Just a PostScript

Hey all you loyal Seamus blog followers! No worries, Shay is doing just fine with his new mom, I'm here to let you all know about a new blog I've started which has nothing to do with horses... maybe you'll be interested or maybe you won't, but it won't hurt to head over there to take a look now, will it?

Thanks all! And maybe one day I will get around to posting some photos of Shay in his new home. Be good and I just might, once my life gets less crazy LOL

In Which a Kentucky Thoroughbred Moves to Tennessee

Well, I have been *extremely* remiss about posting updates for some time and I hope ya'll can forgive me! Life has a way of getting away from me (or having it's way with me as the case may be!) and I've had a little secret for awhile ;)

For a quick recap, Seamus went to Masterson Station Park with Heather aboard several times over the summer and fall... and in July, Seamus even went and did some Pony Games! He was a little nervous at first, but a nice gal named Maggie helped Heather out A TON and Seamus finally started picking up what he was supposed to be doing... and he was by far the biggest "pony" there! Here's a couple of pics (photos by Cindy):

I touch?

Passing off

I got this!

Well somewhere in the middle of all these rides, Heather (who when I told her I got Seamus sez to me "I'll help you find a home, but I'm not taking him!") falls in total love with the big guy! By July, she had already talked her hubby Jared into it LOL Now Heather and Jared already have two Thoroughbred mares, Lady and OJ, but Lady is getting on in age and OJ is young, impetuous, and not ready to settle into being a riding horse just yet... And Seamus is just perfect for Heather :) Awhile back, Cindy pointed out that it was Fate since Heather's favorite color is green and Seamus' registered name is "Green Boy" and I quite agree! I could not ask for a better home for my beloved "Idiot Boy" (said with much affection, but he's earned it LOL).

We'd been talking about getting Seamus home to TN sometime this fall and finally this week I was able to pummel my work schedule into submission so I could get on that... I worked half the day Tuesday then it was off to the barn to drag Seamus in to wrap his legs and throw him and his stuff on the trailer for the trip so we could get down before dark! I wanted to take it slow since it was my first long-ish trip driving the truck and trailer and Seamus' first long trip in at least a year. It went well and Seamus traveled like a champ; we got there a bit before Heather could get off work so I hand grazed him for awhile and got to meet the nice barn owner, Lena Beth.

Lady (bay) and OJ (chestnut) curious about what's in the trailer

Heather taking Seamus on his first walk around the field

Heather got there a little after 5pm and she took Seamus around the pasture to show him the fence line and any tricky spots and holes. I followed along after and snapped some pics for posterity and let them get on with their new partnership... Before it got dark, we let Seamus and the mares meet in the field which resulted in some squealing (to be expected) but then Seamus split one direction and the girls split another... the girls did not know what to think of the new boy! Seamus took off galloping for awhile so Heather and I monitored him while he let off steam, then got him back in to spend the night in a stall.

We went off to dinner and had a night of chilling on the couch. Heather had to work in the morning so turn-out and monitoring duty fell to Jared and I. About 9am we headed back to the barn to turn Seamus out and see if he was over himself; turns out he was and while there was a bit more squealing from the mares, it eventually turned into Seamus walking the field to check it all over while the girls followed him around. Occasionally Seamus and OJ would break into trotting or cantering for fun and Lady would just wander around behind them.

Meet n' greet (OJ is the pissy looking chestnut)

Gotta keep an eye on the new boy!

Seamus near the Spring House

Doing what Thoroughbreds do best!

Jared and I decided after about an hour that everything was going just fine so I packed up and headed back towards home... albeit with a bit of a heavy heart...

Seamus has been such a part of my life for the past 11 months that the barn is a bit empty with him gone, but I will see him again and Heather is the best possible "mom" for Seamus that I could have picked... So while I miss him, I have no worries about where he is or if he's being cared for, and that's all a rescuer could ask for!

And this is one formerly neglected horse's Happily Ever After:

A girl to call his own...

Seamus goes to the park!

This past Saturday, my BFF Heather and I planned to load up and take Seamus and Belle to Masterson Station Park to test Seamus' mettle off the farm and to get Heather's opinion on Seamus' skills. Heather had not yet ridden Seamus since she lives in another state so she hopped up on him bareback to check out the brakes and steering before we left the farm.

Seamus being his usual gentlemanly self in the riding area...

It was also the first time I had loaded Seamus in my horse trailer which is a 2-3 horse stock trailer (depending on configuration) and it's probably quite different from what he has traveled in before. He loaded pretty willingly but then pulled back out before I could get Belle in so we did it again and he stayed in the second time. Seamus is also a trailer hog so the trip was spent watching them through the window in the trailer- Seamus would be in the middle of the trailer and we would see Belle reach over and warn him to move over! Seamus eventually learned stock trailer etiquette and stayed on his side of the trailer :)

There's quite a bit of size differential in these two LOL

This weekend was a busy one at the park with the Stockdog trials, the Mounted Police clinic, various soccer games, and all the regular traffic going on together to create a bit of a noisy environment. We drove to the back and parked near the outdoor arena where it was about as quiet as it got out there. Seamus was on edge and didn't appreciate being tied to the hitching post out there at first so had a bit of a freak out but we got him settled and tacked up shortly. It took a few moments for Heather to get Seamus to stand still for mounting, but she did get him still enough to get on without my assistance.

We headed into the outdoor arena first for Heather to get Seamus's feet moving  and get his head into working in the newness of it all. He did well, giving in to all rein and leg pressure and walking over poles and through standards as Heather asked. After about 15 minutes in there, we were comfortable enough to head out to the area behind the arena which has a group of baby cross country jumps in different varieties, each of which has three levels- 12in, 18in, and 24in heights. Belle is capable of jumping most of them at the 12in and 18in heights, but instead we concentrated on being a steady force for Seamus and walked over them at the 12in heights with Seamus following us. He did very well and stayed calm and walked over most of them, though the tires were the scary part for him with him resisting walking over them for a few minutes. Heather persevered and eventually Seamus did walk over them, not pretty- but he did it!

Stepping out in the arena, lovely swingy walk

We then moved on to walking through the cross country area which is basically rolling hills with jumps and trees interspersed. We headed towards the other outdoor arenas and the indoor where the Mounted Police clinic was ongoing. At that point, a horse whinnied loudly which sent Seamus into a bit of a tizzy- he stopped, tensed, and gave a couple of crowhops which Heather rode out commendably and she got Seamus settled and walking out again. In the arenas were many obstacles set up for the clinic including a couple of "cowboy curtains" made up of lots of fluttering caution tape. We stayed rather far away from the action, but the tape could be seen clearly though didn't seem to faze Seamus too much. We walked around the arena where there was a crowd of people on horses and bleachers and he stayed calm. Further back in a wooded area, Seamus saw kids on bikes, balloons, and more people. We then came around to a creek crossing which gave Seamus pause for about 10 minutes. He practiced typical avoidance techniques like refusing, backing, and walking sideways... but in all this, Seamus never did anything panicy or dangerous. Heather again kept working him towards the water and before I actually had to step in and pony him across, he finally capitulated and walked into the creek then stopped to paw the water a lot. Heather got after him and got him moving before she took a bath LOL On the other side of the water are more cross country jumps with some of them involving steps. We did the available steps and Seamus took them both going up and coming down like a champ! He stood calmly on the tallest and turned nicely to walk back down.

Out in the great wide open

Down the steps...

We then went over towards the dressage rings and walked out onto the practice ring where we could overlook a rider with a Border Collie whose job it was to herd fresh sheep down to the area where the Stockdog trials were going on. Seamus looked at the sheep, rider, and dog with interest but didn't seem fazed by any of it, even with the smell of sheep coming straight towards us on the strong wind. Seamus was getting tired by this point, it was more work than he's done in a long time so we headed back the way we came. When we got back to the water crossing, Seamus walked directly in and out of the water with no hesitation or pawing- what a good boy!

Checking out the sheep

Champion water crosser!

Back out and just past the arenas, Seamus' skin started really twitching and he started acting up then he popped up into a half rear and crowhopped twice again, we think at this point he got bit by something nasty... despite copious amounts of fly spray, he had twitched quite a bit on the ride but had not acted up like that before. The flies were very bad and even Belle was bothered by them constantly. We made it safely back to the baby cross country jumps and walked them again, with Belle and I going over a few of them a little faster to see how Seamus would react to Belle leaving him behind. He pretty much took it well, but at one point I heard Heather squawk a bit and it turned out that Seamus had taken his own little leap over a jump which she wasn't ready for. Heather reported that Seamus took a couple of canter strides as if asking to go faster and she asked him to go back to a walk which he readily did. At this point, we'd been riding for over an hour and we were done. I think he could have gone longer, but it was quite a bit of exercise for him, even at a walk most of the time.

Heather is quite taken with Seamus, she says he has a good brain and lots of heart and she was very impressed with his first time out at the park. She expected him to be quite a bit more uppity than he was and didn't feel in danger at any point, despite the little crowhops he threw in twice. I think that I know more now about what Seamus needs in a rider- he's going to need a confident rider who can be a leader when he needs one so that he can work through his little issues when they arise. Not a surprising conclusion- he is a green OTTB, they mostly come that way from the racetrack. I also have reaffirmed my belief that this is one smart and easy-going horse... once he knows something, he knows it; and with a rider he trusts, he'll go anywhere :)

Remember this horse?

December 27th, 2010

Well, now he looks like this:

May 8th, 2011

The spring grass has done Seamus a world of good and he is getting out and lunging a little. Bodywise, he puts me sooo much in mind of Secretariat, which of course he is both a great-grandson (dam side) and a great great grandson (sire side) of Big Red. Seamus has more white of course, but sometimes he just has the same expression on his face as he looks over the stall door or a gate. Maybe I just see it because I always was a Secretariat fan? I dunno... but I think it's awesome to have my own little piece of him, for however long that is.

Yesterday he started lunging over some low raised cross rails (about 12") then he graduated to a 18" gate jump. The cross rails were low enough that he didn't feel it was worth the effort to jump except once or twice, the gate meant he had to actually jump it LOL

1st jump attempt

I didn't have the camera today (just my cell phone for the next pic), but he did the gate jump at 18" again and then took a few tries over the 2" coop I have. The coop is solid and daunted him at first but then he "got it" and started taking it like a champ! We only did that an handful of times and he got lots of love and praise for his efforts :)

And around here, the mares both know how to "stump," IOW to put their front feet up on whatever I ask them to. It starts small- usually on a bridge obstacle I have that is about 5" high, and then progresses to an actual STUMP that is about 14" or so (haven't measured it). Seamus tramped all over some boards laid on the ground so we decided to work on the stump. I asked him for a hoof and set it on the stump, then asked for the other hoof. After only a couple of tries, he had both front feet on and stood quietly for a photo. Then he was asked to back off quietly and he did so, to much love from Cindy and I for a job well done! Gave him a minute to think about it, then I asked for one foot again which he allowed me to put on the stump and then he followed with the second himself... smart boy! I think he will be doing it just by setting him in front of it in no time :)

Future circus pony?

A couple of weeks later...

Seamus in the rain

RAIN... We're all plenty sick of it! I have been rained on more than I care to think about at this point in pursuit of trying to spend time with the ponies- including being caught out in a nasty storm a couple of weeks ago on an ACTHA ride with Belle. Not an experience I'd like to try again LOL

Seamus has mostly been just hanging out in the pasture gaining that last bit of weight he needed. I bring him out for some grooming and some lunging, but I haven't ridden him much. Too busy trying to get Belle working back on obstacles and in shape for ACTHA and finally getting in the needed saddle time with Sugar. And all in between some massive storms that have been hammering much of the mideastern U.S. and spawning tons of tornadoes, including plenty of of them here in KY.

Today I spent quite some time at the barn, I had a small to-do list and also wanted to get Seamus cleaned up for some long overdue photos. During a lull in the rain in which is seemed like it was going to hold off for awhile, I started hosing him off- only to have it start raining again in the middle of it! I said "To heck with it!" and finished the job then took him inside to get scraped and toweled off. Then he got to sit in a nice, dry stall and eat some dinner and finish drying off while I worked on the mares.

I'm so happy to report that Seamus is pretty much up to weight, which was my goal when I took him on 17 weeks ago. Such a long time ago, it seems like! He is still a little ribby, but he is gaining muscle and fat and does not look anything like a refugee anymore :)

As I mentioned, Seamus has been turned out in a field since his feet hardened back up. He is out there with a couple of other TB's- gelding Uno (retired from the track over the winter) and mare Desi (on a break). He is low man on the totem pole, but Desi seems to like him and Uno has stopped asserting himself so much so they are all getting along fine. It is fun to watch them all get to running about the field on some occasions- I wonder if they are recalling their racing days?

It is bittersweet that I can now proclaim Seamus ADOPTABLE... surely someone out there has a need for a slightly goofy gelding with a good heart? Rolex is this weekend and if you're going to be down for it and want to come out and visit the boy, please give me a shout at spookhorse01 @ yahoo.com (remove the spaces). And spread the word about him, will ya?

Rolling with it...

Gotta love it when they are happy to see you!

What a gorgeous day today... other than the wind it was pretty much a perfect spring day :) Munchkin and I took the dogs to the dog park for awhile then headed to the barn for some pony time.

My green Paso Fino mare, Sugar, was first up while Seamus continued to enjoy the nice day whilst grazing. Sugar has a new saddle with a crupper so we worked with her on that. After Sugar's workout, Seamus came up for some grooming and his first official saddling since I got him. He stood pretty well on the wall tie, just the occasional racehorse grabbiness at the wall which I'm sure he'll get over soon. He already stands there so much better than when we started. I used my Australian Stock Saddle since it's a saddle that can take a beating and I am more comfortable in it than my old Stubben. I then put the rope halter and lunge line on Seamus and went outside for a little lunge lesson while saddled. As with just about everything Seamus does, it went smoothly, despite it having been about a month since he was last lunged.

As I am wont to do, I rolled with it and threw the bridle on, turned him around and mounted up! He stood perfectly fine, despite him being a bit taller than I have gotten used to- my two mares are in the 14hh range and he's a bit taller than that! It's also been quite some time since I have ridden a Thoroughbred, somewhere in the 6 1/2 year range LOL Again, Seamus could really not have done better for his lack of fitness and lack of training for anything but the racetrack. To be honest, I expected him to have a bit more *umph* under saddle, instead he just plodded along until I gave him leg. At first he didn't want to move off my leg, but he "got it" pretty quickly. I did get him into a bit of a trot, he gave me a couple of canter strides at first, but then settled into a trot. By the third time I did it, he trotted from the get-go.

Munchkin got some (poor) pics:

And a worse video- Munchkin is now being referred to as a "Drunken Monkey" because it looks like the video was shot by one! And please do pardon my horrible equitation, his departures were not smooth and I am not fit to ride a trotting horse anymore LOL

My favorite view of a horse!

And in other news, the colicy mare seems to be fine today... I was relived to see her up and moving about and acting normally :)

A milestone and Chuck strikes again.

Well, I can happily say that Seamus is so far good in a bridle- I hopped on him today for a quick ride around the barn area with him finally wearing a bridle. He listened well so I am happy with today's little lesson. Unfortunately I have no photos of the event!

In other news, trainer Chuck *almost* coliced another horse to death, but we caught her and called him and the vet. It turned out that he had seen the mare down in the stall at 1pm today and didn't check that she would get up and was ok. She was still down at 4:30pm when I got there and Chuck was called and he said he be there in 5 minutes (remember this). I got finished taking care of my horses and he still wasn't around, the mare was down but not rolling so really nothing I could do for her except wait for the vet. The vet had to come from Richmond and got there an hour after being called- Chuck *still* hadn't showed up. Vet gets there and I assist her, 10 minutes later another guy shows up to help, Chuck had finally called him to come out.

Chuck showed up 15 minutes AFTER the vet is done and gone! Turns out he was out of town in Mt. Sterling... and it took him at least an hour to call someone to come out and be with the horse *grr* I am glad I stuck around so I was able to assist the vet, but I thought for sure I was going to be saying goodbye to that poor mare before the vet could get there! She had a bad impaction colic going on so was Banamine'd and oiled and will hopefully be okay. I just can't believe that he left her there at 1pm and he wouldn't have been back until tomorrow! I know we've all met clueless horse owners that probably shouldn't have a horse, but this man is a LICENSED THOROUGHBRED TRAINER. You would think that he would have a clue what a skinny horse looks like, or a colicy horse, or that you shouldn't feed 1/2 starved weanlings 20 pounds of sweet feed a day, or know not to put a 2 year old colt in with a 2 year old filly, or what adequate fencing for said colt looks like (hint... it's not three strand vinyl fencing with mares in the other side!).

I'm just sorry that Chuck's antics today have to eclipse another milestone with Seamus :(