26/12/2024
Today I got the privilege or turning out one of my best friends horse for the first time after 4 months extensive rehab. She got him in September 2024 directly from a race yard after a career ending injury. She did not when she woke up that morning have any intention of acquiring another horse. Let alone one that would take a lot of hard work with no guarantee of a happy ending or a ridden career. Because of the amazing person she is she said yes to what many would consider an unnecessary risk. Yes there are plenty of horses out there that need homes. Yes it is easy to get an uninjured race horse. She hadn’t even met him yet or seen a photo but she said yes. So she arranged transportation for the horse who’s injury we knew more about then anything else and he came to us on a box from Newmarket. Although we are both experienced in the industry neither of us had ever taken on a project quite like this. I promised from the beginning she 100% had my support in any way she needed it. Problems I envisioned were him developing stable vises, being dangerous to handle or muck out, re injury. None of those ended up being an issue fortunately however what I didn’t expect was the horse people. From the very beginning there were plenty of professionals involved. Multiple race vets, physiotherapists, nutritionist, ferrier, massage therapist ect… They all gave us a very similar rehab time line and plan. However the number of just horse people that felt their experience trumps any degree is incredible. Thankfully my friend stuck to her professional(s) advice although it’s been very difficult at times. Thanks to her hard work and doing what was best for him not what everyone else wanted. Her horse has started the most exciting day of the rest of his life, and been allowed to run and play in a giant grassy field with friends. Very likely for the first time since his racing career began at age 2. The past four months the most exciting part of his day has been horse walker, long reining and ground work. He’s certainly enjoyed them but nothing can replace being a horse and roaming free. It was definitely a nail biting moment for all of us involved turning him away today but we know our hard work paid off when he came in as sound as he went out. The hard work is far from over, and there are so many other systems in the horse that are compromised with long term box rest that we can focus more on now. But with continuous support from relevant professionals including myself he will have a long sound life, and the opportunity to turn his hoof to whatever he enjoys in his forever home with his human who saved him. Thank you to everyone involved it truly does take an amazing team of people friends and professionals but it’s made a world of difference to this little retired race horse.
