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Finnick The Fierce Retires From Racing, Could Point To 2022 Makeover With New Owner

Finnick The Fierce, the one-eyed chestnut gelding who captured many fans' imaginations ahead of last year's Kentucky Derby, has retired from racing and found a new home.

Jackie Barr, a long time fan of Finnick The Fierce, is the fan favorite's new owner and will be guiding his transition from the racing life to his next life.

“I followed his racing up until he was supposed to be in the Derby,” she said. “You just root for him, being an underdog. He's such a handsome horse.”

Finnick The Fierce had taken an extended break after being a late scratch out of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, returning to the races with an allowance win at Turfway Park in March of this year. Since then, however, Barr said his connections noticed he wasn't really competitive at the same levels he had been before, finishing third in his last outing at an allowance at Mountaineer Park. Although he was sound, co-owners Dr. Arnaldo Monge and trainer Rey Hernandez agreed it was best to let the horse find a new job. Monge's wife, Thena, knew Barr and learned she had been casually looking for her own horse.

Barr has previously ridden hunter/jumpers and fell in love with dressage while working at Hilltop Farm in Maryland. She also worked for Millennium Farms, and has recently been trying to figure out whether her time there overlapped with time Finnick may have been on the property as a weanling. Barr keeps track of several of her favorite Thoroughbreds from her time at Millennium and was excited to hear from Thena Monge at just the right time.

Finnick arrived at his new home at BTE Stables in Paris, Ky., earlier this week and will get some letdown time before Barr decides what his next move is. Her tentative goal for now is the 2022 Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover, contingent on his progress and their admittance to the competition. Barr said that for now, all doors are open to them. She is inclined to point for dressage and/or competitive trail with Finnick, but is happy to take him in whatever direction he expresses interest in, even if that includes hunters or eventing.

“I don't want to push him too hard on anything; I'll just take it real easy and see how he likes being a sport horse,” she said. “We'll go from there. If he's enjoying it we'll keep going, and if he doesn't seem to, maybe he'll be a trail horse, who knows.”

Barr watches Finnick in the field. Photo courtesy Erin O'Keefe

Finnick's right eye was removed when he was young due to a rare congenital cataract in the eye. Barr said that he doesn't seem to have any residual anxiety due to his limited vision, romping and playing around his new paddock comfortably.

“It really is amazing,” she said. “I've met a couple horses that only had one eye and were spooky on that one side [where the eye was missing]. When I first met him, we were all standing on that side and he didn't mind us being there. He would turn his head so he could see people but he had no problem with it at all. He gallops with his head tilted a little bit, I think so he has a greater range of vision, but other than that you'd have no idea.”

Whatever comes, Barr said she's just happy to be a part of the story she had followed so closely as a fan.

“It's been really great — I've just posted on social media in the past hour or so and there are so many people who remember him,” she said. “It's so cool that he has this built-in fan base. It just shows that you owe it to the horse to make sure he has a good landing and to continue letting him have a good story.”

The post Finnick The Fierce Retires From Racing, Could Point To 2022 Makeover With New Owner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Blueberry Bulletin Presented By Equine Equipment: Them’s The Breaks

Even before I had a Thoroughbred, I knew how important it was to savor the sweet moments when they happen – a training breakthrough, trotting down center line in the Rolex Stadium at the Thoroughbred Makeover, sunset snuggles – because horse ownership is a journey of ups and downs. After our wonderfully successful outing at last month's Makeover, Blueberry and I have been on the shelf in one of those 'down' phases.

After a short vacation, we had just been getting him back into work when he came in with a bump on the inside of his right cannon bone. My veterinarian examined him and came to the reasonable conclusion that he had popped his splint bone.

Horses have two tiny, thin little bones known as splints that sit on either side of their cannons, running downwards from the knee and tapering off about three-quarters of the way down the leg. They serve no structurally useful purpose and are held onto the cannon with a ligament that runs between the two. It's pretty common for young racehorses to have what we call “popped” splints, which refers to a bump that appears along the bone, where the periosteum (the wrapping layer that sits between the bone and other tissue) has become irritated and inflamed. For young racing horses, this may happen as a response to a sudden increase in high-intensity speed work. In slightly older horses, like 4-year-old Blueberry, who isn't in what anyone would call “heavy” work, you usually see this because they've experienced direct trauma to the leg – banging it against something, getting a kick from a pasturemate in the wrong place, kicking themselves, etc.

Popped splints are not uncommon and usually heal within a couple of weeks with little treatment. Horses have to stop work, but usually can remain on turnout.

At first, what we all thought we were dealing with was a popped splint. It was hot, bumpy, and high up on the leg and it initially responded well to rest and anti-inflammatories. When it got a bit worse again though, I had a feeling it was more serious.

Indeed, two or three weeks into the process, the bump was no smaller but no longer hot and Blueberry was no sounder than he'd been at the start. This time, our veterinarian took radiographs, kicking himself for not doing it on his first visit. They revealed a crack along the inside of the splint bone – so that would explain why it wasn't progressing as we'd hoped. Breaking a splint bone is much less common than just bumping/irritating one, and while I wish we had caught it earlier, it looked up to that point like a very classic case of the more common problem based on its location, his response to palpation and initial response to anti-inflammatories.

The good news is, because his splint is cracked but doesn't have either end broken off, he doesn't require surgery. The bad news is, the only real treatment is time…and rest. Time doesn't worry me; it's winter, and the weather in Central Kentucky doesn't lend itself to really consistent training this time of year anyway. Plus, he's four and we are not Olympics-bound; whatever time he needs, he can have. But rest in this case means stall rest – at least 30 days with no turnout. For Blueberry, that means staring at the same four walls for a staggering number of hours and not getting to rough house with his buddies. For me, that means driving to the barn twice each day instead of once for hand grazing sessions, juggling as much work as I can on my smartphone in the cold, and watching him anxiously for signs of ulcers, colic, new stereotypic behaviors, or basically a hair out of place. And it means I'm spending a stupid amount of money on stall toys for this not-at-all-spoiled little dude.

The barn cats are usually not too far away during our hand grazing sessions

This will be new territory for me though probably not for him, given his previous injuries on the racetrack. I'll have the chance – for better or worse – to see how he reacts to prolonged stress, and what strategies are effective at minimizing that stress. We hope at two weeks we'll get clearance to tack/hand walk, which will open up a new world of possible amusements. In the meantime, I am doing all the research into stall toys and low impact games that I can.

Our verdict on what we've tried so far:

Jolly Ball: Hates it. Doesn't see the point of it. Not convinced it's peppermint-scented and thinks it gets in the way of his hay net.
Super slow feed hay net with half-inch holes: Convinced it's a solid plastic bag hanging from the ceiling and that there is no actual food to be extracted from it, so mostly ignores it.
Slow feed net and bag: We like the net more than the bag, despite them both having one-inch holes. I've no idea why, but as long as he will eat out of something I won't question it.
Spinning, wall-mounted chew toy: He doesn't know why I added more plastic to his stall. Hasn't this human heard yet that plastic is killing the planet? Have yet to try: smearing some honey on it to see if I can convince him to start mouthing it – and not his doorframe.
Traffic cone: Wonderful. The absolute most exciting thing he could be given (I suspect because it was free). With no honey as a bribe, he will pick it up and throw it around the aisle joyfully.
Stuffed dinosaur: Per policy in the Roger Attfield barn, we removed the eyes so he wouldn't actually swallow one – and if there's anything to make you feel like a monster, it's hacking the eyes off a stuffed animal and then hanging it with bailing twine by its neck. Regardless of its rather violent look, he thinks this is great, and likes to grab it by the tail and wave it at onlookers.
Dog chew toy stuffed with hay and carrots: He doesn't quite get the concept, or is just lazy. Pulls out the carrots he can see and ignores the bitten-off ends and hay inside the ball, despite (I'm sure) being able to smell them.

Yet to try:

A snuffle mat with food or hay pellets sprinkled inside
A Likit toy
Moving into the barn and putting on a variety show outside his stall each hour

The sun is setting on Day 9 of our 30 days, and while Blueberry has grown a little impatient and grumpy, he's still basically himself. We're taking each day one grazing session at a time. We will get through this [someday] and move along to bigger and better things. In the grand scheme of bones he could have broken, this one really won't have long-term consequences for him. In the big picture, it's a blip, but for now it feels very overwhelming and unending. I have to remind myself though, that the nature of rollercoasters with horses is that the dips don't last forever. Sooner or later, you end up back on top again.

The post The Blueberry Bulletin Presented By Equine Equipment: Them’s The Breaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Roll On: Balance Not Only Predictor Of Success For Horseback Riding

Though it might seem that good balance would be the only predictor of the ability to ride horses well, new research has shown that the ability to roll the pelvis is a better indicator of riding ability, reports The Horse.

Riders who can roll their pelvis from side to side without moving their body or legs are more likely to have horses that are happy and perform well. Riders can test this unmounted, by sitting on an exercise ball and rolling their hips toward their ribs; the idea is that those with the ability to roll the pelvis well will be able to do this without moving their legs or upper body.

Dr. Mette Uldahl of Vejle Hestepraksis in Denmark and the country's head Fédération Equestre Internationale veterinarian recently worked with a research team to study the relationship between balance and riding success. The researchers asked 20 female dressage riders to sit on an inflated exercise ball. They were then asked to roll the ball left, right and in circles using only their pelvis without engaging their legs or upper body. The team also asked the riders to balance on the ball, with legs lifted and arms outstretched, for 30 seconds.

The researchers also investigated the rider's performance and their horse's heart rate, stress level, and behavior during a dressage test ridden in an indoor arena. A dressage judge also scored each pair, offering notes on the duo's quality and harmony.

The scientists found that riders' ability to roll the exercise ball correlated with their quality and harmony score. The team also found that riders with a greater ability to balance themselves on an exercise ball without using their feet actually earned lower quality and harmony scores. These riders' horses also showed more conflict behaviors while being ridden.

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The researchers conclude that though balance is important in riding and should be practiced, it's important that the type of balance practiced is that which best creates harmony with the horse.

‘They Give You Their All’: OTTBs Becoming More Common In Western Disciplines

Off-track Thoroughbreds have developed increasing visibility across Western disciplines, according to horseandrider.com, thanks in part to the increasing popularity of the Thoroughbred Makeover which includes competition in ranch work, barrel racing, and competitive trail.

Dale Simanton of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, explained that a fair number of ranchers have been riding their dual-purpose racehorses during winter ranch work for decades.

“Thoroughbreds probably have more natural cow in them than any Quarter Horse I've ever ridden,” Simanton told horseandrider.com. “If you get one that's about half scared of cattle, but still has the natural aggressiveness toward cattle that most horses have, then he'll never lose focus when working cows because he wants to know where that cow is at all times.”

Similarly, Richard Weber III of Ridgway, Colorado, likes Thoroughbreds for both ranch work and winter skijoring competitions—an event where a horse pulls a skier through obstacles.

“To say there's any task an OTTB can't do is crazy in my opinion,” said Weber. “Especially working up in the mountains, roping 50 calves in a day, and working a branding, that's where they shine. Thoroughbreds are like the Energizer Bunny, and I love that they have that marathon aspect to them.

“For me, to have a horse whose heart won't stop means everything. They don't quit you—they give you their all.”