3 fence rails later....

Remember what I said about horses going through the fence ...! Here is horse number 3, the Brad Pitt of the bunch. 4 years old and stunning, his name is Danny Boy ( Jockey Club name was Lettersfromdublin) so we made it Irish somewhat. He lost his manhood a week ago, but he does not realize this yet. So we have let him live in small paddock with Michael's old retired foxhunter, Bob. Bob is the best babysitter, long suffering and kind, mostly. He looked at the new studly fellow and then back at me, as if to say, Really!!! But all was well until I had the bright idea to let the other 2 new geldings as close as a fence rail apart. There had been a small aisle between, but I thought Danny might remember his stablemate and be OK. Well, in the space of one day with Bob he had made him his b***h and was not going to let any one else come near. It took about 30 secs for a body slam along the fence and the 3 rails went flying , splintered in 6 pieces. Old Bob thought this was his jailbreak and took off with the other 2 geldings, Frank and Preacher, who were justifiably terrified. Bob said "follow me" and took off across the pasture. Danny Boy didn't really understand what he had done and did not immediately plunge through the gap in the fence, because there were broken rails. He just screamed and ran around like stallions do who have just had someone steal their babe! My daughter and I looked on in horror. I yelled at her to put her horse away and I would fix fence hopefully before the colt found the gap. I managed one rail from another section to put across and then grabbed Danny Boy to put in stall. Sarh was having a problem with her horse who did not want to go in stall and thereby miss all the excitement, so she was yelling at me or him, not sure. I grabbed a leadrope and went to get Bob, who was blissfully eating with the other 2 new QUIET boys. He reluctantly returned with me to keep Danny Boy happy.
So I am now rethinking both the time and the way to introduce a recently gelded boy to the other 2.    I want to keep them all together because it is easier to bring three in and ride them all. By the way I have ridden them all and they all have been great. More on that next time.

Happiness is 3 new horses and a new truck!

My husband tells me he misses my blog writing. I miss Cookie McClung's funny stories in the Chronicle of the Horse. She was irreplaceable but there are funny stories everywhere with horses, so I am going to "chronicle" taking three new Thoroughbreds off the track and turning them into foxhunters.
This idea sprung from the fact that my best,   gold-standard whip horse, Red, is turning 19 this season and I needed to start bringing a new one along. I was down to 6 horses, having retired from breeding TB horses for the racetrack (which meant I sold them as yearlings at the big auctions). No more foaling monitors! I actually slept from March to May. No more crazy yearlings! It was great but ... and this will resonant with horse crazy people... I had 9 stalls!
I told a few people I was looking for a horse off the track, because that's all I can afford. I love those ads that say " low five figures". Are they kidding! Who spends 10 grand on a horse that can run through a fence the first day, who always pulls shoes the day after farrier is here, and the vet knows by name. I think "high three figures" is too much, but realize the seller has bills too!

At the end of hunt season my friend Bart told me about a little gelding he had that would be perfect! I liked the gelding part but the "little" part is a suspicious word for horse people. But I went to look and was horrified. This poor guy had the worst skin disease I had ever seen, actually second worst, as the other horse he had was even more pitiful. I could tell there was a nice frame under that skin, he was five, and he really needed a new home. So, new horse number one, Preacher, came home that day. He was maybe 15.2 and in really poor condition. I needed my head examined. But he jumped... did a little course of fences, chipped in on one and did it in three strides the next go round. That was with me and I am not a show rider, so he aimed to please. I liked that.

Word gets around when you say you are looking for a horse, even a cheap one, especially on the racetrack. Horse number two turned out to be tall, dark and handsome, but his name was Frankenstein. That's him in photo. Just didn't want to be a racehorse anymore, he is five and I thought he was great. Calling him Frank! Horse number three was his stablemate and had an owner that had had enough. Same trainer called and said "Want another?" Only problem, he still had his "doodahs", as my farrier says. When I told them no-one would take a 4 year old stud colt to their farm, the owner agreed to cut him and now there were three!  Oh, the new truck is a beautiful 2014 Silverado 2500, same as old one just newer.  Wish I could do this with horses. the ad would read: " Wanted- same model as wonderful, seasoned old gelding but newer with fewer miles!"  So the adventure continues.