A true rainy day..

Today was an awful day! The new OTTB I got ended up not working out, and I had to take him back to his trainer. About two weeks ago, I started jumping Tegan. The day after he was dead lame on the ankle he had issues with on the track. After about a week of hosing, poulticing, and wrapping, the vet came out. He took some x-rays, thinking it was a chip. He didn't find any chips, but there was so much remodeling of his fetlock, it was beyond repair. He also had some thickness around his suspensary where it connected to the fetlock. He said the range of motion was only 10-15% of what is should have been. The trainer and I had a deal that if Tegan didn't work out, she would take the horse back.

The poor guy was finally starting to pick up weight and look great. I am really upset at the racing industry right now. I have learned there are two types of trainers. Those who run their horses into the ground, and those who treat the horses like gold. I unfortunately had to deal with people who treat their horses not so well. If you look at Trafalgar's racing history on Equibase, you can clearly see the horse wasn't a great runner and should have found a home before he was run into the ground.

The trainer said she would 'blister" the leg. Not so great considering they don't have any stalls at the farm on their property. Blistering is when an agent is put on the horses leg to make it turn into a blister. The hair tends to fall off, and needs to be kept wrapped and clean. The blister causes more blood flow to go to the area and speed up healing. I am sure it would not heal the remodeling that has been done to the fetlock joint, but I am sure those crazy racehorse people will try everything. I feel so sorry for Tegan, but I am not rich...and I need to realize I cannot save all of them :(

On a positive note...yesterday at the barn I was talking to my friend about the situation. And I said, "I really hope I could find a big, sound, dapple gray OTTB to call my own." She said we would eventually find one that needed a home. She got a call this morning from the trainer who she got her OTTB from saying she had a gray/roan 16.1 3yo filly needing of a home (Giveaway). She is a turf horse and and turf races are hard to find. The filly has only started 5 times. This trainer is the type that treats her horses like gold. This filly has never had an injury and is ready for a new career. I hope she works out! I really have learned I love riding TB's and they get top notch training at the track when in the right hands.