Forrest the student

Forrest and his unicorn braid

I love Katie's horse Forrest. He's like an unspoiled vision of a horse--kind of like Lena, only even more trusting and eager. Lena is trusting, she just thinks she knows better than you do most of the time. Calabar is trusting.. primarily of me, and then only most of the time. Neither of them can match Forrest's eager-beaver nature, though--not by a long shot.

Maybe it's because he's young? Maybe our two horses are too jaded by the arena to attack it with as much energy as the young unicorn pictured above?

Thinking about it, as much as Forrest is like Katie in most things, he is like me in one thing. He is the kid in the front of the class trying to get the teacher's attention by coming up with an answer--any answer--as long as the teacher picks him. This was me as an older student, not me as a younger student. I had to realize there was something interesting out there to learn. Looks like Forrest has already figured that out.

A tale (but no pictures, sorry) of two OTTBs

Last night, we took Lena and Forrest down to the arena. Mostly because I'd already worked Bar, but also because I erred on the side of NOT putting two Thoroughbreds together immediately. Other horses have always been a trigger for Bar, so I didn't want to freak out the new horse with big brown horse explosions.

As it turns out, I worried for naught--the boys did just fine. Better than fine, actually. Bar started in the round pen, working out cold-weather kinks. Forrest and Katie worked over obstacles while Steve observed what could have been incipient chaos.

It wasn't.

Bar was calm and focused on his work, giving a balanced canter and varying is speed on command. Forrest was attentive to Katie, though still wouldn't cross poles on the ground one direction even though he'd cross them going the other direction.

Then we switched, and Bar worked over obstacles despite oddly syncopated rhythms coming from Forrest in the round pen. Normally, disturbances of that sort send Bar into at least a freeze while he figures things out, and usually a larger-than-necessary up-down-sideways maneuver.

It was like he knew he had to be the grown-up, the steady pony horse on the track, the calming influence. My horse? My crazy, bouncy, ginormous moving, brown horse? Yup, he said. That youngster needs me.

Forrest watched Bar go over the poles the "wrong" way, and then proceeded to navigate them with Katie. He had watched Lena yesterday, but hadn't copied her.

Somehow Bar was a different nut. Well, I know he's a different nut, but apparently Forrest thought he was an okay leader.

The camera we had wouldn't take pictures in the indoor arena--it's lit, but not enough anymore after the time change. Otherwise, you would see pictures of the Thoroughbred mind-meld. Bar and Forrest--forehead to forehead, passing unknown secrets to one another. Not really sure I want to know, but I do wish I had pictures.

After that, Forrest proceeded to very thoroughly--much to Bar's discomfort finally--sniff and snuffle the big, brown horse. Interestingly enough, Forrest went right to the bowed tendon. Then the girth and flank. The look on Bar's face was priceless--ears back towards Forrest, but not pinned, looking down at me as if to say, "What on earth is he doing??!!" Finally, he had enough and moved away, but never kicked or struck or even squealed.

Katie and I were both very proud of our horses, and came up with several theories about the interesting behavior. Has Forrest ever really been close to a lot of other horses? Any other geldings, or only mares? For that matter, had Bar before he came to live with us?

I did have to reassure Bar that I was still his human and wasn't dumping him for the new, flashy kid on the block. As cute as Forrest is, he is Katie's and she is his. And Bar is most definitely my partner in this horse journey.

Linking the beginning to the genetics

Dave at A Tale of Two Buckskins pointed out a lack of continuity and reference points for my last two posts. Really, I should know better.

The pink visitor ticket is from going to the back side of Golden Gate Fields today, a race track here in Northern California. There used to be another, Bay Meadows, but it shut down a couple years ago--likely a victim of the decline in attendance at race tracks--and now looks like it's becoming a planned community of some kind.

Bar raced at both, won a race at both, and got his career-ending injury at GGF.

Forrest is at GGF until Tuesday, when he comes home to Sonoma County.

Katie can hardly wait. Truth be told, we can't either.

At any rate, that is why there was a pink Visitor badge in today's first post. It should have flowed nicely into post number two with all the cute pictures of Forrest, but then I wouldn't have gotten to write this post, so it's all good.

Thanks for keeping me honest, Dave!

Maybe it's genetic?

This is really Katie's story to tell, but she gave me permission to tell part of it. Hopefully I get it right, but she'll correct me if I don't.

Katie has been working with Sammy for close to a year now, and Sammy is a wonderful mare. She is great on the trail, loads and hauls well, and responds well in the arena. In other words, she's pretty well trained for just about anything. Most people would love a horse like that, a horse they could just jump on and ride no matter what the situation.


Katie has never been like that. Not ever. Which is why we ended up at Slide, where we found Lena, and why a horse like Calabar even entered the realm of possible horses for me.

In other words, there wasn't anything Katie felt she could learn from riding Sammy. It was a hard decision for her and she waffled back and forth. She likes Sammy a lot, had had a great year on the trails, and gained a lot up at Slide this summer.

But it wasn't enough. Katie would get on Lena and feel not just the power, but the challenge of working through things with a horse to get that link, that moment when it all clicks. Right before that moment they try something new and you laugh and start again.

So she made the hard decision that it was time to look for a new home for Sammy and a new horse for herself--one that would give her not only the challenge, but the bond she was looking for.

As it happens--call it fate, kismet, coincidence, whatever--the friends we got Bar from had a lovely four-year old gelding they had decided wasn't cut out for the track. He can run, he's fast, but didn't like competition and just isn't a racehorse. In fact, in all three of his races, he finished next-to-last.

This is Forrest View:


Steve and I had met Forrest and knew he was a lovely, calm, and affectionate horse. Athletic, too. We were even at his first race in Santa Rosa, and got to see him parade around before he ran.


But what we really noticed was how snuggly he was with Devon. And how much he liked attention and affection. Then we wondered a little bit if he was really going to make it as a racehorse.


Katie is currently very glad he didn't.


The story will no doubt unfold further and flow in whatever way it goes. It will be a journey for Katie, for Forrest, and for those of us lucky enough to watch.

Side note: If Lena and Bar had been able to reproduce, Forrest could certainly have come out of that combination!

Forrest's big day at the races

The people we got Bar from are still in the racing business, and just so happened to be racing their 4-year old in his first race in Santa Rosa Sunday. We got to go hang out on the backside and watch him get ready, then see him off to the track. Pretty cool stuff.

Forrest View is a nice looking horse with a calm demeanor and expressive face. He wasn't really sure what was going on today, but he was game for it. He was up and curious, and bounced towards the track, ready to release all that sproing-y energy.


It was a short race, only five furlongs, and on turf--several new variables for Forrest. Like all their current horses, he's much more of a longer-distance horse, and he'd never been on turf before, but he had to start somewhere and he did alright. He broke with the other horses, but then hesitated a little and lost ground. He made up some but by then there was no more race to be run and he finished 8th out of 10 horses. Then, of course, he was hard to pull up. "Is that it?" he seemed to say, "But I'm just getting started!"

He wasn't even breathing hard when he got back to the paddocks for his bath and cool down, and kept looking back at the track from the hot walker, maybe to see what he was missing. Devin and Howie were happy to get that first race out of the way and all in all were pleased with Forrest's debut.


So much more to write, but the photos will have to suffice for now.