One Fine Day (Part 2)

Decreasing fertility made AP Indy's last years as a sire a struggle, yet so revered is he that a life size statue of him occupies a place of honor within sight of the stallion barns at Lane's End farm in Versailles, Kentucky.

AP Indy's statue at Lane's End.  I believe that it will also be his headstone.

Indy is the oldest living winner of the Breeder's Cup Classic at 27 years of age.  Although he's now a pensioner living off the fat of the land, he is still an imposing figure.  He is a bit sway backed now but still, as his long time groom Asa Haley said with a smile,  "Indy has his days."

Indy's broodmare sire was Secretariat and his sire was Seattle Slew x Weekend Surprise, one of Lane's Ends three Blue Hens.  Blue Hens are broodmares that consistently produce winners at the races and in the breeding barns.

Indy and Haley seemed to rise up from the bluegrass acres that surround the stallion complex at Lane's End, where our tour group was warmly welcomed by Lexi, a twenty-five year employee of the farm, and Chance Timm, Director of Stallion Seasons and Shares.

Rising Up. AP Indy and Asa Haley.

As a yearling Indy brought the top price for his generation at auction-$2.9 million dollars.  At the age of two, Indy won the Hollywood Futurity and in 1992, at three, won the Belmont and the Breeder's Cup Classic.  He was scratched from the Derby and the Preakness due to foot problems that plague him to this day.  Also in that same year he was named Horse of the Year and retired to Lane's End to begin his second career, the career that he is perhaps most famous for as a sire.

Indy has sired more than 150 stakes winners and among his prestigious offspring are: Malibu Moon who stands at Spendthrift Farm and has himself sired a Kentucky Derby winner, Orb and G1 winner Declan's Moon among others. Bernandini and Honor Code winner of the Breeder's Cup Dirt Mile.  Honor Code was retired at the end of 2015 to Lane's End along with speedy Breeder's Cup champion Liam's Map.  And last but not least, AP Indy is the grandsire of Tapit.

Even as Indy's fertility decreased, owners of  well bred mares booked him until the bitter end, hoping to catch the lightening in his genes just one more time.  But after only 36 of 150 mares brought to him in 2011 became pregnant, AP Indy began his life of leisure.

Indy and Asa, with Chance Timm in the background.

Lane's End was begun with a two hundred acre purchase by businessman and later ambassador to England, William Farish.  So respected are Ambassador Farish and son, Bill, that HRH Queen Elizabeth stays at Lane's End when she visits the United States to look at horses.  The farm itself now exceeds two thousand acres divided into several complexes: training, yearling, stallion and broodmare among them.  The most famous of the broodmares, Zenyatta, was not on display the week of the Breeder's Cup at Keenland in October of 2015 when our tour took place.

The cemetery at Lane's End speaks of the respect and reverence the Farish family has for the horses in their care.  Quiet, simple elegance and respectful  are words that came to mind as I walked among the rows of headstones arranged in a semicircle with the fabled bluegrass paddocks in which they once capered as a backdrop.  Each of the horses had been cremated.

The grave of AP Indy's dam and Blue Hen, Weekend Surprise.

Candy Ride ( Arg)  1999 16 1/2 hands

Candy Ride, not just your average horse in a plain brown wrapper.  His racing career consisted of just six races, all wins and four of them Grade 1 or Arg 1 races.  His $60,000 fee has produced 43 stakes winners including Twirling Candy, who also stands at Lane's End and whose own progeny seem to appear in nearly every race and the ill fated Shared Belief. 

 Shared Belief died December 3, 2015 of colic after every attempt to save him failed.  A smallish thoroughbred he was a winner in 10 of his 12 career starts including the 2015 San Antonio Invitational Stakes G1, where he defeated California Chrome.  He had won two other Grade 1 events in 2015.  He was an Eclipse Award winner as a two year old in 2013.

Shared Belief 

Candy Ride, not just a plain brown horse.  Lexi stands to the right.

Last but not least, the flashy seven year old Union Rags, a beautiful bay with three white socks, a white blaze, and a powerful, sculpted physique which made him by far the most appealing of all of the horses seen.  

 Union Rags was successful on the track winning 5 of his 8 career starts with one second and one third place finish as well.

Alert and full of himself, Union Rags.

His toothy grin.

Photogenic.

Wealth can be gilt, garish and off-putting, cheapening the risk, sweat, effort and acumen of its creators, but that is not the case at Lane's End farm.  The look, the geometry, the attitude, the attention to detail and the success all pay tribute to the Farish families planning and the execution of their vision by their staff.  Lane's End is as much about the dignity of its animals as it is making their guests, whether investors, buyers or tour groups, feel welcome and appreciated.

Each horse, whether in its stall or not, was turned out as though it were a day to go racing.  Most of the horses had just been fed and groomed after a night spent in their paddocks and we all know how much horses love to roll in the nearest dirt or mud.

After being fed and groomed each of the horses spend hours resting in their stalls, lounging in knee deep, clean straw should they choose to lie down.  At 3 pm they are turned out for the night.  Surprisingly some of the horses are actually ridden to their paddocks.  

The next picture  was taken outside the stall of Langfuhr, sired by Danzig.  Langfuhr, now twenty four years old has the second lowest stud fee of the eleven horses standing at Lane's End at $7500.00, But his stable environment is exactly the same as the most expensive sire, Smart Strike.

Lane's End:  leather and wood, saddle soap and polish.

The biggest disappointment, aside from the cold blustery weather, not seeing Curlin, who no longer stands at Lane's End.

Copyright 1/11/16 by Loren Schumacher

All photos Copyright 1/11/16 by Loren Schumacher except Shared Belief from the public domain or Bloodhorse.com

If It Isn't Love, What Is It?

Are horses capable of love?  According to Greg Kallmeyer, owner of Kallmeyer Equestrian Center in Burlington, Kentucky, the answer is unequivocally no.  He scoffs at the idea when he says that we are, "...ascribing human characteristics to animals..."  He made his comment in a story published by the Cincinnati Enquirer on November 2, 2015.

When my wife Carol read the article she knew that Kallmeyer's comment would trigger an immediate and visceral response from me.

Only in recent years have we begun to study the emotional lives of the animals with whom we share the planet.  As we gain greater knowledge and insight, our attitudes towards, and no doubt our relationships with our animals will change dramatically.

Here is my take on the subject.

As animals of prey, horses are reactive as opposed to being cerebral, thinking creatures.  We are not discussing their sentience, but rather their capacity to feel.  However, because their need for food, shelter, security and reproduction closely mirror our own needs, we might ask, is it a stretch to believe that their emotions are very similar to ours, even though they may be demonstrated in different ways?

Has my horse Callie been deprived of the ability to care about me?

Horses evidence much of their physical and mental state through a variety of physical and occasionally verbal clues.  For example, a horse's pinned ears indicate anger, etc.  But in the context of the herd, horses pair off or join specific groups that satisfy their need for emotional support, while avoiding other herd members, perhaps even the herd's dominant male or female.  When separated from a horse with whom they've developed a deep and long lasting relationship, severe depression can ensue and some have been known to lose their will to live.  In what way does that response differ from the human response?  When our complex needs are fulfilled by another person, we too pair off, and we call it love.

In my many years of horse ownership, I have seen my mares show anger, frustration, confusion, jealousy, depression when scolded and what can only be described as affection, devotion, or, dare I say it, love.  There is no doubt in my mind that they are capable of a great range and depth of emotion.  Have you ever seen a mare react to the death of its foal?

We might well say that for as many differences as there are between animals and their human counterparts, there are many fundamental similarities.  Seemingly, love is one of them.

Something Different

It is not often that you are able to place a check mark next to an item on your bucket list.  But this past weekend my wife and I were invited to an event at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens Mast Farm breeding facility in Loveland, Ohio.

The Cincinnati Zoo is renowned for its breeding programs, particularly its breeding of the spectacular cheetah.  Saturday was a special day because we would see Nia ( pronounced Nee-uh), one of the zoo's outreach ambassadors, run, chasing a drag for more than 600 yards.  At the zoo the cheetahs perform five days a week and spend two days a week at the Mast Farm, presumably for some r&r and additional training.

Nia

Nia is a six-year old female.   Cheetahs are completely solitary, coming together only to mate it seems.  At the zoo they are not bothered by the addition of a cheetah from another zoo, far different in their reaction than that of the lion and its strong family ties to the pride.

 Because of their small size, females weighing less than 100 pounds and males up to 120 pounds, cheetahs will often have their prey taken from them by much larger animals such as lions or hyenas.

Unlike domestic cats cheetahs cannot retract their claws.  The lines running down their face serve as "sun glasses" in the white glare of the dry savannah in which they live.

One of the zoo's cheetahs owns the world record for speed by a cheetah.  Over short distances, speeds of 70 mph ( 43 kilometers) can be reached.  One of the videos I've included shows Nia chasing, catching and mouthing a drag.  Curiously, her keepers could easily take her "prey" from her without much of a reaction, she much preferred to lie down in the grass and purr. The purr is high pitched and to me sounds like the chirping of my own pet cats.

Someone in the small crowd asked what would happen if Nia were to see a deer, rabbit or squirrel.  Her handler said, "Nothing, she simply would not know what to do with it."  Even though most if not all of the zoo's cheetahs have been born in captivity and know nothing of the wild, I suspect they would quickly revert to their natural instincts if left to their own devices.

On the downside, cheetahs do not care much for strangers and Nia in particular does not like men. Perhaps there is some well deserved justice in that.

Nia surveys her audience.

With her handler and her prey.

There was never a moment when Nia's handler was not smiling at her.

What trust looks like.

The chase and capture.

OOP'S.  Watch how calm Nia remains.

After the cheetah run we visited McCauley's Saddlery to pick up some Cowboy Magic green spot remover.  Stormy has spent the last week or so rolling in her own poop, but with the weather cooling off, I need some outside assistance to keep her as clean as possible.

I think I may have mentioned in another post that a while back Callie became startled and when she raised her head with great force, my head got in the way.  No doubt I was out on my feet for a bit. Well, the saga continues, When I bent down to put on her Soft-Ride boots, she stepped forward and caught me on the eyebrow ridge over my right eye with her knee.   I have a nice shiner, but that's okay, because my black eye's color matches the color of the nail on the ring finger of my left hand. After feeding Callie some peppermints, I let her lick the sweetness from my hand while I reached over to pay some personal attention to Stormy.  How my ring finger wound up in her mouth I don't know, but I certainly knew it when she clamped down.  The pain was unbearable and all I could think was, "She's going to take the tip of  my finger off."  No matter how hard I tried to get away, I couldn't.  I began yelling in panic and pain, until a startled and frightened Callie spit me out!  And several months from now the black and blue nail will give way to a new pearly white one. 

 Will I never learn?

Oh well.

Copyright, October 20, 2015 by Loren Schumacher

Beach Crisis Has Been Rescued!!!

Great news.  The Standardbred, Beach Crisis, has been pulled from the kill pen in Pennsylvania and is awaiting transportation to his new home in Indiana.

Beach Crisis, battle tested and scarred.

The only picture we have of him.

Contributions are still needed and if you can contribute to Beach Crisis' continuing needs, please make them through this Paypal account: red22bug@aol.com for Munster Stable.  Remember there are still other horses in kill pens, no doubt hundreds of them and they are as disposable as Kleenex Tissue.  Please help as you can and to those who have made a contribution, Thank You.

Some days the sun is a little brighter and the air a little cleaner.  It's going to be a good day because Beach Crisis is going to live.

Loren*

*I am not soliciting on my behalf.  The above mentioned Paypal account belongs to Munster Stable.

This Horse Is In A Pennsylvania Kill Pen. Will You Help Save Him-Please?

A friend of mine who races Standardbred horses (trotters and or pacers) also rescues horses in need and has asked me to reach out to you for help.  

Beach Crisis is a twelve year old Standardbred that today stands in a Pennsylvania kill pen awaiting death.  He has raced over 300 times in his career and raced as recently as April of 2015 at Northfield Park here in Ohio.  He has won nearly $250K in his career.

How he wound up in this predicament is unclear, but what is clear is that he needs our/your help if he is to live out his life in peace and quiet as he should, as all of us hope to do as well.

Bobbie, who owns and operates Munster Stable, is willing to bring him back to Ohio, but it will take $675.00 to buy his freedom and another $300.00 in transportation costs,  

Will you please donate for his rescue?

Bobbie's Paypal account is used solely for rescues of this kind.

The account is:

red22bug@aol.com

It should be under Munster Stable.

Here is the printed information on Beach Crisis that Bobbie passed along.

Please help Beach Crisis.  He hasn't much time.

Thank you so much.

Loren

"He Could Have Given Up"

Keen Ice, the 16-1 shot son of Curlin, lay in the weeds along with the ghosts of the "Graveyard of Champions," winning The Travers Stakes, besting Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.   Only Whirlaway in 1941 escaped with a win at the Travers after his Triple Crown victories.  Man-O-War lost the only race of his storied career there and the great Secretariat fell to an unknown named Onion.

It is tempting to say, "I saw it coming," because the Pharoah has earned more air miles than a business class flier in 2015, as he traveled between California and Kentucky, or Maryland and whatever race destination might follow.  Think of an eight race win streak that includes seven grade 1 wins in 385 days. Consider the physical toll training exacts from an athlete and add the emotionally and physically draining rush of adrenaline needed to compete  Still, it may have just been a bad day at the races for American Pharoah.

AP "working"

AP broke cleanly from the gate and swept to an early lead.  Sliding easily along the rail, he was shadowed by the perennial groomsman, Frosted, runner-up to Texas Red in the Jim Dandy stakes. The first quarter was taken in a leisurely 24.28 and the second in 24.02.  Frosted, under the hand of replacement rider Jose Lezcano, showed strength and will, dogging the Pharoah at about a half a length behind along the backstretch.  Frosted's trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he didn't expect for his colt to press American Pharoah.

Frosted caught speeding

Kentucky Derby pre-race workout

Still running first and second, Saratoga race goers waited for Victor Espinoza to give AP his head, waited for the horse's great engine to churn, to hum, to lengthen his stride and to pull away from Frosted.  Rounding the turn for home, Frosted played his trump card, steaming to a brief lead over American Pharoah, who showed his will and courage by regaining the lead with a sixteenth-mile to go.  Frosted, tiring but gallant, faded to a third place finish 21/4 lengths back.

But American Pharoah was spent, his head bobbing up and down, his energy and momentum drained away by the duel with Frosted that covered the third quarter in 23.60 seconds.  He looked for all the world like a child's sad hobby horse.

Espinoza later said, ".. I feel like from the five-eighths pole, his energy level, it was not the same like before...I noticed the horse that was next to me, I was trying to open it up and not let them get close. And he (American Pharoah) just stayed in the same place."

Trainer Bob Baffert said, "He was empty, empty at the top of the stretch and he was still trying to win.  I thought there was still a chance."

Bob Baffert and American Pharoah

Keen Ice settled into the middle of the pack but remained within striking distance of the leaders as they turned for home. Trainer Dale Romans remarked, " We (Donegal Racing head Jerry Crawford and Romans) said there's no riding for second.  Let's put him in the race, closer and try to win the race.  He was closer than he had ever been."

When the fast closing Keen Ice came to the tiring American Pharoah, he had nothing for him and AP finished three quarters of a length back in second place.   Keen Ice had but one victory in his previous ten starts, running a troubled seventh in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont Stakes.

Baffert said, " I could tell he wasn't on his A game today, but he tried hard.  I could tell by Victor's body language that we were in trouble at the half-mile pole, and the only reason we ran second was because he (American Pharoah) is such a great horse.  The winner ran a really good race."  Of Frosted's effort, "...he (American Pharoah) was getting pressured from a very good horse.  He never left us alone.  You can't blame them,  It was just an aggressive, competitive ride."

Frosted.

I am very partial to grey horses.

And finally Baffert said, "It almost ended well,  He almost pulled it off.  He tried so hard under the circumstances and he was still trying to win. He could have given up."

Such a long way to go

American Pharoah as a yearling.

Copyright, September 29, 2015 by Loren Schumacher
All photos in the public domain

Old Friends, Bookends

Because it is so appropriate, I borrowed Paul Simon's lyric for my title.

Like bookends, these Belgian draft horses are seldom far from one another.  I've driven past their ten acre patch of land for nearly twenty years and have always seen them there, never more than a few feet apart.  They share their large pasture with several head of Hereford cattle.   All of them rummage through grass as long and dry as the day.  Their shadows are August short and the day's searing heat rises breathlessly, stretching closer to 100 degrees with each passing hour.

But there is a pond that the cattle wade in and several large maples that they share with the horses.  If it weren't for the hordes of face flies. this bucolic scene might be mistaken for idyllic.

Despite their imposing size the horses were nervous and shy, shuffling off and turning away whenever my camera was poised.

Old Friends, Bookends

I won't look at him.

Copyright 9/23/15 by Loren Schumacher

Photos: Copyright 9/23/15 by Loren Schumacher