Jewel In The Hills
From AlexBrownRacing
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| == Jewel's Story == | == Jewel's Story == | ||
Current revision
Jewel's Story
In 2003, I went looking for a place to board a weanling. I wanted a place that had other weanlings so that they could be out in a pasture togther. I didn't want a typical boarding situation because I didn't want my young horse kept in a stall. I also wanted it to be socialized in a herd of others its age. In Indianapolis, we have two race tracks. This means that there are quite a few Thoroughbred facilities in the state. I found one that would allow me to board a weanling in the pasture with their thoroughbred weanlings. When I went to look at the place, the barn manager showed me around to all the different pastures. There were a lot of broodmares with foals by their side that would be going out in the same herd as my weanling. There were also some very nice looking race horses. There was a Thoroughbred mare that caught my attention. She was stunning, but I could only afford one horse and that was the youngster I was bringing to board, so I tried to forget about the stunning mare.
As fate would have it, the weanling was injured in the pasture before it was delivered to the boarding farm. Luckily, the breeders were friends of mine and refunded my money. When I called to tell the manager I wouldn't be bringing a horse, she asked if I would be interested in seeing their available horses. Reluctantly I agreed, although I perked up at the thought the beautiful mare. The day arrived for me to check out the horses and the manager showed me a number of broodmares, many with one issue or another (cold bow or a chip in the knee), etc. Some of them were nice, but I really wasn't sold on any of them. After she finished showing me the mares, I inquired about the stunning mare in the back pasture I'd seen before. I was informed that she was, in fact, for sale. YAY! We went back to see her and I was taken aback at how lovely she was. She definitely had some attitude as well, but a true beauty for sure!
After watching her run around the pasture and seeing the natural talent she had as a dressage horse, I made an offer pending a vet check. My offer was accepted! The day of the vet check arrived and I tried not to get my hopes up. I figured she would have some major issue that I couldn't see which would mean I shouldn't take her. However, even though the vet wasn't all that familiar with racehorses or dressage, she couldn't find anything wrong with Jewel that would keep her from being a pleasure horse. And so, I sealed the deal with a check and was the proud owner of an exracehorse. Part of me was jumping up and down with excitement while another part was wondering "What Am I Thinking?"
The Metamorphosis
The rest, as they say, is history. But before I go, I would like to share a few photos of Jewel's transformation under saddle from ugly duckling to swan. She really has come a long way. Since our first ride in March of 2004, she has been an ambassador for the Thoroughbred having appeared in multiple parades, breed demonstrations, sidesaddle demonstrations, trail rides, dressage clinics and dressage shows. She is also a colic surgery survivor. Jewel is currently working at 2nd level and schooling 3rd level dressage.
You can keep up with Jewel's progress (as well as my other OTTB foster horses) on my blog at: [http://retraintb.blogspot.com ]
