Teddy and Amber

Back in the saddle! Ok it's only been 16 days (forever). I did commit myself to "taking it easy" since the doctor told me to wait another two weeks. Whatever.

I took Amber out on a trail ride with some of the people in our group. We started out with four and it only ended up being 2 of us that went into the woods. I thought she did very well. A little impatient when we started out but that is typical thoroughbred and something I'm not sure will ever be fully trained out. Carol, Ben and Jean were nice enough to keep working with her while I was out of commission.

The Red Mare is definitely in heat. When we got back to the barn, her herd lover, Teddy, was not too patiently standing at the gate. In the past Teddy and Amber have gone to shows together and if they can't see each other, they will whinny almost incessantly. But this is the first time that I've seen Teddy leave the herd way out in the pasture to come find his girlfriend! When I turned Amber out, she made it very clear to Teddy what she thought was going down tonight but I'm not sure he quite agreed. Anyways, I'm sure it will be settled later since they walked back to the herd as a couple.

Photo (left to right): Teddy, Moonlight, Destiny

Fat N' Sassy

Went out to visit the horses for the first time in almost 2 weeks. Didn't ride because I'm not quite up to that level yet - although I definitely want to! Used a new uber-soft thoroughbred friendly brush. Not sure if she was impressed but she really seems to enjoy being groomed now and is less impatient about being turned back out with her buddies. All the treats she gets while she's in the barn with me probably help. It was only about two weeks ago when I got her to eat chopped up baby carrots out of my hand. Her teeth are kind of like those of a kid who grew up without braces but desperately needed them. So chewing big crunchy things like apples and carrots is uncomfortable. Fortunately, moistening her feed has worked very well. And as the picture shows, she's definitely fat and sassy.

Broodmare Life

Ok, so it's been officially a week since I've ridden. Starting to get ants in the pants....

I learned some more things about Amber last night. The nice thing about thoroughbreds is that they are truly the most documented breed of horse in the world. I did some digging on her produce record. I figured out that she had given birth to 5 named foals but over a ten year span that's a little odd. I found out why. Her first offspring in 2001 was Zack Attack (by Honor Grades). Then in 2002 she was bred to Sandpit (BRZ) but was barren. The following year she carried a foal by Formal Gold but aborted it. In 2004 she produced the chestnut filly Quaking Asp (by Gentlemen) but 2005 she was again barren after a breeding attempt with 1984 Breeder's Cup Mile Champion Cozzene. Half Hitch was the result of a successful second mating with Cozzene but he proved to be the least successful offspring. In the only successful consecutive breeding Amber produced Skip the Drama (2007) by Horse of the Year and Breeders Cup Classic champion Skip Away! A foal by Irish Stallion Castledale was aborted in 2008, but the best offspring yet may be the Yonaguska filly (Ms. Discombobulated) that she foaled just before she came into my life. This yearling filly has no inbreeding through the third cross and Yonaguska is currently 25th on the North American sire list.

Photo: Yonaguska

Slow Saturday

Normally I would be out at the barn today/this weekend but I am temporarily "grounded" due to surgery. In anticipation of this forced relaxation I ordered a couple of books online. The first book is about the famous racehorse and sire Native Dancer who shows up on both sides of Amber's pedigree. The second book is aptly named "Beyond the Track" by Anna Morgan Ford. Ford started the "New Vocations" racehorse adoption program and has written an excellent book to help would be adopters understand the life their off-track thoroughbred (OTTB) is leaving and also the best ways to help them transition into a new career. Ford has first hand experience helping over 1000 OTTBs make the transition from racehorse to riding horse and her book is a must read for anyone taking up this challenge! I am about 2/5 of the way through and part of me is like "yeah that makes sense" and the other part is grateful Amber doesn't have some of the issues Ford describes.

One in 30,000

This is Amber. Born April 6, 1995 she was one of the more than 30,000 foals registered with the Jockey Club that year. She was christened "Timber Hitch" and is by the British champion Diesis out of Half Hitch by Dewan, a son of Bold Ruler. One of her crop mates - Real Quiet, won the 1998 Kentucky Derby. Another - Victory Gallop, spoiled Real Quiet's Triple Crown bid by a scant nose. Favorite Trick was the first 2 year old to be named Horse of the Year since Secretariat. Countess Diana wired the 1997 Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies by 8 1/2 lengths, a record that still stands. Real Quiet, Victory Gallop, Favorite Trick and Countess Diana - 4 members of la creme de la creme of the 1995 foal crop. Less than 1% of thoroughbreds born in any given year can be considered part of this elite group. The vast majority either never run or aren't good enough to make it out of the claiming ranks. Amber was part of the majority. She raced a total of 4 times at ages three and four and placed third one time for career earnings of $1680. Not enough to pay for her expenses. The next 10ish years of her life she was a broodmare producing 5 named foals. In January 2009 she was sold at Keenland in foal to Yonaguska for a scant $1000. A lady from CANTER (Communication Alliance for the Networking of Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses) purchased her and rehomed her with a riding camp after the Yonaguska filly was weaned. Fall of 2009 is when Jean found her, lethargic and underweight. Jean will be the first to admit that she's not a fan of thoroughbreds but fortunately for all involved Amber won her over! Jean is the owner and much-beloved instructor at "The Natural Connection." Honest to God she is one of the most patient and positive people I know and you will see how that is true as I post more about Amber! As you may have guessed TNC emphasizes natural horsemanship, trimming instead of shoes, and 24/7 turnout time. See the following links:
http://www.thenaturalconnectionhorses.blogspot.com/
http://thenaturalconnection.blogspot.com/

I was inspired to create this blog by the thousands of thoroughbreds that leave the track each year and the people who do their best to give them second careers. Hopefully we can all learn from each other (and them) to make the transition process easier and minimize our frustrations. And there WILL be frustrations. I have a lot of posting to do to catch up on where Amber and I are and there is much to tell.

Stay tuned....