This year, America’s Best Racing and the Retired Racehorse Project are sharing diaries from several trainers preparing for the 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover competition, scheduled for Oct. 11-14 at the Kentucky Horse Park. I was lucky to be selected as one of this year’s writers.
Check out the original publication of this blog here: https://www.americasbestracing.net/lifestyle/2023-thoroughbred-makeover-diary-spring-season-firsts
Smirk, my 3-year-old Thoroughbred, and I have been continuing to gear up for this year’s Thoroughbred Makeover event. I can’t help but take note that this part of our “training” is marked by many firsts. We’ve gone on our first off-property adventures, had our first trail rides, and trotted over our first little logs. We’ve also experienced our first emergency doctor’s appointment, our first tantrum, and (with the spring weather) our first bath – sometimes it sounds like I’m raising a child and not a thoroughbred.
I also find that with these “first” experiences, I can forget to take a step back to #1 enjoy the journey and #2 recognize all of our “baby” steps along the way.
Spring Vax Season
With the arrival of spring, comes our regularly scheduled annual vet appointment! I typically plan one appointment early in the year to cover spring vaccinations, annual dentals, and a general wellness exam for my small herd. Smirk was (of course) added to the mix.
My vet was pleased to see that Smirk’s heel bulb injury from the winter was looking good and has almost completely healed. She is very weedy, going through a growth spurt and losing her winter fuzzies right now. After taking our best (awkward) Coggins glamour shots, we moved on to our dentals.
When you get a young horse off the track, unless you ask, you may not know what dental work they’ve had done or if they’ve ever had their teeth floated. Smirk was very well behaved for what might have been her very first “trip to the dentist.” She was a little wide-eyed about the mouth speculum (a tool that goes on your horse’s head just like a halter and keeps their mouth open, so the vet has easier access) but was very well-behaved for the exam and floating.
Another fun surprise with young horses is that sometimes during these exams they lose molar caps or, as was the case with my gelding, need a minor extraction. Typically, horses between the ages of 2 ½ and 5 lose about 12 cheek teeth caps, but these tend to shed naturally during the grazing process.
It was my lucky day, as Smirk lost two molar caps – which my vet let me keep as a souvenir. As someone who grew up at a small backyard barn, most of our horses were not at the age where they were still losing teeth. It’s a novelty to me when I can see my baby horses lose a tooth and get to see the tooth up close. I just wish the tooth fairy would reimburse me for the vet visit.
Dipping a Toe in the Water: Our First Ditch
This month, Smirk and I also tackled her first real ditch. I am a member of the Genesee Valley Hunt, and lucky for me, I have several hunt members and friends who will gladly bring out their seasoned fox hunters to babysit Smirk and I for some light trail rides.
One bright and windy spring day, we decided to take a trail that led to a more “complicated” ditch. Because of the natural thawing of the world during this time of year, what is normally a trickle of water in this ditch was more like a small, running creek (which can be a challenge for any horse). The ditch also has a fairly steep bank on both sides. Many horses feel that they need to make a big effort to jump the ditch, or that there is no turning back once they start to slide down the embankment.
Rather than turn around, we decided to attempt the ditch crossing.
My friend and her horse crossed ahead of us, and at first, Smirk was having none of it. Rather than putting up a fight, or spinning on her heels, she was fairly stoic. She assessed the creek and decided she really didn’t want to get her feet wet today. I went through my typical baby horse arsenal – a few light taps, attempting to back through the water, and encouraging her to sniff the “scary” thing. In all honesty, I don’t think she was really scared at all, but her brain was busy processing what we were doing.
Ultimately, we had to compromise. I hopped off and led her through the ditch a few times (my feet had to get wet too). After going back and forth on foot, I was able to hop back on and Smirk crossed the ditch like it was nothing. We continued on our way, and later, came back to the same ditch on our path home. It was old news at that point.
While some riders might not count that as a win, I was happy to learn more about Smirk and conquer an obstacle together. Truthfully I don’t know why we get into that mindset, because all we’re doing is just chunking the obstacle down into a bite-size piece that puts the horse’s needs first… and yet it feels like it “doesn’t count” because we didn’t ride through it the first time.
Smirk was reasonable and never lost her cool, and with a little patience, was happy to learn. I think Smirk got exactly what she needed, and she’ll be a better horse for it going forward.
Hopefully, that was our first ditch of many.
As we get closer to October, I need to remind myself of these “first” stories. The small moments, where we can experience something together for the first time is where the magic (and training) happens. I think these little memories will end up being a bigger part of our journey than, say, our first blue ribbons.
To all my fellow Makeover trainers – here’s my little reminder to take it all in and enjoy the process.
Visit my author page & follow my journey to the Thoroughbred Makeover through the America’s Best Racing blog here.
Julianne Pangal 