Sunday January 15, 2012

Just when you think winter is missing in action (see last week’s blog), we got a wintery blast this past week. And yes, I know compared to other parts of the country, “wintery blast” in Kentucky is a relative term! Still, we had single digit temperatures during a couple of nights, the snow swirled but didn’t really accumulate, and the wind was bitterly cold.  The sudden change from nearly 60 degrees to the teens is not easy on horses or people.  So even though this weekend’s temperatures were still only in the mid-30s, the lack of wind and bright sunshine made it seem more pleasant by leaps and bounds.

Yesterday I visited the horses over at the annex farm, spending some time with Wallenda and intending to visit some of the horses I don’t see all that often.  But since the weather was such an improvement over earlier in the week, most of the horses were far out in their fields, either napping or grazing.  Wallenda was in his stall and happy to be fussed over for a bit.  WC Jones, who has a paddock at that farm, came right over to say hello. But that was it.  As far as everyone else was concerned, since I didn’t come bearing dinner I wasn’t worth as much as a glance! These are some happy and content horses.

Today, for the first time in a while, I had a busy tour.  With several families, six or seven kids under the age of 10, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, it was a family affair.   A couple of the little boys were afraid of Marley, but eventually they stopped freezing up every time Marley looked at them.  Silver Charm, who has reached new levels of shaggy this winter, was far more interested in visiting than playing soccer.   Clever Allemont came over as soon as he spied children, his favorite visitors.   He looks pretty shaggy too, but for a 30 year old horse with a hitch in his hip, one good eye and bad hearing, he does just fine.

Dan and Flick were next on our visit, and I think Dan likes kids best of all, too.  He gobbles carrots of course, but he also tickles hair, licks hands and gives kisses.  Dan is not above nipping at the grown-ups, but he can make a kid giggle like nobody’s business!  Flick isn’t the clown that Dan can be, but he is unfailingly kind and gentle.  The two horses are quite a team when you have a bunch of kids on the tour.

Of course, Dan and Flick are just a warm-up for the two princes of popularity, Pops and Ring.  Ring was waiting for us at the fence, showing his tattoo and mugging for photos.  Pops was right behind him, posing for family pictures with the kids like he was some kind of favorite relative.  I would imagine some folks will be watching “Seabiscuit” again soon, looking for their new movie star friend.

The whole time we were with Pops and Ring, Prized stood and watched, patiently awaiting his carrots.  Then, after getting many carrots from little hands, Prized met us at every corner of his paddock, just in case we didn’t recognize him from earlier and had more carrots for him.  You know, I’m sure Prized had a nice life wherever he lived prior to Old Friends.  But that horse just LOVES his carrots, as much as any horse on the farm.  You’d think he never got anything but bread and water!

After quick stops with Leave Seattle, You and I and Kiri’s Clown, some of the kids were getting a little cold, so we finished up our tour with Sunshine and Patton.  The littlest girl, who rode most of the tour in her stroller, for some reason was fascinated by Sunshine and wanted to give him carrots.  She held out her little mitten-clad hand and Sunshine took carrots as gently as can be.  As we left, she had to go back and give him one more.  I say it all the time, but I am always amazed how the littlest kids are so unafraid of the biggest horses, and how gentle and kind those big stallions are with those tiny children.

Now that we’ve had a couple day of winter, I am fully ready for spring.  That might be wishful thinking, but it will be here in no time.  Until then, a nice winter day is a great time to visit Old Friends.  We hope to see you soon, but in the meantime, thanks for spending this Sunday with Old Friends!

-Val

Sunday January 8, 2012

I’m not too sure what’s happened to our winter, because it sure was a nice weekend in central Kentucky.  Today was a sunny day with temperatures in the upper 40s and a very light wind.  I have no doubt the real January weather will arrive eventually, but for now the horses were all enjoying some naptime in the warm sunshine.  When I arrived at the farm today, I could see Gramps, Sunshine, Kiri and Afternoon Deelites were all stretched out in the sun.  Most of the other horses were standing for their naps, and no one was very active.

No tours were scheduled today, so Bea and Roberta closed shop to attend some of the stud farm open houses that are always scheduled this time of year.  Along with Greg and Marley, I opted to take advantage of the quiet time at Old Friends to commandeer a golf cart and take a ride to the back of the farm.  I had yet to meet our two new gray horses, Diamond Stripes and Mikethespike.  That was high on my to-do list and it turns out both horses are pretty nice.

We made a stop to say hello to Marquetry, who is still in recovery from his colic surgery late last year. Marq continues to do well, and while he still is barred from treats, he nonetheless loves attention.  So we patted and fussed over him for awhile.  From there, we stopped to meet Diamond Stripes, who was hanging out in the round pen.  Stripes is a tall, lanky gray horse who came right over and happily munched some carrots and a mint.  I imagine some of the “lanky” will go by the wayside after a few months of Old Friends groceries—this tends to happen with horses off the track—but he seems like a very friendly horse who will enjoy being an Old Friends retiree.

One of the amusing things about wintertime is how different horses react to the slowdown in large tours and the corresponding drop in treats.  So for example, Dan looked over at us, decided we weren’t worth the effort and went back to napping.  Flick never even glanced over, and Ogygian didn’t bother to lift his head from his pile of hay.  On the other hand, Bull met us at the earliest opportunity and was vocal about demanding some treats—now, dang it!  Commentator stood across from Bull and grabbed at his carrots like he was afraid they would disappear if he didn’t hurry.  As we proceeded up the hill, Jimmy was laying down in the sun on the far side of his paddock, but Williamstown and Tinner’s Way  were waiting for our arrival.

Many of our old horses are surprisingly limber and mobile—Swan’s Way, Ogygian, even Fortunate Prospect at age 31, are quite sound.  But Williamstown is one of the horses having a more difficult time with arthritis.  He doesn’t move too smoothly anymore, and he is very careful where he puts his feet when he does move around.  Despite his aches and pains, his coat is shiny black, he is otherwise healthy and he was happy to eat as many carrots and mints as we wanted to feed him.  In his own way Willie likes to play, although you have to pay attention because he figures it’s your problem if your fingers just happen to get caught between his teeth!  But he likes to lick the salt off my hand and have me rub his nose and forehead.  All that attention for Willie just aggravates the socks off Tinner, who stomped and tossed his head until we got to him.   Tinner doesn’t want to play.  He just wants his fair share of the food!

Once we got to the back of the farm, we found Cherono and his buddy Ball Four waiting at the fence for us.  Even Bonapaw came over for treats, as did Kudos.  Next door, Futural tried to chase off Affirmed Success, who intelligently just met us farther down the fence for his share.  Mikethespike met us at the corner, and clearly has stamped out his spot in the pecking order.  No one dared chase him off.

When you don’t see the horses for a few weeks or even a month or two, any changes in their condition is very noticeable.  There was a pretty, chubby, shiny bay horse in a paddock next to Regal Sanction that I did not recognize.  I had to ask Janet—it was Delay of Game!  He looks great—he’s put on weight, his winter coat is thick and soft. He’s always been a nice old boy, and he really seems happy living in the peace and quiet at the back of the farm.

We also have a new mare named Santona, who is a sweet girl.  In fact, she is so sweet that I believe Hidden Lake is jealous, because she kind of gave us the brush off.   By far, Old Friends has mostly boys, so spending time with a sweet old mare is a treat.  It’s a totally different interaction—unless of course the mares are feeling cranky.  Then it’s a whole other dimension!   But for today the girls were all feeling mellow.  Except for Lake, who was pouting, I guess!

As we drove back down the hill, Pops and Ring barely roused themselves from their nap for treats.  They woke up when they saw Leave Seattle, You and I and Prized head our way for treats–then Pops and Ring came thundering down the hill.  All the stallions along the route came over, although Kiri was so zonked in the sunshine that we had to practically walk up to him to get so much as an ear flicker.  He eventually heaved himself up and wandered over for carrots, but it could have gone either way!  We stopped to see Sunshine who mostly wanted to play, and Patton who mostly wanted carrots.  Afternoon Deelites came over at a canter, tossing his head and looking handsome.  He is such a show-off, perhaps rivaled only by Commentator and his own son Pops. You can count on AD to make an entrance, that’s for sure.

We had a really nice time just meandering around the farm, spending time with the horses and, like Delay, enjoying the peace and quiet.  A nice winter day is a great time to visit Old Friends, and we do offer tours all winter long.  Please call the office for reservations at 502-863-1775. We hope to see you soon, but in the meantime thanks for spending this Sunday with Old Friends.

-Val

Sunday January 1, 2012

Reflections on 2011

As I stopped to think about the past year, so much has happened and some of it now seems so long ago!  But it was a fun year in many ways, and here are some of the things that stand out for me about 2011.

-Seeing Zenyatta paraded at Keeneland upon her arrival in Kentucky.  People of all ages were five, six or more deep, straining for a glimpse.  The entire event, with its party atmosphere on a bitterly cold night, was almost surreal.  On that night, Zenyatta was a no less than a rock star greeting her fans.  Truthfully, who could ever have predicted such a thing?

-My first-ever attendance at the Kentucky Derby.  I never actually saw the race—too many people standing on their seats, too many LARGE hats blocking the views of people standing behind those hats.  But it was still an experience every race fan should have if they can.  I’ll never forget the guy in the bright orange and hot pink argyle-plaid suit.  Nor will I forget Animal Kingdom, on whom I bet–because I had “a feeling.”

-Seeing the three different winners of the Triple Crown races.  And all three horses are scheduled to race in 2012.  Fantastic!

-Speaking of the Triple Crown, to me, it was nice that each of the race winners had reasonable names.  Some of the names I saw this year, while they may have been humorous, just didn’t seem to have much dignity about them–especially if the horse is Triple Crown caliber.  But, that’s just my opinion; please don’t email me! I already know plenty of people who disagree with me.

-Taking my sister and brother in-law to see the babies at Summerwind Farm, among them the hours-old filly out of Fleet Indian.  Sadly of course, Fleet Indian was among the horses we lost later in 2011.  I won’t forget that day, nor will I forget Fleet Indian.

-Seeing offspring and descendants of Old Friends stallions race and win at the highest levels.  Get Stormy and Court Vision, especially–thank you.

-Keeneland.  Just so darn much fun, no matter how many times I go. It’s a place, along with Churchill Downs, that every race fan should try to visit.

-I appreciate any time I visit one of the big stud farms to see stallions.  Any farm that welcomes fans gets a gold star in my book because while I may not own or breed racehorses, I am a huge fan of the sport.  Without exception, the people I meet are so nice and welcoming of my casual fandom.  And seeing horses like AP Indy or Bernardini or Tiznow is a flat-out thrill for me.  So thanks to those farms I have visited over the past year or so —Lane’s End, Darley, Winstar, Adena Springs, Three Chimneys, Spendthrift, Ashford and Gainesway, among others.

-Watching Afternoon Deelites strut off the trailer the day he arrived at Old Friends.  He was, and is, so full of himself!

-Breeder’s Cup 2011.  Far, far nicer weather than Breeder’s Cup 2010.

-I was caught off guard by seeing Awad’s name on the 2011 list of equine deaths in the Blood Horse magazine, and it was hard to see.  Moving down the list of stallions were the names Glitterman, Polish Navy, Jade Hunter and The Wicked North.  And that was just the stallions.  Old Friends lost mares and geldings as well.  I miss each one of those old horses.

-Some of the really terrific kids I met on tours at Old Friends:  the little girl with the bow in her hair who wandered all over with Marley, the boy who was a natural little horseman. But especially memorable is every child who starts out afraid of horses and ends up kissing noses with abandon.

-How great it’s been to see both I’m Charismatic and Stormy Passage go from injured and stall-bound to happy (and muddy!) outside horses.

-The new stallions at Old Friends (AD, Patton, Prized and You and I) who have turned out to be entertaining and fun to be around.   And, especially in the case of Patton, just plain nice.

-The 2011 Secretariat Festival.  So many Secretariat fans of all ages, from all over the world, packed into tiny Paris, Kentucky.  I think it might have been the happiest place I have been to in some time.  What fun!

-Speaking of Secretariat: the lady who came to Old Friends decked out in Meadow Stable blue from head to toe—including her rather elaborate manicure.  She was The Ultimate Secretariat Fan!

-Spending Sundays with my co-volunteers Bea and Roberta.  Wonderful people, both of them.

-All the really nice readers of this blog who came to the farm and introduced themselves.  I am often taken aback by how many blog readers are out there.  Thank you all.

I’m sure the list could go on even longer.  Post a comment, and let us know what you remember most about the past year.

Thank you all for spending 2011 with Old Friends.  Here’s wishing everyone a most Happy New Year!

P.S. Happy 31st birthday, Gramps!   You are something special.

-Val

Sunday December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all the critters (equine, canine and feline) at Old Friends!

Sunday December 18, 2011

It was a gorgeous day in central Kentucky, bright and sunny.  With temperatures in the upper 30s, it was great weather to be a horse—warm enough for a nap, cool enough that wooly winter coats weren’t too warm.  It seemed like a good time to take some photos. 

 

Sunday December 11, 2011

After a couple weeks off, it’s nice to be back on my Sunday routine.  We’ve made a scheduling change to our Sunday tours—for the winter months we’ll be offering one Sunday tour, at 11 am.   Sundays are pretty slow in the winter months, and we figured an 11 am tour takes advantage of arguably the warmest part of cold winter days, for the hardy souls who still want to visit the farm! 

So today being my first short winter day, of course we had no tours scheduled.  And as much as I enjoy introducing our horses to visitors, there is something especially, selfishly, wonderful about having time to wander from horse to horse all by myself. (Well, alone unless you count Marley!)   With no carrot bucket in hand, the horses come over for attention, not treats.  The difference is quite remarkable.  Instead of focusing on eating, the horses want to play or have their faces rubbed or give kisses. The pace is slower.  If one of the horses is napping, that’s fine.  He’ll catch me later, or maybe not at all this time.  Although I can say every horse I visited, save one, came over to say hi.  The one?  Gulch.  Surprise! 

Marquetry went outside to the small round pen today, for the first time since his surgery.  He wanted so badly to buck and play but the round pen is small for a reason, and he didn’t have space enough to get up any kind of speed.  So he contented himself with some head tossing, a few jogging steps and an eventual nap in the sunshine.  Marq looks great—you can barely see where his belly was shaved for the surgery and although he has shed a few extra pounds, he still has his bright orange coat and the sparkle in his eye.  Although truth be told, he wasn’t outside long before he was covered in mud from head to hoof. 

As I wander from horse to horse, I mostly lean on the paddock fence and wait for them to stroll over.  Patton saw me coming and he didn’t waste time with passive greetings or a pat on the nose.  No, he goes right for the kisses.  He stuck his nose right in my face and huffed until he fogged up my sunglasses. Then, he laid his head on my shoulder and we chatted for a bit.   He is such a kind horse, without a mean or cranky bone in his body.  He is undoubtedly one of the nicest stallions you’ll ever meet. 

On the other hand, if there are no carrots, Sunshine figures I must be there to play.  He tosses his head, nibbles on my sleeve, and licks and drools all over me.  He really likes to rub his face on me, and since he is not a little horse I kind of have to hang on to the fence or he’ll knock me over.  I’ve always thought that playfulness makes Sunshine one of the most fun horses to interact with, and today was no exception.  I also think Sunshine is kind of showing his age more of late, and so I appreciated the time with him today. 

Another horse that I think is going to turn out to be a sweetheart is You and I.  He is such a pretty, almost delicate stallion, although that is probably as much a function of him living near the much larger Sunshine Forever and even Prized.  But You was more than happy to cuddle right up to me and he stood blissfully while I rubbed his face, his ears and his nose.  He even liked it when I rubbed the dirt off around his eyes. He sucked on a peppermint all the while, then gave me a kiss and wandered off. 

Without carrots in hand, one of the horses who rarely comes to visit is Leave Seattle.  But he started to walk over as he saw me fussing with You and I, so I leaned against his fence and waited for him.  I didn’t move and surprisingly, Leave came right up to me and nuzzled my arm.  Then, he stretched his head out toward me and let me plant a kiss on his nose!  Now, you have to understand how shocking this is, because normally Leave would just as soon nip at me.  Of course, lest I think he has completely mellowed, when I tried to pat him– he tried to bite me!

We have two new residents—one new to Old  Friends and one transferred from foster care in Michigan.  Our newest horse is Fabulous Strike and our transfer is Mikethespike.  I didn’t meet Mike today—he has joined one of the large pastures of geldings at the back of the main farm and I didn’t wander that far.  But I have met Fabulous Strike.  Although I suspect he’ll be bay in the summer, with his winter coat he is very dark with a white back foot and a small white star on his forehead.  He is a big, strong gelding and seems really nice.  I’ve visited with him a couple times now and my first impressions are these:  1. Not a mint fan.  2.  Really likes to play.  3. Going to LOVE getting regular visitors!  You can see Strike’s pedigree here.  And Mike’s info is here– notice his broodmare sire is our own Black Tie Affair!

I finished up my day with a visit to the new farm in Midway, where my friend Wallenda resides.  Another horse to loves to play, I brushed mud off him, we played tug o’ war with my jacket, he slobbered on me some and then we just hung out for a while.  All in all, it was a fine and satisfying day. 

If you are planning to visit us during the winter months, we really appreciate reservations.  Tours are available every day—check with the office for times and to make a reservation.  In the meantime, thanks for sharing this Sunday with Old Friends!   

-Val

Thursday November 24, 2011

 For the past couple of years, The Wicked North has offered to take over writing the Thanksgiving blog.  With his loss earlier this year I just wasn’t sure about who to ask, so I consulted with Fortunate Prospect, our wise patriarch.  He suggested I ask Afternoon Deelites to take over. Personally, I think Gramps suggested him because AD is a major busybody.  As predicted, AD was thrilled to be asked.  So, without further ado….here’s AD!  -Val

Wow, I haven’t even been here a full year, and I’ve been asked to do this.  How honored am I? Of course, I do have some “cred” as far as writing.  My owner was Burt Bacharach, the famous songwriter.  So writing, of a sort, runs in the family.  Plus, I live in the paddock at the top of the driveway.  I supervise everything that goes on here! 

OK, OK, I’m getting to it, cool your jets.  I heard that Norty always asked what we were most thankful for.  So I asked that same question and to tell you the truth, I was amazed by some of the answers. And then, there were the kids–I mean, really?  Carrots and peppermints are great, but they are kind of a given here.  Couldn’t we come up with something, anything, more meaningful than that?  Sigh.  I can see I am going to have to explain the concept of deep thinking to some of these kids.  Well, just don’t blame me if you don’t like the answers, ok?

Gulch-- Meh, AD, you know you can’t expect much from some of these youngsters.  All they want is a new iPad and some attention.  None of them want to work at it.  I mean, what—they race a couple times and off to the shed?  Back in my day we worked for our millions.  Thank goodness there are still some of us old-timers around to remember when we had to race uphill both ways, barefoot, in a blizzard, carrying a humongous rider…

Clever Allemont— Oh for Pete’s sake, Gulch.   Personally, I consider every day a gift.  And boy do I appreciate green grass, my cozy stall at night and all the kids who like to visit me.  What’s better than that?

Ogygian—I am a simple guy, and I do appreciate carrots and attention.  But mostly, I just love to hang out under my tree in the sunshine and daydream.  It’s a perfect retirement and I am thankful every day for it.

I’m Charismatic—Carrots.   

AD—And here is my first student… IC, you mean you can’t come up with something, I don’t know, more interesting?  I know you have had issues with your ankles.  Surely there is something you are thankful for…hint, hint?

I’m Charismatic– Okay AD, I think I see your point.  I have to thank all the OF people who have had so much patience with me.  I can go outside now, where people bring me lots and lots of carrots!

 (AD— annd we’re back to the carrots…)

Stormy Passage— Do you think AD is trying to tell us it’s NOT all about the carrots?  I don’t know if I can agree with that…Okay, Okay.  Thanks to everyone who found a way to get me to Old Friends.  And to everyone here who has taken such good care of me ever since.  I’ll happily express my appreciation–by eating more carrots!

Gasconade—snicker, snicker.  I’m thankful I was busy on the day Stormy was gelded.  Tee hee.  

(AD—does he know his day is coming, I wonder?) 

Prized— Been here a few months now.  I am really enjoying it.  People are friendly,  lots of grass, plenty of attention.  I kind of like that little brown dog—Marley?– that comes around on Sundays.  She kisses my nose sometimes.

You and I—This place is still kind of new to me, but I think I like it. My brother Prized is across the way and Uncle Sunshine is nearby, too. It’s good to have them to talk with.  I wish my other brother Kudos lived closer, but he does his own thing with his friends up on the hill. 

Patton—You know what really struck me when I came to Old Friends earlier this year?  Everyone here is so very kind.  I don’t think there is enough kindness in the world and we could all use more of it. So being here, it’s nice.  I figure, maybe if I am kind to our visitors, they will pass it on when they leave.  Yeah.  Anyway, that’s what I think.

Marquetry—I totally agree with Patton.  And a special thanks to everyone who got me to the clinic in time for my surgery a few weeks ago.   It was scary at first, but I’m feeling better every day.  And while my diet is pretty strict right now, kisses are still allowed!  Patton, I’ll be back in my paddock next door in no time. We’ll catch up then…. 

Kudos—hey You!   

Swan’s Way–  Dear Readers:  Please note my recent change of address.  I now reside just behind the farm office.  Do you think I need to notify the post office?  I don’t want to miss getting any of my mail.

Kiri’s Clown—Gulch!  Our grandkids—chips off the old blocks, eh?  I’m so proud of them both I could just burst! (Val’s Note:  that would be Get Stormy and Court Vision) 

Cherono—I really love my new field with Kudos and Bonapaw.  And my new best friend, Ball Four. 

Ball Four—back atcha, bro….. 

Danthebluegrassman—Yeah, we all really fell into it when we came here.  I wish even more people would visit—because we love meeting new people.  And to take a page from the kids—more people does mean more carrots…. 

AD—I give up. How did Norty do this?  It’s like herding barn cats…

Fortunate Prospect—I hate to get too involved in all this blog stuff.  I don’t really understand these computers. And what’s a smartphone, anyway?   But since I am the elder statesman, and I do turn 31 in a few weeks, I guess I need to say something.  So, here goes.  Ahem. Speaking for all of us here at Old Friends—equine, human, canine, and feline—we wish you all a most enjoyable and happy Thanksgiving.  Come visit.  And bring carrots…

 AD—Et tu FP?  That’s it.  Next year someone else can do this!     

(A reminder, AD—you love your carrots, too. So stop trying to fool us! –Val) 

Happy Thanksgiving to all, from everyone at Old Friends!!

Sunday November 20, 2011

This particular blog entry is one that I have put off for far too long.  I put it off in large part because most of this blog’s regular readers will be aware that I am writing about my favorite horse in the world, and thus, I am perhaps not the most unbiased of persons.  But then, where horses are concerned, aren’t we all biased? 

So this is about Wallenda.  He was a good racehorse, certainly.  But he is also flat-out, no contest the toughest horse I have ever known.  In a world where Thoroughbreds are considered to be ever more fragile, he has shown himself to be smarter, stronger and more determined than anyone could have predicted. 

Wallenda, named after the patriarch of the famous circus family, amassed $1.2 million in earnings over a 33 race career.  As a three year old in 1993 for Dogwood Stables, he won the Super Derby, the Pennsylvania Derby and ran second in the Blue Grass Stakes.  He was Kentucky Derby worthy and in fact ran in the Derby that same year. Whenever I find myself in the Derby Museum at Churchill Downs, I stop to look for his name on the Derby wall.  Even though he didn’t win, seeing his name listed there never fails to thrill me.  After his racing career, Wallenda stood at stud in Kentucky, New Zealand, and ultimately ended up in Japan.  In the summer of 2007, he joined the Old Friends roster.  

I was new to Old Friends as a volunteer at the same time Wallenda arrived at the farm.  Among my first memories of the deep-chested, nearly black stallion is watching the Flying Wallenda family feed carrots to Wallenda the horse, and then performing their high-wire act at a farm fundraiser.  Wallenda the horse is a carrot hound, and a show-off.  He is also a stallion, and not the kind you kiss and fuss over.  He is an active horse by nature, not above taking a nip at anyone who annoys him, and not a particularly gentle or simple horse to be around.  Had I thought about it, I probably would have said he was a not a horse that would be calm and content as an indoor horse.  I had no idea the path Wallenda was about to walk. 

My memory of the time line isn’t precise but sometime after the Flying Wallendas visited, on a Sunday morning, I gave a tour of the farm to a married couple. As we approached Wallenda’s paddock down by the pond he was standing in the middle of his field with no weight on his back leg, clearly in distress.  As we watched, he struggled on three legs to limp the 30 feet over to the fence to greet us. Given how he struggled, those 30 feet must have felt like 30 miles.  And instead of reaching for carrots, Wallenda shoved his head into my arms, heaved a sigh and just stood there, looking for comfort.  Truthfully, I think in that moment my heart just dropped at his feet.  I have spent as much time with him as possible ever since, and I like to think we are friends. 

It turned out Wallenda had all but shredded his left hind suspensory ligament, probably not for the first time.  The vet who scanned it reportedly remarked the ankle looked like “ground beef.”  In many ways, it was a life-threatening injury, because of the repeat nature and resulting cumulative damage to his ankle.  For any horse, inactivity and standing on three legs for any length of time invites all sorts of complications, including colic and the dreaded laminitis.  Laminitis, or founder, is an often incurable disease with a long history of claiming the lives of famous and not-so-famous horses, including Secretariat and more recently, 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.  But unlike Barbaro, Wallenda was not headed to an equine hospital with swimming pools and lift systems to help bear his weight.  No, with this injury Wallenda became an indoor, stall-bound, no-exercise, no-visitors-allowed patient in the big barn at Old Friends.  He was now a horse most at risk for the deadly complications that had taken the lives of so many other horses, regardless of the world-class care they received. 

But Wallenda was, and is, some kind of a tough guy.  He seemed to understand that he had to remain quiet, and he put himself on a schedule—eat some hay, drink some water, lay down for an hour or two, get up and start the routine all over again.  He did this all day, every day, for months. He spent the entire fall, winter and early spring in his stall.  In hindsight, his ability to recognize that he needed to regularly take weight off his legs is probably what saved his life.

Eventually, Wallenda began to be hand-walked—ten minutes twice a day in the barn, then 15 and then 20 minutes.  The day he was allowed out of the barn to be hand-grazed for a few minutes was a triumph.  I remember Janet calling me, telling me to look out the back window of the farm’s office.  When I saw the black horse on a patch of grass in front of the barn, I think I cried.  After that it was a series of small steps.  The day I looked up while giving a tour and realized the horse in the round pen was Wallenda?  I just stopped talking and watched him, for what seemed like forever.  From there, he went out to a flat paddock for part of the day.  Through it all, Wallenda maintained his sensible routine, and even today he lies down regularly to rest his legs.

While Wallenda’s originally injured ankle will never be anywhere close to normal, the people that continue to monitor Wallenda and treat his injuries—Dr. Fraley and the Old Friends team—have nonetheless wrought a miracle.   Now, four years later, Wallenda’s ankle is clearly misshapen, thick and arthritic.  The hoof on that foot is abnormally shaped, and Dr. Fraley provides him with a special shoe that extends out the back, giving him a larger platform on which to support himself and keep his ankle from caving.  Even worse, his long-term inability to bear equal weight on the injured leg has compromised his “good” back leg, which is showing clear stress from having to support twice what it should. His right hock is three times normal size, knobby, and bends at an unnatural angle.  He is forced to bend it oddly in order to support himself.  His good back hoof also needs the support of a special shoe.  

And this is why Wallenda is the toughest horse I ever met: he walks on not four, not three, but on TWO good legs.  Horses just don’t do that; they can’t.  Nature designed the horse to need all four legs—an injury to one leg is often catastrophic, let alone damage to two legs.  But Wallenda is tougher than that.  He not only survives, he does it with determination, verve, and class.  He goes outside every day.  He trots and even canters for a few strides, making me cringe in fear when I see it. But he seems to know just how much he can handle.  He cleans up his meals, his coat is shiny and dappled and his eyes are bright.  I visit him a couple times a week, and he always, always comes to the fence or his stall door to welcome me with a head toss and a nicker.  He loves peppermints, a good back scratching and scoping out the mares across the road.  This month, Wallenda moved to the new Old Friends annex farm, a move that involved a ride in the horse trailer.  No problem—he walked onto and backed off that trailer like it was a piece of cake.  Think about it—a horse with bad balance, balancing himself in a trailer as it goes around curves and up and down hills.  Then, when he has to be tired, move backwards down a ramp, leading with two bad legs.  No hesitation, no problem, just the determination of a horse who knows he can do it.  He enjoys his life and makes the most of it—regardless of the chronic discomfort I imagine he must feel.  

I just can’t imagine any horse tougher than that.  

-Val

Sunday November 6, 2011

It was another busy weekend (aren’t they all?), starting with the Breeder’s Cup on Friday and Saturday, and finishing with the Old Friends Breeder’s Cup BBQ today.  The weather in Kentucky could not have been better—low 60s, blue autumn skies, and bright sunshine made for an awfully pretty weekend. 

For Old Friends, the Breeder’s Cup was topped off by Court Vision’s win in the Breeder’s Cup Mile.  Court Vision is a son of our own Gulch.  Not that Gulch seemed to care much—he spent most of the party today as far away from people as he could get, with his back turned.  Parties are clearly not his thing.  The other Old Friends horse running yesterday was Kiri’s Clown’s grandson Get Stormy.  Stormy led for much of the way in the same race, giving way in the stretch to finish back in the pack. Still, it was a fine Old Friends kind of race.  

I stopped over to the new farm this morning to see Wallenda (who, by the way, is also a son of Gulch).  The new facility is pretty spectacular—peaceful, green and away from traffic and people noise.  Wallenda has decided he is the mac daddy alpha male of the new farm, and he is spending his time scoping out the mares on the neighboring farms.  I told him to settle down but he still came over to visit at a trot, showing off his new status as the man in charge–at least in his own mind… 

It was quiet at the new farm until Falcon Scott and WC Jones decided to have a competition.  The two geldings live in side-by-side paddocks.  They raced, bucked, kicked and then raced some more.  Each horse apparently was trying to out-do the other, but I’ll tell you this—WC Jones? Not that fast.  Falcon Scott?  He can move! 

The BBQ this afternoon was great—music, food, and both silent and live auctions.  I think it might have been our best-attended farm party ever, and I saw plenty of new faces.  I also saw many returning friends, and it’s always fun to see them.   I brought Marley to the picnic and that was one dog who had a total blast!  A party animal at heart, she wandered from person to person, greeting everyone.  As Dr. Byers said, that dog knows how to work a crowd. 

I took a short walk with one of our regular, returning friends today, visiting with Afternoon Deelites who was behaving nicely.  Fortunate Prospect took his daily nap, party or not.  Gulch, as stated earlier, was ignoring the entire event and all the corresponding visitors.  Clever was too busy grazing to visit, and Ogygian was halfway napping.  Bull and Commentator were busy entertaining a tour–because you know, people with a treat bucket always trump people with no treat bucket!  On the other hand, no horse loves a party more than Danthebluegrassman.  Dan, along with Flick, ran back and forth from one side of the paddock to the other, from person to person to person. I not so sure we couldn’t have turned Dan loose and he would have wandered around visiting, happy as can be.  Of course, he probably would have raided the BBQ table.  I could see him digging right into the dessert plates. 

I did take a quick detour to see Marquetry, who is in the barn and off-limits on a party day. But people have been asking about him so I thought I’d provide a first-hand report.  As you know, he had colic surgery last week.  He is doing fine and recovering nicely.  And as you can imagine, his diet is carefully controlled right now.  He also is sporting a wide, white bandage around his belly.  But he came over for a bit of cuddling and some kisses.  The thing about Marq is, as much as he loves treats, he’s just as content with love and kisses.  So kisses he got! 

The festivities were still in full swing as I left the farm for the day.  I stopped to say hi to Swan’s Way, who was hanging out near the driveway greeting people as they came and went.  Swannie also wanted some attention, and a mint or two.  He was more than content to give me minty kisses for a few minutes.  It was a nice way to end the day. 

We hope you can visit us soon.  In the meantime, thanks for spending this Sunday with Old Friends! 

 -Val

Sunday October 30, 2011

On the final Sunday of October (can you even believe it?) we had another terrific autumn day at Old Friends.  The weather was sunny but cool, making for horses that either napped in the sunshine or ran around.  Some of them, like Patton, couldn’t make up their minds and opted for both—nap a little, run a little, nap a little more!

 This morning I met our newest stallion for the first time.  His name is You and I, and he is perhaps best known for his good racehorse daughter You, who won the Kentucky Oaks.  Like Prized, You and I is a son of Kris S., and there is a clear family resemblance.  Both Prized and You and I are dark, nearly black horses.  Prized is a little larger, You and I is a little blacker.  Prized met us at every corner of his paddock for carrots—a record, all four corners on one tour.  You and I is a little more hesitant (probably only because he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of the carrot bucket) but he seems very sweet.  He could turn out to be another one of those kind-hearted, easy-to-get-along-with stallions that we love on tours.  Time will tell, I suppose. You can see You and I’s pedigree here.

 In all the time I’ve been giving tours at the farm, I don’t believe I have ever had a visitor who came because they actually knew Swan’s Way when he was racing.  Because you know Swannie, while he had a long career, was not the most famous of racehorses!  So it was quite a shocker today when a woman came on the tour whose sister trained Swannie when he raced.  She was so excited to see him, and took picture after picture to show her sister.  Her first response when she saw him this morning was that Swannie sure has put on some pounds since his racing days!  I think Swannie, who by the way has moved to the paddock right behind the office, was thrilled to get his own personal visitor.  This is a horse who loves to be fussed over, so it suited him just fine.

Old Friends is leasing a new property a few miles down the road that will house a number of our overflow horses, some of which either were boarded out elsewhere or we living at the annex farm next door. This weekend has been moving weekend, so Viv kindly took over my 1 pm tour while I “helped” Kent catch and trailer horses to the new farm.  I use the term “help” very loosely, since I mostly opened and closed the door to the horse trailer.  The moves went quickly for the most part—racehorses know how to lead onto a trailer easily enough.  But it nothing goes totally smoothly, and there is always one horse who wants to be bad!  Today it was Thornfield and Hussonfirst who didn’t want to be caught, so we had to use some strategy—divide and conquer works best. Once their buddies are caught, they pretty much give up.  And then Hussonfirst did not particularly want to get onto the trailer.  I’d like to say we won him over because we are smarter than he is, but in truth I think he just got bored with being stubborn. After a few minutes, he gave up and walked onto the trailer like he should have from the beginning.  The new farm has large fields, and the horses loved their new space to run.  When I left them, Seek Gold, Early Pioneer, Thorny and Husson were showing off, tails in the air and heads tossing as they explored their new home. 

The cool weather really encourages more active horses—even Sunshine came over at a canter for carrots this afternoon.  I saw Wallenda acting bad this morning, trotting over to the fence and then kind of bouncing into a half-rear a couple times.  I told him to knock it off—those back legs cannot handle that kind of activity!  At one time or another today, we saw Gulch, Patton, Prized, You and I, and Afternoon Deelites run.  But the champ was Stormy Passage, who ran, bucked and kicked during his outside time this morning. The most fun was watching Stormy and Marley mirror each other’s actions, the dog and the horse playing together with the fence between them.  Stormy sure feels good, and it’s pretty cool to see his personality develop more all the time.  

I haven’t mentioned Marquetry today, because he went to the clinic for surgery  after a bout with colic this weekend.  Marq, being the smart horse that he is, made sure Kent knew he was hurting by banging on his fence in the very early, still-dark hours Saturday morning.   The surgery went well, and  today he was doing well enough to eat dinner.   He should be back home within a few days.   Colic is a very dangerous thing in horses, as they are animals with seemingly endless amounts of intestine to twist and knot.  We were fortunate to catch it early enough that Marq could be treated.  As any horse owner knows, sometimes you aren’t so lucky.

Now that Keeneland’s fall meet is over, next weekend is Breeder’s Cup weekend.  This coming Sunday we’ll have our Breeder’s Cup event, and then we head into the “quiet season” for tours.  The next few months are a great time to tour the farm—cooler weather, more active horses, and fewer visitors make for the best opportunities to interact with the horses and get to know their personalities.  We are open for tours throughout the fall and winter, so if you are in the area, please come see us!  In the meantime, thanks for spending this Sunday with Old Friends. 

-Val

P.S.  Congrats to OF volunteers Nick and Jackie on the birth this weekend of baby Ace.  The next generation of tour guides has arrived!

P.P.S.  Happy Birthday, Cam!