Seamus, A Thoroughbred's Rescue

Just a PostScript

2014-07-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-11-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-05-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-05-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-04-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-04-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-04-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

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 :(

Hoping to help this one home:

2011-03-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

Mayito - Black & White Paso Fino STALLION Stolen Henry County, MO 9/16/10

There is a possible Kentucky link, but that has not been proven as yet. Please keep your eyes open and help Mayito come home!

Progression

2011-03-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

This week marks 13 weeks since I took Seamus on... that's a quarter of a year already gone by. I hadn't planned that he'd be here this long, taking him was one of those spur of the moment, must do sort of things that sometimes I get myself into (see also "Sugar, Paso Fino"). I figured I'd take him and start feeding him and find someone else pretty quickly to take him over. At that point, I don't think that it was evident how far down Seamus was. He still had a little GO if there was food involved, but that was all he had left- he still had that drive and will to survive but his body was going to be shutting down soon at that point if no one stepped in. Enter ME... I'm convinced that I have "SUCKER" tattoo'd on my forehead LOL

I thought that in celebration of Seamus surviving and being with me this long, I'd go back and post a progression of photos, one almost weekly so we can all see where he started and where he is now:

Dec. 27, 2010


Jan. 3, 2011

Jan. 11, 2011

Jan. 18th 2011

Jan. 24, 2011

Feb. 3, 2011

Feb. 10, 2011

Feb. 16, 2011

Mar. 12, 2011

Mar. 17, 2011


March 29, 2011

Taking chances

2011-03-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Today I took a chance and rode Seamus for the first time!

Seamus has stayed out since Sunday evening, only coming in to eat dinner and then he's been going back out in the front field with Uno, another TB gelding. I decided to keep him in tonight as we are expecting some cold rain with maybe a little snow mixed in *ick* What happened to spring??? I took a couple of photos of him in the barn area then brought him in to eat dinner and decided to back him in the stall again since I hadn't been able to work on his training at all over the last month due to his foot issue.

I got the rope reins and jumped on while he was eating, sitting up there the whole time since he is getting strong again and his back is much more filled out. He finished up eating so I asked him to circle the stall a couple times each way. Well, since he did what I wanted so nicely and stopped each time when asked, I then asked him to step up to the door with his head over so I could get to the latch to let us out. He took that just fine so I asked him to walk up and down the barn aisle a time or two... and that went so well I rode him outside and into the riding area! We took a couple meandering circuits around the riding area before he started to even get a little bit ancy with the whole deal. We stopped on a good note and my daughter managed to snap a couple of quick pics of us before the camera battery died. Seamus proves to me once again that he is a class act all the way!

12 weeks post-rescue

He rides!

No hard feelings :)

Turn out, finally.

2011-03-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today Seamus got a few hours turn-out, the most he's had in almost four weeks! Since he got that good run the other day, he's been quiet when I would put him outside while I did stalls the couple of days after that. He's got a good head on him, let him get his kicks out and he's done with it. Today mostly he just went out, trotted the fence a couple of minutes, picked grass, and had a good roll. A new race filly was out there when I got back so there was a little fun with her, I think, but it was over with quickly.

That's about it, he starts going out during the day regular starting tomorrow :)

Happy Seamus's Bath Day!

2011-03-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

But I don't WANT my face washed!!!

So yesterday was St. Patrick's Day which I normally don't pay a whole lot of attention to, excepting the part about dodging pinches because I don't bother to wear green usually. It was also Lexington's official "First Beautiful Day of the Year" being in the 70's and gorgeously sunny with a bit of a nice, warm breeze. Such a relief after a nasty winter! I've been waiting desperately for a nice day in which I could give Seamus his first bath and not have to worry about freezing the poor boy to death, and yesterday was that day.

I left work and dialed up Cindy so I would have a helping hand and we got to the barn and set things up for bath time. Seamus took it well with only a little dumb racehorse antics, mostly because he had to stand still in the wash rack when he would have rather been eating. Got him all cleaned up pretty and combed out his mane and tail. I'm so very glad to be able to get all the residual dirt and MTG grunge out of Seamus' coat and the roots of his mane and tail! I even scrubbed his white socks up with Castille soap.

After the bath, Seamus stood around on the lead rope wearing a cooler and picking grass until he dried, then we took him in for a little clipper work on his whiskers, bridle path, and even his fuzzy ankle hair! Then we took weekly pics :D

Seamus is turning into One Beautiful Horse! As you can see, he continues to fill out slowly. He's still ribbier than these pics show, but that topline which has been worrying me so much is still coming up. Seamus has been on stall rest for the last three weeks due to his hoof softness and he's been fretting a bit in there. I have noticed a tendency in him to weave when bored so I suspect he is doing that when he's done with eating. He gets enough hay that he usually has some leftover in his hay bag and he has a Jolly Ball and a pool noodle to fiddle with in the stall, but I think now that he's had some turn-out experience, he wants more and is getting tired of this whole "stall rest" thing.

His hooves are toughening up so I am aiming to have Seamus going out in a field during the day starting next week or so. For the last week, while I clean stalls, he's been turned out in the lane to pick some grass and blow off a little steam, but there's not much room for antics in there. Yesterday after the bath and photo time, Cindy and I let him out in one of the big fields for a little playtime and we got a great 10 minute video (please excuse the audio LOL):

It's a little shaky at the beginning, but it gets better; Seamus also takes a little bit to get into the whole "freedom" thing. As you can see, he thoroughly undoes all that hard work that Cindy and I put into cleaning him up! Listen for the whinneying when he gallops from behind the tobacco barn- Seamus' sheer joy in running again is evident... and his trot is elevated and extended, naturally. He does take a slip once, but bounces right back and he came in from it fine, no worries. He was finished with his running after the video and he was brought in minutes after. This is the first time he's been in one of the larger fields since I got him almost 12 weeks ago and his natural energy levels have only really started to come back in the last couple of weeks. It's honestly taken him this long to truly start getting back what was lost to him due to his starvation in Chuck's care.

I can't wait until Seamus can be turned out again, he will get fat quick on all the bluegrass we've got coming in and gain muscle back running off his "stall rest" :)

All photos and video by Cindy, thanks pal!

Long time no update!

2011-03-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

So it's been a couple plus weeks... I finally got my much needed vacation and married my sweetie while I was at it ;) I'm back this week and have NEW pics of Seamus for your viewing pleasure, as well as a bit of an update on his hooves.

Seamus' front hooves are firm and hardening up nicely and the abscess seems to be dry and healing. While I was gone, he stayed on the front wedge pads, but he's been off of them this week. He is still in pony prison (aka the stall) but he goes out in the barn area for a little while sometimes as long as he's good... which incidentally doesn't last long- he gets the wind up his butt and wants to take off bucking. He is feeling good and is not sore footed at all. Today he was turned out in the lane next to the large fields and got mad when the girls got brought in so he went tearing to the far end of it and then came tearing back! Obviously he came right in after that, but it proves that he is BACK :) And he is a gorgeous runner, btw... wish I had got the camera out for it but I was too busy yelling for his dumb butt to come back LOL

It got into the 60's today so we had a bit of a chance to do some grooming and wiping down, though I can't fully bathe the horses as the water is still way too cold out there at the barn. But he got a bit cleaner, better than he was. Cindy was out helping so she got him to stand up for some better-than-usual pics, but he's still a wiggly worm!

Here are BIG pics :)

Also, all Seamus' bloodwork came back normal, levels on everything are where they need to be. All this horse was lacking was food... imagine that. I am glad that we did them as I was a bit worried since it seemed to take forever for his energy levels to come up. They seem to be fine now judging by the show he put on in the lane today, though! He's been with me almost 11 weeks now, too :)

Setbacks

2011-02-22T16:28:00.000-08:00

Vet visit today and it turns out that poor ol' Seamus is using so much of his nutritional intake on building weight that his hooves are suffering. His soles are very soft right now and in order to give them time to harden back up without having too much weight on them, we've had to put him up on rubber wedge pads for the time being. Fun stuff... I've got to unwrap the whole deal every other day to air out his soles and apply Keratex to them and then do it all up again *sigh* At least I have experience with wrapping these things up, Belle had a go on them a few years ago with a bad case of laminitis.

At least it turns out that Seamus is not laminitic, but this of course is not good, either. Hopefully it will turn out to be a temporary problem and as he continues to gain weight, his body will start shunting nutrients to his hooves again. So for now, Seamus is stall-bound for at least a month. Mary will put him in clean stall every morning for me and give him breakfast as usual and I will be in in the evenings to put him in a clean stall, clean the dirty stalls, feed him dinner, and check his feet. And for the millionth time, I wish I had my own place so I could be there any time of the day or night I needed to be...

We also had Seamus' teeth done, vaccinations, took a fecal sample, and drew some blood to check all his levels. Hopefully the clinic will give me some sort of break on the cost for all this, Dr. McVey said he would ask his boss and let me know something tomorrow so everyone cross fingers! At least Seamus was a perfect gentleman for all this work, often standing there in the barn aisle with the lead rope around his neck and no one holding on to him and the vet there with Seamus' foot up on his knee- what a good boy :)

Oh yes, and how could I forget a visit with Trainer Chuck... Chuck came by to take care of his yearlings when I was finishing cleaning stalls and asked how Seamus was doing and I told him what was going on. Chuck then asks what the vet bills are costing me and I told him that I wasn't sure yet, that I might get a break on it from the clinic. So he tells me that if I want, I can give him the horse back and he'll pay for the bills, that he knows someone else who wants the horse. I say "No thanks, I've got it covered" (thinking something more along the lines of "No stinkin' way in H*LL I'd give him back to you!"). He sorta started pressuring me, telling me he'd pay for it, just let him have the horse back and I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore cause he knew someone who wanted him. I just kept telling him that I was okay the way it was and that Seamus would be just fine when it was all done and I wasn't worried about it. Finally he left, thank goodness! He didn't make me feel threatened or anything, he just really wanted Seamus back for some reason. I am guessing he got a cash offer on Seamus and is now regretting giving him to me and would like to take him back and make some money off him. Only thing it could be really, because he sure didn't give a sh*t enough to give Seamus any care before when he needed it. I refrained from showing my temper (you all who know me should be very proud of me!), but if he tries to get Seamus from me again, there will be words...

Seamus has an ouchie :(

2011-02-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Seamus had a bit of heat in both of his front hooves when I went out for the day and since I couldn't find any particular reason, I suspected a touch of laminitis, maybe brought on by a change of hay. I switched to a local source the last time I bought hay when we had been getting it from a dealer who buys from Ohio. The new mixed grass hay I got from the local farmer undoubtedly had bluegrass in it which is a bad grass for having lots of sugar in it. I called the farmer today and he confirmed that it was a bluegrass/orchard/timothy mix. Is Seamus sensitive to starch? I don't know yet, but for the time being his hay is getting soaked to reduce sugars.

But of course, for more fun today, Seamus had blown an abcess on the foot which I thought he looked more sore on yesterday. The vet is coming tomorrow afternoon... I needed to get him in anyways to do yearly shots and Coggins on the mares and Seamus needs his teeth floated, so this was a good a time as any to make the call. So tonight Seamus is in with a foot pack, some bute, and a tote full of soaked hay!

Seamus Meets the Man-eating Plastic Bag

2011-02-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

Another lovely day and Cindy came to visit. We took Seamus out for another lunge lesson and added a pole for him to step over. We also did it at the trot a few times and he did well, he picked up looking down to watch his feet after the first time he stepped on it.

After the lunge lesson, Seamus was getting rubbed all over with the carrot stick with absolutely no worries so we went for the bag-on-a-stick for the next bit of desensitization. Seamus took it with his usual aplomb... he gave it a look and then you could literally touch him anywhere with it! Shake it all over, bounce it on the ground, whatever- Seamus was awesome :)

Video courtesy of Cindy!

Learning the lungeline

2011-02-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

This week is shaping up to be gorgeous, today it made it into the 60s! Warm enough that I could open up some windows at the house and spend some real quality time at the barn... I've been waiting for this so I could actually DO SOMETHING with Seamus to start building muscle and fitness and not just throwing food down his gullet LOL

My daughter and I took off for the barn after she got home from school, brought ponies in for some hay, and then I sent Sasha off to ride Belle the Babysitter while I groomed on Seamus a bit before I brought him out to work on lunging.

Now that I have a carrot stick with a string, I could work on desensitizing him to it so that is what we started with today. It went really well, just about 5 foot of side-stepping when I hit the string on the ground the first few times then Seamus stopped and didn't act scared of it again. Switched sides and he only flinched once. So then I started lightly laying it on him which didn't bother him one bit no matter where it went. Okay, stage one complete, ready to start moving on the line!

Now lunging could have gone one of two ways since Seamus is feeling better... I am so glad to report that it went the better of the two :) If you've been following this blog, you know I intro'd Seamus to a rope halter and trainers lead early on in the hopes that it would make it easier to really get into teaching him later. I don't know if it really worked that way, or if he really is this laid back *shrugs* No matter, really, but with a OTTB (esp one who raced a lot) you just don't know if you're going to get a well trained horse or something that is all go, all fast, and only to the left LOL

Anyways, Seamus walked to the left just fine again and we worked on going to the right until he was much better than the first time we attempted it. Then after a few minutes warm-up, I asked him for a trot going left by asking him to move forward with my body and backing it up with some light flicks of the stick to his hindquarters to give him the message. The first gentle flicks gave Seamus a bit of a start which was to be expected, but I pulled him up and asked him again and he got the idea. The trotting came in fits and starts so I got him around a couple of times and pulled him up for some pets and praise :) Then we turned it around and tried it to the right with not as good results. After a few times that I rearranged my position to ask him to go forward, he finally started to get it instead of trying to face me. Again, we did a couple of circuits of the fit and start trotting. After a breather, we went left again and he trotted out much nicer for several rounds, then did the same for the right hand turns. By jove, I think he's got it!!! Ok, so he's not a pro just yet, but this is one OTTB who learns quick! I didn't ask Seamus for too much work due to his lack of fitness right now, but as long as we have good weather and decent footing, we can start to build that up.

I think exercise is what he is lacking in really coming back from his ordeal. Food can only do so much... enough food will get you the weight, but not the muscle and fitness. Unfortunately, weather and footing is an issue at my barn as we don't have an indoor arena, or frankly any arena at all! The area I use to work in doubles as a turnout so it gets chewed up, luckily it dried up before it really warmed up enough for me to be ready to work so it is really pretty decent to train on, despite what it looks like.

Lunging photos courtesy of Sasha while hanging out on Belle:

And some standing side shots for his current condition:

His back is getting more filled in, that was my big worry but a nice load of alfalfa hay from a local farmer seems to be helping fill in the holes ;) And another note, since the weather is kinda nice this week, I am using the opportunity to get him staying outside at night again. The girls are going in their dry lot at night while it's nice so Seamus can have a paddock to himself so he can eat without their "help." Those mares are absolutely rotten about food since they are pretty restricted most of the year (both IR cases) so they hoover up their share in record time and chase poor Seamus off. Not a prob when he comes in at night to his all-you-can-eat hay buffet, but not okay if he stays outside at night. He needs to learn to be a horse and I need a break from doing stalls!

Alright, I'm off to putter around before bed. Hoping for a nice day tomorrow so we can get some more exercise in for Seamus :)

Finally a new post!

2011-02-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

Well the weather outside is frightful... but inside the barn it's still awfully cold LOL

We are lucky to have not had quite as bad of a winter as many places in the US. Central Kentucky got cold spells earlier than usual this winter as we had snow on Christmas which is a rarity, usually we don't see snow until January. We got some snow, then some ice, then a thaw and then it starts all over again. At least it melts in between and we don't have several feet of snow built up. Shoot, last Saturday it hit 50! It was muddy, but I pulled on the mudboots and worked Sugar a bit then changed out for riding boots and bumped around on her for awhile while hanging out with our buddy Cindy. Didn't work Seamus as the mud was too much for his not 100% self... I wish I had better footing, but the area I ride and work in doubles as a paddock so it's pretty tore up right now.

Anyways, Seamus is still such a sweetheart... I sometimes worry that he's not "coming back" from his starvation, but he honestly seems to be just fine. I guess I keep expecting that he's going to turn into one of those silly Thoroughbreds even though his whole feeding regimen has been based on getting weight back on slowly and carefully with a minimum of starch to keep that from happening. I think it is working as planned though. I worry a bit, cause that's what I do... but he's got a great attitude and doesn't seem depressed at all, he nickers at me when I drive up, he cleans up all of his feed and hay every night, drinks well, and he's perfectly capable of getting away from Sugar when she is being a witch LOL So I guess he is just fine :)

Tonight I planned on getting the run of photos for the week after I got a stall cleaned out and let him eat but then tonight got derailed by another TB at the barn colicing. Not one of mine, but a racehorse there on break. Luckily I was there to get the vet called and help out the owner as he's not a real experienced horse person. I think we caught Russ' bellyache early and the vet came out to banamine and oil him. When I left, Russ was comfy so hopefully that will be all he needs, but everyone please keep Russ in your thoughts!

I did get some photos of Seamus before I left, though, so you can check out his progress:

I am guesstimating that he's gained about 70lbs at this point. He's got some fat pads, his butt and thighs are filling in, and he's finally starting to get some padding over his spine and upper ribcage. I also wormed him earlier this week so if parasites are a problem, that is taken care of now. I just wanted to wait until I felt he was strong enough to get through it just in case he did have a bad worm load. He seems to be just fine, but I am glad I waited.

Once it warms up and dries up around here a little, I can get to working him on the lunge again and get those muscles built back up. Oh, I can't wait for spring!!!

Saddle up, one month!

2011-01-24T18:38:00.000-08:00

Today marks 4 weeks to the day that I took in Seamus, every day I am glad that I did! He's a goofy sort, but I think all in all he's gonna make someone a nice horse once he figures a few things out.

I didn't write since last week as absolutely nothing has gone on... we had a pretty bad freeze and a bunch of snow last week which meant I had all three horses in for several nights and I'm still trying to dig out Seamus' stall where the wet froze with a bunch of poop in it *blegh* Luckily when it's (relatively) warm I can leave the girls out and switch Seamus between their stalls. I am in dire need of shavings, though, hopefully Wednesday I can get them. Gotta pick up hay again, too!

Today was warmish, it got up to 40-something and it was decent enough when I got to the barn. Not wonderful since today also came with some rain, but at least it wasn't "wear my coveralls" cold. While Seamus was eating I tacked him up for the first time with a bareback pad. I modified a cheap one last summer for use on my Paso Fino by cutting off those nasty, narrow stirrups and that useless slick nylon girth and adding western rigging instead- Hey, no slip!

Since Seamus is still wearing MTG on a regular basis, I also put a thin western blanket under the pad. Per usual, Seamus wasn't the least bit bothered and ate while I fiddled. Then I put my reins on his halter, pulled up a bucket and started leaning. Just like last time, he couldn't care less so I swung up on him and sat for awhile to see if he'd act any different with a girth on. Nope, still nothing. Let him finish up his feed and asked him for his head which he gave willingly enough and asked him for a circle in the stall which he also had no problem with. He actually responds to a side-pull action very nicely as I am only using some gaming reins clipped onto his halter. I doubt if he was really trained to give to pressure, but he seems to already do that well enough. He's reactive to pressure but not over reactive to stimulus so I think he's got a good brain on him.

I pulled him out for his weekly pictures but left his gear on him for one, yeah it's pretty red-neck but I use what works LOL:

Here are the in-progress pics for the week:

As you can see, Seamus is starting to plump up pretty well though he still needs a topline. At least it is finally starting to fill in a little up there and get some padding. That will be the last to come in and will probably take quite a bit of time and lots of exercise to build the muscles back.

And I dearly wish I had someone out with me to stand at this goober's head so I could get some decent conformation shots! He's a total wiggle worm on the tie right now, he just doesn't know how to stand still out in the barn aisle yet. He doesn't pull on the time, he just moves all over and back n' forth. Again, I know it will take him some time to figure it out :) Meanwhile I put a lead rope on his halter and use it to pull him back where I want him, hence the rope trailing out of all the pictures LOL

I'm also desperate for warm weather as I really want to be giving this horse a bath! With his condition I have not wanted to get him any wetter than MTG or fungal spray would make him and what he really needs is a nose to tail scrubbing to get all the dirt out. Come on Spring!

Another week under the belt

2011-01-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

nomnomnom

Yesterday was Seamus' third week with me so tonight I got some progress pics to share. Sorry 'bout the muddy feet and legs, but it's been raining here for the last 36 hours straight and the paddock is more of a mud skating rink right about now... if it weren't for his blanket he would be covered head to toe! The mares actually are covered in mud despite blankets- I didn't get their Highnesses in quick enough for their liking so they started tearing about the paddock at high speed and bucking and skidding all over *sigh* Needless to say, they came in looking more like zombies than my usual beautiful little mares. Seamus was smart and tried to stay out of their way, mostly succeeding, at least until Sugar got after him causing him to trot down the fenceline... I think that's the fastest I have seen him move so far! They were all quite ready to run in the barn and get out of the rain for the night once I let them out of the paddock.

Seamus also got a new blanket tonight. Our wonderful COTHer, SonnysMom sent us yet another blanket! She purchased it on deep discount for her own horse but it was too small and he only wore it once. SM allowed me to purchase this gorgeous, brand-new Centaur blanket for what she paid (an absolute STEAL) and it's fits Seamus wonderfully so he no longer looks quite like a refugee :)

Seamus being very reflective

The first baby steps towards a new career

2011-01-15T17:43:00.000-08:00

Since it was relatively warm today (above freezing, IOW) and I was off work I had grand plans to spend lots of time with ponies today... Well, that didn't happen as I got sidetracked with a mountain of laundry and a visit from the landlord to work on my bathroom. Instead I got there after dark so let them all out in the barn area to forage for grass while I cleaned Seamus' stall and set it up for the night.

After I let Seamus in to eat and rounded up the girls and threw them hay for the night, I decided since I wasn't bundled up to the hilt to go ahead and try laying across Seamus for the first time. Like the lunging, I want this to start while he's still going to be fairly quiet in order to set the foundation for retraining him later. I do have some back issues and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last fall so I'd like things to go as smoothly as possible. There's a reason I gave up riding TBs 6+ years ago, so I hope Seamus proves to be quiet or I won't be able to do much with him involving riding later.

Tonight seemed to be a good a time as any for the first time messing with him like this- he's getting a little bit of padding over his ribs, the rainrot areas aren't sore anymore, he is getting around well outside, and he hasn't been tottery for about 10 days now. I let him eat most of his dinner while I fiddled with putting my gaming reins on his halter, both sets end to end actually so I could hang onto them while his head was down (he's much longer than my little mares!). I pulled up an upside down bucket next to him and stood on it, he couldn't have cared less. I leaned on him, ditto. I leaned more on his back and again, he kept on eating his hay unconcerned. So I finally jumped up and lay across his back and he didn't even flick an ear... so then I made the decision to go ahead and throw a leg over. Still no worries on his end so I kinda sat on him and lay on his withers in order to not put to much weight on his back for a minute, then I sat up. Seamus was perfectly quiet throughout this experiment so I sat on him for about 5 minutes then slid off. It went off without a hitch which is exactly what I wanted. Seamus got a pat and an apple for his tolerance of my antics and then was tucked in for the night.

I'm sure it won't go so well once there is a girth and a bit involved, he raced so much that those will probably be cues to act a bit hot. Ah, well, one can only hope he's smart enough to figure it out quickly because, oh man, he's a lot bigger than my little mares! :)

First visitor and first weigh-in

2011-01-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

Too tired to write yesterday, the weather really gets me hurting...

I had to get hay yesterday so I conscripted my son (a strapping 18 year old) into helping me out and doing a good part of the grunt work with the unloading the hay, dumping heavy muck tubs, and hauling water. He was also a good boy and tacked down the tarp in Belle's stall a bit better. It's been up for 5 years and some of my original work in keeping it tied down has come undone resulting in a large tarp that billows across half the stall and a seriously tarp-proofed pony LOL

While we were there, new friend Cindy made a visit. Cindy just moved to the area this week and came by to pick up a model and visit the ponies for the first time. Seamus was a little rude, he was much too busy eating to be a gentleman and pay attention to his admirers but luckily the girls were better behaved :) But Cindy got to see Seamus' improving form first hand and we hope that she'll come to visit often! Hopefully Seamus will be better mannered next time...

Today after cleaning stalls, feeding, and getting everyone in for the night, I took Seamus' current weight via weight tape. I know they are not the most accurate way to get your horse's weight, but it's what I have currently available. I have recently found out another, more accurate way to do it by taking a couple of measurements and putting it into a online weight calculator and I will be doing that from here on out. But anyways, according to the weight tape, Seamus has gained approximately 30lbs since I got him 2 1/2 weeks ago. I think he has gained more and guesstimate more like 50, but it's in his hindquarters and belly. I am thinking that next week I will hit him with a wormer, he's strong enough now. I was too worried to do it earlier on, but he's getting around fine and doesn't look so fragile anymore.

Quite frankly, I am done with winter and want it to warm up a bit so I can start annoying Seamus with the rope halter, carrot stick, and lunge again ;)

A wee bit o' history

2011-01-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

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!

I called Seamus a fatty today LOL

2011-01-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well, Seamus has been with me for two weeks now. He's picking up a little weight, though his ribs and spine still stick out pretty badly... but he's getting a little belly (hence me calling him a fatty *snicker*) and there is a little padding on his hindquarters. I know it's gonna take time but I'm sure happy he no longer looks quite like one of the Four Horses of the Apocalypse! The rainrot is mostly pulled off so he's got bald patches, big and small. I still find some little spots here and there as run my fingers through his coat during grooming and pick them out, but I'm happy to say that the areas of his body that are not covered in copious amounts of MTG are getting shinier :)

Seamus is eating two meals a day, each consisting of 2lbs of Triple Crown Growth and 1lb of Triple Crown Low Starch with MSM and oil added. He gets about 4 flakes of hay a night, any more and he wastes it, but I've given him a hay net so we'll see if that stops him stepping in it. He and the mares get a bunch of hay out in their paddock every day as well, which they all clean up and Seamus has started waiting for me up as close as he can get to the parking area. Sugar is still a bit of a witch to him, Belle doesn't really care as long as he stays out of her way. What can I say, I have a couple of mare-ish mares! Eventually they will love him, just you wait til spring- then they will be a couple of hussies LOL Anyways, Seamus is picking up weight with what is being fed so I don't know that I'll up it any more. He wears a mid-weight blanket and comes in every night so he's not wasting much energy on anything but eating and getting fat. I don't want to throw too much on him and run the risk of founder. I think he is essentially a healthy horse and just getting fed good, regular meals and pretty much all the hay he can eat will do the trick.

As for the issue with the inept trainer, Chuck... well, the skinny 3yo filly left on Saturday. I can only hope with all my heart that she's gone to a good home. The dead chestnut colt was also gone by the time I was there on Saturday evening, thank goodness. The trainer is, in fact, feeding the other two yearlings like he fed the chestnut so Mary and I are taking the feed away from them every time we see full feed tubs in front of them. With all the hay he is giving them and their ages, they don't need more than a little bit of feed and they need a growth formula instead. Chuck is feeding them like they are full grown racehorses, he fills up these 3gal. feeders to the brim with sweet feed and whole corn and he's risking foundering or colicing those poor babies :( I really hate to go behind someone like this, but I can't watch him kill another colt through ignorance. Mary is going to call Gaylon, the trainer who got Chuck into our barn. Gaylon is a good guy and knows his stuff so we're hoping that he can talk a little sense into Chuck. Please, everyone, have good thoughts that this situation can be resolved.

Seamus also received a wonderful donation of a TSC gift card today from our friend, Jen P. Thanks so very much Jen! I think we may end up using it towards buying Seamus a light-weight rainsheet for spring, I haven't decided yet. I used what was left on my Christmas present TSC card from my Dad and step-mom to buy him a heated water bucket on Saturday. I had one each for the girls and someone had to go without for Seamus to have one so I went ahead got another for the big guy :)

Oh, and I forgot my camera today so Week Two pics will be got tomorrow!

A little rant.

2011-01-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

<rant>Well, tonight at the barn was a downer- the yearling TB died sometime today... I found him tonight when I went to clean stalls and bring ponies in for the night.

The real kicker of the matter is that this is one of the horses brought in by the trainer, Chuck, that had Seamus. There are currently 6 of various ages that this guy is responsible for, including the chestnut that died. One is a racehorse with a bowed tendon, one is a 2yo black filly, one is a 3yo bay filly (the filly I am trying to find a home for), and three yearlings (bay, bay, and chestnut). According to the barn owner, the yearlings and I believe also the 3 yo bay filly came onto our farm in bad shape- they came from the estate of Shirley Cunningham, a lawyer jailed due to fraud relating to the fen-phen cases. It's all more than I care to get into other than digging up a quick link, feel free to Google his name for more info (he was also a part owner of Curlin, it turns out). All of Mr. Cunningham's assets are apparently being liquidated and as I understand it, at least those four horses were there before they came here. I'm guessing no one was much worried about the horses on Mr. Cunningham's place since he's been in jail and apparently that didn't change much once they were brought to my boarding barn and dumped in a field and forgot about by trainer Chuck.

Last week I went out to check the condition of the 3yo filly and get some quick photos so I could post her on Facebook and ask around for a home for her since Chuck told me he was trying to get rid of her. She and the two bay yearlings were eating on a round bale the barn owner had brought out as he was tired of trying to get Chuck to feed the horses and just added the cost onto the board charge. While I was checking out the filly, I did notice the two bay yearlings were in rough shape, too. The chestnut was a couple hundred feet away and I didn't go up to him as light was fading fast. I did call the barn owner and we talked about the horses' condition and he said he would be keeping round bales in front of them. The filly is really thin, but not quite as bad as Seamus was so I felt okay with that and figured I would ask around for her without taking her on myself.

With so many eyes on him, Chuck started bringing more hay and feed out to take care of the horses better and he found that the chestnut yearling had (I assume) been kicked in the groin- the swelling was *very* bad when I saw him, it would make any man cringe... so the chestnut was up in a stall all week and seemed in decent spirits when I saw him until tonight when he is dead, instead. Why he died, I don't know, I can only guess. Some good guesses would include his condition which was very bad before he finally got hay, and then feed when he came in the barn. It's possible his body was too far gone and shut down. It did look like he had moved his legs a lot as he was laying down where he eventually died, and the fact that he seemed pretty bright earlier this week, despite his injury, I tend to think that maybe he coliced. There was a FULL ground feeder of textured feed and whole corn in the stall, I would guesstimate 6lbs of feed or so, and if that's the way Chuck started refeeding this yearling, he as good as invited colic in the front door and asked it to stay for tea *grrrr* It took me 10 full days to work Seamus up to eating 6lbs a day, split between two meals, and he is a large, full grown horse!

The sheer incompetence of Chuck really floors me and then I had to tell Mary about the yearling and she is HOT. She's already been on a roll about this guy since Seamus got so bad and I took him, I heard this week that she is talking about him up at the Jot-Em-Down which is a store just down the road which is where a lot of racetrackers hang out, including Chuck. She said that he comes up there standing people's lunches and beers and acting like a big shot, meanwhile his horses were left out to starve. And now it seems it's feast or famine for the poor horses since Chuck doesn't have a clue on proper horse care, really. I will be keeping a closer eye on all the horses, as will Mary. We're worried about colic in all of them since the barn owner said Chuck is now feeding them... if he feeds them like he fed that poor chestnut yearling, more of them will be dropping like flies.

And it's sure no wonder ol' Seamus wouldn't or couldn't win races for this jerk! </rant>

Anyone want a pretty (and skinny) 3yo bay filly before Chuck manages to kill her, too?