This weekend is the 137^th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Many race fans are hoping I’ll Have Another, winner of the Kentucky Derby, keeps the possibility of a Triple Crown winner alive by repeating his Derby win in the Preakness.  While I’ll Have Another was not favored in the Kentucky Derby – in fact, he is the only horse to ever win the Derby from the 19^th post position – no doubt he’ll be among the favorites with bettors this Saturday.

As we look forward to race day, here are five fun pieces of Preakness trivia.

1. The first Triple Crown winner was Sir Barton, in 1919. He swept the Derby, captured the Preakness title four days later and set a new record at the Belmont. However, the term “Triple Crown” wasn’t used until the 1930s.
2. The Woodlawn Vase, designed in 1860 by Tiffany and Company, was once buried underground. The vase was buried on the Woodlawn estate shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. Weighing 29 pounds, 12 ounces and made of pure silver, the vase likely would have been melted down for shot during the war, had it been discovered.  The owner of the Preakness winner is given a replica of the Woodlawn Vase; the original is often referred to as the most valuable trophy in American sports and is on display at The Baltimore Museum of Art.
3. The Preakness has never occurred on a Sunday. The race has officially been on a Saturday since 1931, but prior to this, the race has occurred on every day of the week except for Sunday.
4. The tradition of painting the weathervane in the winning jockey’s colors began in 1909. It was in this year that the Maryland Jockey Club commissioned an ornamental weathervane, after the clubhouse’s original weather vane was destroyed by lightning. To celebrate the completion of the horse-and-rider weathervane, the jockey’s silks were painted in the colors of the winner, Effendi.
5. If you look to place bets by coat color, place your bets on the bay horses. More than half the Preakness winners (71 of 136) have been bays. Chestnut follows, with 44 Preakness wins.

What colors do you think we will see on the weathervane this year? Who’s your favorite contender in this year’s Preakness?

To learn more about the Preakness Stakes, visit the official race website.

I recently spent the day with two of our favorite partners – Tommie Turvey,  Equine Extremist/professional stuntman and Angelea Kelly, host of HorseGirlTV, her ground-breaking online media channel.  Angelea was interviewing Tommie for an upcoming episode of HorseGirlTV.

What an experience!  Tommy and his family welcomed us to his Liberty Horse Ranch with open arms.  The weather was just right.  Florida in April – really, what could be better?

Angelea, Tommy and Tommie’s wife Chantal spent some time chatting before filming the sit-down portion of the interview.  Tommie shared wonderful stories with the group of how he got started in the horse business and built his amazing niche.  In the meantime, Brent (Cameraman) and Jamie (Tommie’s Manager) discussed all things technical.

Angelea right before the camera started rolling.

Tommie gets Ace ready for the second half of the shoot.  Get ready to see some magic happen!

Tommie and Angelea talk horsemanship.

Tommie shows Angelea how to Roman Ride.

I think she’s a natural at it!

Tommie shows us some tricks.  He makes them look so easy and effortless,  clearly they are anything but!

Tommie, Joker and Ace perform more amazing feats.

Look out – here they come!

Bravo Tommie, Joker and Ace!

Angelea, Tommie, Ace and I mug for the camera.  Cheese!

Thanks For Reading!

Here, Seth asks Marilyn to slide right up to the camera to get our shots, highlighting this dramatic reining move:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

It sure was worth it! We collected some incredible photographs and spent time with friendly and talented horse professionals. Throughout the whole process I was in awe of the majestic horses. This is what the shot looked like:

We at Absorbine extend a heartfelt thanks to the incredible people and horses who made it all possible!  Now take a spin around the new Absorbine.com.  The new site really makes us shine, just like Absorbine equine products do for your horse.  It’s all new and we’re pretty excited about it.

Absorbine^® stands behind their efforts to improve the lives of horses.  Throughout the years, we’ve donated everything from our Hooflex^® products to help their neglected hooves to our UltraShield^® fly repellent to help keep the flies away while they recover.  Now we want to join a bigger movement. 

The Equine Network has given Absorbine the opportunity to help sponsor and spread the word about a much larger effort.  They have joined forces with the American Horse Council’s Unwanted Horse Coalition to create

ONE CENTRALIZED DATA BASE OF HORSES:

A Home For Every Horse. 

Phew, those were was a lot of links!  Based at Equine.com, A Home For Every Horse has a goal of helping certified 501(c)(3) horse rescue organizations find homes for their eligible equines.  The program is publicized online and in print throughout all of the Equine Network’s publications- American Cowboy, Dressage Today, EQUUS, Horse&Rider, Practical Horseman, Spin To Win Rodeo & The Trail Rider.  Certified rescues can list their adoptable horses, as well as their organization, on Equine.com at no charge. People interested in adopting can now visit one central location to look through pictures of available rescue horses and find the one for them!

If you are a certified 501(c)(3) horse rescue operation, follow this link to learn how you can join A Home For Every Horse. It may help them find their forever homes.  Please share with other rescues because the more organizations that participate, the more effective this will be. And don’t hesitate to contact Equine.com at 866-467-7323 ext. 100. They are happy to help you get the paperwork completed and your available horses out there to be found! Learn more and view rescue horses currently available for adoption at

http://www.AHomeForEveryHorse.com

http://www.equine.com/ahomeforeveryhorse_rescueadplacementguide.pdf

The purpose of the trip was to gather pictures of real horse owners and their mounts for our new website.  We’ll be rolling out this all-new site in a few months, and it’s looking to be the best one yet!  The site will feature innovative new products from Absorbine, beautiful horse-world images, new video and more!  It’s a pretty big deal.

Here are behind the scenes pictures from “on location.”

In this shot, our models, Eva and her rider, were trotting around in a circle so the photographer could get close-ups of the horse’s legs in action.  This wasn’t even the most adrenalin-inducing shot for the brave photographer (next blog post), but he was a seasoned vet and took it all in stride!  We do not recommend trying this home.

Here is Eva from the photographer’s perspective.  She’s showing us her stride, but I think she’d rather be jumping!

We had Molly along with us to help direct and to make sure that the beautiful horses were shown in their best light.

Absorbine's grooming expert, Molly O'Brien

Thanks for reading and expect a follow-up post featuring the next location we visited soon!

-Sean

The wildfires raging in Texas have destroyed many homes and farms around the city of Bastrop, TX which has been one of the areas worst affected.  Many of the horses and cattle that lived there had to be released as the fire approached.  They are being rounded up and cared for by hard working volunteers.  Here is what Jessica, a member of the Absorbine® sales force, wrote about the situation:

“As most of you know, Central Texas has been ravaged by wild fires for the last two weeks due to extremely dry conditions caused by the most severe drought we’ve seen in years. The largest fire is still burning, but thankfully they now have it 50% contained. Hundreds have been left homeless and are still not able to enter the city of Bastrop, where fires caused the most damage. In addition to homes, many barns were lost and hundreds of horses and cattle were displaced. Some people didn’t have much time to evacuate and were forced to open their gates, let their horses run and hope they would be able to find them later.

Many of these animals have been rounded up and collected in arenas where they are being cared for. They will stay there until their owners can come back and claim them, or until they can reestablish homes elsewhere. The crew taking care of these horses has been working every day in 100+ degree heat setting up makeshift pens, hand walking injured horses and doing their best to make sure they have enough hay, feed and water for them. They are so happy to receive even the smallest bit of help.”

Jessica organized some products from Absorbine® to help the animals be more comfortable while they wait for their owners, but they are still in dire need.
Anyone who would like to help or donate to the operation should contact Becky S.,  who is working at one of the largest evacuation arenas (512) 576-7199.  She can help anyone willing to make a contribution or donation.

Here are some other good resources for people looking for their animals or further information:

Facebook Page: Bastrop Fires/Animal Victims Emergency Links

Facebook Page: Bastrop Fire Find Your Pet

Facebook Page: Bastrop Fire Information and Help

Chronicle Of The Horse Blog: texas fires and the horses

It was a sunny May day when we headed to the barn where Folly, 27-year-old mare, is enjoying her retirement from being a show horse.  She got a full body clip beforehand, mostly to escape the summer heat but also to keep her looking her prettiest.   Then her a bath with ShowSheen 2-In-1 Shampoo & Conditioner, applied ShowSheen Finishing Mist,  and let her dry off in the sun while munching on a little grass.   This mare has the life!

The best part was that while we were demonstrating all of these safety tips for washing a horse, making sure that they behave and don’t spook,  Folly hardly batted an ear!  Word on the street is Folly really loves to be pampered and a spa day is her favorite thing in the world (aside from food).  This of course is not the case with every horse, but it’s awfully convenient when it is.

Well, a  spa day is just what Folly got and we hope you enjoy this short video, even if you’re already a grooming expert!

Nehro, owned by Zayat Stables and trained by Steve Asmussen, will be ridden by Corey Nakatani.  His odds at the time of this post are 6-1.

Soldat is owned by Harvey Clarke & Craig Robertson III, and is trained by Kiarin McLauphlin.  He will be ridden by Alan Garcia.  His odds at the time of this post are 12-1.

The above information as well as information about all of the contenders can be found at the official Kentucky Derby Website.

Absorbine wishes all of the horses and their owners the best of luck!!!

Nehro is grazing after his post-workout bath.

Soldat on his way back to the barn after his Thursday morning workout.

“Last year my youngest daughter showed at the Youth World Paint Show placing 3rd. My oldest daughter showed at the Quarter Horse Congress receiving a top 10 and showing at the World Championship show receiving top 5. I showed my horse last year in the Wisconsin Paint Horse Open Show Program receiving grand champion. And also Grand champion in the Wisconsin Quarter Horse Assoc. My youngest daughter received reserve champion in Wisconsin Paint Horse Open Shows. Currently my filly holds 4th in the nation for PAC for Paints, she was top 20 honor roll as well.” -Deborah D, Sales representative for W.F. Young, Inc.

Mary Ida driving her team.

Did you know that W.F.Young, Inc. is a family owned American business and always has been? We have owned and cared for horses throughout the companies history. I wanted to share our love of horses, so here are some pictures of us “horsing around”.

Wilbur,  ready for a wintertime romp!

Wilbur’s great grandson Tyler and family with the founder and owner of Friesians Of Majesty, Robert Labrie

Tyler and Jean recently visited the Friesians Of Majesty farm in Townshend, VT with their son Trevor and friend Peyton. The Friesians Of Majesty farm is home to Othello and Mathijs, champion stallions. If you like Friesians, check out their site!

http://www.friesiansofmajesty.com/index.php

Trevor Young (center) and two friends at the Friesians Of Majesty farm.

Jamie Young, great granddaughter of Wilbur, with Goth, her  rescued Percheron gelding.

Jamie is our New Products Consultant. She has owned horses for most of her life and is a passionate animal lover. We use her valuable insight into horse care as we develop new products here at W.F. Young, Inc.

Your faithful blog/facebook administrator Sean, great great grandson, on Danny the Percheron.

Danny was my horse growing up. My mother Jamie used him for all sorts of tasks on her land and he had a huge heart. Danny was a forgiving mount for us kids to learn on, but he REALLY loved to pull! We miss you Danny.

Jaime McKinley, great great granddaughter and current V.P. Of New Product Development, ready for a trail ride.

Jaime (spelled differently than her aunt’s name) is in charge of developing innovative horse products here at Absorbine. Her latest project was to extend the ShowSheen line and update it with hair health ingredients to promote your horse’s beauty from the inside-out. Jaime and Jamie (J squared) work to combine our many years of experience with modern technology and practices.

One of our favorite horses named 8N. He stills works fine.

Our CEO Tyler’s Quarter Horses Cody and Pepper going for the same blade of grass.

Pepper and Cody, Tyler’s reining horses.