2018 LOPE Benefit Horse Show is NOW October 27. Learn More →
At a recent LOPE event, a well-dressed rancher approached me. He was a leader in the racing industry for many years and even ran his own breeding farm at one point. Fingering his cowboy hat, he squinted at me and asked, “You’re LOPE, right?” In response to my nod, he said, “You’ve been doing this [...]
Most people think racehorses are difficult and nervous. Back when I rode in the Washington DC area, my barn friends didn’t like the ex-racehorses. They thought all off-track horses were crazy, hyper or pushy. There was little sympathy or understanding of the racehorse’s context, where it came from, what it was used to doing. Probably [...]
There’s a great article about Barbaro in this month’s Vanity Fair – by one of my favorite nonfiction writers, Buzz Bissinger (author of Friday Night Lights). Although Barbaro’s story has a sad ending, I think of him as a bold, confident winner – even during his long rehab at New Bolton, you could his sass [...]
Fiesty Day (aka "Friday") has rules about how to leave his stall (so we can clean it). First, alfalfa must be placed at the stall door to his barn pen. He may or may not choose to eat it right away. Sometimes Friday likes to just stand in front of the alfalfa and stare out over the pasture for awhile. Next, a mix of alfalfa AND hay must be spread out from the stall door to the barn pen. Finally, the trail of food must culminate in large pile of alfalfa in the middle of the barn pen. Ideally, the recipe goes in a specific order (alfalfa, followed by hay and ending in alfalfa again). If done properly, Friday will happily exit his stall and peacefully munch on the carefully designed buffet. If not done to his liking, he will return to his stall -- and stand exactly in the spot we are trying to clean! Friday is such a sweet horse -- we love his quirky, slightly nerdy personality! 🐴💕🤓🐎❤️
5 days ago ·
