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.
No comments:
Post a Comment