Wyoming Thoroughbreds

  As we wait, once again, for mares to foal, we have been searching for good candidates for hoof rehabilitation case studies. We received a great response to our post searching for hoof rehab cases. We are currently going through the list of fourteen horses to see which ones we think we can help, as well as how many we can afford to work on. Most of the horses are coming from quite a distance, so we have to factor transport into the cost. We also have to consider how comfortable the horse is before asking them to ship a thousand miles or more. Our sights are set on four, but we have not finalized the decision yet. One is a gelding with severe pedal osteitis and moderate kissing spine. As ugly as his radiographs are, he moves sound and is comfortable. He's a prime example of “you can't ride the radiographs.” The second is a gelding from Florida who has nothing major, but just can't seem to become totally comfortable. He is young, only three years old, well bred and cute. Th...

  Baby two is here! This one is a red colt by This Fame is on Fire and out of Suerte Estrella. This little guy is not ours, but he will be for sale. Whether we own the foal or not, we like to watch them as they grow and move into careers. We have a little attachment to each foal that enters the world here. Even if they're only with us a short time before they go home, like this guy, we always name them. This one is Elmer. Each year, our foals' names start with the same letter. This is the “E” year. Last year was “D”, and the year before was “C”. You see the pattern. One thing we know about Elmer right now is that he is a spitfire. He's going to be a bit of a handful, if his energy level in the first few days indicates much. He's still sweet, but the boy has some energy. The older mares are the best. Suerte Estrella, a pro at this, spit him out, got him up and dried off, and shoved him back to start nursing in record time. It's hard to beat these type of mares. Luck...

  On occasion, we get a question why we have adoption fees at all or why they are high (they typically range $1000-5000 with a few going higher). We try to emphasize that the horses that we get mostly come from known backgrounds with knowledgeable horsemen with fantastic care and management. They are not rescues. We do occasionally get some horses that are rescues, but they are not the norm. That being said, our adoptable horses have real value in the horse market as good riding horses. The adoptables also play a large roll in raising the funds to care for the horses in retirement. Plus, horses simply cost a lot to feed and maintain. We are not in the profit business with CRR but simply the taking care of horses in need business. So, what goes into our adoption fees? We look at every horse that we get and decide how much down time we think is in the horse's best interest. This can range wildly from none at all to well over a year. We make decisions based on soundness history, phys...

  There were clearly delays over the past week. We ended up fighting a cold at the barn, which lead to only accomplishing the priorities, like feeding, watering and cleaning. Life goes on when we feel crummy, but it doesn't mean that we hit on all cylinders. With the excuses laid out, we are finally getting back into a fully functional routine. We are in the last few weeks before foaling season hits us full speed. All but one of our mares are due between March 30 th and May 2 nd . That is a mixed blessing. Foaling season inevitably means little sleep, as we use the old school method of checking the cameras on a regular basis. Unless we become much larger, all of the alert systems are simply too expensive to justify. In 2020, we had thirty foals born over a five month time period. That was rough, as the lack of sleep kept going on and on. This year, we're cramming almost twenty foals into about 5 weeks. We expect that it will be an improvement, as far as the sleep schedule. It...

Castration day! We are blessed to have a fantastic vet in Dr. Allen Landes with Equine Medical Services in Colorado. He's curious, excited about the animals, and a wonderful human. He is a blessing to what we do, taking great care of the horses and providing a sounding board for all of the ideas that we present to him. Castration day is always a day of decisiveness, at least that's how it feels, which likely is more thought than the action requires. We decide to end that horse's genetic potential, which seems to come with a sense of obligation. It requires an honest look at the individual and trying to predict their potential performance and future self. If that colt grew up with his testicles, would he have anything to contribute to the genetic pool? Would he improve the breed? Sometimes, reality means that even exceptional individuals cannot remain stallions due to facility, financial or personal limitations. Sometimes, they will have more opportunities to reach their pot...

  The snow continues to blow and drift today, so we get to meet another one of our horses. This time, we'll introduce Warby, one of our other stallions. Warby, registered as War Bond, is a Thoroughbred stallion. He is reasonably tall at 16.2 but not the heaviest built. He has good bone, but he isn't stout like Kevin with his sprinter build. Warby won a bit over $250,000, albeit mostly the hard way with allowance races and claimers. He retired due to a strained suspensory. His connections rehabbed him and decided to retire instead of return him to racing. They contacted us in the hopes that he could both breed and ride. Warby started as a colt with high expectations. He went through Keeneland at $1.95 million, but he did not sell at this price. Gainesway apparently considered him more valuable than almost $2 million. Warby is a son of War Front, an international leading super sire on all surfaces. War Front is the #1 sire in North America by percentage of Grade 1 winners, grade...