Speaking of belated announcements

[hobbyhorse23]

With Kody out of harness in 2009 from his back injury I found myself cut off from the sport I love and was getting pretty frustrated. A few friends said they'd loan me horses but it never seemed to work out so eventually increasing desperation drove me to browse the saleboard. I toured a couple of local farms like Mountain Meadows in hopes of finding a new partner but the ones I liked weren't for sale and the God's honest truth is I really didn't want another horse anyway. I wanted my Kody back.

There was one horse back East I really felt a pull towards but he was only a weanling and when your goal is driving immediately that doesn't exactly help much.

I resisted.

I did however start spending a lot more time over at a friend's house to get my driving fix and she told me she'd give me a deal on one particular horse if I wanted him as she needed to lower her numbers and she knew I'd be a good home. I wasn't seriously interested but agreed to think about it as it was a good price on a nice colt. Well, long story short I went to get him out of his stall to spend some time with him and the colt's hind leg was locked up tighter than a drum.

Poor horse! Since she knew I had plenty of experience with locking stifles (unfortunately) she gave him to me on the spot pending Kody's approval.

We set up a play date and when that worked out I took him home on a trial basis. Kody and Spyder were very upset by the interloper at first but after three weeks or so I found myself agreeing to keep him- he is just too sweet. I've always been a one-horse kinda girl and finding myself with three has been quite a challenge; I joke that I have a riding horse I can't ride, a driving horse I can't drive, and a baby who can't do anything!

But the baby fit in nicely at the bottom of the pecking order and my 33 year old antisocial Arabian, Spyderman, eventually decided that it was his job to raise this little upstart and has now taken quite a proprietary interest in him which is fun to watch. Kody would pin his ears and run him until his own back was in spasms so I was careful not to turn them out together for more than a few minutes and only with food to distract them.

It's taken awhile but things have settled and I'm enjoying watching the new patterns and raising a colt for the first time. I'm still not comfortable having this many horses as I feel like no one gets quite enough of my time but I hope that eventually Kody and Turbo can be hitched together allowing me to work both at once. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'd like to officially introduce our new addition. Free Spirit Farm welcomes [SIZE=18pt]Oak Bay Turbocharged Edition[/SIZE], an A-sized double-registered silver buckskin son of Grosshill Dandys Special Edition out of Bel Air Sweet Vidalia, a daughter of Flabys Supreme. He is Arenosa bred, a Rhotens Little Dandy grandson, and both sire and siblings have multiple national titles in driving so he should be something to watch for in the next few years.

I cannot wait to clip him off this spring and see how he looks as a two year old but hope you'll enjoy these photos of him in his fuzzies as much as I do.

Meet [SIZE=12pt]Turbo[/SIZE]:

November '09:

February '10:

The bridlepath and beard are going a little crazy, but he's getting the power back in his hind end.

He was going through an awkward stage when he first came and his trot is just now coming back on but this is what he had as a foal:

(Photos by Amy Lacy)

And clipped as a yearling:

He and Kody are a riot to watch but I'll post more photos of them on the Photo Forum later. Here's one I call "Brotherly Love!"

I'm not sure how tall Turbo is these days but he's somewhere around Kody's height at the moment. Turbo is taller in the rump but Kody's taller at the wither. Hope you like him! His stifle problems are nearly unnoticeable right now as he's receiving frequent natural exercise but we'll see how he does when confined at a show. If he has problems he will get the same surgery Kody had.

Leia

 

[Shortpig]

Wow! Congratulations. What a pretty boy he is. It's wonderful for Kody to have a buddy his size. Looks like you have your work cut out for you.

 

[Holly at WhiteTailsMinis]

Wow he is very nice! Congratulations! A youngster to keep the elders on their toes! hahahha. Maybe it might make them feel like a " kid " again. Enjoy!

 

[targetsmom]

Congrats!! I really like him and wish you the best with him!! Interesting consequence of a locking stifle.

 

[LindaL]

Well, you know that I already knew about your secret...lol...but congrats again!

I have been watching your posts regarding the stifle issues since you brought Turbo into the picture, because of my own horse and keep my fingers crossed that they both will just "work itself out" and become the driving horses they were meant to be!

One question: You bodyclipped him already??

 

[wildoak]

Congratulations! New projects are always a good thing LOL, we'll look forward to "spring" pictures before long.

Jan

 

[eagles ring farm]

congrats on your handsome new boy

 

[drivin*me*buggy]

Wow, Leia he looks like fun!!! Best of luck with him

I'll be following his progress

Angie

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

you certainly are good at keeping secrets! LOL

Nice looking boy! Congrats!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I could swear you had spoken of him loads of times before...or maybe I forgot to turn my second sight off, again!

Anyway, pretty boy, lucky you, gelding Y/N?

How is Mr Kody doing??

 

[Minxiesmom]

Wow! Leia! I didn't realize he was an "Eddie" son! He will be a powerhouse driver. COOL!!! The "Eddie" horses are well thought of down here. There are a few around and they are fancy driving horses.

 

[Laura Leopard]

He is very handsome. He does resemble Bishop a lot, especially in the face. He's got a lot more silver than Bishop has though. He has some beautiful movement. I can't wait to see how he looks under cart.

Laura

 

[RhineStone]

So let me understand this, she gave him to you?

He's very fine.

I think you could still use your brass harness on Turbo, with the brown in his mane and all.....

Myrna

 

[Mominis]

Oh how exciting! I'm so happy to hear you have a fun propspect in the making. I hope you'll keep us all updated about his progress. Good luck to you and to Turbo as well.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

One question: You bodyclipped him already??

No, those photos are from last year.

I do need to take some of the hair off though as it's much thicker than it looks and he's sweating to death when he plays with that ball.

I could swear you had spoken of him loads of times before...or maybe I forgot to turn my second sight off, again!Anyway, pretty boy, lucky you, gelding Y/N?

How is Mr Kody doing??

Spoken of him, yes, but only as "the yearling" as I hadn't introduced him yet.

He's intact at the moment but definitely a future gelding.

It's been almost a year since Kody's injury and his condition still varies from day to day; sometimes he looks pretty decent and some days he's clearly uncomfortable still. He's stopped crossleading and hopping through sudden movements with his hind legs held together but he still tires out very easily and I don't know how much of that is the fact he sat around for a year and how much is because he's unsound. We're beginning to long-line again and I'm seeing some signs of him working through his back as he used to but things are very much two steps forward, one step back. Thanks for asking.

So let me understand this, she gave him to you?

I think you could still use your brass harness on Turbo, with the brown in his mane and all.....

Her personal situation was complicated and she didn't have time to give him the physical therapy he needed so she gave him to someone who wanted a project. There are a lot of horses free to good homes in this economy.

I don't know about the brass- the gold on his barn halter looks okay with him in his winter coat but I found to my surprise when I clipped his head in late August that it looks positively tacky with the silvery sheen he has when clipped.

Silver buckskins are a weird color tone! Besides, I'm thrilled to have an excuse to move to stainless steel. Brass is wonderful but the eight hours I waste polishing it when I could be walking courses at a CDE is not.

Leia

 

[ClickMini]

I love the story, especially since I am a big part of it.

Turbo is a LOVELY colt. Leia did forget one part of the story...when he locked up I didn't give him to her on the spot; in fact I said I couldn't sell him to her in light of all of the trouble and angst she'd suffered with Kody. I wanted her to get a really good horse so that she could drive and do what she is good at. We talked about it at length, and I finally said I would give him to her, but wouldn't sell. And she could have him on a trial to see how he would do at her home. So she did, they fell in love and the deal was done.

Yes, I did give Turbo to her. My life has been anything but easy over the past seven or so years. The minis have been a terrific respite. I decided at one point I wanted a B sized stallion prospect, and decided to get a colt I had seen while horse shopping with a friend. So I bought Sensation.

At one year, Sensation began locking up very badly. So bad, that he required both Acepromazine and Bute to unlock himself, and it was happening on both hind legs. I was in a particularly rough time, and I just couldn't deal with all of the special requirements he needed including plenty of free movement in a large area. I called a friend of mine who had said before she loved him, and told her what was going on with him, and said that if she wanted to try to rehab him I would give him to her with the stipulation that she would geld him and would do the surgery on him if required. She took him.

Now, because I was at that time a little

, I decided to look for another stallion prospect. At that time I still felt that I wanted to do some breeding. I had always admired "Eddie." Sheryl had Turbo advertised on her site, and I really liked him. I went down and looked at the fellow, and struck a deal.

Things went from bad to worse in my personal life, and I realized at that point that breeding was NOT going to be in my future, and that I had to lighten the workload around here. Leia was going through a lot with Kody, and here I was sitting on a fabulous little driving horse prospect. I know how her horses are treated, and so I offered him to her at a price reflective of the life I knew she would give him. When he locked up leaving his stall that day, I about had a heart attack. Now he didn't have anywhere near the disability that Sensation had shown, but definitely an issue to be dealt with, nonetheless. I will also say at this point that Sheryl Peterson of Oak Bay Acres handled the situation with integrity and grace. I didn't take her up on her offer, but the offer was given. Instead, I decided to give Turbo to Leia.

There is a postscript to the story as it is today. I have always been a little regretful for parting with a couple of my horses, and that includes Sensation and also my little mare Stepper. I called my friend to see how they were doing (she had both of them), and she told me that they had some changes at their farm, and they really needed to find a new place for Sensation, who by now is a gelding. I think I said I would take him back before she even got the words out. I had placed a couple of my full-sized horses in the summer and fall, and things had improved a little on other fronts. So Sensation is back home, and he is showing that he has mostly grown out of his problems. I've seen him catch a few times, but never lock since I've had him home again, a couple of months now.

So as Paul Harvey used to say, "And that's the rest of the story." Happy horses, happy people.

 

[Mominis]

What a great story! Leia ended up with a super prospect and you ended up with your spotted boy back in your barn. Now THAT'S a happy ending.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Wow Amy!

Sensation is a beautiful horse and I am very happy you got him back. Sometimes things are meant to be!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Well, I would just like to

you both, because, well, I do not usually get all emotional about things on here, but this story, both side of it, just about reminds me why I am so invested in Minis and the people that own them.

Just one story like this negates ALL the bad stuff that we get thrown at us in real life.

 

[HGFarm]

Amen!! Ditto what Rabbits just said!!