Author: reenchantedOTTBS

Around 1am I woke up to the sound of Darth Vader breathing in my ear. It was a text message from my friend Jessica. She thought her mare was about to deliver her foal. I jumped out of bed, through on my shoes since I was sleeping in my clothes to be ready for this, and was about to race to the truck when she wrote back saying it was a false alarm. Disappointed I climbed back into bed.

When she and I went to Kentucky to get Dulce, we thought we were racing against the clock. Her mare Lassie was very pregnant and showed signs of imminent labor a few times before we left. I often told her to stay here while I went to Kentucky, but we decided to go together. I told her when it was Lassie’s turn, I’d be there.

Well, that race against the clock turned out to be the tortoise versus the hare; we were the hare and Lassie was the tortoise. Almost two weeks to the day from when we left, and Lassie kept teasing us all with hope and frustration. She is a maiden broodmare, which means she has never been pregnant before, and that means nothing makes sense. All the normal signs aren’t normal with a maiden mare.

This morning after she let me know it was a false alarm, I’d start to fall asleep to wake up with a start every fifteen to twenty minutes for fear of sleeping through Darth Vader’s long, drawn out breath. I got out of bed at 4:45am to feed everyone. I wrote asking how things were, and she told me nothing was happening. I went out to feed the horses their hay when I realized I left my phone in the house. I ran back in to find a message saying Lassie was going to deliver. I got the dogs in, ran to the truck, and off I went.

Problem was it snowed last night, and I had ice all over my window! Did that stop me? No way! I drove with my head out the window while I blasted the defroster. Yes, it was a bit cold at twenty eight degrees, but I needed to get there. For some reason my window wasn’t defrosting as I drove down the highway at 90mph. Don’t tell anyone that especially my husband. When I got to the first frontage road, I hit those brakes and pulled off driving down the windy road in the dark with my icy window. This is when I realized my defrost temperature was on cold. I quickly turned it to high, and within 30 seconds I could see! Even though I could see, I pulled into the wrong driveway! Backed up quickly and went down to the next, correct driveway, parked and ran to the horse.

What I saw was a total conundrum. Lassie lied down with her tush by the wall, nose and front hooves poking out, and there was no way for us to pull the foal out due to lack of room. We were on a deadline. Her water broke, so we want to get the foal out in 20 minutes, 30 minutes tops. There was no way we could get the foal out in this spot, and luckily Lassie read our minds. She got up, which in a way was scary but good. Jessica’s Mom and I became flippers from a pinball machine. We stood with our arms outstretched, and each time she came to the wall, we would shush her away from it with one of our arms. Finally, she plopped down perfectly. I know Jessica wanted to pull, but it became important for her to stay at Lassie’s head. Lassie was scared, and Jessica brings her comfort. If Jess would have come back to help pull, I know Lassie would have gotten up to follow her.

Jessica’s Mom and I grabbed on to those tiny legs and began to pull with the contractions. This beautiful filly came out easily. Michelle (Jessica’s Mom) quickly got the bag off of his nose, and within a few seconds she moved and took a breath, and we were so relieved with glee. Jessica cried, and I fell in love with the beauty of it all. I pulled the bag down her body some more as we let the foal rest with her momma before we pulled her out the rest of the way and moved the bag off of her completely.

Whiskey is simply beautiful. There is nothing more that can be said. She began talking five minutes after she was born. I couldn’t believe how much she loves to nicker! I can’t wait to see what she looks like in a couple of days, and what a sweetheart she is. Jessica was the first person she saw so she imprinted on her. You should see how this little filly walks up to her the moment Jessica kneels down in front of her. Congratulations Jessica on surviving these 21 days of Lassie being overdue, for sticking it out, and on this beautiful filly.

At the very bottom are a couple of videos for you to enjoy of her first steps and the first time she nursed.

h

Chaco is thrilled about Dulce and irritated. Whenever I’m giving Dulce attention, if he can reach over the fence to nip at Dulce, he will. If I’m nowhere around, they play and eat together. Before I turn them out together, we have some work to do to bring those two together as pals.

I took Chaco out for a couple of rides since Dulce came to remind him that we are still partners in crime, and that won’t change. He came out of the first ride so well after doing a lot of long trotting on the trail that I decided it was time to add hills to his workout.

If you don’t know, Chaco had surgery on his stifle back in November to remove three chips the size of adult teeth. I’ve been bringing him back slowly working on creating balanced strength in both legs. Hills are a fantastic challeng, because to climb a hill at the walk, the horse really needs to use his hind legs to step under his body and power himself up the hill. I knew the perfect spot to go.

There is this five mile loop in Shavano Valley with all sorts of hills. They actually start off easy and get more challenging as the ride progresses. Off we went on a nice, sunny, warm day. I add that, because it is cold, snowy and windy right now. Here is a video of Chacohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORdlkgRrO8E

Chaco and I took off with Chewy and Bella not knowing what would happen. Have I ever mentioned how wonderful it is to ride Chaco? He is a dream to ride, and he has such a good mind. He has yet to spook at anything with me on him. Instead, when he gets nervous about an area, he slows down, takes time to think about what he is seeing, and listens to me telling him he is okay. He move so nicely over the ground that you barely feel his hooves hitting the earth. His back now has such a nice sway when he walks that my back gets a good massage as we move down the trail. When I first started riding him, his back was stiff with little swing from side to side as he moved along. After a lot of bodywork and suppling exercises, that has all changed.

Chaco had no problems with the hills, and I could tell he stepped under nicely. Each hill he took on with good energy and with balanced movement. He didn’t go down the hills sideways as horses with stifle injuries do, and he paced himself well. We had fun, which is the great thing. I could tell he wasn’t hurting as we moved from hill to hill, and we both enjoyed ourselves together. When we got back to the horse trailer, he barely had worked up a sweat.

The thing that matters the most is he came out of it so well. When we got home, there was no fill or heat. He moved around nicely, and he never dragged his toe. I went out to check on him later, and he was resting standing on his right hind leg resting his non-surgical leg. He wasn’t sore at all!

Today I found another loop with some great hills for him to work that leg on. Now that he passed this test, we will keep working on it getting the leg as strong as his left hind leg. Another fantastic thing is that his summer coat is coming in, and pretty soon that shaved leg from the surgery will be gone. I can’t wait to not see that anymore.

Harley

Harley needs to lose some weight, so since Dulce came to live with us, I’ve been riding him solo. The first time we went out, he worked himself into such a sweat that he lathered up a bit on his chest. I jokingly told my friend that he lost some weight that day.

Well, he did! When we went out for our second solo ride, I had to go up a notch on the latigo, because I couldn’t get the cinch tight enough. Woohoo! Progress was made!

When we started out on the ride, he got some jumping cactus got him! It jumped on to and dove into his front left fetlock. He can spin so fast. He can out do any reining horse out there, and I was a bit woozy when I finally got him stopped. I hopped off, found a bone, and got the cactus out. He was so relieved he gave me a kiss. I hopped back on and off we went. We did a lot of long trotting again, and this time he didn’t work up nearly as much of a sweat. He is ready to go on to the next level of trails; hills. Here is a short video of Harley.https://youtu.be/-8w4D8T-PkY

He is also nice to ride as long as you don’t put any leg on him. He probably was kicked so many times by kids at the dude ranch that he is over responsive if you use your leg. All you have to do is cluck, and off he goes. If you stiffen up your back, he immediately drops to a walk. Harley is such a good horse with a good heart, and he always gives me an honest ride.

As soon as this weather clears up, we’ll hit the trail.

I feel like I’m Goldilocks but with three horses. I have one horse that is too thin (Dulce), one horse that is a bit overweight (Harley), and one horse that is just right (Chaco).

Dulce has been here officially one week, and he seems to be settling in fine. He eats like crazy, and he could sleep through an earthquake. Harley seems to love him, and Chaco is figuring out he isn’t at the bottom of the barrel anymore.

Dulce, as you know is a bit thin; okay really thin. What happened is it appears while on the track his teeth were never floated. Horses can develop sharp points on their teeth, which can make it hard for them to eat since they can’t break the food down properly. Because of this, they can’t extract the nutrition they need, and it leads to weight loss. Bad teeth can lead to ulcers. Horses are constantly producing stomach acid as compared to humans who only produce it when they eat. If a horse can’t masticate their food properly, that stomach acid isn’t appeased, and it can create ulcers throughout their digestive tract.

Dulce had one hindgut ulcer and two on his tongue. When I brought Chaco home from the track, he kept biting his tongue. I took him to the dentist, and he had one sharp point. If I would have ignored that, he probably would have developed an ulcer on his tongue like Dulce did. While he was at NTWO, they took care of the ulcers in his mouth and the hindgut. However, he still hasn’t put weight on. If you hear anyone tell you that you don’t need to get your horse’s teeth floated until he is much older, don’t believe it. Get them done every year; you can look at Dulce to see how much bad teeth has affected him. He just turned five.

This is worrisome to me obviously. I’m a barefoot trimmer, and I believe what we feed our horses can cause all sorts of problems like bad hooves. My horses are on low sugar and low starch diets, which means they don’t get any oats, corn, sweet feed, or anything with molasses on it. Dulce now gets two medium meals and two small meals a day to slowly add calories throughout the day and to keep his digestive tract happy. He is on flaxseed, beet pulp (molasses free), and timothy hay pellets that he gets as a mash. He also gets Copra, which is a low sugar, low starch feed made from coconuts. It is filled with good fats and protein. I am also waiting on GastroMend to come, and in the meantime he is on aloe vera gel and marshmallow root to heal up ulcers. I’m hoping this will help him gain weight. He also wears a blanket at night, because I don’t want him to waste any calories trying to stay warm. Hoping this all works!

He has gained weight, 16 pounds since he got here, however it is all probably water weight that he gained back from his long trip here. He drank a lot of water on the trip, but I’m sure he lost more water than I was able to get into him along all of those miles.

He also has two bad front hooves. He developed solar abscesses probably because he couldn’t absorb any nutrition from his feed. Also, he was on well water, which often is high in iron. Iron in high amounts can block the essential minerals that a hoof needs to maintain its health. He is off well water here, and I put him on California Trace, which is meant to balance those high levels of iron in water, feed, etc;, and it creates a good, strong hoof. Chaco’s and Harley’s hooves are so healthy and strong now because of this.

Dulce is in the process of shedding the old sole on the right front hoof as the new one develops, and I just got his left front hoof to stop draining. It is already closing up and starting to develop new tissue. Each day I go out and clean it, put sugar/betadine on it, cover it with a diaper, and then boot him with EZ Boot Clouds.

He sure has some moves. He can corner on a dime, and he has some good speed to him. He loves to play with Harley and Chaco over the fence. I can’t introduce them together until I get the sole grown in on both front hooves first, so the fence remains until his hooves have some support. He walks up to me each time I go into his run. He loves to sniff me up and down, and while I work on his hooves, he loves to lick my lower back. It tickles. He is the sweetest horse with a good mind. I’ve yet to see him spook at anything, and he ponders everything he sees around him; he’s definitely a thinker. All he wants is a relationship with those around them, and he’s getting that. Yesterday while soaking his hooves, I did some Masterson work on him, and he loved it. He totally relaxed into it, and we got a few releases. I spend a lot of time with him, and after this storm moves through and since he seems to have adjusted to the altitude well, I’m going to start walking him 20 minutes a day. This will help those muscles develop and hopefully help release some of those muscles and put some weight on him.

Dulce is a happy boy, and we have a long journey ahead of us. It could be several months before I even think about putting a saddle on him. It all depends upon his weight and muscle gain. In the meantime, there are a lot of things we can do together, and I look forward to each minute of it.

I am horse racing, because it was my life for so many years. It was my family. It was in my daily thoughts. How were our horses? When did I get to go see them? Horse Racing for me was and always will be about the horses.

Horse racing started for me by my grandfather’s side listening to him talk with his friends about our horses, and telling me stories about his horses from days gone by. I remember him teaching me how to feed a horse, so my thumb didn’t get sucked into the horse’s mouth. If I close my eyes, I can see him holding my hand encouraging me to keep my fingers together as the horse took the carrot. I can see him showing me how to hold my hand, so the horse could sniff me as he said, “It’s your way of introducing yourself.”

Horse racing started for me as a kid at the breeding end of it. My grandpa had a couple of mares that he bred, so I started out with watching them grow big tummies and delivering these beautiful foals. My grandpa gave me Big Ruckus, this beautiful chestnut that looked a lot like Secretariat. He had so much energy as a foal that my grandpa put in a tetherball, and I would play tetherball with him. I remember my mom had a sweater the color of alfalfa, and the foals were always trying to eat it off of her. I remember watching them run and play. I remember one night being told to go into the barn and stay. I climbed the hay bales and peered out between two slats of wood to see my grandpa and dad struggling to keep one of our mares up as she struggled with colic a week after giving birth to Inga. They fought so hard to save her in the middle of a storm. She didn’t make it, and we had to raise Inga on goat milk. Horses come first…always….that is what my experience in horse racing taught me.

Horse racing exposed me to different cultures, different beliefs, and different ways of looking at the world. Horse racing is filled with all sorts of amazing people and characters.

Horse racing showed me what real riding was all about. I learned a lot from all of the jockeys as they often gave me riding tips. I am forever grateful to all of them for bringing our horses home safely, and if you think a jockey just sits on a horse during a race, you are very wrong. Only people that don’t ride would think a jockey did nothing. They are the most balanced, strong riders out there.

Horse racing introduced me to my favorite people on the backstretch; the grooms. I watched them constantly. I learned from them on how to be patient, compassionate, yet determined when it came time to take care of a horse. I watched them communicate quietly with each horse, I watched them care for their legs after a race, I watched how they monitored every single thing about each horse they cared for, and I saw how much they loved each one.

Horse racing brought me closer to my grandpa in so many ways. I’d sit at his feet as we strolled through the memories in his horse albums, and then we’d move on to his Richard Stone Reeves books studying all the greats. He taught my brother and I how to do fractions out of the Racing Form, because all of the times are done in fractions. He taught me how to look at horses, what to look for, but more importantly to realize that sometimes the horses with the worst conformations, were the best horses because of their hearts; never judge a book by its cover. We claimed a couple of horses nobody would have touched because of their looks, yet they were the best we ever had. My grandpa had a way with horses that I wish I had. He could move so easily with them, he always seemed to know what to do, and his love for them was amazing. He was in absolute awe of them, and it was something he wanted me to know and understand

God, how I love watching them run. There is nothing like watching a thoroughbred in full stride gliding above the ground.

Horse racing allowed me to go down to the barn one night when my whole world came crashing down. My friends were murdered, my parents were struggling to stay together, and then my horse Scubber died at the Pomona Racetrack after a strange virus killed so many. We thought he was going to survive it when he suddenly died. I drove to the track, snuck into Vehicle’s stall and curled up at his hooves crying….sobbing my heart out. He stood over me not moving a muscle as I finally let it all out. He got it, and that beautiful horse of ours helped me not do anything drastic by being there for me.

Horse racing taught me to care on so many levels for all and how to respect those in my life.

With all of this said, with all of my love for this sport, American horse racing needs to change. I have no idea why 23 deaths have happened at Santa Anita. Maybe it is because of one cause, but I doubt it. I think many choices have led up to this moment. Lasix, Bute, Osphos, Cortisone, anabolic steroids, and any other drug they find out there to hide problems….all of these choices lead to tragic endings. People who own horses need to take charge of their horses instead of going along with what they are told is needed. Research, research and research your horse’s issues to decide the best course of action. Horses first.

We never raced on Lasix, and our horses never came back to the barn drowning in their own blood or collapsed on the track. If they are bleeders, they should be retired and rehomed my grandpa would say and I say. We need to adopt the International Standards and then ask what else we can do. Horses come first.

Yes, there are some bad apples out there working with horses on the track, and the International Standards will help eject more of them out of the sport. They have no business being on the track, and we need universal rules across the country for violations.

This whole drugging thing has to stop. Horse’s are addicted to drugs, because people are addicted to speed and money. Horses come first. I just got back from Kentucky. The last time I was there, I got to play with Affirmed and Alydar about eight months before Alydar died. There is a lot of controversy around his death, and it revealed one of the ugliest sides of the horse world in all horse sports. Horses come first. Last weekend we drove through rolling, green pastures filled with thoroughbreds. Everywhere I looked I was reminded of this wonderful history my grandpa taught me as a child. It’s an amazing place, and I wonder if it will exist in ten years.

I am now on the other side of horse racing. I take in OTTB’s, and I will champion them as long as I can breath. I love them with every ounce of my being. They deserve to have good homes and a good life after everything they give to us. My recent adoptee needs a lot of work to get to a healthy place, but he’s worth it. Chaco is worth it. They all are worth it, so this is my horse racing.

We finally pulled in after 7pm last night. I must say that Dulce is one heck of a trooper. Two days in a row he stood in that trailer for 11 hours as we barreled down freeways, highways, dirt roads, detours, and our winding mountain roads without any complaint or problem. We were sure he would balk at loading up in Chapman yesterday morning not wanting to go another day, but he walked in calmly and munched on his hay.

I don’t know how I would have done this without Jessica Rummel coming along with me. Several times I told her she didn’t have to go, and I meant it. She has a lot going on. However, she was such a big help with everything that I’m relieved and grateful she chose to come. I needed someone that knew how to handle horses and how to pull a trailer through all of these crazy conditions, and she sure made this 2,800 mile trip easier. While we only found a few music groups that we both liked, and we completely disagree on vegetables, we totally meshed even though she turned my brains to mashed potatoes with some of her crazy logic about geography and how to pronounce things. She and I both were so frazzled by the constant downpour of rain, but we got through it all, and we brought home the sweetest horse out there.

I don’t even know how to express how happy I am that we went through heck and back to get him. It was all worth it. He is so cuddly and trusting. Last night when we got home, I cleaned out his hoof abscess, repacked it with a sugar/betadine/honey mix, wrapped his hoof, and put a boot on him, and he stood so quietly for me. He never tried to pull his hoof away once. Ever since we got on the road he’s been like that. He is such a good, calm, intelligent horse.

Chaco and Harley went to the races when we pulled in. They ran laps around the pasture in glee when they saw that I brought home another horse. For right now they are separated by some panels as they get to know one another. Chaco dotes on him, and Harley is gently expressing how he is the boss around here. He seems like he is going to fit right in with Chaco and Harley. We’ll start working on bringing the three of them together here over the coming days.

He lost a lot of weight due to an ulcer issue in his mouth and one in his hindgut. Now, it is time to focus on keeping those healed up, healing the hoof, and slowly but surely putting weight and muscle back on him. I started him on flax seed, beet pulp, and timothy hay pellet mash this morning. I also ordered some Copra, and he will get marshmallow root and aloe vera gel added to his feed soon. Taking it in slow steps.

I also want to thank my husband. I’m the one that takes care of the horses, so I really was asking a lot of him to do this for me when we went to pick up Dulce. He did an amazing job, and this whole thing never would have happened without his help and support. I also want to thank Heather and Brigham for coming down to see us, which meant the world to me, and for Heather’s constant support through all of this. I also want to thank everyone that has been following our trip and this blog. You cheered us on when we needed it the most; thank you.

Time to go out and work with the horses…..

Well, the drive yesterday was so much better than going to Kentucky. It was sunny without any major wind or the constant downpours. We could see the road, which was a good thing. We also could see the countryside, and it was so beautiful everywhere we went. We drove through rolling hills of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Forests and farms lined the roads with beautiful old barns.

Dulce travels so well. He stayed calm after we got on the road. Loading him was a different matter. He was scared, cold, and shaking so hard. He loaded, but he didn’t want to step forward into the trailer enough for us to close the slant. He pawed my leg one time without hurting me before he finally came forward enough to tie him in. I’ve never had a horse shake so hard on me, and I worried for the first part of the trip as to how he would handle everything. We closed all the windows until it hit 40 degrees, and then we cracked a couple of them to give him air. It stayed the perfect temperature, and he hasn’t shook again and never got sweaty.

The first time we stopped to check on him, he would only let me pet his nose lightly. When I jumped into the trailer to check on him, he flinched when I stroked his back. The second time we checked on him, I fed him more hay, because he ate everything down. He let him pet his neck and stroke his back without any turning away from me at all. Third stop, more hay, and he let me kiss his nose, and he watched me everywhere I went. Fourth stop was Chapman, and he ate everything down again.

We didn’t think we were going to make it to Chapman, because of traffic. When we got outside of St. Louis, the traffic to Columbia, MO was all stop and go as the college students headed back to school after a night on the town. From Columbia to Kansas City we were making great time until we hit road construction. The freeway was backed up for miles and miles. It took us an hour to get through this ridiculously, small area of construction. After we got out of Kansas City, Jessica and I became slap happy over everything. The stress eased as we left the final big city behind as we rushed towards Chapman. We were sure we wouldn’t make it to Chapman, but the people at the B&B were so kind telling us we could show up later than their check-in.

Somehow, we still got there at 9:30pm. I have no idea how we did that. Chapman, Kansas is a small farming community off of I-70. The town consists of a few old buildings and a cobblestone street. We drove through a few miles of farm land before we got to Pretty Horses B&B, and I don’t even know how to express how grateful we are to the people that run this place. I don’t know what we would have done without this Kansas oasis.

Julie, the host, was simply wonderful and helpful. She could have left us to do what needed to be done for Dulce, but she stayed and helped out. Dulce was stiff to say the least poor guy, but he was happy to be out and move around. Luckily, the owners had their two horses close by, so he wasn’t alone in a strange place. He drank a lot of water, and immediately began chowing down on more hay. I checked on him several times throughout the night, and there was only one time that he wasn’t eating.

The space at the Pretty Horses B&B is so comfortable; better than any hotel room we’ve stayed at on this trip. We felt like we were at a home away from home. The rooms were so nice, and she made sure we had plenty of food and drinks to help ourselves to. We had the entire bottom floor to ourselves, and it was the first time I relaxed on this trip.

We loaded him up this morning, and it was so much easier. He seems to know that he is with me now, and his gaze follows me as I walk around. He even started to follow me around a bit last night. He is eating away as we drive down I-70 through Kansas towards home.

You would think I’d take a picture of Dulce, but I didn’t. I’m struggling to write this blog as we drive out of Kentucky, because the countryside is so amazing. Beautiful rolling, green hills with budding trees everywhere. The rivers are all in their banks here compared to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and all of their tributaries. Beautiful thoroughbreds are everywhere. When I die, this is where I want to go for Heaven.

Dulce is a lot thinner than he was in the pictures I posted of him earlier due to the winter cold. It will take some time to get weight and muscle back on him. I’m looking forward to bringing him home and working on him and with him. I will change his diet to Flax Seed, Timothy Pellets, and Beet Pulp to get weight on him. I will let him rest for a couple of weeks to adjust to the altitude and keep him blanketed until our nights warm up. We will start with desensitizing work when he’s ready and do some groundwork over poles to start building up his muscle and create good balance on both sides of his body. Most importantly, we will get to know one another these next two weeks. He and I have quite the journey ahead of ourselves.

He was staying with his breeder in Paris, Kentucky, and we saw some amazing farms as we drove in including Claiborne. The road was narrow, old and lined with trees and horse fencing all around. Thoroughbreds grazed, ran and played over acre after acre of beautiful pastures. We felt like we drove into the past, into the all the rich history or thoroughbred racing and breeding.

After I said goodbye to Dulce last night at our first meeting, we went back to our room where my dear, pen pal Facebook friend Heather Dwire met up with us. She and her husband Brigham drove over two hours from Ohio to take us out to dinner. Heather is a lifesaver to me. She taught me so much about barefoot trimming, and she helped me get Harley’s hooves back on track. Seeing her meant the world to me. They took us out to this restaurant called Josie’s, and I went for all of the traditional Kentucky food. I had fried green tomatoes, which I haven’t had in years, and Kentucky Hot Brown. They were so delicious and made better by sitting with three good friends.

I didn’t sleep as well as I hoped. I kept feeling the road move beneath me. Eventually, I fell asleep giving thanks for everything about this trip, my friends, my husband, my horses, Jessica for coming with me, and for the ability to give Dulce a home.

Why are we driving to Kentucky to get Dulce? Well, that’s a good question. Growing up in horse racing you hear about states that are more likely to funnel horses to the kill pens, and Louisiana was one of the worst. I always wanted to take in a horse from Louisiana because of this.

National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization started with the promise that they would never turn away any horse from Louisiana, which spoke to my heart. They have lived up to this promise taking in all the horses no matter what kind of injuries they may have. The vets at Rood & Riddle, which is one of the premiere thoroughbred veterinary and surgical hospitals in the country, inspect all of the horses. If a horse has a chip, they do the surgeries for free. They do everything they can to get these horses into good shape to be adopted out, and they are upfront and honest about their conditions and what they may or may not do.

Because of them and others, things are changing in Louisiana.

Dulce raced 16 times in Louisiana before he ended up at the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization. He was never involved in a wreck, and it seems he wasn’t too enthusiastic about racing. He is a bit on the thin side still, and he needs work done on his hooves, but I know he can go far. I saw it in his eyes the first time I saw pictures of him. This is why I’m driving to Kentucky to get him. I know it would make my grandpa happy to know that we are taking in a horse from Louisiana.

I have no idea what he will want to do, but he’ll tell me as we try new things out. One thing I hope to do with Chaco and Dulce is to show everyone on the Western Slope how wonderful thoroughbreds are by doing demonstrations at rodeos. I haven’t worked it all out in my mind yet, but I have time. Chaco needs time for his leg to get stronger, and Dulce needs training. I figure next summer hopefully. What will Harley do? He is going to be their teacher on the trails, and be with us every step of the way.

So, we continue driving east losing time with the time zone changes through misty clouds and winds on I-70. We drove through mainly hay fields on the Colorado plains, and now we are driving past corn field after corn field with a huge house here and there and church steeples trying to stand higher than the trees around it.

Soon enough we’ll be in Thoroughbred country meeting Dulce. Keeping my fingers crossed for a great meeting. So many butterflies!

This has been such a hard secret to keep. I didn’t know if it would even happen considering the weather here in Colorado, flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi, the distance, my friend having jury duty, a mare that may or may not foal, and trying to coordinate schedules.

A couple of months after Shandoka died, the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization posted a few pictures of this horse they were hoping to adopt out. I immediately was drawn to him. The only thing that bothered me were his hooves, but I felt I could fix those thanks to all that Chaco, Shandoka, and Harley have taught me. I fell in love, but I wasn’t ready. I thought he would be adopted immediately.

When I researched him some more and found out his breeding, I exclaimed, “He’s my dream foal!” As much as I would love to breed my own foal, I’ve committed to not breeding due to the fact that there are so many thoroughbreds that need homes and way too many end up in kill pens. However, I have this app on my phone called Global Stallions that I look at often when I want to research a horse that catches my eye. I also play “Fantasy Foal” instead of “Fantasy Football, which is my own creation. I research the nicks of different stallions, and look for the mares that fulfill those nicks. Well, this horse wasn’t out of any of the dams that I looked up, but she had all the lines that I would love to breed this stallion too.

As the months went by I would contact them to see if he was still available, and he was. I still wasn’t ready, and our weather was horrible. The thought of trying to haul a horse over our avalanche prone passes was terrifying.

When I finally felt ready to take in another horse, I contacted NTWO, and they told me they no longer had him; the breeder took him back. I was so bummed. I blew it. My husband suggested I contact the breeder. I looked up his information on Pedigree Query, found the name of the breeder, and then I found them on Facebook. I sent a message, and there was no response.

Finally, at the end of the day, there was a ding. I picked up my phone, and the breeder said he was available and to apply for him through NTWO. I quickly downloaded the application, went through a rigorous vetting process, and now we are on our way to Kentucky to pick him up. I still can’t believe we are on the road. We didn’t know until the last minute about whether we would leave on Friday or Saturday. The weather forecast has been a bit of a roller coaster ride, and the mare still hasn’t had her foal. However, off we go to get another thoroughbred with the hopes of Chaco and Dulce helping educate people as to how wonderful thoroughbreds can be as part of my dream.

Dulce? Yes, that will be his barn name as a way to honor his sire. All the while as we drive towards him, I’m thinking about my boys back home. I miss them so much, and it is the first time we’ve all been apart except for the one day Chaco was away for surgery. I keep thinking how happy they will be to be a three horse herd again…..so Kentucky, here we come.

If you would like to find out more about NTWO.org, or would like to adopt a retired racehorse from them, please visit their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NTWO.org/ or go to their website at http://ntwo.org/

Broken skyline, which way to love land
Which way to something better
Which way to forgiveness
Which way do I go

Time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going

Sometime later, getting the words wrong
Wasting the meaning and losing the rhyme
Nauseous adrenaline
Like breakin’ up a dogfight
Like a deer in the headlights
Frozen in real time
I’m losing my mind

It’s time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going

Tom Petty lyrics from Time to Move On

This about sums up my life up for the next few days.