Horsey stories #158

In the happiest state in the Union On Dec. 20, 2009 at the Fairgrounds in New Orleans She's a Bandit is #2 in race 2 at about 12:45.

I have a friend who goes to the Fairground to eat and to be with friends, but he doesn't care much about gambling.  He takes his $60 and before the races starts he buys a $2 ticket for win, place, and show for horse #1 in race #1 horse #2 in race #2 etc.  I sure hope he wins on She's a Bandit who will be #2 in race #2 on Sunday and pays for his delicious meal.  

Chris and I loved this link. we know you will love it too. 

http://www.livescience.com/culture/091217-happy-state-list.html#comments

Timely News

Timely News (Mymamastillstandin's little sister ) will run at Delta Downs in the 3rd race Saturday Oct 31st at about 7:00 CDT.

Al and Melody Helms and Steve and I are listed as the breeders for this filly.

Timely News survived quite a mess when she was a yearling. She thought it would be fun to swim in one of the ditches near Sam Breau's farm.   She had scratches here and there all over and she was soaked in mud from her trek into the world beyond the pasture.  Sam's grooms patched her up and by the time she was ready to break to the saddle she looked like a potential race horse. 

She was 7th in her last race at Evangeline Downs. Who knows she's had 3 months to stay fit and train she might do fine.  

Cheer for Her

Don't really have the $60 for gas and the round trip to Delta is about 200 miles. I don't really have the energy to drive it either. So if it is on TVG we will watch it.  

Movie career

I'm still pretty tired from my 4 day stint as an extra in the movie Secretariat. Most of my time was as a patron in the diner scene. It is up and down in and out.  When we finished they sent us to play fans in the grand stands.  They dressed us in '70's polyester outfits.  The fabric really absorbs the heat. The temperature was only 80 degrees but all of the extras were using their hats and props as fans. 

Monday there is an infield scene with as many extras as they can find so I'm going if my name is on the list.  I know I will really appreciate the check whenever it arrives. 

I'm on Facebook if any of you are on that web site and I will post this on the horseystories.blogspot.com.

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Extra Extra

Disney Movie Extra Secretariat

Mymamastillstandin is entered to run on October 23, 2009 at DELTA DOWNS. He will be #6 in race #2 at about  6:15  

Cheer for a win!!

Today I had the opportunity to be an extra in the Disney film Secretariat. 

The scene is a restaurant setting which is the backside kitchen at the Evangeline Training center. The interior had a nice paint job and the tables were covered with new oil cloth.  A few horse shoes were scattered as decoration on the walls. No dirt on the floor and a few extra benches placed along the back.

We parked in the Evangeline lot and were taken by bus to a large storage barn that had been cleared of all the track equipment that is usually kept there.  The extras were sent to wardrobe to be dressed in 70's outfits which were pretty outrageous. My friend Claire had quite a time finding a dress.  The wardrobe mistress deemed my plaid shirt appropriate but made me wear matronly shoes not sneakers.  Then I told the hair dresser that in the '70's women my current age wore bee hive hair do's so she fixed one for me.  First time I've ever been paid to get my hair done.  Next we were ferried to the Back side kitchen were they seated my friend Clair and I at a table with jockey Rick Faul.  We had several rehearsals and talked and talked and talked to each other while waitresses who were also extras placed cold food on out table and took it away. 

A few hours later we filmed the scene which is the one where Secretariat is declared Horse of the Year and  everyone cheers then Cheneys secretary comes into the restaurant and tells his daughter that he has just been taken to the hospital.  

The director liked the shoot and sent us to find the food tent.  it decided to rain and rain and rain. At about 2:00 they sent us home. Clair said the film crews will keep extras as long as 12 hours and the pay is $105 but at 14 hours the pay is doubled. 

to be continued

Clair said there will be quite a few more opportunities to play extras this winter.  Here I am in my free hairdo.  More pictures on my facebook page

Next story down is a copy of the speech I gave to Toastmasters that tells the story of Secretariat.

Horsey story

Speech #7 for Toastmasters is  Research

Announcement on KLFY website  "Look at this Chris, Disney is  going to make a movie about Secretariat and they need 5000 extras.

  "Let's sign up we will be great extras and we can meet some folks and chat while standing in line. Should be a good adventure"

"How are they going to make a Disney story out of Secretariat?"  Chris searched and found the book by william Nack the great sports writer for the DRW 

The announcement said to bring a photo 4x6. We went through my digital photos and took the disk to Wal Mart for instant prints. 

Sunday we drove to the Cajun Dome and arrived at about 11:45 put on our best British Cue manners and stood in line.

We met our line neighbors and remarked "How are they going to make a story out of Secretariat?  We had read the book.

After all He was born perfect March 30, 1969. 

Well it did take 11 submission to the Jockey club to arrive at his name.  Kind of a story.

He earned an A as a foal

He earned an A as a weanling No injuries, good disposition

He earned an A+ as a yearling.  Made it to 2 yrs old without an injury.

He was easily trained to the saddle since he was very tame and constantly petted

He had no problems learning to be a race horse. Ran an eighth of a mile in 22 seconds A+++

He ran 4th in his first race.  Bumped twice out of the gate, wouldn't let that happen again.

Won several races after that and was 3rd in the Wood Memorial

Eclipse award for the Two Year old season

Won the Kentucky Derby as the favorite in 1:59 then the Preakness and the Belmont.  The Triple Crown.   1973 and the Horse of the Year 1973 and the Eclipse Award.

The line moved forward as we enumerated the rather eventful but not particularly Disney life style for an animal story.

We were in the Cajun Dome (air conditioned) typical Disney World, line very long.

New line and new line neighbors. We discussed Secretariat.  One girl even had a picture of him downloaded onto her I phone.  

We wondered maybe Disney is going to make a heart warming story about Secretariat's connections.

His owner breeder family, The Cheneys of The Meadows in Virginia.

Christopher Cheney grew up poor middle class in rural Virginia, but his family managed a way to send their sons to college.

He was an engineer who wound up on Wall Street and invested in telephone communications through the depression. Became wealthy enough to afford his hobby.

He rebuilt his family farm and turned it into a first class breeding farm

We filled in our applications and let others borrow our pen and then stood in another line. Met some new line neighbors and continued wondering out loud, "How would Disney make a movie out of this story?"

Maybe it was Penny Cheney Tweedy's story.

She saved the farm from the Inheritance tax collector.

She lived a rather ordinary boarding school, Daddy's little girl who loved horses life.

Served overseas in the Red Cross during WWII

Along with Secretariat she willed her father to live until Jan. 3 1973 thus postponing the bulk of the inheritance taxes till April 1974. 

She sold 32 shares of Secretariat's breeding season for $200,000 each.  20 minute story there.

Two very enthusiastic cheerful young women took our applications stapled the pictures onto the form  We let them choose the ones they liked.  Both were very admirable, talking to us like we were important individuals and handing us the printed form with directions for our next appearance as extras in the Disney movie. 

Dismissed we had been there 4 hours. There was 2 hours of line behind us.  Those poor girls taking the applications for extras. We hightailed it out of there.

Secretariat was #35 on the ESPN list of 20th Century 100 greatest athletes

The only animal in the Kentucky Hall of Fame

He died in 1979 because of the hoof disease Laminitis which Barbaro died from and there is a charity sponsoring the search for a cure in Barbaro's name.

The screenplay is by Mike Rich  directed by Randall Wallace and Staring Diane Lane

See you at the movies we hope we don't wind up on the cutting room floor

It is raining in Acadia

July 7 2009

Woke up at about 3:00 am this morning to the sound of a rain. It appears to be the soaking rain we needed. The mares, foal and yearlings would like to thank all of you folks to the north for sending your surplus moisture this direction.  It looks like the Acadians on the list can put their rain dancing shoes on the shelf for a while. 

In this photo Buzz is being sprayed by Billy with a garden hose.  After Billy sprayed them for about 15 minutes the ground was fairly muddy . They noticed and pawed at the mud splashing each other.  You can imagine they will have fun later this morning when we turn them out. Maybe I'll get a good shot to send along.

I noticed that some of the soybeans were turning a bit yellow. One of our neighbors just bought replacement seed for his rice field. He has a few acres of rice to entertain his crawfish. Hopefully all the soybeans and rice in the area were able to get a nice long drink.  

Drought in Louisiana

Buzz appreciates noon shower courtesy of Billy's garden hose.

I haven't written in months because I have had nothing to report concerning the horses and racing. I haven't heard one good horse story, and the news from Evangeline Downs seems to be a constant concern about how the drought has made it difficult to keep the track surface in excellent condition.  

The good News is the wheel on the tractor's bush hog attachment broke and although the new part will only cost $45, it will be about a week before John Deere can get the part.  We are in the midst of a drought so bush hogging is not required, yet.

Maybe all things work together for the best, however it very discouraging around here. 

Acadia is in the midst of a drought and we were lucky enough to put some new hay in the barn just after the drought started.   The pasture goes down hill and the part that usually drowns after a long rain is still slightly damp.  Morning dew keeps the grass wet and green for the moment.  We feed the mares and yearlings several quarts of feed twice a day and they do have plenty to grass to munch and water to drink, and we are ready with hay in case the drought does not abate.  

The original plan to have four horses that we bred racing no longer exists.  Dixie Blaze is back at the farm. She's a Bandit is at the farm until next week when she will resume training. Timely News works out about once a month and Mymamastillstandin the same.  In other words none are ready to enter races. That means for us there isn't a chance to earn a Breeders Award. 

Chris and I have not been to the races is months.  We need to spend every bit of money on the farm. We did watch the Triple Crown races after the fact on TVG (NBC does not have a local outlet here so we don't get a clear signal, but we can pick up the audio) and cheer for Calvin Borel, but that was it.  

We haven't taken the time to even watch Evangeline races on TVG.  

Chris says it's hard to be a pessimist when you have a two year old in the barn and I remind him that they are yearlings. It is going to be a very long two years before they are able to even consider running in a race.  The other four need to stay healthy and fit and hopefully race once in a while.

Four Leaf Clovers grow in the Wild --For Sure, For Sure

We need all the luck we can get. Found on the way to the barn to feed the critters.

Getting Ready for Jockey Club Foal Pictures

Lunalor loves the curry comb Chris is trying to pull through her mane. The Jockey club requires a DNA sample from each foal. This is obtained by pulling out by the follicles of about 50 hairs from each foals mane.  Lunalor didn't mind but Buzzing Bayou and Counterstrike were not please with the idea of giving up a few hairs from their cherished manes.  

Luna Lor is the filly and her dam is Spreading the News. Buzzing Bayou is a colt whose dam is Swamp Scare and Counterstrike is a colt whose dam is She's on the Move. Those are the names we submitted as first choice on their application to become licenced racehorses.  We had to think of five more names for each one, but the Jockey Club web site has a list of names currently in use and  none of our choices were on the list.  We also had to submit photos of each one, front, right side, left side and rear.  And then write a check for $200. 

Connections: Toastmasters Speech #4

Connections

My three foals will meet hundreds of people as they pursue a career as race horses. In horse racing we call them connections. I thought I would give you a brief description of the adventure they have ahead of them.

As soon as they are weaned, they start their journey to the races every year acquiring more and more connections.
As a weanling life is pretty simple running and jumping around the quiet lush green pastures of a remote farm. Only two humans and one Veterinarian to worry about.

The Breeder and his farm hand feed them grain and vitamins twice a day and provide water, hay, alfalfa and bedding. The Vet provides immunization shots and advise.

As yearlings, the breeder and his farm hand continue feeding them teaching them manners and horseman’s English. The Vet provides booster shots and advise.

Then it's the Terrible Two's

The breeder sends them to a specialized trainer who breaks them to the saddle. In a round pen they learn proper horse English, manners, to wear a saddle, and a rider. Two more humans come into their life.

Next its time to move to the Training Center. More humans; an owner, a groom, a trainer, an exercise rider, a rookie jockey, a real jockey, a starter at the gate, a ferrier nailing horse shoes onto their feet, a tattoo artist to put their number inside the upper lip, a horse dentist, and then gate guards, groundskeepers and a vet.

Yeah! the Terrific Three's have arrived
The owner sends the almost race horse to a real race track. More humans: the owner, a trainer, a new groom, another ferrier, an exercise rider, a pony and rider, a jockey, a hot walker, a starter at the gate, the clocker, along race track fences humans standing watching with binoculars, and a vet giving shots, and another vet taking blood, and another vet for testing urine.

Finally the big day comes for each foal.

THE RACE
The tractors circle the race track smoothing the surface, an announcer calls all the horses and their grooms to walk to the paddock behind the grandstands to get ready for the race.
A bugler plays Call to the Post and humans appear by the thousands. Familiar humans: the owner and his entire family, the trainer, and the groom wish the horse good luck. Then unfamiliar humans arrive: the tattoo checker, the lead pony with rider, the jockey’s valet and trainer put on a saddle, the jockey, the TV cameraman, the announcer, the humans along the paddock fence, the lead pony with rider, the starting gate and crew, more humans along the fence yelling and screaming, the finish line, the photographer, the stewards, the groom, the test barn, the blood sucking vet, and the urine vet.

And behind the scenes The Humans in Charge of Everything Else. The Jockey Club, the state racing board, the legislators, the track owners, the managers, the kiosk owners and crews, the state licensing clerks, the track clerks, the jockey agents, the chaplain, the horseman’s book keeper and clerks, the program printer, the guards, the tote machine clerks, the tote machine repairman, the groundskeepers, the gardener, the backside managers, their guards and grounds keepers, the TV crews, the announcers, the maintenance crew and the official track veterinarian and the emergency vehicle driver.

My three little foals will meet hundreds of people, and hopefully provide great entertainment for all their connections. Swampy the mother of one of the foals ran 20 races before she changed careers.

She's a Bandit racing at the Fairgrounds

She's a Bandit will be #2 in race #2 on March 20 at the Fairgrounds. The Fairground starts later on Friday afternoon and her race will be at about 3:15. Hopefully we hit a Home Run and not only does she win the race, but she is also claimed. Dixie Blaze is training at the Fairgrounds and Judy thinks she will be ready when Evangeline starts racing. It seems she gained a bit to much weight at the Evangeline Training Center. Acadians are just great cooks even for horses.

During the past few weeks I have been posting a blog. The URL is http://horseystories.blogspot.com. cut and paste this URL then stop by to take a peek. You can even sign up for alerts whenever I post a new blog. It is easier to put pictures in the blog and I will archive stories there as well as the text for my speeches to Toastmasters. I'm pretty good at talking to horses, but not so at talking to people about horses.
I'm hoping to do all of my Toastmasters speeches on the topic of thoroughbred horses.

About a week after She's a Bandit ran third, we received a postcard from the Louisiana Breeders association with the amount of the award on the card. Seven weeks later the actual check arrived. Anticipating that this was the routine in their office, I waited and waited and waited for the post card disclosing the amount of the breeders award. After a month I called the office to find out the problem. It seems if there was one bad drug test in any race on the day your horse raced, the racetrack does not send the official results to the Breeders Association. They wait until all appeals have been heard and ajudicated. The post card arrived a week after I complained therefore I probably have wait of seven weeks until the check arrives. Now I have Breeders syndrome. A common complaint among breeders, I'm learning to understand is spending the award check mentally a hundred times before the mailman brings it.

Spreading the News selected High Finance for a sire and she is visiting Pre-K Farm where he stands. The Farm is about 10 miles away along the Bayou Tech which makes it a lovely pastoral setting. She's on the Move and Swamp Scare are still avoiding the gelding we put in their pasture. They jump and play the minute we let them out in the morning, but no sign of going into their cycle.

We finally fixed the broken starter on the tractor then push around a bunch of dirt in the area where we intend to start a garden. We were just about ready to add some sand and some horse fertilizer when it decided to rain. We need the rain, but we should have been faster with the garden. I keep telling Chris that the garden this year is for fun and we will learn a lot from the adventure.

Mittens is hatching seed packets

Mittens loved this basket, but he grew too big for it so I put the seeds in the basket and caught him giving it one last try to be positive that he had really outgrown his former nest.

Why is High Finance so happy? No it isn't the two mares he met this morning or the two he will meet tomorrow, it is the notice from the NTRA that on April 6 there will be a Tax Forum on the Topics: Equine hobby loss criteria for horse owners, sales/like-kind exchanges; deprecation and expensing opportunities; and partnerships.

High Finance anticipates meeting all of the available mares in Louisiana especially since his good buddies in Congress plan to up the taxes of High Finance's favorite type of owner those who earn more than $250,000.

Yes, High Finance is very proud to be an adjunct member of the NTRA. His protectors were ready with their announcement as soon as President Obama announced his tax proposals.

High Finance

Gary, and I share the ownership of Spreading the News and her foals. Chris is in charge of making sure she eats her feed and runs everyday in the pastures.
Gary checked every horse in the Louisiana Stallion Book. He narrowed the list to ten and finally to three. He nicked his selections after discussing the possible choices with Chris. High Finance was the stallion of choice because of his all round statistics and his ability to run on the dirt. However his photo was not in the Stallion book, therefore Chris and I thought it would be an excellent idea to visit him at the farm where he is standing with my new camera.
As we suspected High Finance is very handsome and we are fairly sure Spreading the News will agree. He was a bit tired when we arrived since he had visited two mares, and it is required that stallions do it the old fashioned way, no artificial insemination.

Coggins test

coggins test

DSCN0080.JPG

We had quite a time with the Mares yesterday. They went in the trailer to Barrone's to get their Cogins tests. Swampy and Spreading the News will not travel in the same trailer. So we had to make two trips to the vet. She's on the Move went with Spreading the News or it could have been three trips.
Swampy is head mare and she expects head mare treatment even from humans. Chris is the only human she even likes although she will let me pet her when she is in a good mood. Kind of funny to see all of the mares not pregnant. They actually look like race horses.

Mardi Gras is Tuesday so the entire area is shut down including vets. If we find Spreading the News a stallion we can take her Weds.

TWO WINNERS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2009

Two Winners
Two Winners
Feb. 19,2009 Speech to Toastmasters Lafayette

I rejoined Toastmasters to learn how to speak about my horses and to present entertaining and thought provoking ideas concerning these elegant animals entrusted to our care.
Those of you who have been on the horsey story list forever will know the story that I summarized for the folks at Toastmasters.

Fellow Toastmasters and Guests
There is nothing like winning a horse race with a horse that you have bred and raised and trained. Thoroughbred horses are bred to run and that is exactly what they do from day one. You spend four years of hoping against hope that your baby does not surcome to a catastrophic injury, and you worry about each bump or scrape they acquire. The next two stories are about the foals that arrived in Spring 2005.

Mymamastillstandin
Spreading the News was claimed from a race at Arlington, Illinois by Al and Melody Helms. She ran one more time and her trainer determined that she should not run again, but stated that she had wonderful back breeding. He suggested that Al and Melody consider sending her to Louisiana to be bred. Al called his friend Steve (my late husband) and they agreed to share the breeding expenses. Sam,a trainer, agreed to take her in at his farm in New Iberia, Louisiana. In April 2004 she was bred to Finest Hour at Dicky Barbers farm, and returned to Sam's farm to await the blessed event.

March 29, 2005 Dicky Barber called early in the morning, Spreading the News gave birth to her first foal, a colt. They had to catch the foal because mama refused to lay down to give birth. Dicky Barber is a good catch. Everything was fine. Soon the baby was standing and nursing. We expected that the foal would be perfect and when I arrived to see our first foal at the foaling farm, indeed he was.
By the time he was two weeks old he was running around the pasture with his mama. He was well mannered, not afraid of humans, and a perfect foal. After he was weaned he went to Sam's huge pasture in New Iberia where he ran with the other foals until he was two and a half. When the registration papers came from the Jockey Club Al and Melody gave him his name, Mymamastillstandin.

The colt Mymamastillstandin was given first class training at Clavels. He was gelded and then broke to the saddle. He learned the walking wheel, elementary gate training and taught to run in company before he was returned to Sam one of the best trainers in Louisiana. Sam trained him for the races at the Evangeline Training Center. Every devise known to horse training is available there and Mymamastillstandin worked out on every one. He was also given the best veterinary care and a lot of therapeutic medicines.
Feb. 29, 2008 he was a monster horse, fit, elegant and ready to run. He won his Maiden race by seven lengths. The next race he ran last and never entered another race. Steve passed away and I could no longer afford his veterinary problems so ˆ I signed him over to Sam along with his sister Timely News for whatever I still owed Sam. Unfortunately I cannot remember his ailment, but $700 as my share to diagnose what it could be was far beyond my reach. I do not know the end of this story.

She's a Bandit
Back to Dicky Barbers farm, the year is 2005n and waiting for She's on the Move to give birth. We were extremely anxious because She's on the Move had a crooked leg. We did not know if it was an accident at birth or an inherited trait. Steve had purchased her in 2003 at the Fairgrounds 2 year old in training sale without the advise of a trainer. She was the last horse on the auction block and Steve had one to many beers and claims he accidently raised his hand when the auctioneer said $2,000.
One year of patient training by Sam, and She's on the Move managed to make it to the races. She entered four races and won the fifth race. Sam felt that her crooked leg bothered her when she ran and since it was February, maybe we should just take a chance and breed her. She had excellent back breeding. She was bred to Time Bandit who was also standing at Dicky Barber's farm.
Six weeks after Mymamastillstandin was born, Dicky Barber called again. Happy Mother's Day, She's on the Move gave birth to her first foal, a filly. No problems, the foals legs were perfect and Mama and baby were doing fine. We continued to be anxious about the filly's legs, but they remained straight and strong during the next two years.

Not as clever at thinking of names for our baby filly, Steve and I submitted the name She's a Bandit to the Jockey Club.

After a short stay at Sam's, Mama and foal went to Chris's newly acquired farm in Arnaudville. She's a Bandit grew straight and strong and spoiled rotten. She was handled daily. She was friendly and lovable. Her confirmation wasn't the best, she was a little short along her back, but her legs were straight. She wasn't exactly a runt she was just born late. At the end of Nov. 2007 Chris decided to work in New Orleans at the Fairgrounds and it was decided that he would take She's a Bandit with him. He and his friend Ronnie would break her to the saddle, in the shed rows of the barn, then train her on the Fairgrounds track and hopefully she would be able to race before the end of March. She entered two sprint races before they left. Her runs were respectable but it was apparent that she needed a bit more practice.

Fairgrounds meet over, Ronnie and his horses moved to Evangeline Downs training center. Ronnie was called away and his friend Judy took over training the horses. She's a Bandit was the best horse in the barn according to Judy, so she tried her in another sprint race and improved, running 4th, then she ran 6th and then she ran 3rd in a race that was a mile and a quarter. She returned with Judy to the Fairgrounds in Nov. and entered 3 one mile races finally winning and breaking her maiden at a mile Feb.13, 2009. This story to be continued............

It is foaling season in Acadiana and we not expecting any. Last year our foals were born to late to breed back the mares, therefore no foals this season at Chris's farm. The mares have picked their stallions and soon they will load into the trailer and meet them.
There is nothing like winning a horse race and a bit of extra money to take the mares to be bred.

My speech at Toastmasters was supposed to be 6 minutes. I went a bit over.

--
Kaye Shinker
www.astrologicalinvesting.com
POSTED BY KAYE AT 12:03 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
LABELS: EVANGELINE DOWNS RACINO, FAIRGROUNDS RACE TRACK IN NEW ORLEANS, HORSE RACING, LOUISIANA, THOROUGHBRED HORSE BREEDING, THROUGHBRED HORSES, TOASTMASTERS

Walking to the winners circle

Look at the trees in the infield and you can see the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. One 200 year old live oak was lost. Thin infield tot board was lost and the new one has a TV screen which is happy for everyone since the old one had to be rolled out, therefore appeared only on special occasions.
Flowers are always happy at the race track. They eat well.

horseystories

Cajun Sneaux

Cajun Sneaux ball Surprise!

Snow men appeared all over Acadia and grandma's had to teach children how to make sneauxballs. It melted in a few hours but it was a lot of fun.  Previous sneaux was Dec 25 2005. Sneaux is considered a precursor of hurricanes.

It rained off and on all day and foals love mud. The foal with the larger white patch is Spreading the News filly and the smaller white patch is of colt. No we haven't picked out a name for either one. I have a new camera so I'm going to try harder to send pictures.

The colt behind them is She's on the Move's foal whose sister is racing at the Fairgrounds on Feb 13 in the 10th race. She's a Bandit will be number 10 and the race starts at about 4:45 pm. These two are hoping to celebrate her victory. They are hoping for Alfalfa even if it is out of season.

She's a Bandit ran third in her previous race.

Last week Chris and I went over to see how Dixie Blaze was doing. Judy was worried about how she placed her front feet when she galloped. Sure enough she gallops just like her Mother, Swampy. They have been sending her out before sunrise and she was very upset that Chris and I were late.
Dixie is very lovable and she thinks that everyone comes to see her. She will let you hug her and she will even bring her head down to your hand to scratch her ears. Popeye is her groom and unlike her little brother pictured below her coat is clean, her mane is brushed and she is beginning to develop the muscles of a respectable race horse.
It is Breeding season and we have three mares to nick. We are working on it. We think She's on the Move will be bred back to Tricky since the their 2 year old filly is such a lovely lady.









--
Kaye Shinker

Where's Lunch?

Horse Whisperer is a technique for training that is used here with huge success. They used to just put the saddle and rider on the horse and let the horse buck until he got used to the concept. But Thoroughbred horses are so valuable they can't take chances with either horse or rider. Therefore they worked out the following method that is similar to the horse whisper story.
When we take a two year old Goldie to Daryl Clavells to be broke to the saddle, he will put her in a round pen every day and let her gallop around and around with a lead rope held by a fellow on a horse in the center of the pen. A few days later he will put a blanket on her back, then in a few days he will add a saddle and then a few more days a rider. After about 2 weeks they lead the horse out of the pen with another horse and rider. They get the horse used to walking up and down a lane and then add a rider on the back. At the end of two months the horse will gallop around a half mile track and walk with a rider around the farm buildings.
Usually we take the horse home for a few months then take her back to the track ready to train for the races.
I feel that I'm the only consistent thing in their lives and I know they recognize me. When Bandit is at the race track she expects me to pet her and you can tell that is exactly what she is thinking should happen. It's like whenever this human comes over to pet me then a few minutes later I get to do something special.

MARDI GRAS IN CAJUN LAND
Chris bought an ecumenical King Cake. Chocolate Bavarian Cream Excellent for Breakfast.
Our little super market makes the best local stuff. King cakes are struddell type pastry decorated for Mardi Gras and there is a plastic baby doll buried inside. The person who eats that piece has to buy the next King cake. I save the dolls and give them to my friend Serna who uses them in her dollhouse miniatures. Fortunately she sells a lot of the baby beds she makes at doll house shows.