Me and Seamus, self portrait :)
Today I was at the barn and putting up a tarp in Seamus' stall to try to keep out some of the wind and snow when I hear people come in the barn... I think it's Scott coming in to take care of Russ and Uno, the track geldings, but instead it's trainer Chuck and another guy who introduces himself as a friend of Chucks. I have a feeling so I ask if he is Shug, Seamus' former owner and in fact, it is he. Interesting... so I introduce myself and tell him I'm the one who took Seamus and after some small talk, I start asking about Seamus' prior history and if he had any injuries. Shug says he had no injuries racing, though he did say that Seamus had had screws done before he bought him as a yearling. I would guess for either an OCD problem or he was a little crooked, and I don't know whether it was knee or ankle, Shug couldn't remember. Also, Shug mentioned that they injected Seamus' stifles every six months or so while he raced. It doesn't necessarily mean that Seamus will have stifle trouble, it just means he got a bit sore in them. It appears that Seamus retired from racing sound which is quite a feat considering how much he raced.
Shug mentioned he has other horses to give away and I told him that if he works with CANTER they will help him place the horses by listing them on their website and getting the word out about them. We talked a bit more and I told him how Seamus hadn't been doing well being turned out like he had been after racing and then I brought him in and took off the blanket. One of them says "Oh, he doesn't look too bad." and I reply (in my dryest voice) "Oh, this is after two weeks of good feeding..." while I pointed out Seamus' protruding spine and hips and went on to tell them about the bad case of rainrot I was in the process of defeating while indicating the bald spots.They didn't stay too much longer, but I hope I gave Shug something to think about when he is giving away horses and turning them out after their racing days are done.
Before all this went down, I had spoken to the barn owner and he had told me that Chuck and Mary had "had words" earlier in the day about the way Chuck is feeding the yearlings. I was glad to see when I went in that the feed issue seems to be resolved and since Chuck came in tonight to take care of them, it looks like he is feeding them 2 small meals a day instead of one far too big one. *whew* Let's hope this guy has learned something and that the yearlings make it out alive!
Seamus grubbin' tonight... as you can see he is terrified of the new tarp, obviously!
Week two photos- please ignore the snowflakes, our barn is rather "light and airy" aka it's a tobacco barn:
Gosh, will ya quit takin' pictures of me and give me my hay!
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