Showing posts with label retired racehorse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retired racehorse. Show all posts

Friday, August 14, 2020

This Old Horse


August 14 2020

 

Fed Ex man came to deliver something the other day, and he was concerned about the horse standing out in the driveway/road out front. “I’m worried he might run off.”


Not the slightest chance of that happening. That’s just my Golden Oldie Stormy, 29, (a.k.a. Old Farticus) who just hangs out up there occasionally. He and old man Krusty (R.I.P.) used to wander out there and eat grass, stand in the road and doze, just hang out together. 


Now that Stormy’s old and doesn’t have enough teeth to eat hay, he gets full range of the place, wandering wherever he wants to eat grass (and he gets yummy mashes twice a day). He doesn’t care anymore if the herd leaves him; he just wants to eat and doze. Sometimes he’s on the grass on the pasture; sometimes he wanders out front and mows the grass; sometimes he hangs out in the road snoozing, the equivalent of an old man falling asleep in his lazyboy taking an afternoon nap. Maybe he dreams of the days he and Krusty, the two old patriarchs, hung out there together. 


Sometimes you have to drive around Stormy because he won’t move out of your way, but there’s no danger he’s going to run off anywhere. Except back to the house if he hears me open the door to the feed room on the other side of the creek, because while he has Selective Hearing, he’s got ears sharper than a spy for the sound of that squeaky door, which brings him running!


Just in case, though, I got this sign made for him.








Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Happy 29th Birthday Stormy!


Tuesday April 14 2020

Wow. My old man has turned 29. 

I've had Stormy for 21 years now. Besides being a former racehorse (who earned his keep at Yakima Meadows, Playfair, and Emerald Downs in Washington - I was his groom at Emerald), Stormy's been a trail horse, a pack string leader, a pet, and a lawn mower. He still does the latter and works most diligently at it, even though he's lost a good number of teeth.

He's earned his several mashes a day, and he gets the run of the place - he either wanders about the property grazing, or he hangs with the herd and either follows or leads them on walkabouts up the canyon. And he can still turn on the turbos, sprinting after the herd if they've left without him.

He's got the dream life all retired Thoroughbred racehorses would love to have, and I'm so happy The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet is MINE!

Happy Birthday you old duffer!




Thursday, January 8, 2015

Golden Oldies


Thursday January 8 2014

They’re both at the distinguished age of 24, soon to be 25 (!!).

One is a gentle stout giant, half Orlov Trotter, half sweetheart; a retired endurance horse of Steph’s who saw the world. Tevis was his first 100. He raced in the 2001 Dubai World Cup. He finished the 1999 Pan American Championship in Canada and the 2000 World Endurance Championship in France. Now Krusty is ‘retired,’ though no good endurance horse is ever really retired in this life. That means he’s still used as a guest horse and trail marker, and he’s still doing occasional Limited Distance endurance rides, and doing them well (he got Best Condition with Steph in his last one in November).


The other is a towering handsome Thoroughbred; a retired racehorse, a former Forest Service pack string leader and dude ranch cowboy horse, who stole my heart and ended up in my modest stable of one. That he happens to be The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet is pure coincidence.


Stormy is brought out of retirement once or twice a year, to either give Sarah a lesson, or to give a friend a first ride-of-a-lifetime, or to mark trail up the canyon and back.


Since they both deserve it, they get special treatment - Krusty gets an extra meal every night, and Stormy gets lots of extra treats. (He wanted me to make sure you all know German Horse Muffins are always at the top of his Christmas Wish List, in case you were wondering.) Sometimes he gets turned out in the yard to wander around and help with the yard mowing.

The Golden Boys are both so dignified that it’s a surprise and a treat to catch them playing together. Mostly it’s a good ol’ nip on the butt (Krusty is quite handy with his big teeth),

but now and then, I’ve caught them really going at it, baring teeth and rearing in mock battle like wild mustangs (that’s Stormy towering above Krusty up top).

They just make me smile - they’re Oldies But Goodies.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Sarah and the Racehorse


Wednesday April 3 2013

9-year-old Sarah is out at the Owyhee Spa with her Aunt Connie, getting riding lessons on just about every horse that wears a saddle out here, from Trusty Krusty, to the Opinionator Finneas, to my retired Thoroughbred racehorse Stormy.

We talked up Stormy, showing Sarah pictures of Stormy winning races on the track, Connie galloping him on the track (top photo), and told Sarah he'd be a hard one on which to take a lesson. Not because he's wild, or fast… but because he is Lazy. He is so lazy, he has elevated the epithet to an Artistic Profession.

"He'll make you work!" I told Sarah. "He knows what to do, but he's not going to help you out!"


Climbing aboard the Big Mountain.


Jose supervises the stirrups positions on this 16.2 hand, somewhat round, ex-racehorse.


You can see Stormy is less than thrilled with this idea of being yanked out of retirement (and his approximately once-a-year-short-trail rides), into being a school horse. (Look at his expression!) 


Off they head to the torture chamber!


Sometimes Stormy took a little extra encouragement in the round pen, from Connie and her whip, when Sarah's short legs could not quite convince the big Thoroughbred to pick up a trot!


That's better!


Good enough to go outside the round pen! (still with a little extra encouragement.)


Strong legs and fabulous form!


OK, Stormy says, it wasn't THAT bad. Sarah is OK. And she gave me lots of treats when I was finished.

(P.S. He did not break a sweat. And he got a bucket of grain afterwards.)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Oldies But Goodies



Wednesday January 30 2013

Who you calling Old?

Stormy: retired Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of 6 races and $45,882, known as The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet,
about to turn 22.




(And above, rearing at Krusty).

Krusty: semi-retired Orlov Trotter endurance horse, 3215 endurance miles, 7 100-mile finishes, Tevis Cup finisher, France World Championship finisher, lesson horse, confidence giver, semi-herd boss,
about to turn 23.




(and above left with Stormy)

Rhett: not-quite-retired Arabian endurance horse, 6065 endurance miles, 9 100-mile finishes, Tevis Cup finisher, semi-herd boss,
about to turn 22.




Don't be messin' with these old boys. Besides, they're not old. They're just right.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Takes My Breath Away



Wednesday December 12 2012

Stormy, my 21-year-old retired Thoroughbred racehorse…

still turns my knees weak and simply takes my breath away.

[slide show here]

[gallery link]