Wyoming Thoroughbreds

  Do the Chugwater horses have shelter? Yes. Do they use it? No. Not at all. Not on windy days or rainy days or in hail or snow. They have access to a large loafing shed and multiple windbreaks around the property, none of which are used by them. In discussing facility expansion and improvement, a large run in building came up, as did installation of many more loafing sheds, but all were vetoed for the moment. That's not to say that they will never be built, but for now we're staying with the status quo. Because we use dirt bikes to check the horses daily, we also get a feel for how the ranch performs year round. We have a lot of terrain, ranging from rolling hills to deep ravines and valleys. Low and behold, the valleys are noticeably warmer than anywhere else on the ranch, including the windbreaks and loafing shed. The horses prefer the valleys shaped like bowls with hills on all sides. In the worst of weather, they tuck into the steepest of hills. These must be protected b...

  The horses step away from the bale often to play and otherwise interact with each other. They do this both at the Homestead and in Chugwater. They stop eating to play, nap, drink, and graze. The mares rarely play, other than a few of the yearlings and two-year-olds. Most of the rough housing is from the geldings, both young and old. Just a bit ago, 17-year-old Cody initiated play with coming 2-year-old Cal. They ripped around for quite a while, having a blast. All of the herds, big or small, have complex social interactions.  We often hear that mares are the ones that are hard to own. Because we both breed and rehome, we get a lot of mares. They have, by far, been the easiest of the genders to have. Before I start on our experiences with geldings, I want to say that the significant majority of geldings have been great to have, even if they do tend to be more playful. We've had more geldings tear apart the facility playing with tank heaters, feeders, gates, fences, etc. We'v...

  More snow. More wind. That's the winter in a nutshell. Despite the cold, windy conditions and the icy roads, our intrepid vet, Dr. Allen Landes, made it to The Homestead for health papers on a weanling filly that is going to a new home. He is an important staple in our operation, always ready to take care of the horses, brainstorm solutions for unusual issues, and serve as advisor for their care. We are lucky to have him visit every week, other than when really bad weather happens. As a side note before introducing another retiree, the horses still won't eat the hay very well. They're doing better about eating, but we cannot say that they gorge themselves. Returning to the retirees, we need to introduce the one and only Fidelito, better known as Uncle Sheldon around the barn. Sheldon came to us a few years ago as a stallion. He had trained on the track but never raced. He sired four horses. He is a son of Pioneerof the Nile, the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pha...

  Seeing as we are facing yet another episode of snow and cold, there is little to be done today but storm prep and take care of the daily chores. That, and work on grants. Much like plowing, grants this time of year are a never ending task. But they are also a necessity to running the retirement and rehoming program. They do not make for great reading, however. So, we will continue our tour through the herd. Considering the quantity of horses that we have, it will take some time to introduce each one individually. The retirees seem like a good place to start. Marla, Warning Track (JC name), has been introduced already, as have The Geriatrics. Moving into the Main Herd in Chugwater, we'll meet Ian, JC Include Me Now. We met Ian at Arapahoe Park in 2018. He had 34 starts with 4 wins, 3 seconds and 7 thirds for a little over $30,000 in earnings. Ian won his money through maiden claimers and claimers. He trained with the Neil Koch, the trainer that got us going with our first racehor...

  Trim day! Meghan McGann with Elkhorn Farrier Services came up today to work on some of the horses. She does a beautiful job with their feet, as well as being a valuable advisor. She is patient and sensitive with the horses, so they tend to enjoy working with her. She comes up every four weeks to trim, and it has made quite a difference in the horses. Today, we did mostly maintenance trims. We touched up some of the broodmares as they get closer to foaling, two of the retirees, and a couple of the stallions. Marla had her first trim with us. Her feet are not in bad shape at all. Dreamcatcher did a trim on her before they came, so her feet looked pretty good. Meghan touched her up. Marla stood great! Some of our broodmares are becoming large enough that they are not able to stand as well for the hind feet. The horses were also a bit on edge with the cold and windy day. We do what we can do, though. Sometimes that just means trimming with their feet on the ground or lifted a small...

  We need to introduce the people involved, as well. We are a tight knit and small group that work together for the sake of the horses. I, Kate, introduced myself on January 1 st . I serve as executive director for our nonprofit, Center for Racehorse Retraining, and Golden Creek Equine, LLC, our for-profit breeding business. I take care of the administrative side, such as grant writing, advertising, cost analysis, and business development. I also do reproductive work, rehabilitation, and some training. Kaitlyn is barn manager for both organizations. She is in charge of the day-to-day care of the horses, including the normal daily chores, wound care, and trims. She also does reproductive work, rehabilitation, and training. Kaitlyn also manages our websites and charts for supplies usage. She's been here for seventeen years, which means she's been here since the beginning. Things have changed a lot since we started! My parents, Jane and Darrell, help wherever it is needed, even ...

    With one group of horses introduced, it's time to move on to take a tour of The Homestead. That is what we call our Cheyenne facility. It consists of about 100 acres, two stall barns, an indoor arena, a shop, storage buildings, housing, and a variety of turnouts with loafing sheds. It was homesteaded in the early 1900s with the original barn built around 1912. It became a Hereford bull ranch and became known for the bull sales. The house came not too far behind in 1916. When we purchased it, it was run down and poorly maintained. We spent years digging bundles of fencing out of grass and trees, junk out of the fields, and renovating the barns and fences. The other buildings were added over the years, including The Cavalry Barn, our main stall barn. That came from FE Warren Air Force Base in town, where it served as a Cavalry barn during both World Wars. It's sister barn is about ten miles away, where it was used as an indoor arena for an Arabian breeder. For us, The Caval...

  One of The Geriatrics, Fly, finally made it known she was ready to move into a plusher life, at least for a few months until the weather is mild. We might as well introduce Fly, the fourth and last in The Geriatrics herd. She is a black AQHA mare by Stoli and out of a Streakin Dash mare. She didn't do much on the track, but she has produced a lot of stakes horses. She is mellow, slow moving in everything she does, and kind as they come. She has a feisty streak, so we imagine that she was a handful in her younger years. She's had one foal with us, and that colt could not have been sweeter. He's going on to be a racehorse. We have a recipient mare pregnant with Fly's foal due this spring. We're crossing our fingers that we get another embryo this year. Fly is not the easiest mare to breed and flush, but we'll give it a solid try. Whatever happens with Fly, she likes her life. She often does her own thing and goes off grazing, but she eventually wanders back to...

  The third in The Geriatrics is Eza Royal Pie, “Pie”, a 2002 sorrel AQHA mare by Royal Officer and out of Strictly Hot Pie by The Pie. We purchased her in October 2018 from a local breeder. Pie was a 1D barrel horse in Texas then broodmare. She is not very big, about 14.2, not that sound with arthritis in a knee but gets around just fine, and is sweet but prefers to do her own thing. We bred her in the spring of 2019 to First Down Illusion in the hopes of producing a barrel prospect. She had a small, cute filly on Easter day in 2020. Because that was the “B” year for the babies (each year, the babies have names that start with the same letter) and because Pie's name is Pie, the filly was named Blueberry. She was a flashy little thing with a blaze and some white on her legs. And so sweet, at least for awhile, then she became pretty aloof until she was a yearling then super friendly again. Quite a few of the babies have a similar cycle of friendly then aloof. Blueberry didn't...

  In the calm before another snow storm, this one 6-8 inches tomorrow with the inevitable high winds the following day, we decided to do more fencing. We storm prepped yesterday in Chugwater, and The Homestead crew had to storm prep there today. We've got a routine for the two properties, so it works out. We are expanding facilities in the hopes of providing a retirement center for horses and owners that need with anything from stall board to open range turnout. That, and we would like to expand our hoof rehabilitation, foaling, breeding and rehoming options. So, basically, we're expanding everything. That requires more facility, which means more fencing. We got a Hammer for the skid steer, which pounds posts quickly, but they tend to slop around in the pounder due to its size. Our first pens are less than straight, so we decided to try a different strategy today. In all fairness, our first pens are safe, sturdy and functional, but I cannot call them pretty. We used an auger ...

  In the walk through The Geriatrics, A Hot Toddy, “Maggie”, has to come next. She is a 2001 APHA mare. She's a dun with blue eyes, a blaze, and the rest of her solid colored. She was purchased in 2006 on a whim, because my dad mentioned that he wanted to try reining. Taking that as a request to find a horse, my mom and I found her in Cheyenne. She had been started in Texas as a working cow horse. She seemed like a great fit, mostly because she was for sale and close. We didn't know better then. We took the responsible route and had a pre-purchase on her. One vet suggested that we pass on her due to her pigeon toed conformation. We didn't like the answer, so we went to another vet, who recommended we buy her disposition and the fact that she was sound at the time and just enjoy her. After many years, we can say that both vets were right. Her conformation did eventually lead to unsoundness, but it took quite a while, leaving plenty of time to enjoy her. We call her Maggie...

  The photo describes the situation: fresh, full bales of green high quality grass/alfalfa and the herd behind those eating old grass buried in snow and sage. At this point, I'm convinced that I don't know much about horse care despite years of study and observation. We've been caring for horses for over thirty years. This has been my profession for almost seventeen years. I've cared for thousands at this point with good results, but this herd has decided to throw the book out of the window. We had most of this herd last year, but they're behavior is not the same as previous years. Last year, they showed up every day, excited about their hay and ate everything they could. This year, not so much. All it really means for us is that we are watching their body conditions closely and haying whenever they look like they want it or during storms. If they pick around the feeders or the weather turns nasty, we throw a few bales out and watch to see what happens from the hou...

  Today brought more snow and ugly roads, at least in the morning. The snow that came down was heavy and wet. Considering that we are considered extreme drought conditions, we'll take it and any inconvenience it might bring. Luckily, it ended up being a reasonably warm and mild day. All in all not too bad. The drought here hasn't been as extreme as in some areas of the country, but it has made itself felt. The main issue, for so many horse people, was and still is cost of hay. Our hay this year had a 30% increase. Drought contributed, for sure, but so did gas prices and production costs (fertilizer, etc.). I'm not in a position to elaborate on the details of hay price, but that was my uneducated observation. Because hay increased in price and grazing was scarce, board rates increased. There are, of course, many more factors, but feed costs are inevitably a large expense with horses. Gas prices helped, as well, by increasing the prices of trims, vet visits, hauling to sh...

  January is typically a downtime for us. It's the quiet before the breeding and foaling storm. By now, the foaling barn has been cleaned and prepared and supplies have been stocked. The daily mare checks have started, which include checking for bagging and dropped bellies. They are not sure-fire signs, so we do bring the mares into stalls early this time of year. It's not worth the risk of the mares foaling outside in the cold and snow. Because we are in our lull, it is a good time to introduce the horses in our care. Because they have been loosely introduced, we'll start with The Geriatrics. Acclaim A Dancer, “Dancer”, has to be first, because he was the first Thoroughbred and one of those horses that made me a rider, a trainer, and helped to launch my professional career. He is a 2001 Thoroughbred gelding by Coverallbases and out of Fashion Parade by Smarten. Coverallbases, by Capote and out of a Secretariat mare, didn't show much as a racehorse. He stood in Colorad...

  Warning Track has settled in nicely. She is such a sweet and quiet mare. Overall, she's in decent condition, mostly thanks to the care at Dreamcatcher. She is put together well and seems sound with good feet. She still needs to gain weight, as her topline is still a bit sunken, but she is on her way. Because she is a mare and because she has a larger belly, we did check her for pregnancy today as a precaution. In older mares that have had quite a few foals, their bodies often sag, so it could have gone either way. It is not a big deal to preg check, either, since we started doing our own. She hesitated to go into the stocks, which is not unusual for mares and who can blame them. Palpations cannot be a pleasant experience for them. We do our best by giving them grain and by going slowly in order to let them relax, but it still seems uncomfortable for some of them. Once she was in the stocks, she relaxed well and tolerated the palpation just fine. As with many older mares, her ...

  We welcomed a new face today! We are happy to welcome Warning Track into Center for Racehorse Retraining, our nonprofit. She has a bit of a story to get to where she is today. She is a 2006 Thoroughbred mare. She is a daughter of Grand Slam, a multiple graded stakes horse, 2 nd Breeder's Cup Sprint, sire of over 800 winners and sire of over $64 million. Her dam is Madame Modjeska by the great Danzig. Warning Track ran poorly, but she is a blacktype producer and dam of eight foals. She was sold through a dispersal sell after her breeder passed away. From there, she somehow ended up at a kill pen in Colorado. R.A.C.E Fund found out about her and raised enough money to both purchase her and put her into quarantine at Dreamcatcher Equine Rescue in Colorado. We're thankful for the work that R.A.C.E Fund and Dreamcatcher Equine Rescue did to pull Warning Track out of the pen and to take such good care of her over the last month. We were asked by R.A.C.E Fund to provide a retirem...

  After some pricing and math, the different type of feeder proved not worth the substantial extra cost. So, we ended up with more ring feeders. Oh, well. It's impossible to make incremental improvements without analyzing various ideas. With the feeder issue resolved for now, the question returns to hay, which is arguably the biggest expense outside of facility. The glaring question right now is whether it's even necessary to feed the horses turned out in Chugwater. They eat during storms pretty well but about a third of the herd didn't seem to care about the hay at all. Plus, The Geriatrics didn't eat any hay at all. They had the option, but they didn't want it. While we didn't waste hay with the main herd, we sure did with The Geriatrics. The perplexing thing is how much better the horses that grazed look than the ones that stood at the bale full time. Admittedly, about two-thirds of the herd do well regardless of what is fed, the weather, etc. The easy doer...

Another snow day, so we are left to reminisce, plan for the future, and stare out the window at the horses finally eating their hay as the snows comes down. Surprisingly, this snow is coming straight down, which is a rarity in Wyoming. But, unfortunately, we're trading our winter storm warning for a high wind watch. So, it goes here. The hay drama continues today. We have a three-year-old who is still in the process of learning his “street smarts”. He's been hanging around the edges of the hay watching everyone. Of course, when the hay is free, he leaves to go graze or to crib. He might need to come in for storms, but, so far, he's holding his own as far as body condition. If he tapers, he can come inside. He typically hides beside one of the older broodmares, who also has decided it's too much work to go for hay. The difference is, she has been here for four winters and done great. Maybe she'll teach the young'un. The search for round bale feeders also contin...

  The week before Christmas, we, as well as much of the country, had a cold snap that drove our wind chills down to about -50 degrees and true temperature to around -25 degrees. Even for us, that was a bit cold and harsh. Winter in Wyoming mostly means wind, even on mild days, with periodic storms. This year started late after a mild, beautiful fall, but we are currently in a cycle of storms with about a week break in between. That means that we spend most of our time either prepping for storms or cleaning up after the previous one. Mix in the holidays, and it has been challenging to do much beyond the basics, which, admittedly are quite extensive when one has a large number of horses. Our day to day involves cleaning, because horses mean a lot of cleaning whatever the circumstance, feeding, watering, draining hoses, fixing water heaters, and keeping up with their basic care like trims and changing bandages. A large number of horses also means someone is always in need of doctoring...

  We currently have thirty-six horses turned out on 2500 acres for the winter. Our youngest is Damien, a 2022 Thoroughbred colt by Trojan Nation and out of Golden Lady by Medaglia d'Oro. The oldest is Apache, a Paso Fino mare in her mid-twenties. We have mostly Thoroughbreds in between those two, other than a small handful of Quarter Horses, a warmblood, and a mule. This herd has been exceedingly frustrating this winter, however. They decided that they would rather graze than eat the hay that we put out for them. This probably is not overly concerning, but we have been putting a large amount of effort into convincing them to eat during storms. They have yet to be convinced that they require extra feed. Considering 2022 has been a significant drought, it speaks to the management of the grass this year, which meant no cows and only the relatively small herd of horses. The worst offenders are The Geriatrics, a herd of four older horses that splintered off and decided to do their own ...

Welcome to Wyoming and a happy New Year! This will be the mandatory welcome to all and introduction to what we do before we jump into the daily life and the stories that make this interesting. In short, we do Thoroughbreds in all varieties, off the track, for sport, retired from breeding, stallions, babies and mares. They are all amazing. We are lucky to have 2500 acres of open prairie, as well as an old Hereford bull ranch that we renovated and built into a training facility. It's a nice situation that allows solutions for all of horses, regardless of what they need. The history begins with showing all-around on the Quarter Horse circuit then progressed to the first encounter with a Thoroughbred who introduced me to upper-level dressage and also took me around the country, as well as to Germany, to learn about natural horsemanship, classical dressage, and western dressage. A different Thoroughbred taught me how to jump, while yet another taught me how to rehabilitate and eventuall...