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

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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.