Senior horses should be loved- not discarded
Senior horses should be treasured- not discarded. It’s traumatic for them to be rehomed as an elderly horse. Just like people- the older you are the harder it is to be uprooted. Even to a good home
They have such a hard time adjusting. They have no idea why they are not in their home surrounded by the things and people and animals they know.
Exracehorse from Gulfstream Park exploring the bubble machine
Fun day w the bubble machine for Bibliotecario He’s a super curious horse and helps w outreach and classes. He’s been looking for a home! Where is his person?
LuJean snacking on bamboo
Our sweet senior snacking on bamboo - he’s missing his molars so he can’t grind a food. W the bamboo he chews and spits it out mostly. But it helps satiate that need to chew. His meals are all super soaked, drinkable meals.
Stalls. Are they Evil or Misunderstood?
So many things can be polarizing, and stall kept or field kept can be a big one
We keep all of our horses out as much as possible. We do believe that’s the way!
BUT
There are plenty of times that we have a horse in a stall!
The most oblivious is stall rest. An injury requires them to be kept confined for some period of time
What we have done w this though is build really big stalls or small paddock areas so they are never in a 12 by 12 They do need to not run crazy, but standing totally still is also not good longer term for their bodies. And I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole in this post, but its a thing
We bring the horses in to eat, to be checked out, maybe for a vet appointment. To be cool under a fan when its 100 plus for months at a time,. Put them in front of a misting station or maybe demonstrate something for a class. So we use them quite often, despite saying our horses live out 24/7. Thats a big of a misnomer.
The biggest issues I see w stalls is that people leave their horses in them.
Imagine you have a dog, and you “board” it somewhere that its in.a crate and let out a few hours a day. You go visit maybe once or twice a week, give it some exercise, then put him back in the crate and go home. That literally is not something any sane person would do. Own a dog but keep it boarded its whole life
But people do that with horses. It does NOT make them bad owners, its just simply the standard that we live by. And if the horse. Is really turned out most of the time, its a pretty good life. It’s when the turnout is not adequate, and they lose the ability to roam around, play with friends, investigate things, and are literally just kept in a stall w maybe a run out, that things really go south for the horse.
But what is an owner to do? It’s rare where we live that any option other than mostly stall time is available. If you are moving with your horse to Naples, and ne
Who is the fairest of them all? Well Cypress, JC Lattimore is one of the finalists. He raced in Louisiana many years ago. He fractured his knee, had time off, then fractured it again, then was a buddy in the field in Ocala at Classic Mile to Wiley JC Took it From Him.
They were the two first Track to Trail Horses. Not because they were in need of saving, but they both did need a home. I learned so much from the both of them. Going bitless, riding on trail, learning to camp at a State Forest, just so much. They helped form a huge part of my education. At some point I hired instructors to learn more technique (riding), but I realized they lacked fundamentals in many ways, and were also anything but kind to the horse. It really bothered me.
I find myself always more interested in the why they do what they do. Everyone has their own thing, that is my personal interest. So riding is fun, but I don’t actually care one way or the other. My favorite ride is a trail ride, all alone thru the first, feeling like the horse straddles the wild world and the human world. I feel somehow more connected to the earth riding alone in the woods than I do walking alone thru the woods. More like I am apart of it. That’s my touchy freely way of explaining it. I have always been somewhat of a loner, and somehow the horse affords me that, but yet I am not alone.
We grow both Moringa and. Bamboo on the property, the horses enjoy both. They also will munch on the powderpuff or Hong Kong Orchid. Cypress once ate a few of our Eureka Palms, and Montana scraped his belly so much on the Guava tree that it died, so if you are hoping for grazing horses that won’t destroy things, think again. But that is all part of having a horse
We currently have 6 horses up for adoption. All lovely horses. All different. Some riding, some not, but all amazing. We have a great volunteer program. It’s super hot now, but that’s actually when the horses need us the most. If yo
After a storm
After the rain, a roll and a romp to shake it off! During storms the horses hang out under the shelter. They feel pressure drops, we as humans don’t know what that might feel like. The reverberation of the thunder, hearing the rain pelt down. What a relief when it’s over! Time to run it off with their friends!
Curiosity and the happy horse
A happy horse is a curious horse. They typically seek out human contact.
If they don’t, possible causes are pain, anxiety, or even extreme cases, depression There’s a myriad of things to examine
Horses have a whole range of emotions. Just like people, emotions can be varied in circumstances, location, and by physical issues. I mean if we are in the hospital maybe we are not little rays of sunshine either Lots of things influence emotions.
Taking a deep dive into possible causes of negative emotions is something an owner may not think to do. They might see unfavorable behavior but not recognize the corresponding emotion.
Especially if they don’t spend a lot of time physically w the horse. It’s harder to spot the less familiar you are. But it can be so ever helpful to add this to the things that normally are part of ownership like feeding, grooming, mucking, take some time and really pay attention and see if you can get a read on what emotions they are experiencing
We have an upcoming clinic on this. Sat Sept 14th. It’s not on the website yet but it’s only $75 for the half day on horse behavior, issues, and how to start to resolve them, or, ideally, prevent them in the first place!
We are in Naples, FL
Track to Trail Thoroughbreds- rehab, rehoming, and rescue of ex-racehorses
Typical Typhoon. Playful and curious!
Play is such an important part of a horses life! It makes us laugh too, but the biggest benefit is to them!
If you have a horse that’s all so serious, what are some ways that you can lighten the mood and encourage them to whoop it up a bit?
Deep puncture on Typhoon
Video of the wound being flushed There was no object detected and no guess as to what would have caused this.
LuJean living his best life
Beautiful boy!!! Warhorse LuJean!
LuJean got out for a romp w his bestie Typhoon. LuJean or Louie is almost 30 and missing most of his teeth. He came to us w a severe superficial digital flexor tendon tear - (say that 5 times fast) and a severe heart murmur and then we discovered thru X-rays, a fractured jaw
Most of our medical issues come w intake of a new horse. It’s a huge effort to get these guys what they need. We had so many step up to help this horse. He’s really our first long time senior. Typically we get very young
Adopter Update He’s the One
Adopter Update He’s the One!
- he lives nearby with other Track to Trail Horse Bwana Dance
Both horses are extremely well cared for. It’s hot in FL and they live out but have this massive shelter w fans to get out of the heat. So nice! They are both living their best lives!
Track to Trail Thoroughbreds- rehab, rehoming, and rescue of ex-racehorses
Ex racehorse Judith’s Tango is also hoping for a home.
Judiths Tango is in Naples FL. He’s looking for a permanent and loving home.
Fill out an application and come visit this loving horse. He’s not a riding horse but we still take him to the park, the lake, and camping. He lives to do stuff. He can’t really carry a person, but he can carry your heart 💕
Let’s go home
A boy and an exracehorse. No Halter. Just walking back home together as friends.
Can’t it be as simple as this?
How we roll. Track to Trail Thoroughbreds- rehab, rehoming, and rescue of ex-racehorses
Horses playing w water
Audio up Drinking out of the sprinkler Chevy and Cypress create a great video showing how hot it is and how much the fresh cold water is enjoyed!
#horseasmr
Teddy Fans!
Teddy fans!
We have not been doing much with the heat advisories. Today was 107!
Here’s a cameo appearance on the way to his stall time! Everyone gets a chance to cool down!
