Seriously?

As if *anyone* didn’t know this already, this is what we’re expecting this weekend:

Yep.  That’s right, we are smack dab in the middle of “PARALYZED” according to this weather blurb.  Fantastic!

So I guess I know what I will be doing tonight and tomorrow.  And it doesn’t involve large animals in any way shape or form.  A couch, some DVDs, and hot chocolate is more my speed!

Yesterday was a fun day.  I was up at 4:30 and to work just after six AM so I could get back to the barn in time (hopefully) for a dentist appointment for Archiekins. Work itself promised to be pretty stressful… I’ve lost count of the number of workloads that need to go in and the different dates for different changes to everything, and pretty much everything on the list is high priority, which makes it difficult to know where to start.

So the last thing I needed was to find out a horse from our Delaware listings, who had been purchased off the track, had ended up at a New Jersey auction house.  Between the winter weather, and high number of horses, many of them didn’t sell at the Wednesday night auction, and the rest were bought by the owner of the auction house for sale or shipment with a meat dealer.  Fortunately for the horse, someone noticed the ID/name and remembered him from the listings, and was able to pretty much track the whole story within minutes.  He had been purchased (or taken) by a local person and put back up for sale almost immediately.  When he didn’t sell, he became a giveaway.  At this point, either that person sent him to the auction, or someone picked him up claiming good intentions, it’s rather hard to tell and who knows what the truth is.

Either way, a decent, stout looking bay, 5 years old, was standing in a feedlot with an uncertain future as of yesterday morning.  By the time I had to leave work, he was spoken for and a shipper and quarantine facility are lined up, and he will come into our possession on Monday. 

Anyhoo.

After all that had sapped my brain for most of the day (and don’t let me forget to call the auction guy back to make sure all the shipping arrangements are OK… heheh… wait, let me set up an email reminder… OK… Done.)

After all that had sapped my brain for most of the day, it was back home at top speed to meet the dentist and get Archie’s teeth taken care of.  For a horse that is somewhat food-belligerent, he actually was quite easy to catch and lead away from a half full grain bin.  On the other hand, getting him up the driveway with ANY sense of urgency? Not quite as easy.  I managed to get him to trot a few steps (the dentist was already there! eek!) but his “hurry” button is apparently stuck.  Not that that’s really a problem, come to think of it.

He was pretty good for his teeth, which weren’t in bad shape but did need to be done.  He had developed a lot of sharp edges but no hooks or abnormalities (yay!) He was not a huge fan of the procedure, and a couple times seemed to be trying to knock over the stall wall to get away (by leaning on it).  Then a funny moment – he had the speculum on, so he couldn’t close his mouth.  And no grain was anywhere in sight.  But he seemed to think that he REALLY needed dinner at that exact moment, because as soon as Rebecca left the stall to get a different tool, he dove for the feed bin.

All I could think about was what he would have done if there was actually grain in there. I mean, he couldn’t close his mouth, or effectively swallow.  The mental image was really just too much for me

Afterwards I switched his blanket for one that actually fits him and let him back out.  I am very pleased that a couple days of being warm and dry seems to have really helped his skin crud – his coat looks to be in good shape and it looks like he’s gained some weight already as well. 

As soon as we dig out from Snowpocalypse Part Deux, we will start getting him ridden and introduce him to the indoor.

We’re Like The Postal Service

Saturday dawned crisp (rather, FREEZING) and cloudy, with some snow predicted for the afternoon (a dusting to 2 inches), so I didn’t get my rush on in the morning quite as much as I maybe should have. 

Kat’s new owner was scheduled to arrive at ten to pick her up, so Laura came out early to get her mane and tail brushed, the mud  cleaned off her legs, and have her ready to go.  I had the bills of sale printed with all the information I could get on there (including most of a tattoo number that was remarkably clear for being so old, except for the last digit which I now know is “3″, thanks equineline.com!).  After Kat had her breakfast and a large quantity of peppermints, her new owner arrived, and off she went to her new home in Poolesville.

As she pulled out, the light flurry seemed to be abating, so we made the decision to go hook up to get to the funny farm and grab Archie, who is our next victim.  Deidra, one of our volunteers, was there with her trusty truck and up we went, not really noticing how the light flurry turned into real snow by the time we got up to the trailer parking.  Once up there, it was a comedy of errors – all signs were pointing to “are you people crazy?!?!?” as we attempted to extricate various trailer parts from the frozen ground.  I’m just glad there is no video of this – we were like the three stooges, trying to get a pin out from the hitch that had frozen in place. 

BY the time we actually got hooked up, the snow had turned thick.  We drove down the driveway, and D. looked at me and said, “I dunno about this.”  I was inclined to agree, and left it up to her since she was driving.  We sat there looking at the road for a few indecisive moments when a voice piped up from the back seat.  “Oh it’s FINE.  It’s just blowing off the road, it’s not even sticking.”

Deidra and I might both be easily influenced, because at that point we shrugged our shoulders and she edged onto the road.

Thus began the quest of the three fair ladies to retrieve Sir Archibald the Bearded.

Actually, we made it over there pretty much OK.  The roads were not so bad at that point, though the snow was coming down thick and fast.  It wasn’t until we were actually at the R&R farm, turning down the driveway, that we again began to have second thoughts.

But we were already there.  And really, at that point, what else is there to do except load the horse and go?  The whole way down the driveway it sounded like the brakes were grinding or something – but no, it’s just the good crunchy kind of snow.   Seeing the actual pile of snow on top of everything, I had a brief moment of “oh nooo..” as we turned up the hill into the farm driveway.  But all was well.  And the ground under the snow was so frozen there was no trouble turning around either.

Sir Archibald loaded like a champ, at least after we moved the divider in the trailer over to make it look more spacious.  Any hesitation he had was gone the second he saw the hay in there (and this is sort of besides the point, but this horse is SERIOUSLY food oriented.  It’s like he’s obsessed with eating, and even though he spends 24 hours a day doing it, if you try to do lead him somewhere or do something with him, all he’s thinking about it when he gets to do it again.  He actually can be a little impolite about it, so we’ll have to work on that )

The drive home was much more perilous, though, than the drive out there.  The roads at this point were well covered and it was no longer blowing off easily.  Well trafficked areas were better, as cars had kept a path clear, but there were a couple hairy spots, and I did feel the whole rig slip a few times.  By the time we were home I think we’d all been holding our breath for at least ten minutes, and at least two of us were thinking that it was an incredibly dumb decision to have gone in the first place.

Either way, Archie seemed very happy to see the new place and get a stall.  Once he was safely bedded down, it was back up the hill, where we spent a fun fifteen extra minutes prying Deidra’s wheel holder thingy off the ground.  It was frozen solid, and took a good bit of effort (and a pitchfork, a shovel with sharp pointy things on the end, and the heel of my foot) to get up.

Archie later got a good grooming and a blanket.  He’s now out in the front field with a girlfriend, and his face buried in hay.  He will be getting his mane pulled, and introduced to the indoor this week, along with front shoes and a dentist appointment.

It Never Ends…

Always more horses, more emails, more stuff!

This actually turned out to be a fun weekend.  I had a busy Saturday set up – I needed to get my new badge for Charles Town, and also have a friend who is shopping so decided to play tour guide for her as she looked at a few horses from our listings.  Of course doing double-duty on a trip to the track, took a few listings too  

After getting badging and day pass stuff sorted out, we immediately walked over to the first barn on my friend’s list.  I’d seen this horse in the listings for months but was quite unprepared for what came out of the stall – easily a few inches taller than advertised, and much more of a big rangy hunter type than his original photo had led me to believe.  I took new photos, but as usual, a lot of these guys are just WAY prettier in person than they are in their track photos, even when you work really hard to get new ones.

Surprise number two came a short time later.  My friend had selected another horse to look at based on one of the worst track photos we’ve ever had on our site.  You couldn’t see her head, conformation, feet, or pretty much anything besides her rear end.  Fortunately, my friend is picky about rear ends and liked this one.  When she came out, I was immediately slack-jawed over how fancy the filly was.  They jogged her and she had the most beautiful forward reaching stride I’ve ever seen on a horse still at the track.  She was a little goofy, but apparently hadn’t been out for a workout in over a week which explains that sort of thing.  But even I, knowing everything I know about track horses and their photos and all the things that conspire to make photography difficult, may not have gone to check it out based on this:

I mean…. there’s just not much to see there.  Pretty dapples, but….  Right?  Who’s with me?  So I was a bit surprised when this is what actually came out of the stall:

There... that's a bit better!

And I was even more surprised when she started moving, and more than a little annoyed at myself for not bringing my small camera with the video capabilities (not that it would matter, I am having extreme technical difficulties getting video online these days).  The amount of reach she had for her size was pretty impressive, and though she was cavorting a bit, she reminded me of Woody, as she threw her legs out nearly horizontally a few times without breaking step.  Neat filly!  And it goes to show – sometimes it pays off to take a bit of a gamble.  I know exactly how easy it is to make a nice horse look bad in a picture, and almost always give them benefit of the doubt, but even I was pretty surprised this time.  Anyway, got new pics up on our website, including some of her jogging (though none of those really show what she’s capable either).  If you’re thinking of checking out some horses but are a little “meh” on the photos, it pays to check those out anyway, especially if you’re going to look at others.  Always see as many as you can, because there are a LOT of nice ones out there *grin*

After that filly, we went to look at some others, while I took some listings.  It was like a cavalcade of greys – I had to update some listings on a few horses from our old site (greys) and took some pre-emptive photos of a horse who isn’t listed yet (a grey), and at this point I can barely tell them apart while looking at the photos.  Good thing I keep good notes

I also thought it would be tricky being out there in my capacity as a volunteer while also leading someone who was shopping.  We have to be very impartial when we are out there – all the horses in our listings need new homes and new jobs, so we have to leave decision making up to buyers and vets.  It turns out I didn’t really need to worry about it too much – I always like everything I look at, haha!

After we left and stopped for lunch, it was back home to meet a lady who is interested in Katerina.  I actually talked to her early last week and was elated, but didn’t want to celebrate prematurely.  But given how everything worked out on Saturday, I think I am pretty safe in saying that we have finally found a home for Miss Dollface, and she will be living in the lap of luxury very soon

This is a HUGE load off – I’ve been very worried about this horse for some time.  She’s just a little bit creaky, and just a little bit hard to ride.  Not very hard, mind you, but it seemed the problem we ran into is the people with the skills to ride her were looking for something younger that could go do competitions.  The folks looking for a 16 yr old ex broodmare were not necessarily looking for something that required thoughtful riding.  So when a friend mentioned she knew the “perfect” person for Kat, I wasn’t ready to get too excited.

As it turns out though, some excitement was merited.  As soon as we have the papers in order Kat will be a companion to one other horse, several sheep, and a few cattle.  Her new job will mostly revolve around looking pretty and being pampered, with the occasional trail ride on very wide trails with good footing. 

We are very, very happy for her and I’m looking forward to seeing her new home.  It’s been a real group effort with this mare – so thanks to everyone   And soon it will be time to start over with the next one!

1… 2… 3… Exhale!

So all the horses that were “at risk” last week have been homed.  One will be coming to us and the others are all in private homes.  The trainer handling all that called me on Friday just giddy with joy that everything worked out, and an assurance that she will keep on listing horses from that stable when they need to go.  She also got a lot of connections from all the people who called so that she has a whole network to help out if there’s ever an urgent situation again.  That was a great way to end my week

On the adoptions front, it seems there’s been a little uptick in interest lately – I have found myself answering more emails, and arranging to meet more people than I have in a while.  Since I popped Kat onto dreamhorse, I’ve actually gotten several inquiries about her and am talking to several good possibilities for homes.

That in itself is a huge load off – I have been worrying more and more about Miss Fancypants as time has gone on, but maybe all it took was the hint of spring hitting the midatlantic (I saw it hit 58 degrees yesterday!) filling people with a little sense of optimism   Or maybe that’s why I’m in a good mood. 

Saturday I got to spend some quality time out at the Funny Farm to show some horses.  I pulled out Bid and Archie, and as usual Bid wanted to play a little, while Archie was about as good as a horse can be.  While I was on Bid, someone started up a chainsaw right next to the ring, and while he was doing other silly things, I don’t think he even noticed it.  He had been tossing his head a little and seemed to want to “go”  – but then when I pushed him into the canter I think it was the slowest canter I’ve ever had on him.  And after about two seconds he huffed a little, “OOOO  KKKK!! I am done playing can we stop now?”  I still have to giggle about the chainsaw though.  Not much can advertise “non spooky” like that, my own horse probably would have hit the roof (and he’s a relatively low key guy himself). 

After I got done with those two, I grabbed Leo just because he’s my current favorite guy. He does get a little worried when I bring him away from his buddies in the field, and lets you know by calling out to them frequently.  He has an adorable little whinny, that doesn’t really match his looks, but reminds you that he really is just a baby.  Though by JC rules he is four now, his actual birthday isn’t until June.  Once on I decided I’d torn up the ring enough with the other two horses, and decided on a mosey up the hill.  We think that his niche will likely be trail and pleasure riding so we need to get him out there.  While he was slow and tentative on the way up, he always listens when you add leg and encourage him forward.  At the top of the hill we finally encountered the first thing that’s really upset him since I’ve known him – a pile of logs.  Yep, those things are killers.  I let him check it out, and circled a few times to put him to work and get closer to it without approaching it directly, and when he seemed ok, decided that was enough and headed back home.   He was quite forward going back home, but as usual very directable and nothing hard to handle.

After I put him back out I spent an extra twenty minutes just giving him love.  He will stand perfectly still for a very long time, even when he’s not tied, in exchange for a body rub and scratchins.  It actually makes it really hard to leave, because he shows no desire whatsoever to walk away or go see his friends (as long as he can see them).  I found a few key itchy spots, and after several false starts back to the gate finally dragged myself away.  He’s just the sweetest thing – he and his four white nose whiskers.

Monday Kat got to be a model for a visiting photographer.  He donated one of his photos to our fall auction and stopped by to drop it off to the winner, who happens to be one of the volunteers working with her.  So she may be his next cover model (and should be, as she is quite the pretty lady!).  Later that afternoon I met a potential adopter, a very nice woman who is just starting her horse search.  She has to look around and see what else is out there (as all good horse shoppers should!) but I really enjoyed meeting her.  I do have to say I meet some great people doing this.

Anyway, not much else going on.  Emailing. Scheduling.  Back to the grind.  But after last week it’s nice to know I can settle down and take a breath!

Oh Katerina

CT “urgent” horses – down to one, yay!

Also got a text from the trainer who is placing them that if anybody needs a shipper in the area, to contact Ray Aul as he has a very nice van.  His number is on our “resources” page along with vets and other area shippers for people interested in purchasing a horse at the track (just in case anybody needed any enabling).

Yesterday I did a new dreamhorse ad for Kat – we haven’t gotten any interest off the regular website listing (whereas I do get several emails a day about the other horses).  It’s getting a little worrisome that this has been so hard.  She’s a seriously beautiful horse, inside and out.  I don’t say that about a lot of horses… most are “cute” or “adorable” or nice.  But she is truly beautiful.  She has those soft liquid eyes, and just seems so quietly grateful for the simplest of things (“oh, you’re rubbing my neck? Thank you, you are wonderful!”). 

It’s so difficult, because she does have some things working against her.  She’s a little creaky from having lots of babies.  She isn’t a rank beginner’s horse.  She has some opinions sometimes about how great she is, and will let you know.  But she will also come RUNNING in the pasture when  you go to visit her, and rest her head on your shoulder while she’s being groomed.  She takes treats so gently it’s like a feather touching your hand.

Hello! I would like to be your forever girl!

Under saddle Kat is such an interesting horse.  Want to get immediate feedback on your riding?  If you don’t use leg properly, or try to ride hands-first, or lean, she’ll tell on you.  If you ride right?  She will also tell you, by turning into the fanciest and prettiest horse you’ve ever seen.  On trail rides she likes to go on the buckle, peeking around corners and moseying along.  She will lead or follow.  Sometimes she gets a little jiggly, either anticipating a little run, or realizing she’s close to home.  She is best handled with a smile and a laugh, and maybe a scritch on the withers.

Kat has been with CANTER for a total of almost two years now.  She arrived with feet in horrible condition, and not in the best physical shape.  She has bloomed with us (although recent cold weather seem to have taken a toll a little bit, and she’s needing extra feed right now.  In the summer good grass is pretty much all she needs), has become friendly and inquisitive, and even gotten over her ear shyness (heh, until I was writing this, I totally forgot she ever was a little headshy!)

What’s difficult is that right now she is living at a barn where the board price is higher than what we pay for our funny farm guys.  She is getting a lot of our resources as we are doing our best to give her skills that make her valuable.  Yet… she’s 16 and an ex-broodmare.  I have not gotten a single email from the website about her in the last five months. 

So I added her to dreamhorse the other day, and bumped her Chronicle thread, which will hopefully help.  But we really do need to find her a home fast, so we can move horses from funny farm into training and make room for more to come off the track in the spring. Since the new ad went up I’ve gotten several replies – one could be promising, the others were scam responses:

“Hello I am Marcus Berg, a respectable business man from United State.I am indeed interested in your Horse posted for sale. I want to buy the Horse as a surprise birthday gift for my 21 year old daughter. I will like to know if the Horse is still available for sale and will also like to know your final asking price for the Horse. I have a shipper who will come over there to pick the Horse as soon as the payment is completely received by you. Please let me know your asking price of the Horse, reason you are selling and a recent photo of it(If available) so we can proceed from there. I will be looking forward to hearing from you. Regards Marcus”

Thank you for being helpful!  I was tempted to write back and lead him along like the 419eaters do, but I value my gmail…

Either way, because she is our “placement priority” right now I will try to update about her more often.  Surely someone will see how special and sweet and wonderful she is, right?

Hit Refresh

Update on the situation out near C-T:  two more people are lined up to look at the remaining three horses…. looks good for the chestnut mare finding a home by Friday but not concrete yet.  There are also some other horses on the property that need homes immediately:  a couple of appaloosas (broke to ride) and a mini mule.  The mule may have a home, but not concrete (I have firsthand experience with this recently, people saying “I’m definitely getting that one!” and then… not so much. So I don’t say an animal is “safe” until it’s on the trailer and leaving).

New update (5 PM) – The bay gelding, the chestnut mare, the two appies, and the mini mule on the farm have all found new homes.  The chestnut mare is scheduled to leave tomorrow.  That leaves the pretty dark bay mare still needing a home BY SUNDAY. 

In other news, lately there has been lots of whirlwind-y stuff going on.  Behind the scenes, there is all kinds of administrative and fund-related work going on, which I’ve been trying to help with when I can.  The auction, of course, which still has a couple loose ends flapping in the breeze, some work related to grants, and upcoming fundraisers (E-Valentines, and a spring trail ride/picnic, and more clinics/shows, raffles, etc).   Then you have the site updates, listings, event planning (besides fundraisers), emergency horse placement situations, and horses going lame, needing deworming, and being difficult to place, scheduling visits for potential buyers, fighting with technology to get videos of the horses up, and it all adds up.  I don’t even deal with half the stuff our director does but can see how this could slowly drive a person to drink. 

So where’s my refresh button?  I need it pushed every couple days, and it’s usually different.  Last night it was getting my horse (yes, I own one!  Somehow I occasionally find the energy to ride him!) to do a shoulder in.  Probably not the best shoulder in, but I saw it in the mirror and his feet were doing the right things and everything.  I had the ring to myself because it was late – just me and yoda and some classical music.

This really is the *best* horse, by the way.

I get off from rides like that feeling so much better – the knots in my stomach get untied, that slight pounding in my head is gone, and I just feel happy. 

Other times, the reset button is at Lazy Acres (aka the “fat farm” or “funny farm”).  Playing with Mikey, Bid, and Truckee always makes me feel good.  Occasionally there’s a ping of stress, like, “these guys need HOMES!!!!” but usually it just leaves me energized to put more into the program.  I mean, for realz:

My new BFF

Kids, don't try this at home!

 That’s Mr. Leo.  Or “Omen” – I can’t decide.  I know I loved the floppy ears and with his strange conformation, Leo seemed to fit, but the more I get to know him the more I want to call him something more… inspirational.

I also have some videos (OMG!) which I have to figure out, since I can’t access youtube from here and they’re too big to email.  hm.

 Anyway, I’m needing lots of this stuff right now, or I may go a little nuts. 

Oh, and before I forget, there is a fun informal fundraiser going on for CANTER Ohio on the Chronicle of the Horse Boards:

Ask The Horse Psychic

This is for entertainment only, but people are encouraged to send small donations to CANTER Ohio for their “reading”   So far they’ve brought in just over $900 – can you help make it an even $1000? 

Promising Bay Filly

That’s how her ad title read – she was two when she was listed but thanks to Jockey Club rules is now three.  And she was one of the four horses that we were so worried about yesterday.  Several from that farm had shipped out with a local dealer (who last I heard was banned from the backside of the track, but these horses are at a farm nearby) to a holding farm near New Holland Auction House.  He doesn’t take them *to* the auction where they stand a chance of being purchased by individuals or pulled by attending rescues.  Instead, they fill up some pens until there are enough horses to take a full load up to Canada, at which point they are not retrievable.

In any case, the immense response garnered by moving them to the urgent list, posting on Bulletin Boards and blogs everywhere, and on facebook, was enough to help us get these guys more time.  So there are three horses (two mares, one gelding) that really have just this week to find homes.

What about the fourth? Oh yeah, the one from the blog title.  On one of the update calls yesterday Allie got a kick to the gut when our contact said she had shipped out early in the afternoon.   At about the same time a donor wrote in to say she would cover the horse’s purchase but couldn’t take her.  About twenty minutes later another phone call – the filly was NOT on the truck because the truck never showed up.  With funds in place and people offering temporary stabling until she can get down to our facility in NC for rehab there, Allie was able to secure her and she is now a CANTER owned horse.

Special thanks to Carol S, who literally saved this beautiful girl from a one-way trip to Canada.  We expect her bow will heal just fine, but will have more updates in coming weeks.

As for the other horses they still need homes.  Anyone who is on the fence – now is the time.  We’ve managed to get them a few more days, and it sounds like a home for the gelding is in the works, but if you have any interest at all… call. 

Urgent List

My Brain Be Buzzing

Well this sure turned into an interesting day…

The weekend was nice – I spent the whole thing at the lovely Waters Edge Farm for the Stephen Bradley clinic.  Unfortunately, it was so bitter cold, I think that only one or two people came out as official “auditors” – but we managed to cover our costs plus a little extra by providing coffee and cocoa and sweets.  More importantly, it offered us a chance to network and spread the word about some of the horses in our program and still at the track, which is a pretty important thing. 

So I think we will make an effort to be at more clinics and shows this year wherever we can set up a table.  We just need to remember things like banners and pamphlets – because that would make sense.

But after spending two full days out in this weather (thankfully there were heaters in the indoor – not the kind that would make you toasty but there was a good ten degree difference between the ring and outside) I was pretty well done… with everything.  Mental stress and I do not get along, especially when my nose hurts from breathing cold air.

So I was pretty wiped this morning, especially after staying up late trying to get updates on a situation with two horses from one of our tracks who apparently had ended up on a Canada bound trailer.  I was only tangentially involved there, making a couple phone calls and worrywarting before our magical director got things in order (yes they will be OK! )

I was feeling pretty good when I came in this morning, and then found out some of our more urgent listings at Charles Town were now super-urgent, like “have to go today” urgent.  Some phone calls with the contact bought them a little time, and then we’ve posted them everywhere we can think of (always sort of a chaotic situation, emails will still be flying loooong after this situation is over), and now just have to hope for the best.

In any case we’ve added a section to the listings for “urgent” situations like this:

http://www.canterusa.org/index.php?option=com_alphacontent&section=18&category=260&Itemid=282

My brain feels like it’s too big for my skull right now.  And I’m hardly even involved other than spreading the word everywhere I can think of. 

I’m generally more involved in the fun stuff at CANTER, this might be the first time I’ve been so aware of all these types of goings ons, except maybe when we went to pick up Rosey.  This is a similar situation – donating these guys would probably be a bigger benefit to the owner than sending them off with a dealer… but trying to get him to understand that seems about as likely as me convincing my cat that dunking him in the bathtub is for his own good.

In any case, even though we are working on things from our end (while simultaneously doing work at our real full-time jobs), if anyone is remotely interested and wants to take a chance… those horses need it.

Midweek Break

Yesterday we had a meeting out at the fat farm with some very nice people – so not only did I get to go to one of my favorite places, but I got to leave work to do it!  Not that I don’t love my job, or have loads of things to do, but…. well, it was Wednesday.  Hump Day.  Whatever you want to call it, it’s usually miserable and I usually get out of here and it’s dark already, which does a number on my mood.

Not only did I escape during daylight, but Allie is in town so I got to hang out with her and play with the horses for a while, which always makes me crazy-happy.

We started with trying to get some video clips of Cecil.  Now that he’s better and getting rounder by the day, we need some more material to convince people of his awesomeness.  Not that he’s not awesome all on his own:

Look there, on the left!

I stumbled onto this ad for his sire the other day, and looky there, Cecil is his leading money earning offspring, and look how AWESOME he looks running!  I’ve gotten used to seeing the fat, fuzzy, out of shape version,  so I kept going back and glancing at this photo and giggling my fool head off.

I’ve known all about Cecil’s record since he arrived, but sometimes it’s fun to get a reminder of how awesome he was.  Is.

We videoed him trotting around, and he actually looked pretty good – all the horses are just a little touchy right now, they are kept barefoot and the ground is rutted and frozen, with odd patches of ice here and there (some you can’t see until you slip on them), so my expectations weren’t too high.  But he seemed pretty happy trotting around.  When we were able to get him to trot, anyway – he wasn’t real concerned with our whirling leadropes and clucks of encouragement, instead focusing on a couple piles of hay that were conveniently located in the ring.

When we tacked him up, we found he has expanded a little bit.  The girth I use on him fits, but it took significantly more effort than normal to get on the first hole on each side (I say “normal” but I’ve only been on him two or three times, heh).

With the wind whipping, some power saws sawing in the background, and intensely cold weather, we turned the camera back on to illustrate his excellent standing-at-the-mounting-block skills and his politeness.  He rides green (steering is basic, etc), and at first glance he seems like a horse that is “up” – he holds his head fairly high and has narrow set ears that are almost always pricked at attention.  But the reality is he doesn’t seem worried about anything.  Laundry flapping in the wind? No problem.  Sudden bursts of noise from the tool shed? Eh, whatever.  That crazy thing on your back thumping and kicking and clucking? Best ignored.

While I was able to get him trotting pretty easily, the canter was another story.  We went around a few times at a power trot that defies description – Allie laughing her butt off and me losing my stirrups and collapsing in giggles.  At one point I thought I might even fall, just because I couldn’t stop laughing, but if you say “whoa” Cecil understands that well enough, even on a totally loose rein.

The whole time I had this narrator talking in my head (in a deep, dramatic male movie-preview voice):

“Meet “It’s a Monster”…..  6 years of Thoroughbred Racing…. 27 Starts… 6 Stakes Races…. 3 Stakes WINS…  12 total wins… Once ridden by Pat Day… and now… this crazy girl can’t even get him to canter.”

I admit it gives me a bit of a dorky thrill to sit on a horse Pat Day sat on (in the Hirsch Jacob Stakes, 2002). 

In any case, he’s a very good horse and I enjoy him a lot.  Can’t wait for someone else to enjoy him!

After that we pestered Leo a little bit – I hopped up bareback with a halter and two lead ropes, and rode him around the turnout area while his buddies all ran around and bucked and played.  He’s such a good boy it’s ridiculous.  He’s also picking up weight around his middle and starting to look much nicer.    He was so tolerant of me up there, even when the other horses were running up his butt and being obnixious.  When we were done, he stood for a few minutes, but let me know he wanted to go play by throwing in a very polite, tiny little buck as the other horses ran by him.  Then he stood there and waited for me to get off.  He makes me want to just sit on him and hug him ALL the time.  I wish I could bring him to work with me.  Some photos and maybe video of that… coming soon

Stephen Bradley Clinic

Just a note to anyone in the MD area -

Stephen Bradley is giving a clinic this weekend at Waters Edge Farm in Sykesville, MD.

We will be manning a table with snacks and hot drinks, along with information about CANTER and listing sheets to distribute.  Additionally proceeds from the $15 Audit fee will be going to CANTER, so it’s a fabulous opportunity to get some education from one of the best event riders around, as well as helping us care for and rehome horses.

I’ve become a bit of a nerd about Stephen Bradley since Allie told me that his horse, Brandenburg’s Joshua, came from Charles Town, which is essentially our home track.  It wasn’t his registered name, but by looking up his breeding, I was able to find out more about him, and realized I knew the people who had bred him from all my meanderings on the backside.  I also found out they have a half sister of his, still racing (she just turned 4 – and she is PRETTY!).

Stphen Bradley and Joshua at Rolex '08

 (credit to our director Allie Conrad for the lovely photo)

I would give a lot to see pictures of Joshua from when he was still at the track.  I’m very curious about what he might have looked like – his muscling, overall demeanor, etc.  I wonder whether it was immediately apparent that he would be very talented, or if he looked like any of the other horses we post – cute, but maybe weedy, or maybe “unremarkable.”  One of the things I’m constantly trying to get better at is improving my eye for track horses – I’ve seen the transformations happen, seen the “afters” of a lot of the horses in our adoption program, but Joshua’s success just makes me very curious. 

I tend to think that there are more “diamonds” at the track than people realize.  Many are appreciated and purchased, but may not reach the level they’d be capable of with the right person in the stirrups (well, any loving owner can be the “right person” but you know what I mean).  Every time there is a thread on a bulletin board analyzing the track listing photos, looking for a good horse, I’m always struck by some of the critical comments, and the things people can’t overlook that seem very trivial.  I’m not talking about conformational flaws (it’s always good to be objective), but the “well he has a chain over his nose, so he’s probably hard to handle” or “there’s poultice on his legs, that probably means there’s a problem.” and those sorts of things.  I see a horse who came off the backside of our little racetrack, from people I know, and wonder how many people might have overlooked him for some reason like that…

Sorry.  My mind is meandering again, it happens when it’s this cold out.

In any case, come to the clinic.  Learn.  Eat cookies.  Visit with us!