RSS MAD

Melbourne Cup Could Have Been A Pantomime

As some of you may be aware, Australia (well, a large part of it anyway) is in the grip of horse flu. Equine Influenza if one wishes to be correct. And that means lockdown. No horse travelling. No Ag Shows, no Pony Club, no racing.

The legenday Birdsville Races were affected by the slight inconvenience of not having any horses to race. For those that don't know where Birdsville is, it's in the middle of nowhere. Known as the most isolated town in Australia, being 1161km (721miles) from the nearest capitol city. Population 120, food shipped in fortnightly and with no, I repeat, no, cell/mobile reception.

Perhaps taking a cue from this horse festival in Banbury, UK, the race meet went ahead anyway.

However, Melbourne has not been affected by this lockdown, and so the Melbourne Cup, with all it's high fashion, dress up silliness, drunkeness and stopping the entire nation working for a day, is scheduled to go ahead as planned:

Freak Horse Racing Accidents

There they go again. Those Thoroughbreds and their 'freak accidents'. The Caulfield Cup is the lead-up race to the Melbourne Cup, the 'race that stops the nation'. The race that Melbourne has a public holiday to watch. Truly!

So what happened at the start of the Caulfield Cup to the favorite?
From 'The Age':

"The noise Maldivian made when he struck the stalls caused second favourite Eskimo Queen to lunge at the gates, slip to the ground and become caught under the stalls. She was also withdrawn."

Maldivian reared in the confusion and struck his neck on the barrier.

"...highly fancied Caulfield Cup favourite, Maldivian, was left gashed and bloodied just moments before the race's start... Maldivian... was taken from the barriers with blood pouring out of the 15-centimetre cut high on his neck. It needed up to 14 stitches."

Back to the subject of horse racing and freak accidents. Although I wasn't able to dig up any figures on the freaky ones, there is enough data about on the 'regular' ones to be rather worrying.

From Wikipedia:
"Current estimates indicate that there are 1.5 career-ending breakdowns for every 1000 horses starting a race in the United States, an average of two horses per day. The state of California reported a particularly high rate of injury; 3.5 per 1000 starts. As a ratio (of injuries with eventually fatal complications to total competitions), this is far in excess of all other legal human and animal sports, including boxing, motorsports and greyhound racing."

And from this study:
"As anticipated, the type of race had a big impact on the risk of injury. Horses in hurdle races were 4 times more likely to suffer serious injury while those competing in steeplechase races were 7.5 times more likely to sustain a serious injury, compared to races on the flat."

So that explains why horse racing 'freak injuries' really aren't freak injuries at all. They're just the more visible end of the ordinary injury rate in the sport.

Audio Horse

It is with great pleasure that I've come across a dedicated horse radio show... and not only that, but one that does not discriminate against a person for living in proverbial Timbuktoo. Aka it is also available to listen to online.

Sensibly named 'The Horse Show', there are interviews and panel discussions on all sorts of horse management and training topics. Here is a list of radio stations in the USA that air the program:
http://www.thehorseshow.com/stations.aspx

And here is the link to listen online:
http://www.thehorseshow.com/listen.aspx
There is a catch - you need to be a member and it costs $9.95 a year, but at this precise point in time, the fee is being waived in exchange for completing a survey.

Thanks to the person who emailed in asking if the Horse Training Success book is available as an audio. It's not right now, but I'll keep the idea in mind. Your question sparked off the search which resulted in this find.

Make Your Own Rope Halter

A rope halter can be far stronger than the 'regular' halter, and a lot more comfortable for your horse too. Sounds good? Even better, you can make 'em yourself.

There's a fantastic webpage on how to make your own, complete with information on the rope to choose, how much you'll need for your size horse, tools you'll need and the different knots and how to tie them. Oh, and instructions with pictures on constructing the halter of course! It's all available at http://www.naturalhorsesupply.com/tiehalter.shtml

The only improvement would be a video of the process.

However, once you've made your very own rope halter, here's a video I found to help you put it on your horse and do it up.

The Head Shy Horse - Ongoing Training

Once you have helped your horse conquer his fear of being touched around the head you can gently keep reinforcing this in a number of ways. Obviously when your horse has been calm about having his head touched, reward him. Scratching a favorite spot is a good reward. Another reinforcement is to play with your horse's ears/pat his head while he is eating. Two reasons for this. 'If you relax and let me touch your face you can eat' (no eating no touch) and the good feelings associated with food will 'transfer' to being touched on the head.

And then you can take the training to another level. A useful cue to teach your horse is 'head down'. It makes bridling and haltering SO much easier, especially for taller horses. The idea is pressure and release. The reward for doing what you want is release from the pressure. Put your hand on his poll and push down gently and slowly increase the pressure. Ignore any fussing and as soon as you detect a tiny dropping of the head, reward by releasing the pressure and heaping praise on your horse. As with all horse training, small often repeated lessons are the most effective. Your horse will not 'get' this lesson overnight, but in time, he will learn to drop his head to a small gentle press on his poll.

Long term, you could continue on to 'bombproof' your horse to arms and ropes flicking about his neck and face. How do you do this? Well you stand at a distance from your horse that he determines is 'safe' and wave and dance about like a goon, gradually getting closer and backing off when he shows signs of nervousness of the lunatic and then in again and back off again etc until you are waving your arms about and doing the chicken dance right next to him and he is bored. The idea is NOT to scare your horse. Do NOT hit or touch him. Be somewhat predictable in your moves, but make them big, flamboyant moves like windmills and stretches. And don't necessarily focus all your moves or body language on your horse all the time. Ignoring him while he stands close by and you flamenco around the acorn on the ground will help him relax and will get him thinking that maybe what's happening has nothing to do with him.

Again, small often repeated lessons are the most effective. Your horse will not 'get' this lesson fully first go, but in time will not be bothered by unco-ordinated idiots raising their arm suddenly under his nose. And obviously this lesson will be a biggie for an abused horse. Baby-fairy steps in terms of lesson progression in those cases. It could take many lessons for an abused horse to stop shaking when you are standing on the other side of the paddock and raising your arm. So be it.

To desensitise your horse to stray and flying ropes, again stand at a distance from your horse that he determines is 'safe' and twirl and throw the rope about, gradually getting closer and backing off when he shows signs of nervousness at your actions or the rope. The idea is NOT to scare your horse. Do NOT hit or touch him. Be nonchalant and unconcerned. Pretend to be interested in other things. Ie don't constantly focus on the horse, but sometimes focus the fence or someone else or nothing at all. And then in again and back off again etc until you are too close to twirl a rope without hitting him. Do NOT hit him no matter what. At that point stop and offer the rope to be sniffed and inspected. When your horse is unconcerned by the rope, use it to rub him starting from the shoulder. Follow the same principles for touching a headshy horse with your hands. When he is fine being rubbed with the rope you can start gently draping it over him and sliding it off. And gradually move to swinging it over him and flicking it off. Please avoid rope burn or painful flicks. Clearly they will work against you!

The Head Shy Horse - What To Do

Points To Note:
A headshy horse has developed the HABIT of moving away anytime someone reaches for his face, regardless of whether he thinks this will end in pain or not. It is up to you to teach him a new habit. One you want.

A few points to note before beginning. Always stand to the side of your horse, never in front. This is for your safety and your horse's peace of mind. It is less threatening to them for you to be on their side and in full view.

Always be mindful to have a relaxed, nonchalant, non-aggressive attitude. This is inside, how you are feeling, and your voice and body language. It all counts. Your horse can sense how you feel. Do not use angry voice tones or body actions no matter how long each lesson lasts or how slow your horse is at 'getting it'.

Take your time. Hours if necessary. Let your poor horse know things have changed for the better. Rub and stroke until he relaxes and quits being nervous. If you stop before he relaxes and accepts what you are doing, his headshy habit will continue. If you stop touching him when he reacts badly, this will reinforce that moving away will stop what he doesn't want. Always end on a high note.

Pay attention to your horse. He will tell you how quickly you can proceed with the lesson by his reactions to what you are doing. As you improve your listening, you will see an improvement in your horse's trust.

Remember that gentle hands will prevail.

The Nuts and Bolts:

The overall method goes like this. Start at a spot where your horse likes to be scratched. Somewhere he is very comfortable being touched and does not react badly. Then you gradually work your way from this 'yes' area toward the major 'no' area, backing off toward 'yes' whenever he gets tense, starts fidgeting, shows the whites of his eyes, pulls away, lifts his head up, swats you with his tail etc. You'll have to learn to read your horse. Incrementally rub and scratch toward 'no' to expand what he is comfortable with. Go as slow as it takes.

In more detail, start at the 'yes' spot. Typically the shoulder or sometimes the nose. Rub until he is quite happy and relaxed. Then explore where the boundary of 'yes' is. Stay within that until he is relaxed again. And then, for a stroke, slightly expand the boundary. And then go straight back into the 'yes' area. Circular strokes are great. The circle just happens to be a bit wider when you push the boundary of 'yes'. Gradually increase the frequency of expanding 'yes' by that little bit, until the boundary of 'yes' has been expanded. Back off into 'yes' at any sign of resistance. Make sure your horse is completely comfortable and trusting before going further. Repeat all the way up the neck, leaving the strongest 'no' area until last, which is often the ears.

This approach and retreat works really well. Often you will get to a stage where your horse will stand still and tolerate your touch, but you can still feel that he isn't entirely happy. Then it's time to OD on rubs and scratches all over the tolerated and nearby areas until he's bored. Well done. It may have taken a couple of hours of rubbing, but your horse won't give two hoots anymore.

Do this every time you catch him to reinforce the lesson that he no longer has to fear having his head touched. It takes time but is well worth the trouble. With time and patience, he will understand that this rubbing feels good, and he will learn not be nervous about your hands near his head.

For abused or severly shy horses it’s best to approach the problem in even smaller steps, beginning with whatever body part your horse will offer to you. This will be either his nose or his shoulder. Depending on the level of shyness of your horse, you may only be able to make contact for a split second. The split second being the amount of time he was comfortable, and stayed quiet. So keep touching him a little while longer each time. And stop before he shows signs of objection. It may be that you only get to put your hand NEAR his nose/head/shoulder. That's ok. It's all building up your horse's comfort zone bit by bit, or hair by hair! Once you can make contact long enough to start rubbing, you can begin to expand this 'yes' area.

The Head Shy Horse - Reasons For Head Shyness

Another topic that keeps cropping up in emailed questions: the head shy horse.

The vast majority of times, a horse is head shy because of something a human has done. It's a learned response to a painful experience. Being smacked on the face, having an ear twitched, being hit over the head with a rope, whip or other object. Even a rider with rough hands once the bridle is on can make a horse head shy if the horse has made the connection between letting the bridle on and being jerked about in the mouth.

But as with any evasive behavior on the part of a horse, it is best to first rule out any physical problems. Why else would a horse be head shy? Well it can be a symptom of a badly fitting bridle. If the bridle is too tight, it presses on their poll and hurts. A badly fitting bit can be to blame. Or one that tastes horrid. How are his teeth? Are they due for filing? Do they have any spikey or sharp edges? Or any decay or abscesses? Now onto the eyes. Poor vision can make a horse head shy. They jump because they can't see properly and it startles them. Remember too that the horse has a blind spot right in front of him. Always approach him from the side, never directly in front.

Onto the ears. Bites from flies, lice, ticks or other parasites in or on the ear can be painful. Warts can be too. And then there's ear infections. Check the ears over thoroughly, especially if your horse seems to be more 'ear shy' than 'head shy'. It is helpful to know if your horse has ever had any of the above. Sometimes just the memory of the bite or infection, even when it has cleared up, will keep a horse head shy.

And last of all, if none of the above fit, a chiropractic adjustment could be the solution. If the neck is out behind the ears, your horse may have a raging headache and quite rightly won't want to be touched.

The Horse Who Thinks He's A Human

Amusing viewing. Video of Patches the horse who rides in the car, eats cheeseburgers & apple juice, watches TV, fetches beer, answers the phone and at the end of the day snuggles under the covers on the bed.

Not too sure about the cheeseburgers though.

Parts of the Harness

Another post, another question answered. This one was on identifying parts of a harness.
The best resource I found was at www.dragondriving.co.uk

They have a clear pdf file, reproduced below, with all the parts labelled. The 'whys' are courtesy of www.horsecart.com



















BRIDLE

1. Throat lash
2. Winkers / Blinkers / Blinders - The blinders keep the horse from seeing what is behind and around him. Its good to keep the bridle on before the cart is attached and before its removed.
3. Browband
4. Winkerstay
5. Noseband
6. Liverpool bit
7. Curb Chain

An Overcheck can also be used -This attaches to the bit and the top of the saddle to keep the horses head up. It helps to prevent him eating grass or even kicking. A side check can also be used.

FRONT END
1. Rein
2. Rein terret
3. Terret
4. Pad & 6. Bellyband & 10. Girth - Saddle & Girth-This should be snug around your horses belly, but not to tight.
5. Tug - Shaft loops or tugs -Shafts go through these up to the shaft stops on your cart.
7. Wither strap
8. Neck strap - Attaches to breastcollar and reins go through the rings on top.
9. Breastcollar
11. Trace - Traces - Attach to the breastcollar and slides over the ends of the singletree.

BACK END
1. Crupper - Attaches to saddle and slides through hip/loin straps.
2. Loin strap - Attach to breeching
3. Back strap
4. Breeching strap - These can attach to the tug stops on the cart or be wrapped around the shafts.
5. Breeching - Acts as your brakes
6. Trace Carrier

Basic Horse Training Questions

What Not To Do When Buying A Horse - The Biggies

Go to view the horse on your own.
Don't bother with a vet check
Buy a horse because you 'like' it despite the horse showing bad habits.
Choose a young or green horse for young or beginner rider.
Buy a horse that's beyond your horse handling or riding ability on the assumption that this will help your learning.

Buying A Horse - What Next?

So you still like this horse? This one is suitable for your level of horsemanship? No nasty habits? Well trained? Good temperament? Physically sound? If it passes all the others, it's best to get the last one checked out by a vet. This is at your expense. Don't even think of asking the owner to pay for this!

At this point it is usually ok to start serious negotiation on price. You're probably very interested and if the horse is great then other people will be too. It's perfectly ok, even sensible, to make an offer based on your vet giving their ok. This lets the seller know you're not a timewaster, as all this showing and checking takes time.

Another point to raise is the possibility of a short trial period, say a week. You take the horse as your responsibility to try him out. If it's a terrible mismatch, you both agree he can be returned. This isn't always necessary, but is a great way to be as sure as possible you've made a good choice.

Vet given the ok? Trial worked out well?
Congratulations on your first horse.

Buying A Horse - On The Day Of Viewing

So you've weeded out the unsuitables over the phone and found a horse that seems to fit your criteria. Obviously the next step is to go and have a look. Buying a horse is buyer beware. Not to make you frightened, but it is your responsibility to make sure the horse you choose iswhat you expected you were getting. Check all claims made about an animal out for yourself.

Questions To Ask When Buying A Horse

• Whether this horse is suitable for a beginner. Most people will be honest here, not wanting to endanger someone.
• The horse's age, height and build. Does it match you criteria?
• Color and markings, if these are important to you.
• What sort of temperament he/she has. Quiet, calm, bombproof, gentle.
• If she is a mare, what to expect with any mood swings, if any.
• The suitability for your chosen horse activity. This is an opinion only, and should be taken with a grain of salt unless there is a solid reason for that opinion. For example, if you wanted a horse for jumping and the owner advised you this horse always refuses...
• Any vices or bad habits. Charging, biting, kicking, bolting, bucking, rearing. Any of these and you can thank the owner for their time and end the call.
• Easy to catch and shoe and trailer and worm? A horse that won't do these is a pain in the behind and you should consider carefully if you want to put up with these bad habits.
• Any fears ie dogs, bicycles, cars. These aren't ideal either.
• Any health issues. So you can research if an issue would be a problem for you.
• Any soundness issues or physical limitations. A vet check will show these up, but why visit a horse that is known to be very lame?
• What the horse has been trained and used for, now and with previous owners. Has the horse had experience in what you want to do? You'll have a lot more fun on a horse that can teach you rather than the other way around.
• How long the horse has been in work (ridden regularly) and has it been in work recently. Some horses aren't trained until later in life. Sometimes horses are trained and worked and then put in a paddock and left for years.
• Any quirks of personality to be aware of. Just so you know.
• Why it is being sold. You may not get an honest answer, but it's worth asking anyway.

What To Look For When Buying A Horse - Cover The Basics

Buying Your First Horse - General Pointers

Some general pointers on choosing your first horse
Geldings generally have the most consistent behavior. They are generally the most even tempered and pleasant natured. Not every gelding will be like this, it's that the odds are greatest that a gelding will be consistently good natured.
Mares, go in and out of "heat". They have hormone cycles. This may or may not affect a mare's behavior and temperament. Some mares are even tempered. Some can be Jekyll and Hyde. Be aware of this and ask the owner.
Stallions are not suitable for anyone other than experienced horse people. A beginner should not even consider one. End of story.

On the age of your horse, young horses or inexperienced older horses are not suitable for a beginner. Your ideal steed will be at least 5 and have been well handled and trained. You are after a horse who has maturity, who is familiar with the world of humans. A horse in his late teens or early twenties has plenty of maturity and would be a great first horse.

Of course, you are after a sound, healthy and pleasant natured animal. If the horse has a health issue, consider how this will affect the riding you want to do before deciding yay or nay. If the horse has a cranky temperament, it is not suitable for a beginner. Living in fear of being nipped or kicked by your first horse will destroy your confidence and your horsey dream, as well as being a physically dangerous situation.

Better Than Dogmeat..

To anyone who doubts the Standardbred as a suitable breed for a life beyond harness racing, consider this:
ROAD KAR, a Standardbred Trotter adopted from SRF
SPHO Horse of the Year; USTA Versatility Champion

About Equine Influenza

Following on from yesterdays news, a mug shot of Equine Influenza:

Highly contagious. Most, in fact around 100% of unvaccinated horses, which have come in contact with the virus will develop symptoms within 1-5 days.
Equine flu is a virus that affects the respiratory system.
Symptoms include fever, coughing, excessive nasal discharge, depression, muscle soreness, anorexia and enlarged nearby lymph nodes.
High mortality, up to 20%, often seen in donkeys, foals and ill or malnourished equines.
Affects equines and humans.
Vaccination is not an ironclad protection but seems to reduce the severity.
Most horses which don't have secondary complications will recover within 1-2 weeks with the cough lasting longer.
The common secondary complications are bacterial pneumonia, heart damage and lung damage.

Thanks to these sites for info:
AVMA
SPC

Equine Influenza Out Of the Bag

I generally don't bet on horse racing (Melbourne Cup excepted) but right now I'd bet that the rest of the world is glad that Australia is a far away island. Looks like we've got some major trouble stirring here in the form of Equine Influenza. There's all sorts of scare stories floating about at the moment regarding losing the breeding season (we're just going into spring) as horse movements have been halted (no visiting stallions) and the entire Spring Racing Carnival being called off, again due to quarantine.

Here's to hoping the problem was spotted and dealt with early enough!

From the Sydney Morning Herald:
The flu outbreak has shut down the multi-billion dollar racing and breeding industry since Saturday - costing the industry at least $100 million so far.....

.....Almost 300 horses have been quarantined at Warwick's Morgan Park since the weekend after at least four horses at the world cup eventing qualifier showed signs of the horse flu.
The number of horses now showing flu symptoms had blown out to 20, EFA vet Julian Willmore said this afternoon. Spectators and competitors have been banned from leaving the site as authorities move to contain the outbreak.

"I'd expect that [the virus is] very contagious and I wouldn't be surprised if the 250 horses we've got on the ground all became infected and show various signs of infection," Dr Willmore told ABC Radio.....

....So far, in NSW 47 horses have been confirmed as having EI.
Many of the affected horses in NSW are stabled at Centennial Park, close to Randwick Racecourse, which has also been shut due to fears four horses might be infected.....

Guide To Buying A Horse - Intro

These sorts of emails on choosing a suitable horse or buying a horse (see below) are frequent enough to prompt me to write a general 'how to' response. Sorry guys, there's not enough hours in the day to reply to individual queries. I hope this helps instead. The 'buying a horse' info will be posted in stages over the next week. For now, here is the main email that finally pushed me into action:

Hi there...I need some advice.

There is someone selling an old schoolmaster, he is 14 years old.

He sounds great, has done A grade shows in the past. The owner wants to

sell, she has a yard as she do not have time to ride him any more. She has 2

new horses. She says that he would be great for what I want to do...dressage

smaller jumps up to 1 meter, hacking and eventing. He is a thoroughbred

gelding by the name of BOB.



I am not knowledgeable enough to ask the right questions. I know he eats 4

kg of food and keep his condition, he has good feet and only need to be shod

on front feet.

Never been sick or had colic. Shots r up to date and he has a passport. I am

waiting for her to send info on sire and dam.



See her comments = (Bob is 14 and definitely  wise enough for you, no he

hasn't got any leg problems, he need only to be shod on the front legs, he

is 16'2 hands high, his hooves are healthy and he is a full bred

thoroughbred. Bob is definitely an all rounder, he is kind and would be

perfect for a novice rider, he is perfectly schooled and would not harm a

fly, he is well schooled for dressage and hacking, he has not jumped for

years, but I am sure to pop him over a few jump's won't harm him, I don't

think that he would compete in jumping again, the reason being is that Bob

did power jumping all his life, I will send you a pic with to see. Jumping

him over small jumps up to a meter is fine but he would not go A grade.

Other than that is he fine, never been sick or lame.  The only reason I am

selling him is because I don't have the time.  I have two youngsters of the

track and are busy schooling them , and that takes allot time.)



I have been told a schoolmaster  is a good option. Do u agree?

------------------------

(email has been edited for privacy)

Knowing When Your Horse Is Too Much

Again, I'm struggling to relocate the source of this wonderful piece of writing.  I believe it is from a blog called All Bully All The Time.  Not a promising title, but please read on...

"I guess my point here is: When you have a problem horse, you find yourself digging into all sorts of barrels that you never would have thought of, before. I did what I could, what I knew to do...I enlisted help of others, and I even did a last ditch effort, of getting a guy to come out that was a problem-horse specialist. It cost me $150 for a couple hours of his time, this cowboy guy, but I was desperate. The mare? She only tried to buck with him once, and after he got her going, she rode and spun and turned just like the reiner i knew she could be.

The problem was, I had chosen a horse that was not going to be a partner for me--no matter how well she suited me in every other regard. The perfect size, color, breeding, build...not too catty, not too speedy...sound and nimble footed for trail. Yeah. Everything, except for the fact, she and I didn't suit. It broke my heart... I ended up selling her...This was a horse for a Professional, not an Amateur Owner like myself--and I could only agree."

You know, sometimes, despite doing everything you can think of, and everything everyone you know can think of, and getting the help of a good or even great trainer, and being taught what to do by this trainer, and spending countless hours and more money than you can really afford, all to fix the way you and your horse interact. You know what I mean. The horse behaves for the experts, or your friend, or whoever it is, but really gives YOU a hard time.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is to realise that a problem is actually beyond your ability. You've done the best you can. You've got the best help you could. Maybe it's time to put your new skills (because you will have learnt HEAPS) to good use with a different horse. And maybe it's time to give yourself the chance to ENJOY a horse again. What did you buy a horse for again? Surely not to nearly get yourself killed every ride? So give yourself a break. If you're in this situation, bite the bullet and find a capable home for the horse you can't handle.

Give yourself a horse you can enjoy, and give your difficult horse a home he or she will also be happy in. Sometimes, just sometimes, giving up is the smarter thing to do.

Training A Horse Through Leadership and Friendship

Wish I could find the link to the post where I spotted this fab summary of horse-human interactions. If you're the author, please say hello and I'll pop a link in pronto.

"It's so funny and sad at the same time to watch someone without savvy try to 'dominate' a horse. The horse ALWAYS wins! Horses aren't smarter then people in the people world, but if you stick a person in the horse world, the horse will beat you every time, until you find a consistent way to become a leader worthy enough for the horse. The key is you have to be a good enough leader in the horses mind, not yours or anyone elses. I guess a horse can be forced into submissiveness, but it has to take alot of force. I disagree with the force method of training. I like to think of my horse as my friend and if I was going to make a friend I wouldn't walk over to them one day toss a rope around their neck and force them to stand still while I drill them about what they like to do. No, I would want to make it fun enough that next time I see that friend they come running and ask, 'What are we going to do today?'"

Took the words right outta my mouth. Until you learn how to be seen as a leader and a friend *through your horse's eyes, not yours*, you will always have trouble.

Them Horses Are Smart

An odd horse factoid for today.

Did you know that the reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days when engines were horse-drawn. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured how to walk up straight staircases....Which makes me wonder why they were trying to walk up the stairs to begin with. Were they bored perhaps? Standing about all day doing nothing.

A Horsey Dream Come True For Fathers Day

What a wonderful family this person has to fulfil his dream of owning a racehorse near the end of a lifetime of being a racing fan.... and getting on telly would have been an added bonus I imagine.

A Father's Day Horse for 79-Year-Old Dad | bloodhorse.com

Mike Kappos, 79, a Chicago native who has been coming to Arlington Park most of his life as racing fan, has always dreamed of owning a race horse someday. Now he does.

Pat Beauvais, Kappos’ daughter, and her children made his dream come true with a surprise public Father’s Day weekend presentation in Arlington’s paddock after Saturday’s second race.

Following a meticulously coordinated effort with Arlington Park’s staff, Beauvais arranged the surprise scenario for her father as he attended Saturday’s races with his family.

“We took him to the paddock, supposedly to say ‘hello’ to his friend, trainer Mike Dini,” said Beauvais. “However, we had contacted Arlington earlier and they had arranged for Arlington television hostess Liane Davis to be in on the surprise. He thought he was going to be interviewed as a father attending the races with his family on Father’s Day weekend.“

When Liane came up to him with a microphone, we all gathered around and brought out a framed photograph of the yearling we had bought for him,” Beauvais said. “ Then Liane explained to him that this was a picture of the horse he now owned.“

He was completely and totally surprised,” Beauvais said the morning after the presentation. “He said, ‘Oh my, I can’t believe this.’“To be honest, I don’t think it’s really sunk in for him yet,” said Beauvais Sunday. “ He kept calling us with additional questions about the horse all last evening.