I dreamed of lazy meanders through the countryside, but he couldn't relax. He jig-jogged and had a mouth of steel.

Of course, I now realise the problem was … me. A newbie, who didn't know a thing. Out of my depth.

So I enrolled in a course with Dr Kate Fenner at Kandoo Equine. I went to a day-long clinic every second Saturday for three months. I didn’t even have a horse float, so Kate lent me hers.

My problems didn’t magically disappear, but I gained tools that I still use today. Everything from float training to long reining to teaching a horse to focus and soften by giving to the bit.

The six training DVDs that came with that course are in the bookcase next to my desk as I write this.

I lost Thumper in his mid-20s. I wonder how my equestrian journey would have been different if he’d been an easy horse. Would I have learned as much?

Have you ever had a “wrong” horse that turned you into a better horse person?

My "real" job is in agriculture. Guess what animal I work with? What do you do when you're not playing with horses?
27/03/2026

My "real" job is in agriculture. Guess what animal I work with?

What do you do when you're not playing with horses?

⚠️ Warning: bad dad joke incoming! Sorry ... not sorry. It's Friday afternoon, after all. Happy weekend!
27/03/2026

⚠️ Warning: bad dad joke incoming! Sorry ... not sorry. It's Friday afternoon, after all. Happy weekend!

“You can’t ride a pedigree.”That’s what a few people told me on Threads.They said breeding from good bloodlines is “just...
17/03/2026

“You can’t ride a pedigree.”

That’s what a few people told me on Threads.

They said breeding from good bloodlines is “just luck”. That thousands of horses are bred every year and none become the next Totilas.

Well … of course they don’t.

The chances of ANY horse, registered or not, becoming a once-in-a-generation horse like Totilas is tiny. That’s why he was extraordinary.

They said an unknown horse out of a kill pen could have Olympic potential.

That idea makes a great headline, but it’s a myth. Because most Olympic horses are identified, registered and traceable. The true rags-to-riches case most people point to is Snowman, the show jumping superstar in the 1950s … but he’s the exception, not the rule.

If pedigree meant nothing, people wouldn’t pay for it. And you wouldn't see it, again and again, in the winner's circle.

Look at the Nutrien Classic Sale, where horses with Hazelwood Conman and Metallic Cat in their pedigrees consistently make top prices. That’s not a coincidence.

Pedigree predicts a lot:
⭐ Suitable discipline
⭐ Risk of genetic disease
⭐ Conformation and movement
⭐ Temperament and trainability
⭐ Soundness, longevity and maturity rate
⭐ Speed, stamina or cow sense
⭐ Fertility and type consistency
⭐ Market value.

Pedigrees reflect genetic inheritance, so dismissing them entirely ignores the biological reality that traits are heritable.

Does pedigree guarantee greatness? No. Because breeding isn’t about certainty. But a pedigree improves the odds of getting the horse you want. Otherwise, you’re just sifting through unknowns and hoping one happens to suit.

For me, a pedigree MUST come with registration papers … because that’s proof. What do you think? Do pedigrees matter to you?

Congratulations to ML Cant Resist The Best, Middle L Appaloosa Stud and the Pearson family on winning the Get of Sire cl...
15/03/2026

Congratulations to ML Cant Resist The Best, Middle L Appaloosa Stud and the Pearson family on winning the Get of Sire class at the Australian Appaloosa National Show, proudly sponsored by Stolen Identity.

What beautifully presented horses that made such a consistent and impressive trio!

Huge congratulations to John Kemp and Dijon Touche on winning the Jackpot Weanling Halter Classic at the Australian Appa...
14/03/2026

Huge congratulations to John Kemp and Dijon Touche on winning the Jackpot Weanling Halter Classic at the Australian Appaloosa National Show, proudly sponsored by Stolen Identity.

It’s been fantastic for Team Stolen Identity to follow the show from around the world. A big thank you to Ralph and Janece Dunn, Dakota Gorrie of CGC Photography & Design, and the Australian Appaloosa Association for making it possible with their wonderful coverage.

Good luck to everyone heading to the Australian Appaloosa National Show this week. I hope it’s a fantastic show with ple...
10/03/2026

Good luck to everyone heading to the Australian Appaloosa National Show this week. I hope it’s a fantastic show with plenty of fun along the way.

A big thank you to all the competitors for getting out there and showcasing our incredible breed, and to the Australian Appaloosa Association for the many late nights and hard work that go into pulling an event like this together.

Stolen Identity is proud to be sponsoring two classes this year: the Weanling Halter Classic and the Get of Sire.

You might notice there’s no service fee on our poster in the official program, and there’s a good reason for that. We’ve officially run out of frozen semen in Australia ... for the second time!

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Girgarre, VIC

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