Almost three years ago my life finally settled down enough to have a horse of my own again. Thus began an exhaustive search to find a horse that fit my criteria. This included not too expensive, a calm disposition, broke to ride, and moves decently since I wanted to event. I got most of those things in a bay with chrome package. I also got a drama queen who fully believes she's now living among peasants put there to serve her every whim.
Seneca Wind was a seven year old semi-successful turf race horse who had that spring gotten bumped coming out the starting gate and bowed a tendon. While she was fully capable of recovering well enough to race again she wasn't that great a race horse and the amount of time the owner and trainer would have needed to rehab her would be far more expensive than finding another racing prospect.
Enter Kim Clark and the race horse rehoming program called Thoroughbred Placement and Rescue Inc. (http://www.goodhorse.org) The program had another name back then but the goal was the same find homes for race horses that either were injured or too slow to make money on the track. Seneca was listed on the part of the website that even now is my guilty, obsessive pleasure, Looking for a Home. This meant the horses listed on that part of the website were free to good homes for various reasons. Seneca's injury made her harder to place because many people fear bowed tendons or don't have the time to rehab that kind of injury. I had the time, and after a lot of research knew that a slightly bowded tendon could heal to the point that Seneca would be able to event.
Here is how my first audience with the High Queen went. I made arrangements with the trainer to visit Seneca at the Bowie Training Center in Maryland and then drove the almost four hours in my car. Which wasn't a big deal I'd done over night trips to see horses previously so a four hour drive was an easy day. When I arrived the Queen was having her bath. The trainer, owner and I spoke for awhile and then the trainer asked if I wanted to see her move. Sure. Seneca hadn't been asked for anything but a walk in months so when the trainer asked her to trot out she was... lets just say enthusiastic. I nearly had to explain why there was a hoof print on the door of my car.
Even with the flinging of hooves I decided to give Seneca a chance. I made arrangements to come back and pick Seneca up in a couple of weeks. I went back to see Seneca in her stall one last time before I went home that day. She was napping in her stall and when I asked her to come over to me she lifted one eye lid gave me a highly disgusted look and went back to sleep. Strangely, I was hooked.
And thus my three years and running relationship with the High Queen began.
Seneca Wind was a seven year old semi-successful turf race horse who had that spring gotten bumped coming out the starting gate and bowed a tendon. While she was fully capable of recovering well enough to race again she wasn't that great a race horse and the amount of time the owner and trainer would have needed to rehab her would be far more expensive than finding another racing prospect.
Enter Kim Clark and the race horse rehoming program called Thoroughbred Placement and Rescue Inc. (http://www.goodhorse.org) The program had another name back then but the goal was the same find homes for race horses that either were injured or too slow to make money on the track. Seneca was listed on the part of the website that even now is my guilty, obsessive pleasure, Looking for a Home. This meant the horses listed on that part of the website were free to good homes for various reasons. Seneca's injury made her harder to place because many people fear bowed tendons or don't have the time to rehab that kind of injury. I had the time, and after a lot of research knew that a slightly bowded tendon could heal to the point that Seneca would be able to event.
Here is how my first audience with the High Queen went. I made arrangements with the trainer to visit Seneca at the Bowie Training Center in Maryland and then drove the almost four hours in my car. Which wasn't a big deal I'd done over night trips to see horses previously so a four hour drive was an easy day. When I arrived the Queen was having her bath. The trainer, owner and I spoke for awhile and then the trainer asked if I wanted to see her move. Sure. Seneca hadn't been asked for anything but a walk in months so when the trainer asked her to trot out she was... lets just say enthusiastic. I nearly had to explain why there was a hoof print on the door of my car.
Even with the flinging of hooves I decided to give Seneca a chance. I made arrangements to come back and pick Seneca up in a couple of weeks. I went back to see Seneca in her stall one last time before I went home that day. She was napping in her stall and when I asked her to come over to me she lifted one eye lid gave me a highly disgusted look and went back to sleep. Strangely, I was hooked.
And thus my three years and running relationship with the High Queen began.
Seneca in the Dec 2010 big snow.
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